Some of the uncanonical books, however, had not been extant more than 13o years at most at the Christian era, and could only have obtained a place in the Greek Scriptures a short time before this period; but the only copies of the Scriptures in existence for the first 30o years after Christ, either among the Jews or Christians of Greece, Italy, or Africa, contained these books without any mark of distinction that we know of. The Hebrew Bible and language were quite unknown to them during this period, and the most learned were probably but ill-informed on the subject, at least before Jerome's translation of the Scriptures from the original Hebrew. The Latin versions before his time were all made from the Septua gint. We do not, indeed, find any catalogue of these writings before the Council of Hippo, but only individual notices of separate books. Thus Clement of Alexandria (Stromata, A. D. 211), cites the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus, and Origen refers to several of these books, treat ing them with a high degree of veneration.
(3) Council of Hippo. The local Council of Hippo, held in the year of Christ 393, at which the celebrated Augustine, afterward Bishop of Hippo, was present, formed a catalogue of the sacred books of the Old and New Testament, in which the ecclesiastical books were all included. They are inserted in the following order in its 36th canon, viz.: 'That nothing be read in the church besides the Canonical Scriptures. Under the name of Canonical Scriptures are reckoned Genesis, Ex odus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of Kings, Remains, Job, Psalms of David, five books of Solomon, twelve books of the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Tobit,. Judith, Hesther, Esdras, two books, Maccabees 2 books.' (For the books of the New Testament, see ANTILEGOHENA.) (4) Council of Carthage. The third Council of Carthage, generally believed to have been held in 397, at which Aurelius, bishop of Carthage, pre sided, and at which Augustine was present, con sisting in all of forty-four bishops, adopted the same catalogue, which was confirmed at the fourth Council of Carthage. held in the year 419.
(5) Roman Council. The next catalogue is that of the Roman Council, drawn up by Pope Gelasius and seventy bishops. The genuineness of the acts of this council has been questioned by Pearson, Cave and the two Basnages, but vindi cated by Pagi and Jeremiah Jones. The catalogue is identical with the preceding, except in the order of the books.
(6) Alexandrian Manuscripts. Some of the most important manuscripts of the Holy Scrip tures which have descended to us were written soon after this period. The very ancient Alexan drian MS. now in the British Museum contains the following books in the order which we here give them, together with the annexed catalogue: 'Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deute ronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth,-8 books. King doms, 4; Remains, 2,-6 hooks. t6 Prophets, viz., Hosea, i; Amos, 2; Micah, 3; Joel, 4; Obadiah, 5; Jonah, 6; Nahum, 7; Ambacum, 8; Zephaniah, 9; Haggai, to; Zechariah, ii; Malachi, 12; Isaiah, 13; Jeremiah, 14; Ezekiel, t5; Daniel, 16. Esther; Tobit; Judith; Ezra, 2; Maccabees, 4; Psalter and Hymns; Job; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Canti cles; Wisdom; Wisdom of Jesus Sirach; 4 Gos pels; Acts, 1; 7 Catholic Epistles; 14 Epistles of Paul; Revelation; 2 Epistles of Clement, together
. . . books; Psalms of Solomon.' These books are equally incorporated in all the manu scripts of the Latin Vulgate (which was originally translated from the Septuagint). Those which Jerome did not translate from the Hebrew or Greek, as Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, were adopted from the older Latin version.
Although the Canon of Scripture seemed now to be so far settled by the decrees of these Coun cils, all did not conceive themselves bound by them, and it is observed by Jahn (Introd.) that they were not otherwise to be understood than 'that the ecclesiastical books enumerated in this catalogue were to be held as useful for the edifica tion of the people, but not to be applied to the confirmation of doctrines of faith.' Such appears at least to have been the sentiment of many emi nent divines between this period and the sixteenth century.
2. Period of the Reformation. Wcarenow arrived at the period of the Reformation when the question of the Canon of Scripture was warmly discussed.
(1) Wycliffe's Translation. Long before this period (viz., in 138o). Wycliffe had published his translation of the Bible, in which he substituted another prologue for Jerome's; wherein, after enumerating the 'twenty-five' books of the He brew Canon, he adds: 'Whatever book is in the Old Testament, besides these twenty-five, shall be set among the Apocrypha, that is., without authority of belief.' Ile also, in order to distin guish the Hebrew text from the Greek interpola tions, inserted Jerome's notes, rubricated, into the body of the text.
(2) Luther's Bible. Although Martin Luther commenced the publication of his translation of the Bible in 1522. yet. as it was published in parts, he had not yet made any distinction between the two classes of books, when Loniccr published his edition of the Greek Septuagint at Strasburg in 1526, in which he separated the Deutero canonical, or Apocryphal, books from those of the Jewish Canon, for which he was severely castigated by Morinus. (Sec Marsh's edition of Le Long's Hibliathcca lliblica, vol. ii, p. 268). Arias Montanus went still further, and rejected them altogether. In 1534 the complete edition of Luther's Bible appeared, wherein those books which Jerome had placed inter apocrypha were separated, and placed by themselves between the Old and New Testament. under the title 'Apocry pha—that is, books which are not to Le consid ered as equal to I loly Scripture, and yet are use ful and good to read.' (3) Council of Trent. A few years after, the divines of the Council of Trent assembled. and among the earliest subjects of their deliberation was the Canon of Scripture. 'The Canon of Augustine,' says Bishop Marsh, 'continued to be the Canon of the ruling party. But as there were not wanting persons, especially among the learned, who from time to dine reconmiended the Canon of Jerome, it was necessary for the Council of Trent to decide between the contending parties' (Comparative I'i,'w, p. 97). The Tridentine Fathers had consequently a nice and difficult question to determine.