of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.'-Luke iv. 18, 19. The same words are to be found in the prophecy of Isaiah lxi. 1, 2. There is not on record a more palpable proof than this, of the sanction given by Jesus Christ to the scriptures; and which he declared, this day fulfilled in' their 'ears,' &c.

I have already extended this part of my letter beyond my proposed limits, or I would quote to you our Lord's reference to the widow of Sarepta, to Moses and the prophets, in the parable of Dives, &c. &c., at length; but that you may the better comprehend what is my belief as to the scriptures being perfect in themselves, I transcribe the articles of our religion thereto referring.* Holy scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.'

* Articles of Religion vi. and vii. Vide Common Prayer Book.

"In the name of the holy scripture we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the church. Of the names and number of the canonical books:

"And the other books,' I would have you

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remark, that the church doth not apply them

to establish any doctrine ;* such are these following: The third and fourth books of Esdras, Tobias, Judith, rest of the book of Esther, the book of Wisdom, Jesus the son of Sirach, Baruch the prophet, Song of the Three Children, Story of Susanna, Of Bel and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manasses, 1 and 2 of Maccabees. All the books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them canonical.' Further, the Evangelists, or any of the writers of the New Testament, make no mention of the Song of the Three Children, iii. and iv. of Esdras, St. Barnabas' Epistle, the Book of Hermos, additions at the end of the Book of Job, Psalm cli., Jobit, Judith, &c. &c.

"For ages the christian churches did not hear of these books. Origen, Athanasius, Hilary, Cyril of Jerusalem, reject them. Josephus and Philo speak not of them, which goes to prove that even the Jews did not

*This essential difference is thus noticed by Dr. Mant, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor, in his able and excellent work, "The Churches of Rome and England compared."

accept the above writings as the canon of scripture. You will find also that Bellarmine and others avow, and of these Gregory, afterwards Gelasius, speaking of the Maccabees, saith, They are written for edification, though they be not canonical, and that they were not acknowledged by the Jews, being written after Malachi, the last of the prophets.' Jerome saith, (Hierom praef. in proverbia,) The church indeed readeth these books, but receiveth them not amongst canonical scripture.' But it is not only the books termed apocryphal that the Church of Rome superadds to the scriptures, as a rule of faith. From a multiplicity of traditions alone, does she glean her authority for many of her tenets. It is evident that whatever is derived from tradition, in place of the infallible word of God, must be submissive to a variety of interpretation, likewise to contradiction and addition, even to such an extent as entirely to subvert, and altogether nullify, what originally might have had some semblance to truth. For instance, the doctrine of the mass. I would have you attentively to peruse the

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discourse of Georgius di Ataide, a Portuguese divine, present at the Council of Trent, (lib. vi.) who affirmed that the mass, as a sacrifice, was upheld alone by apostolical' tradition: But this true and solid foundation is weakened,' said he, by those who would build in the air, seeking to find in the scriptures that which is not there, giving occasion to the adversaries to calumniate the truth, while they see it grounded on such an unstable sand.' Either, then, we must admit, with this divine, that the force of apostolical tradition is more than sufficient to make articles of faith, as,' said he, this Council (Trent) hath maintained from the beginning,' or we must reject the doctrines of the mass as a sacrifice, prayers to the saints, purgatory, communion in one kind, transubstantiation, &c. &c.

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"I particularly recommend, further, to your serious and impartial attention, the discussion in the Council of Trent, respecting traditions, lib. ii. The arguments in their favour are unstable, and appear to me wholly untenable. Receiving tradition as of equal