Martin Luther took upon himself to expunge from
the canon of inspired books those of the Old Testa-
ment called deutero-canonical. In his prefaces to
these books he gives at length his opinion as to their
character and authority. The result was that they
were published as "Apocrypha," or books profitable
for pious reading, but no part of the sacred text, be-
cause not inspired by the Holy Spirit. The catalogue
in the edition of 1534 gives as "Apocrypha" Judith,
Wisdom, Tobias, Ecclesiasticus, th^ two books of
Machabees, parts of Esther, parts of Daniel, and
the Prayer of Manasses.
From the canon of the New Testament he also re-
jects the Epistle to the Hebrews ; the Epistle of St.
James, which he says is unworthy of the apostle ;
the Epistle of St. Jude, and the Apocalypse. These
he placed at the end of his translation, after the
others which he called ' ' the true and certain capital
books of the New Testament." Of the Epistle to
the Hebrews he says : "It is certainly not by an
apostle, and is not to be placed on the same foot-
ing with the apostolic writings." "The Epistle of



84 Third Lecture.
St. James is one of straw. I do not hold it to be liis
writing, and I cannot place it among tlie capital
books."

" The Epistle of St. Jude is indisputably an extract
or abstract from the Second Epistle of St. Peter. It
cannot be ranked among books which ought to lay
the foundation of faith." *

These disputed books of the New Testament were
called the ''Antilegomina," and were placed in an.
