I know that Jesus Christ is very God — but he was also very man; and his relation to his earthly parent could not possibly extend farther than his human nature. How can the woman Mary, highly favoured as she was, be the mother of the Eternal God? I am pained in my very soul to think that rational and professedly religious men can be guilty of this daring and outrageous blasphemy!

CHAPTER XVII.

Concerning Rules of Faith. (59.)

"A RULE of faith is here called some stable and perma nent principle, which applies to us an object of the Catholic faith, or by which the first revealing truth, and things divinely revealed to us are manifested, and infallibly known with sufficient credibility.

"But there are five rules of this kind, of which two are inanimate and three animate.

"The inanimate rules of faith contain the truths of the Catholic faith, in the manner of a deposit, and are Holy Scripture, and Divine Tradition.

"The animate rule of faith is that which declares to us the truths which God has revealed, so that it may propose them with sufficient authority, to be believed as it were by a divine faith; and it is threefold, viz. the Church, the general Council, and the Pope determining "ex-cathedra." The Gallicans deny that concerning the Pope; yet all admit that provisionally at least, we must abide by his decree.

"Concerning these things, we will treat in order, but briefly: Bellarmine, Sylvius in his Treatise concerning the Controversies of the faith, and others discuss the same at large.

Concerning Holy Scripture. (60.)

"Holy Scripture is usually designated by various names; by way of eminence, it is called simply Scripture, also the

Bible, Sacred Writ, and the Testament of God, also the word, &c. of God.

"What is Holy Scripture?

"It is the written word of God, God inspiring and dictating it.

"The word of God is divided into written, and unwritten, or into Holy Scripture, and divine Tradition. Concerning Tradition, we shall treat hereafter.

"Has the Holy Scripture been dictated by God, not only as to matter and sentences, but also as to each word, letter, point, &c.?

"Ans. Yes; and it is proved from 2 Tim. iii. 16. ‘All Scripture divinely inspired;' also from 2 Pet. i. 21. For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time; but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost;' and Matt. v. 18. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law till all be fulfilled.'

"This also conduces to the greater dignity and authority of Scripture: nor do we otherwise sufficiently understand, how the Holy Fathers can testify that the tongues and hands of the Sacred writers, and the writers themselves were the pens and amanuenses of the Holy Spirit; also that each word, syllable, and point in the Scriptures are full of import.

"Does it concern the essence of Holy Scripture, that it has been dictated by God, as to single words?

"Ans. The affirmative opinion is the more common; because Holy Scripture is the word of God; but that which has not been dictated by God, is not the word of God; therefore if some words were not dictated by God, they do not belong to Holy Scripture.

Concerning this thing more is to be seen in the censures and justification of Lovanian, and Duacensian Doctors, against these three assertions of Lessius, of which the first is; that in order that something be Scripture, it is not necessary that every word of it should have been inspired by the Holy Spirit.

"The second: It is not necessary that the single truths and sentences were inspired into the writer himself, immediately by the Holy Spirit.

"The third: Any book (such as perhaps the second of

Machabees, is) written by human industry, without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, is made Scripture, if the Holy Spirit afterwards testifies that there is nothing false there.

"Obj. I. Therefore our vulgate is not Holy Scripture; because it was not dictated by the Holy Spirit as to single words.

"Ans. I admit our vulgate, (i. e.) that version was not dictated as to single words: I deny that it was not dictated as to single words in its fountain, or in the original, whence our vulgate has been translated, and with which it is considered the same.

"Whence remark, that the question is understood concerning the original, not concerning translations into other tongues, except in so far as by agreement with the original, they are considered the same with it, as to authority, infallibility and equivalence of truth and doctrine: and thus our vulgate is called, and is equivalently Holy Scripture, because the Church in the Council of Trent. Sess. 4. declared our vulgate to be authentic.

"Obj. II. The diversity of amanuenses does not make a diversity of style, if the same one is dictating; but the style of the sacred books which were written by divers individuals is different; therefore the same person was not dictating.

"Ans. I deny the inference; because God in dictating chose to accommodate himself to the mind and condition of the writers, suggesting such words as were familiar to each; and thus directing them, as if they had written by his (mind.)

"Hence Solecisms and other defects of writing are not to be imputed to the dictating spirit, but to the writer; almost in a similar way as if a good writer had made use of a defective pen, the defect of the writing would be imputed to the pen, not to the writer.

"Obj. III. The author of the second book of Machabees, xv. 39, begs pardon, if he has not written the history with sufficient dignity and propriety. (If I have done well, and as it becometh the history, it is what I desired; but if not so perfectly, it must be pardoned me,') and ii. 24., he confesses himself the abbreviator of Jason the Cyrenian. ('All such things as have been comprised in five books by Jason of Cyrene, we have attempted to abridge in one book ;') the

same says, V. 27, that he had undertaken not an easy task, but a business full of watching and sweat, ('and as to ourselves, indeed, in undertaking this work of abridging, we have taken in hand no easy task, yea, rather a business full of watching and sweat;') but all these things could not be said by him to whom all and every word had been divinely given by inspiration; therefore, &c.

"Ans. As to the first point, the reason has already been given. As for the second, nothing is said to hinder that the Holy Spirit should select some things from books written by human skill, and cause them to be written down by some one to whom he may dictate the single items. To the third, the answer is given, that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit does not exclude the labour and study of inquiry; for the writers were so moved in writing that they moved themselves: indeed it might be concealed from them, that they were in this manner moved by God; in the same way as it was concealed from Caiaphas, that he prophesied by divine suggestion, John xi. 50. Neither do you consider that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not,' to which the Evangelist subjoins, 51. And this he spoke not of himself; but being the high priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation.'

6

“Obj. IV. One and the same voice of God the Father, uttered at the baptism of Christ, is related in different words by different writers; by Matthew iii. 17. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,' and by Mark i. 11. 'Thou art my beloved son, in thee I am well pleased,' therefore, &c.

“Ans. I deny the inference: the reason is, because that voice of the father is alleged only in a relative sense; he who relates the words of another is supposed merely to relate their substance; but Holy Scripture is the peculiar and immediate word of God, in the positive sense, and therefore it ought to be such as to single words."

The divine inspiration of the Scriptures is a doctrine which is dear to every Christian. We believe that “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost,” and that, thus, the Bible was prepared by the direct sugges

tion of God; and we know that it is a revelation of his will, from evidence which none of its adversaries can ever gainsay. The heavenly sentiments which the Scriptures contain; the spirituality of their design; the majestic simplicity of their style; the artless and disinterested candour of the writers; their harmony in innumerable instances in which collusion was impossible; the wonderful power of the doctrines of Scripture on the hearts and consciences of men of every rank, condition, and country; their astonishing preservation; the multitude of miracles wrought to confirm them, and the exact fulfilment of their predictions up to this hour, sufficiently prove the Scriptures to be indeed the word of the living God. Whether this inspiration is in the most absolute sense, plenary, or entire, has been, and still is a disputed point. Whilst all evangelical Christians insist upon. the inspiration of the doctrines, sentiments, &c. of the Bible; there are some, who contend that the divine superintendence extended only to them, and not to the language in which they are clothed.

Paul affirms that he and the other apostles spoke not "in the words, which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;" and a little reflection will suffice to show the importance of a proper selection of these words. We know how easily the beauty and efficacy of a discourse may be marred by impropriety of language; if then, the sacred writers had not been directed in the choice of words, is it not certain, as many of them were illiterate men, that they would have expressed themselves inaccurately, and consequently have obscured and misrepresented the truth? How then could our faith rest securely on their testimony? We must infer, therefore, that the words of Scripture are from God, as well as the matter. Nor can we recede from this conclusion, on account of the verbal discrepancies, to be found in some texts of Scripture, which contain a repetition of what is asserted in other passages, though it be expressly