The authority of the Scriptures is divine, hence we call them Sacred Writings. The writers of both the Old Testament and the New Testament were men choser by God, and were so elevated and guided by the Holy Spirit that they could not fall into error. Of this we find testimony even among the Jews. One of their greatest historians, Josephus Flavius, states, "It is perfectly plain and certain that we may repose full faith in our books, for, although a long time has elapsed since they were written, no man has dared to add anything to them, to take from them, or to alter them. It is, as it were, born with all Jews to consider these books as the word of God, to adhere faithfully to them and, if it becomes necessary, to die willingly for them."

That the Holy Scriptures are inspired by the Holy Ghost, and consequently are of divine import, has been testified by Jesus Christ and confirmed by His apostles; for they themselves appealed to them and taught expressly that they emanated from the Holy Ghost. Men, brethren," said St. Peter to the hundred and twenty disciples, "the Scripture must needs be fulfilled which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas" (Acts i. 16). Again the prince of the apostles writes, "Understanding this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is made by private interpretation. For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time, but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter i. 20, 21). The Fathers in all ages have taught the same truth. The holy Pope, St. Clement, says, "Read the Holy Scripture, for it is the expression of the Holy Ghost " (Epistle to the Corinthians). Irenæus says, writing against the heretics," The Holy Scripture is perfect, for it has been pronounced by the Holy Ghost."

Such was at all times the belief of the whole Catholic Church, which always considered and honored the Holy Scriptures as the divine treasury of its doctrines and laws. From the earliest times, too, the Church with decided care and solicitude has taught what books belong to Holy Writ and what do not. In this way the Church, in the long lapse of ages, has preserved the word of God pure and intact. Hence it is that today we honor as inspired the same books which the Council of Nice, in the year 325, declared to be such. In all this, too, the Church has been guided by the Spirit of God, who can not permit His teacher and representative on earth to fall into error.

Whoever would read the Sacred Scriptures for his own instruction and edification must be careful to obtain a correct translation as approved by the local Catholic authorities, a translation accompanied with notes explaining the most difficult passages. For in the Bible there are many things "hard to be understood," as St. Peter says, "and which the unlearned and the unstable wrest to their own destruction" (2 Peter iii. 16). Having taken such precautions the good Catholic may then read the Scriptures safely and profitably. The Church can never tolerate the doctrine that each individual may draw and arrange his faith for himself, for such a system is opposed, not only to the plain letter of the Holy Scriptures themselves, but also to the unity of belief, and, therefore, sullies and distorts the purity of Christ's doctrines.

It was not Luther who made the first translation of the Bible, as has been erroneously maintained by Protestants. Before he was born there were in circulation several editions of that holy Book, in various languages.

2. TRADITION.

Nature and Necessity of Tradition.

TRADITION embraces all those teachings concerning faith and morals imparted by Christ Himself, or by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, to the apostles, and which they preached orally although they did not commit them to writing.

Christ did not put His teachings into a written form, neither did He order the apostles to do so. He went about preaching and teaching (Matthew iv. 23). To His apostles He simply said, "Go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature. But they going forth preached everywhere, the Lord working withal, and confirming the word with signs that followed" (Mark xvi. 15, 20). It was preaching, therefore, that is, the verbal expounding of the doctrine of Jesus, which, in conformity to the will of God, was to be foundation for faith, and not simply written forms. If some of the apostles wrote a few pages, it was always done to meet certain exigencies and for some personal and local purpose, and not, by any means, with a view of giving even a summary or totality of the doctrines to be believed by all men unto salvation. This truth is explicitly laid down by St. John. He had written his Gospel later than the three other Evangelists, and partly with the intention to supply many things overlooked and omitted by them. Yet at the end of his work he said, Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His disciples, which are not written in this book. There are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written" (John xx. 30; xxi. 25).

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Thus it is not difficult to discover that the apostles, their disciples, and the faithful generally, never depended on any writing as the only and exclusive rule of faith. On the contrary, hear what St. Paul says of communication by word of mouth, or Tradition. Writing to Timothy, he exhorts: "Thou, therefore, my son, be strong. and the things which thou hast heard of me by many witnesses, the same command to faithful men who shall be fit to teach others also " (2 Timothy ii. 1, 2).

Moreover the Church of Christ could not have existed, nor would it exist to-day, if deprived of oral Tradition; for there was no written rule of faith for full ten years after the coming of the Holy Ghost. Then, too, Holy Writ is silent concerning many important doctrines, such as the number of the sacraments, their administration, the baptism of infants, the observance of Sunday instead of Saturday, the lawfulness of oaths, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and others. Again, doctrines mentioned in the Bible are not fully and satisfactorily explained. Necessarily the Holy Scriptures must be not only corroborated by Tradition, but also made clear and intelligible.

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The assumption that the Holy Scriptures are the only rule of faith from which every man must draw his belief, involves and produces countless absurd consequences. For instance, what is to become of those persons who cannot secure a copy of the Bible? fore the invention of printing, a modern event, such persons were counted by millions. Others can not read, and no man is sure that his translation is true and exact.

The recognition of Tradition as a source of belief when combined with the written word, is as ancient as the Catholic Church itself. Fathers of the apostolic

times, such as St. Ignatius and St. Polycarp, who lived in the first and second centuries, exhorted the Christians of their day to preserve faithfully their religious traditions and preachings. In the second century we find St. Irenæus complaining of the heretics, that they rejected Holy Scriptures and Tradition, although the latter had come from the apostles and had been sacredly preserved in the Church through all succeeding bishops. (Adv. Haer., 1, 3.) Beside these there are countless other testimonies to the same effect.

In the course of time these ancient oral traditions were gradually committed to writing by the Fathers and were carefully handed down in the Church from generation to generation.

Sources of Tradition.

The various sources whence ecclesiastical Tradition is drawn and then imparted by the Church-teaching, are, first, the decrees and definitions of Councils; secondly, the writings of the Fathers; thirdly, the recorded acts of martyrs and confessors; fourthly, the ancient books containing the history, teachings, and discipline of the Church; fifthly, the different rites, ceremonies, and prayers of the Church.

Whatever is laid down in these writings as universal doctrines of the Catholic Church, is, after the Sacred Scriptures, our second source of belief. Such it has

been, too, from the earliest times. As early as the fifth century St. Vincent of Lerins wrote, "We hold fast to that which has been believed by all, everywhere and in every age, for such is truly and undeniably Catholic.”