the Epifile to the f;alatiatm Chap.6. 649 Cent, reial them,as mayappeareby their writings . Secondly, . that this infcriptionwas added to there Epiíllei without fùf ici- ent ground, and warrant of rcafon,tnay appeare,in that no rea- fon can be giuen why thefe feuen fhould be called Ctnonicall,, 5 rather then the Epiftles ofS.Paul,or that to theEbrewes(who- t foeuer was the Penner thereof.) For whereas the ordinarie Goífe faith, they are called Canonicall, bccaufe they were re- ceiuec! into the Canonwith the other cpiflles; by that reafon they fhould be nomore Canonical/then the ref}, nay,not oíthat tao authenticàll,atleaf} ofthkt vndoubted authoritie the ref} are of, Peeing they hardly obtained to be regiflred in the Canon, with the refs asCanonicrll. Lail-ly, this title was nctrcr E,iuen to Epifllesby the Greekchurch (whichwasmore auncient), but onely by theLatin church,as might be prcoued by mani- 25 fotd teflimonies , if it were a thing necefiarie tobe flood vp- on. Neuertheleffe,howfoturthis infcription cannot be defen- ded, yet it may be excufed, and tollerated,as a title of dif}in i- on, to diflinguifh.them from theother epïfilcs. As we fee the Iewes diuidingthe old% tcftament into 4. parts : the firfl they 2.0 called the law, or 5. bookes of c.g,[0A;s: the2. the former pro. phets, viz lo,Zr/a, 7thdges, 2. bookes ofSamuel, 2. bookesof the K:nós: the 3, the laterprophets, as E.(0 , lerexhie, Ezechiil, and the (mall prophets; the 4. they celled Ke l:whim, which in Eng- lilh is as much as the f riptures, not as though thofe r r. bookes 2'5 were moreproperly fcripture then the Pentateuch of .4'foIcs or the bookes oftheformer and later prophets : but onely for diftiríaion fake they were fo called . And they arc tearmed of the 7o. and ofthe Greeke church cdío.G;apú, that is, holy rrri.ts, not becaufe they had apeculiar holines proper to them aboue ;o other parts of Gods word,(feeing all fcripture is equally giuen by diuine infpiratien)nor as though the amanuenfes of thefe booker were more holy then the other pen-menof the holy Ghofl (nay, contrarily it is doubted by force, ofShcmen, wh©pennedthreeof thrfe bookes whether he were ele led or FiT:6if,27` reieEed; whereas it is not doubted ofthe ref-10 but onely (as I quia nGt>a= habent¡pecia !ern proprteta ternqua.dt- ftingttantur áa sæteris,coru- haue alreadic laid) to put a note of dif}inEtion betwixt them and other bookcs,in naming of thena,as oHuuo.deS.Vii'l.hath well obferued-. In-this fenfe this titleCanonical]; may be eirien-to thefe- E- MUSIC ITOn7etll piftles without danger : but if- we shall vnderf}ànd it . in any o"- rut2t°Pri: t, n ,
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