hich the earliest
fathers attributed to the Scriptures can only be conjectured; it is
certain that they believed the Old Testament books to be a _divine_ and
_infallible guide_. But the New Testament was not so considered till
towards the close of the second century when the conception of a Catholic
Church was realized. The latter collection was not called _Scripture_, or
put on a par with the Old Testament as _sacred_ and _inspired_, till the
time of Theophilus of Antioch (about 180 A.D.) Hence, Irenaeus applies the
epithets _divine_ and _perfect_ to the Scriptures; and Clement of
Alexandria calls them _inspired_.

When distinctions were made among the Biblical writings other words(18)
were employed, synonymous with "canonized."(19) The canon was thus a
catalogue of writings forming a rule of truth, sacred, divine, revealed by
God for the instruction of men. The rule was perfect for its purpose.

The word apocryphal(20) is used in various senses, which it is difficult
to trace chronologically. Apocryphal books are,--

1st, Such as contain _secret_ or _mysterious_ things, books of the higher
wisdom. It is thus applied to the Apocalypse by Gregory of Nyssa.(21) Akin
to this is the second meaning.

2nd, Such as were _kept secret_ or withdrawn from public use. In this
sense the word corresponds to the Hebrew _ganuz_.(22) So Origen speaking
of the story of Susanna. The opposite of this is _read in public_,(23) a
word employed by Eusebius.(24)

3rd, It was used of the secret books of the heretics by Clement(25) and
Origen,(26) with the accessory idea of _spurious_,
_pseudepigraphical_,(27) in opposition to the canonical writings of the
Catholic Church. The book of Enoch and similar productions were so
characterized.(28)

4th, Jerome applied it to the books in the Septuagint which are absent
from the Hebrew canon, _i.e._, to the books which were _read_ in the
church, the _ecclesiastical_ ones(29) occupying a rank next to the
canonical. In doing so he had respect to the corresponding Hebrew epithet.
This was a misuse of the word _apocryphal_, which had a prejudicial effect
on the character of the books in after-times.(30) The word, which he did
not employ in an injurious sense, was adopted from him by Protestants
after the Reformation, who gave it perhaps a sharper distinction than he
intended, so as to imply a contrast somewhat disparaging to writings which
were publicly read in many churches and put beside the canonica