exhort all persons to be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power, in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith they may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one, and the helmet of salvation with the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.' Therefore, that his its pious care may, both in its commencement and its progress, enjoy the favour of God, it hath appointed and decreed, that before, all things, confession of faith be made; following in this the examples of the fathers, who were accustomed, in their sacred councils, at the very beginning of their proceedings, to hold up this shield against all heresies; by which means alone they have not unfrequently drawn infidels to the faith, confuted heretics, and confirmed believers. Wherefore, the council hath thought proper to recite in that form of words which is read in all churches, the confession of faith adopted by the holy Roman church, which contains the first principles in which all who profess the faith of Christ necessarily agree, and is the firm and only foundation, against which the gates of hell shall never prevail. It is as follows:

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. God of God; Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and became incarnate by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate,

and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of the Father; and he is to come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. And one Holy, catholic, and apostolic church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen."

FOURTH SESSION HELD ON APRIL 8, 1546.

Decree of the Canon of Scripture.

The sacred, holy, œcumenical and general council of Tient, lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, the three before-mentioned legates of the apostlic see presiding therein; bearing constantly in view the removal of error and the preservation of the purity of the gospel in the church, which gospel, promised before by the prophets in the sacred Scriptures, was first orally published by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who afterwards commanded it to be preached by his apostles to every creature, as the source of all saving truth and discipline; and perceiving that this truth and discipline are contained both in written books and in unwritten traditions, which have come down to us, either received by the apostles, from the lip of Christ himself, or transmitted by the hands of the same apostles, under the dictation of the Holy Spirit; following the example

of the orthodox fathers, doth receive and reverence, with equal piety and veneration all the books, as well of the Old as of the New Testament, the same God being the author of both-and also the aforesaid traditions, pertaining both to faith and manners, whether received from Christ himself, or dictated by the Holy Spirit, and preserved in the catholic church by continual succession. Moreover, lest any doubt should arise respecting the sacred books which are received by the council, it has been judged proper to insert a list of them in the present decree.

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They are these: of the OLD TESTAMENT, the five books of Moses,-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; four books of Kings; two books of Chronicles; the first and second of Esdras, the latter is called Nehemiah; Tobit; Judith; Esther; Job; the Pslams of David, in number 150; the Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; the Song of Songs; Wisdom; Ecclesiasticus; Isaiah; Jeremiah, with Baruch; Ezekiel; Daniel; the twelve minor Prophets,-Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obediah Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; and two books of Maccabees, the first and second. Of the NEW TESTAMENT, the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; the Acts of the Apostles written by the Evangelist Luke; fourteen epistles of the Apostle Paul,-to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, and to the Hebrews; two of the Apostle Peter; three of the Apostle John; one of the Apostle

James; one of the Apostle Jude; and the Revelation of the Apostle John. Whoever shall not receive, as sacred and canonical, all those books and every part of them, as they are commonly read in the Catholic Church, and are contained in the old Vulgate Latin edition, or shall knowingly and deliberately despise the aforesaid traditions: let him be accursed. The foundation being thus laid in the confession of faith all may understand the manner in which the council intends to proceed, and what proofs and authorities will be principally used in establishing doctrine and restoring order in the church.

DECREE OF THE EDITION AND USE OF THE SACRED BOOKS.

“Moreover, the same most holy council, considering that no small advantage will accrue to the church of God, if of all the Latin editions of the Sacred Book which are in circulation, some one shall be distinguished as that which ought to be regarded as authentic- doth ordain and declare, that the same old and Vulgate edition, which has been approved by its use in the church for so many ages shall be held as authentic, in all public lectures, disputations, sermons, and expositions; and that no one shall dare or presume to reject it, under any pretence whatsoever.

"In order to restrain petulant minds, the council further decrees, that in matters of faith and morals, and whatever relates to the maintenance of Christian doctrine, no one, confiding in his own judgment, shall dare to wrest the sacred Scriptures to his own sense of them, contrary to that which hath

been held and still is held by holy mother church, whose right it is to judge of the true meaning and interpretation of Sacred Writ; or contrary to the unanimous consent of the fathers; even though such interpretations should never be published. If any disobey, let him be denounced by the ordinaries, and punished according to law.

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Being desirous also, as is reasonable, of setting bounds to the printers, who, with unlimited boldness, supposing themselves at liberty to do as they please, print editions of the Holy Scriptures with notes and expositions taken indifferently from any writer, without the permission of their ecclesiastical superiors, and that at a concealed or falselydesignated press, and, which is worse, without the name of the author-and also rashly expose books of this nature to sale in other countries; the holy council decrees and ordains, that for the future the sacred Scriptures, and especially the old Vulgate edition, shall be printed in the most correct manner possible; and no one shall be permitted to print, or cause to be printed any books relating to religion without the name of the author; neither shall any one hereafter sell such books, or even retain them in his possession, unless they have been first examined and approved by the ordinary, under penalty of anathema, and the pecuniary fine adjudged by the last council of Lateran. And if they be regulars, they shall obtain, besides this examination and approval, the license of their superiors, who shall examine the books according to the forms of their statutes. Those who circulate or publish them in manuscript without being examined and approved, shall be liable to the same penal