paste The same Hierome in the preface of his first boke vpon the cōmentaries of Esai saith thus Let no mā thinke that I can briefely prehende the argument of this volume touchyng all the holie misteries of the Lorde as well howe Emanuel borne of a Virgine did noble woorkes and miracles as that being dead and buried he rose againe to saue all nacions of the worlde What should I speake of his Logike or of his Philosophie natural and moral What soeuer is of holie Scripture what soeuer the tongue of man is hable to vtter and witte to comprehende in this booke it is included These be the wordes of S. Hierome Ieremie The Prophete Ieremie in his writyng is not so faire and pleasaunt as Esaie but more homelie and nere the capacitie of the common people yet in sentence as good He was borne in a little strete called Anathoi .iii. miles frō the Citie him selfe a Priest and of the kinred of priestes sāctified in his mothers wombe He prophecieth being yet a verie yong man as he saith him self he began in the .xiii. yere of Iosias and ceassed not by the space of .xl. yeares after the citie was destroyed Yea for his plaine preachyng and free mouthe he was stoned to death and so gaue vp his spirite to the Lord. He rebuked the sinnes vsed in his time idolatrie falsehode couetousnesse fraude crueltie riote He moued them to repentaunce and amendment He taught diligentlie faieth in God and shewed theim how to liue He spake also of their captiuitie and comforted the sorie shewyng aforehande the destruction that should come to the nacions borderers He wrote also a lamentation wherin he bewaileth the ouerthrowe of that noble citie and royall kingdome Yeat in that kinde of writing appeare merueilous tokens of the iustice and goodnesse of God Ezechiel Ezechiel he also coming of Priestes was taken prisoner with Ieconias and caried into Babilon Where he taught the same thinges that holie Ieremie did in Iudea Euery where after the office of a prophete he putteth in his writinges common places of Christe He also prophecieth against Tire and other nacions threatning vnto theim the iudgement iust punishment of God He stādeth moche in declaring the building vp again of the tēple newe citie Doubtlesse propouning vnto vs the Misteries of the churche wrapped vp in couerture Daniel being yeat but a very young man was led awaie into Babilon with Ieconias Daniel This man described vnto vs very elegātly certein profitable goodly histories of his time the fight of true false wisedome of religion also supersticiō He liued vntil the time of Cyrus King of Persia being then .lxxx. yeres olde He was a man of so great wisedome that of him rose this Prouerbe Wiser then Daniel whiche Ezechiel vsed in his .xxviij. Chapiter Of al wisemen he was called Polyhistor that is one that knewe many thinges For like as he rehearseth vp the fatall chaunces of all kingdomes so in a brief historie or prophecie rather in fewe woordes he comprehendeth and finisheth that whiche the cōning and curious writers of the Gentiles coulde not telle in many bookes how to beginne Onely he openeth vnto vs truely the matiers of the Babylonians Persians Macedonians and Romaines and declareth of Christ the euerlasting kingdome How Antichriste also shall rise vp what mischief he shall woorke before at last he be destroied He sheweth the destruction both of the Citie and of the whole worlde the daie of iudgement the rising againe of the bodies and life euerlasting The lesser prophetes After folow the .xij. prophetes whom we cal the lesser not for the smalnesse of the matier woorke or learning but for their breuitie and because in gretnesse length and copie thei bee vnlike to the other .iiii. whom thei call the greater Oseas standeth firste sine of wit Oseas and vtterance but somewhat brief and therfore obscure He prophecieth most against the tenne Tribes or Kingdome of Israel Sometime he toucheth a litle the Tribe of Iuda He rebuketh the faultes of the priestes princes and people sinne and Idolatrie vpholding religiō and goodnesse He warneth them to repent least thei all perishe and sheweth that all nacions shal be called Ioel semeth to haue prophecied in the time of Ezechias he Esaie together Ioel after the destruction of the tenne tribes He moueth the kingdom of Iuda to repentaunce He setteth out the horrible daie of the Lorde and their miserie to come whiche yeat might be auoided by amending their liues Yeat after he saieth it shal be better with theim and sheweth the signes of loue in the churche of whiche Peter is an interpreter in chactes Amos neither a Prophete nor the sonne of a Prophete not brought vp in any the liberall sciences Amos was but a rude homely vnlerned mā yet in few sharp wordes he preached to the tenne tribes still calling vpon repentaunce as the other Prophetes did And against the nacions that were borderers he spake very grauely touching their sinnes and the iust punishment of GOD. He was sore greued against the religious of the Ieroboams and the wanton liuing of the priestes He prophecied also of the calling of the Gentiles He liued and taughte when the younger Ieroboam reigned in Israel and King Osias in Iuda or Ierusalem Abdias reasoneth against Idumea in the time of Achas King of Israel Abdias and though he bee the shortest of all the prophetes yeat dooeth he comprehende in a summe al the chief pointes of true religion namely that god is to be worshipped and that in loue and charitie dooyng to our brother no wrong at all For the lorde will reuenge it He declareth saluation to be in Sion euen in Christe and his faithful churche He telleth the Idumeans aforehande that thei shoulde be destroied with the causes why and that nothing maie deliuer theim from the harmes hanging ouer their heddes Ionas beareth the figure of Christ diyng and rising again Ionas Wherof the lord himself maketh menciō in Math. He hath set out in a pure and fine Historie the propretie nature and disposicion of god how mightie how good iust he is being god of the gentiles also how vain the counsailes of men be which are taken against the lord what true repentaunce is how weake man is and that the proude fleshe reasone and deuise of man woulde kepe her estimation and be highly set by yea though it wer to the great hurt of other He liued vnder Ieroboam king of Israel being bothe a prophete an Apostle of the Gentiles Yet prophecied he to his owne nacion also as it is written in the fowerth boke of Kinges Micheas semeth to haue been the folower of Esaie Micheas verely thei liued both at one time and had bothe al one supporter euen Ezechias a right verteous king He cried out principallie against the .ij. tribes and then against the .x. He thretneth vnto theim vtter destructiō for
Euangeliste the welbeloued disciple of the Lord wrote .iij. Epistles Thre Epistles of Iohn In the first he speaketh moche of charitie and purenesse of liuyng the fruites of true faieth In the seconde and the thirde he setteth out the same charitie and trueth biddyng vs to beware of Heretiques The laste booke written of the same Apostle hath a Greke name Apocalyps It is called Apocalyps or Reuelation In this boke he prophecieth and setteth out as the Lorde had opened vnto him what thinges shoulde happen to the churche of GOD euen to the worldes ende Thou shalt find in it many thinges borowed of Ezechiel Daniel zacharie and other prophetes And thus it hath pleased the goodnesse of God to warne his people in good season of the mischiefes that were to come that thei maie the more wiselie prouide for thē selues and praie to God the more hartelie Canonical bookes Moe bookes are not in the Canon of the new testamēt Neither is it great lie to be cared for that some haue doubted of the Epistle to the Hebrues of the former Epistle of Peter Iude Iames and the Apocalyps For what is it to vs that a fewe corrupted with their owne affections haue doubted of thinges certaine Nota. It is to be beleued these bookes of bothe the Testamentes whiche we haue reconed vp to come of the spirite of God to be written left to the churche by the prophetes and Apostles of the Lord in them to be taught all trueth with thē to be mingled none errour nor lie Of the olde fathers this was called Canonical Scripture because it was geuen to vs of God for a rule of liuyng and a trueth by whiche we ought to trie all thinges and therafter to liue The Hebrues cal their lawe Thora whiche name thei geue generallie to the woorde of God and in dede to all the whole Scripture Thora signifieth a directorie to lead vs foorthe of the whiche the Grecians also dooe seme to haue borowed that woorde of theirs Canon whiche you maie call a lawe or rule There remaineth to speake somewhat of the Ecclesiasticall Bookes Ecclesiasticall bookes of some called Apocrypha the woorde peraduenture not al agreyng to the thing Sainct Hierome in Prologo Galeato after he hadde reconed vp .xxij. Canonicall bookes saieth thus Whatsoeuer is besides these must be put emong Apocrypha Therefore the boke of wisedome whiche commonlie is intituled to Solomon the booke of Iesu the Soonne of Sirach Iudith and Tobie are not in the Canon I haue founde the firste of the Machabees in Hebrue The second is in Greke and that maie be proued euen by the very phrase c. Furthermore Saincte Augustine in the xviij booke De ciuitate dei the .xxxvj. chapter saieth that the bookes of the Machabees be taken of the churche for Canonical And yet he him self estemeth thē not so much as he doeth thē which doubtles be canonical As you maie see in the seconde Booke xxxij Chapter Contra Epistolas Gaudentii and againe in his seconde booke xviij Chapter De doctrina christiana Howbeit sainct Hierome in the Prologue Super Prouerbia Solomonis The churche in dede saieth he readeth the bookes of the Machabees but yet dooeth not receiue them emong the canonical Scriptures And speakyng of Baruch the Prophete and the Epistle of Hieremie that is ioigned vnto it he sheweth that thei are not conteined in the Hebrue Canon but onely in the common edition and in the Prologue that is before Daniel he saieth that neither the historie of Susāna the himne of the .iij. children nor the tales of Bel and the Dragon be founde emong the Hebrues But of the historie of Susanna Origene demed farre otherwise gaue great credite vnto it albeit he denieth not that in the Hebrue it is not founde Hitherto haue I rehearsed what other menne haue thought of the Ecclesiastical bokes Verely I suppose sauyng yet all other mennes iudgementes that thei may right wel be called Hagiographa that yet thei ought not to be takē as good as the canonical bokes nor to be of equal aucthoritie Difference betwixt Apocrypha and Ecclesiasticall bookes And I thinke plainelie that there ought a diuersitie to be made betwixt the bookes Apocrypha and Ecclesiastical This Greke woorde Apocrypto signifieth to hide So then Apocrypha Apocrypto Bookes Apocrypha be hidden or priuie bookes whiche at home in dede or priuatelie to reade it maie be lawful for euery man at his pleasure but in cōmon assembles and speciallie in the holie temples thei ought not to be read openlie nor any man to be charged by aucthoritie of them Of this sort is the Gospel of Nichodemus Thomas and Bartholomew and many other moe of this marke and of them is made rehearsal in the Canonicall decrees the fiftenth distinction Ecclesiastical bookes seme to be called those Bookes Ecclesiastical which although thei be not in the Hebrue Canon yet because thei teache good thinges and are not contrarie to the bookes Canonical the churche dooeth receiue reade in the cōgregatiō of saintes And I am not the first that so thinketh Thesame before me taught Ciprian or Rufine in the Exposition of the Crede whose woordes if any man will haue be these We muste knowe that there be other bookes after the Canonicall whiche be called of our elders not Canonical but Ecclesiastical as is Sapientia Solomonis and an other Sapientia whiche is counted to be of Iesu the soonne of Sirach and is called emong the Latines by this generall name Ecclesiasticus wherby not the aucthoure of the boke is signified but the qualitie of the writyng Of the same sute is the booke of Tobie and Iudith and the bookes of the Machabees al whiche thei woulde in dede haue to be readde in the churches but the aucthoritie of our faieth not by them to be confirmed Other Scriptures thei called Apocrypha and woulde not haue them redde in the churches Thus moche saieth Ciprian Furthermore of the Ecclesiastical bookes some teache histories and some prophecies we will nowe as we goe touche briefelie the matiers that thei treate of Tobie Emong the histories in a great sorte of exāplers the boke of Tobie stādeth first whiche in my minde teacheth to ordre an housholde moche better then zenophō and Aristotle to For he sheweth all thinges bothe by good preceptes liuelie examples The elder Tobie master of the housholde hath experience bothe of good fortune and badde as wel in his bodie as in his goodes and yet in that chaunge of the worlde dooeth nothing vnmete for a good housekeper to dooe In his greatest pouertie trouble he kepeth still the true worshippyng of God his innocent life and goodnesse he chaūgeth not in no pointe sekyng helpe by fraude and crafte to releue his pouertie yea him selfe being in very great nede yet doeth good to other doing his dutie al that he can helpyng to burie the deade by moste holie
and Gentiles He disputeth of Sinne and proueth al menne to be sinners Sinne. After he reasoneth of Iustice or goodnesse Iustice or goodnesse sheweth that onely thorow the grace of Christe by faith not by any workes or merites the beleuers to be iustified Grace and faithe Then he declareth the effecte of Grace and faithe teaching the iustified to leade a penitente life to kepe theimselues from sinne to liue holilie Good liuing and sobrelie He disputeth of the lawe and strength therof of the Nature Lawe and strength therof and fight of man newe borne againe of the calling of the Gentiles the refusing and restoring the Iewes at laste he enfourmeth and facioneth our maners with many good and wholesome preceptes In the firste to the Corinthians he entreateth of diuers matiers principally correcting the faultes of that Congregation The first to the Corinthians He reasoneth against secular Philosophie for the simplicitie of the Gospelle He disputeth of the ministerie of the woorde and of the fruicte and glorie therof whiche ought to bee referred to God alone He rebuketh the shameful riotte and lecherie of the Corinthianes speaketh also of Mariage Bigamie and virginitie willing them to auoide their straunge facions in holy rites and seruice of God the true christian vse therof to be kepte and restored againe he speaketh of diuers giftes of grace in the churche of concorde charitie toungues vse of prophecie resurrection of the deadde and many other profitable thinges The seconde to the Corinthians The seconde Epistle is in maner of a defence or answere to certein rebukes In this he laieth the law the Gospel together He sheweth with what purenes great peril he preached the Gospell and how wel thinges came to passe He speaketh also of the almose to the poore Laste he laieth many matiers of his owne to defende his aucthoritie against false Prophetes To the Galathians The Epistle to the Galathians is in maner a Breuiarie of that to the Romaines He disputeth of Iustificatione by faithe in Christe against the Iustification by the lawe and workes He facioneth also the life of theim that be iustified by faith In the beginning he speketh moche of his vocation and aucthoritie of his apostleship whiche the enemies of grace would haue had vtterlie to be disanulled Thepistle to the Ephesians is a brief but a notable exampler To the Ephesians how he preached the Gospel to the Gentiles He teacheth the beleuers to be iustified by grace onely through faith al ful perfectnesse to bee in Christe and through him the gentiles also to be brought into the fauour of God After be diuers exhortacions to good liuing He warneth the Philippianes by a shorte Epistle sent from the citie To the Phillippiens not to be offended with his imprisonment but to go forwardes in the trueth that thei had receiued He desireth thē to be al of one minde and to beware of false Apostles chopping merites and the law together with the Gospelle In the ende he geueth Lessons of vertue an he dooeth many times before The Epistle to the Collossians is a breuiate of that to the Ephesians To the Colossians It treateth of all one matier more brieflie In this he rebuketh sharpely the false Apostles mingling Iewishnesse with the Gospel The first to the Thessaloniens In the firste to the Thessalonianes he praiseth their faith and constance encouraging thē to continue in thesame to liue a pure and a Christian life and not bewaile the deadde with soche out cries and howling as the Gentiles doe where also he reasoneth of the Resurrectione and daie of Iudgemente of watching and holines of the christians The second to the Thessalonians In the latter he paincteth out Antichriste and his Kingdome and willeth that the dranes those idle beastes shold eate no honie The first to Timothie In the first Epistle to Timothie he setteth before vs a very perfeicte exampler of an Euangelical Bishop He disputeth of true and false Doctrine of the liuing maners and housholde of a Bishop of his studie and care for Ecclesiasticall matiers of auoiding vnprofitable questions of wrangling and intricate bondes of couetousnesse The seconde to Timothie In the seconde he committeth to his charge the defence of sounde Doctrine he remembreth him of his dutie and not to be discouraged for any aduersitie he prophecieth of the departing awaie frō the faieth in the latter daies In the Epistle to Tite he repeateth in maner the selfe same thinges more briefly To Tite He sheweth what men shoulde be made bishoppes teaching bothe yoūg and old their duties He speaketh much of the misterie of Iustificacion by faith and commaundeth to flie Sophisticalle questions and incurable Heretiques In a briefe Epistle but very plaine To Philemon cunning and full of Christian charitie he desireth Philemon to bee good to his Seruaunte Onesimus whiche had runne from him And this he wrote at Rome being in prisone The Epistle vnto the Hebrues is a goodly and cunning example To the Hebrues in what wise he preached Christ vnto the Iuishe nacion Straite in the beginning he proueth by plaine testimonies of scripture that Iesus Christe is very god man and therefore that his doctrine shoulde not be set light by Also that he is the onely and true Prieste and euerlasting sacrifice so that to pourge put awaie sinnes ther nedeth neither any of Aarōs priestes nor oblations For he hath perfeict iustification that possesseth Christe by faithe He sheweth that by faith all the sainctes of the olde Testament pleased God and serued him in Pacience charitie innocencie of life vnto whiche vertues he exhorteth theim In the ende he putteth certein rules of good liuing The Philosophie that paul learned in the third heauen And lo this is the abridgement and sūme of that excellent Philosophie whiche the Apostle Paule learned in the thirde Heauen and left vnto vs in fowertene Epistles Seuē Epistles Canonical The other .vij. bothe holie and briefe be called of our eldres Canonicall and Catholike Canonical because thei pertein to the Canō of the scripture Catholique for that thei wer writtē not vnto certeine churches but vniuersally to al Peter the Apostle wrote .ij. The first of Peter In the first he exhorteth to pacience and stedfastnes in faithe He teacheth maried folkes masters seruauntes priestes and soche as be in aduersitie to leade an holie life In the latter he prophecieth of these laste vnhappie times of Antichriste The seconde of Peter warning vs to embrace the pure Euangelicall Doctrine and to keepe it faste Of like argument or matier is the epistle of Iude. Iude. Iames rebuketh the faultes of his time Iames. teachyng true religion not to be in vaine bablyng and boasting of faith but in Godlinesse that bringeth foorth good woorkes plentifullie He geueth also many holesome and necessarie preceptes of liuyng Iohn