The canon was a work of divine providence, because history, in a religious view, necessarily implies the fact. It was a work of inspiration, because the agency of the Holy Spirit has always been with the people of God as a principle influencing their life. It was not, however, the result of a _special_ or _peculiar_ act of divine inspiration at any one time, but of a gradual illuminating process, shaped by influences more or less active in the divine economy. The canonical authority of Scripture does not depend on any church or council. The early church may be cited as a _witness_ for it; that is all. Canonical authority lies in Scripture itself, and is inherent in the books so far as they contain a declaration of the divine will. Hence, there is truth in the statement of old theologians that the authority of Scripture is from God alone. It was the early church indeed that made the canon, selecting the books which appeared to have been written by apostles or apostolic men, and carrying over to them authority from alleged authenticity more than internal value. But the latter is the real index of authority; and God is the fountain from whom spiritual endowments proceed.(391) The _canonicity_ of the books is a distinct question from that of their _authenticity_. The latter is a thing of historic criticism; the former of doctrinal belief. Their ecclesiastical authority rests on outward attestation; their normal, on faith and feeling. FOOTNOTES 1 κανών. _ 2 Zur Geschichte des Kanons_, pp 3-68. 3 Clement. Hom. _ap. Coteler_, vol. i. p. 608. _ 4 Stromata_, vi. 15, p. 803, ed. Potter. _ 5 Adv. Hæres._, i. 95. _ 6 Ap._ Euseb. H. E., v. 24. _ 7 De præscript. Hæreticorum_, chs. 12, 13. _ 8 Comment._ in _Mat._ iii. p. 916; ed. Delarue. 9 γραφαὶ κανόνος. _ 10 Monumenta vetera ad Donatistarum historiam petinentia_, ed. Dupin, p. 168. 11 κανών. 12 At the end of the _Iambi ad Seleucum_, on the books of the New Testament, he adds, οὐτος ἀψευδέστατος κανὼν ἄν εἴη τῶν θεοπνεύστων γραφῶν. _ 13 Prologus galeatus_ in ii. Reg. _ 14 Expos. in Symb. Apost._, 37, p. 374, ed. Migne. 15 κανονικός. 16 ἰδιωτικός and ἀκανόνιστος. 17 Κανονιζόμενα. 18 Such as ἐνδιάθηκα, ὡρισμένα. 19 κανονιζόμενα or κεκανονισμένα. 20 ἀπόκρυφος. _ 21 Orat. de Ordin._, vol. ii. p. 44. 22 גנז. The Jews applied the word _genuzim_ to books withdrawn from public use, whose contents were thought to be out of harmony with the doctrinal or moral views of Judaism when the canon was closed. See Fürst’s _Der Kanon des alten Testaments_, p. 127, note; and Geiger’s _Urschrift_, p. 201. 23 δεδημοσιευμένα. 24 H. E. Il. 23, III. 3-16. _ 25 Stromata_, lib. iii. p. 1134, ed. Migne. _ 26 Prolog. ad Cant., opp._, vol. iii. p. 36. 27 νόθος, ψευδεπίγραφος. 28 See Suicer’s _Thesaurus_, _s.v._ 29 Βιβλία ἀναγινωσκόμενα, libri ecclesiastici.