Er le to the HEsRE Vs" S. and not in degrees only, from all thole that have them ; fo that it.can be no part regule, regulantir, but regulate at the belt, not having äunatsiar or aft =credihilizy on its own account, or áioevletav a fdf-firJ11cingAuthorit ; but is truth only materially by vertue of its Analogic unto that which is abfolutely, univerfally, and pettedly fò: And this was well obferved by Lindanus, Impio ( faith .he) fáorilegio fi contaminant, Lindan.panept. qui in firipturaruar chriftianarum corpore, ,qu.fdam quafr_gradus conantur locare, quodarnam Evanq, L 3i, eandemque 'Prints f nîti vocem, intpio brrmane fhrltitie diferniculo aardent in varier im-. ` ' 4 pares rliferpere, c:` dißturbare Autoritatis clafr They defile themilves with the impiety of Sacriledge, who endeavour to bring in a it were divers degrees into the body of the Scriptures ; for by the impious dJ retisn of humane folly, they would cart the one voice of the Holy Gbri into various forms of unequal Authority. As then whatever elf erertee there may be as to thefitbjeïi matter, manner of writing, and present ufefulne(s, be- tWeen any of the books that being written by divine infJiration are given out tor the Churches rule, they are all. equall as to their canonical authority, being equally in- recoiled in that which is the'formal reafn of it ; fo whatever.ufofulnefs or refpe&iu the. Church any other writing may have, they can no way give them any interef in that, whofe formal reafon they arenot concerned in.. Itithe f nfe explainedwe affirm the Epifile to the Hebrews to be Canonical, that is St 1. properly and ftridtly fo, and of the number of them which the Antients called, .yvrera va utony.a, xa3oo o,ì, ávaµelasxru, and ó(aoaoybp3,oa, everyway genuine and Catho- lick; In the confirmation whereof, we (hall firft :declare, by wham it bathbeen .oppo- fed or queltioned ; and thenwhat reafons they pretend for their fo doing ; which be- ing removed out of our wag, the arguments.whereby theTruth of our afCrtion is evinced, thail.be inl(tedon. We need not much infilt on their madnef who cf old with a facrilegious licenti 4, t r; oufitefs.rejeétedwhat portion of Scripture they pleafed. The Ebionites not only re- jeéted all the Epiftles of Paul, but alló reviled his perfòn as a Greek and an Apoftate, as Pesetas andEpipharrius inform us. Their folly and blafphemy was alto imitated ireneus hb, t ; and followedby the Hzlefcheitæ inEufeebiur, Maroion rejée`ded in particular thisEpiftle °'P ' to the.Hebrewr, and thofe alfo to Timothyand Titus, as Epipbaniur, and Hierome affttre Eptpban. Aar, us, who adds unto him Eaflideî. And Theodoret as to the Epiftleunto the Hbrews, Éufcbplibf6. joyns unto them, tome of the Arians a1(ó. Now though the fully of-thof Sacrilegious cap, 2.r. perlonsbe cafe tobe repelled as it is done byPewits Cluniaeufis, yet Hierome hath given EptGhanliarr us a fufhcient reafonwhy we fhould not fpendtime therein. Si guidon (faith he) red- 4i' `ail' 9' Herom, prat. doreur canter cur ear Apoftoli non partant, tentaremus: aliquid roJ ondere, & forfitanfatif- in corn, ad aciereleîiori ; minevero cum heretics autorttate pronunciant â dicunt, ilia Epiftola Pauli Taunt. elf, bee non eft, ea autoritate refeli fe,pro veritate ,intelligant, qua infi non etvtbef c falfa Theodor. ref; fimulare. Theydid not fo much as plead, or pretend any cáuf . or crafts for the m Ep.,adlieb. rcjedion of theirEpiiftles, but did it upon their own head and 'Authority, fo they Eetrm Peir. Y Y E rfla. Petra- delrvr neitheranfwer nor confederation. . 6?ufa, . It is of more .importance that this Epiftle was along time, though not rejelïedby; qt. r 2. yet not received in the Churchof Rome. Eufebius informs us, that Calms a Presbyter of Errfeb.lib. m. -that Church whom he much. commends for his learningand piety, admitted but of cGa+p.64eap thirteen EpifflesofS '. Pad, rejedting that unto the Hebrews; as Photiuraltoaffirms. And boriru ¿((ti- the fame Photiur acquaints us with the fameJudgement of Hippalitur another eminent bib. memberof that Church: Alga ( faith he) 8i áaa a i i riva'S tìxetro:as ),eíaopteta; öso Cid. 48. i areas . `Eßçzss A;sorñ éx n ax 'Aacgir., rleiSs. Among other things not exaelly anfwer, bad, tae. ing the truth, he Pith a j, that the Epiftleto the Hebrews was not Paula. AndEufbisat adds untohis informationof the Judgement of Calms, that it was not generally re- :ceived in the Churchof Rome in his. time. Neither is it any way acknowledged as S'. Purls by either Tertuüian, Cyprian, Laelentitts, or Macrobius. Yea thefame Euébiur Lib. ;. tap. 3. affirms that Come excepted agáinftit upon this account, becaufe it was o ofed, as Ept(i rm9. ad PP Commeur, none of S'. Paull in theRoman Church. Hierome grants that, Latinorum eon(uetudo non comment, ix recepir EpiJfrlamad Hebres.inter Canonical Soriptura. The cttlfome of the Latins, Ifa, cap. 8 f that is theRoman Church) did not receiveshis Epiftle among the CanonicalScriptures ; to cap. r. ad And fpeaking elfewhere of it, he adds the fame words, Licet earn latina con f uetuda EdccSteefri pror. inter Canonical Scriptural non; reeipiat. And elfewhere allo he confirms the fame Ratefraß. iá .Affertion. It cannot then be denied but that it was four hundred years at leali after caio. hi Maab, the writing of this Epifile before it was publickly received and avowed as Canonical eat s6, in bythe RomanChurch. Nor will the quotation of it by Hilary andAmbro e rove any Zob d cap, 8. general admiffion of it as frech, it being their cuflomenot toreftrain the Te(timoni s lida.de Cain. they:made life of unto Books abfohitelyCanonical. Earonius
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