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
latter parte is shewed how the Kinges of the Israelites and Iewes wounded and killed eche other how to their great cost and charge theie hiered the Egiptianes and Assyrians to aide theim and thereby gaue occasione to inuade the Kingdome of Israel as it is declared in the fowerth booke Where also you maie see a litle before their captiuitie how greate miserie thei were in vnder Ieconias in the yere after the making of the worlde three thousande fower hundred and thirtie For the Historie of Samuel comprehendeth an hundred euen the twentie latter yeres of Heli. Fowertie of Samuel and Saul as it is in the Actes and fowertie of Dauid The two bookes of the Kinges vnto the Captiuitie haue fower hundred twentie and sixe yeres and sixe Monethes To whiche if you put the yeres of the Historie of Moyses and Iudges you shall finde thre thousand fower hundred and thirtie yeres Adde hereunto the seuenty of the Captiuitie in Babilone and you shall haue from the twentie of HELI fower hundred ninetie and thre yeres and sixe monethes But into the numbre of seuentie yeres you muste put the litle booke of Hester It seemeth Hester those thinges written of her to haue been dooen vnder Astiages vnto whome the myghtie Monarche Euilmerodach sōne to the most victorious Nabuchodonozer peraduēter had geuē rule vpon those people whom the first chap. of Hester speketh of The same mā as far as wee can gesse by the ninthe of Daniel by likelihod was called Assuerus a worde of Regall dignitie his proper name being Astiages euen the very same that by the mothers side was graundfather to Darius not Darius the sonne of Histaspis but of that auncient Median surnamed of Zenophon Cyaparis which caried awaie Daniel with him into Medea euē thē also possessing ii.c.xx great Lordships For .vii whiche his father Assuerus as it is said in the firste Chapiter of Hester possessed were come vnto the Persians vnto whom at the last the remnaunt also were subiect after the death of Darius the Mede whose Daughter Cyrus hadde maried beyng Victour Lorde and Kinge of Babilon Mede and Persia But howsoeuer it be in this booke is described the courtlie life foolishe madde and pernicious There all thinges are gaie and gallaunt menne liue at pleasure and by riotous excesse lose al thei haue Many heauie chaunces great pensifenesse perill and heinous treason is there also The proude and rebellious quene Vasthi is compared with the lowelie and obedient Hester Aman is a paterne of an ambicious vniust and cruell tiraunte from base lowe degre enhaunsed into the toppe of highe dignitie and foorthwith caste downe headlong ending his life on the gallowes an example to vs of vnstable fortune and what thei shall come to that geue cruell counsail But Mardocheus representeth a vertuous lord standing on a sure ground through his wisedome sauing himselfe and his people and by his prudente counsail doing moche good to other foreine Princes As the litle Volume of Ruth so this also taketh his name of the chiefe persone Now folowe the Bookes whiche Esdras declare what happened to the people of GOD after their deliuerance Esdras euen at the firste preacheth the trueth of Goddes promise In captiuitie thei crie to the Lorde and be heard Seuentie yeres expired by fauour of king Cyrus thei retourne into Iewrie with Golde and riche giftes to be put in the Temple being made vp again Thei set vp an altare and hast them to building but the worke was let two and fowertie yeres At last vnder Darius the yōger the Temple was finished Then came Esdras renewed the Lawes corrected the faultes of the people and prelates After him came Nehemias Nehemias and walled the Citie eased the people from hard Exactions burdennes and vsuries by witte and Wisedome holpe the Citizeines and amended that was amisse The Souldioures of Antichriste and their Craftes whereby the buildinge might not go forwardes is here plainly set out and how ware men should be to ouercome thenemies of the people of GOD. This Historie conteineth thre score and tenne yeres From the first of Cyrus vnto the twentie of Darius are coumpted eight and fiftie yeres From thence vnto the two and thirtie are .xij in whiche the walles were made vp There remaineth the Chronicles whiche the Grekes and Latines diuide into two bookes called Paralipomenon Chronicles For some thinges passed ouer in the former Historie of the Kinges bee here rehearsed and spoken of more largelie Yet sure it is that these be not the Chronicles of Iuda and Israel whiche many times bee mentioned in the Bookes of Kinges Doubtlesse those wer most copious commentaries of the actes of the kinges of Iuda and Israel now being lost through wastful time Some thinke these to be a briefe of this excellente historie namely of the Kinges of Iuda Thei profite moste to the exposition of the Prophetes Thus hitherto haue we rehearsed all the bokes of the diuine historie whiche from the beginning of the worlde vnto the building vp againe of the Citie of Ierusalē that is to the two and thirtie yere of Darius is thre M. iiii C. lxxxviij yeres and vi monethes So many shal he finde whosoeuer wil diligently reade ouer the holie Historie for we made this accoumpte by the yeres of the Patriarches iudges Dukes and Kinges Neither maketh it any matier that Iosephus Eusebius and many other folowe an other accoumpt We haue folowed the holy writers yea and the trueth it self Now to the other bokes of holie Scripture Iob teacheth to beare paciently the crosse of aduersitie Iob and that not by triflyng preceptes of Philosophie but by wonderful consideration of Goddes prouidence First of al is the historie it self how there was a certeine good and iust man broughte to greate aduersitie and what shoulde bee the merueilous meaning of God in this case After the mater is discussed by a gret disputatiō last of all foloweth the croune triumph of the victour And in this boke is shewed more syncere philosophie then in al the bokes that euer al the philosophers wrote of the which none hath tought any thīg purely in this matier The Epicures cal vs frō the crosse to delectacion pleasure The Peripatetiques counte sickenesse pouertie reproche and disworshippe emong the greatest eiuilles that can be Certeine Stoiqnes doe counsaile men that be in daūgier either to breake their owne neckes either to hang or kil them selues or by some other violente death to shift frō their peine And other teache other thinges more foolishe The booke of Psalmes is an heauenly worke Psalmes treating diuers matiers and is both profitable and pleasaunte It pleased God whiche touched briefly al Sciences to speake a litle of Musique also and handle it purely if perchaunce thereby men might be driuen from vncleane and wanton songes So whatsoeuer cunning and holie sōges Dauid and of his nacion other wisemen Poetes prestes haue writtē of diuerse matiers at diuerse
moralles he teacheth moche naughtinesse contrarie to right reason Plato and our religion But Plato one lesse corrupt then Aristotle hath dooen so euill about the maiestie of the eternal GOD that he maketh all his Philosophie worthelie suspected The trueth whiche he knew of the true god for feare he durst not declare I haue witnesse hereof Iustine the Philosopher and martire in a warning that he geueth to the Gentiles saiyng thus Plato when he should haue shewed the doctrine of Moses and other Prophetes touchyng one God whiche he had learned in Egipte fearyng that happened to Socrates and to stirre vp against him some Anytus and Melissus to accuse him of heresie before the men of Athens so to be poysoned went about a variable crafty conueyed sermon touching the Goddes wherby their opinion might stande whiche thought there were many and theirs also whiche thought the contrarie as by his writynges maie easelie be seen Loe the goodlie actes of these two Princes of the Philosophers and in maner their Goddes What should we loke for of the commune sorte seyng in these their chiefe lightes so great darknesse is founde I trowe no man is ignoraunt what these blinde guides haue iudged touchyng the soule what trouble thei haue made and howe folishelie babled therof Of the highest good thing as many be their opinions as daies in the yere Finallie thei haue scarse iudged rightlie of any thing that perteineth to blessednesse and vertue and yet folow we these bussardes whollie geuen to worship and maruail at them more thē at all the Bible yea we thinke no man learned in dede except he be well sowsed in the sinkes of their filthy errours Howe moche better and more wiselie did thei whiche sometime beyng noble men in Christes churche forsakyng the studie of Philosophie wherin yet to this daie by all consent thei were most excellent gaue them selues whollie to studie the Bible our heauenlie Philosophie and hasting awaie from enormious lies deceiptes blindenesse ioiefullie came to the bright shinyng sunne of trueth I meane Origen Iustine Panteum Ciprian and innumerable other excellent Philosophers and Oratours whose soulles now reste and liue with the Lorde God eternal I will not coūsaile any man therfore to folow those blind teachers or their erronious doctrine wherin no pure nor certein thing maie be founde I cal and exhort all mē as loude and as hartelie as I can to the most holie and sacred Bible For mans hope saluation onely standeth in that learnyng which the Bible teacheth vnto vs. All the right wisedome that man hath Wherin all wisedome resteth resteth in this one poinct to knowledge God for his owne God and that through Christe of whō all the bookes of al the Philosophers haue not shewed so moche as one woorde neither how by true faieth and sure hope we should cleue vnto him whē he is knowen and honour this most mightie Lorde boūtifull father in charitie and innocencie of life This is our determinacion and doctrine this is our ful mind sentence I testifie it therefore with as loude a voice as I can I proclaime and warne you to kepe it This is that whiche al the Philosophers haue sought for all the daies of their life and yet could neuer fasten vpon it nor holde it euē for because sekyng it a wrong waie either thei helde a naughtie religion or elles made no religion at all Wherfore awaie with al soche which set not mans life in ordre but distrouble it For what teache thei or whom dooe thei instruct whiche can not teache them selues Whom can sieke men heale whom can blinde men guide Shall we tarie till Socrates knowe somewhat or Anaxagoras finde light in darkenesse or Democritus drawe trueth out of the wel or Empedocles dilate the pathes of his minde or Arcesilas and Carneades can see fele and perceiue Beholde a voice from heauen teachyng the trueth and shewyng a light brighter then the shinyng Sunne speaketh in the Bible openlie plainelie and certainelie Lette all therefore that care for verie wisedome come hither Will we hurt our selues and linger to take it You that will be wise and happie harken to the heauēlie voice learne Iesus Christe to be your iustice and in him to be laied vp all the treasure of Goddes high wisedome and science learne the misterie of your faieth and natiuitie despise worldly thinges loue heauenlie that after this miserable and wretched life you maie come to the ioie that is prepared for you A cōferring of the holie bokes with the prophan But the pleasant varietie of the prophane writers and their propre cast of teachyng dooeth moche delight theim Well go to Declare I praie you some of your gaie and goodlie colours Thei teache wisedome saie thei in pleasant and fine disputatiōs in swete dialoges and elegant epistles as dooeth Plato Aristotle Seneca In eloquent orations as Isocrates Cicero and Demosthenes in dilectable fables allegories as Homere and Virgil in sentences and Prouerbes bothe shorte and swete as the seuen sages of Grece Chrisippus also Diogenianus in notable histories as Herodotus Halicarnasseus Diodorus Siculus and Liuius Patauinus But if these great boasters of Gentile Aucthours were aswell accustomed to holie writinges as thei are to prophane thei had foūde lōg ere this in the Bible also those facions in teching of pleasant varietie whiche thei so merueile at in these deceiptful naughtie masters of error Thei praise the fine disputaciōs of philosophers touching Wisedome But Cicero in his first boke De oratore Though al mē rage ther at yet wil I saith he speake as I thinke By Hercules that one litle boke of the twelue tables if a man will see the groūdes and chiefe pointes of the lawe semeth to me bothe for their aucthoritie and profite farre to passe all that euer the Philosophers wrote And who knoweth not the ten preceptes of gods law to excede the .xij. tables a M. folde So then be these bosters of vaine philosophie neuer so angry yeat will I also saie that I thinke beleue to be true that one briefe treatise of the ten Commaundementes or boke of Deuteronomie touching the foundacion principall partes and effecte of the lawes farre to surmounte in grauitie and profite at the writinges of all the Phisosophers In the booke of Iob wise and Godlie menne dispute very finelie to whome if you compare the persones in Plato or Cicero you shall see in respecte thei bee right naught whiche Hierome also cōfessing saieth The booke of IOB determineth all matiers with Logiqual proposicion assumption confirmation and conclusion One Epistle of the moste eloquent Paule Peter and Ihon hathe in it more true holinesse and learning then all the Epistles of all the Philosophers Neither dooe wee lacke right excellent Oratours as Esaie Micheas Ioel Oseas with many other mo whiche haue left vnto vs moste profitable cunning and elegant oracions You merueile at the thundering woordes of Pericles the Eloquence of Demosthenes