# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1884_S70
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

68 Proceedings of the tenth convention

Hieron. XIX [LXXXII]. Cf. opp. ed. a Benedictin. Tom. II, p. 251 sq.) Luther, who repeatedly cites these words, makes at one place the following highly characteristic remark: "That only no pious, fine man would write me such letters and ask me not to regard my books as equal to the books of the apostles and prophets, as St. Augustine writes to St. Jerome! I should be ashamed to death." (On Councils and Churches. XVI, 2636.)

Where are the people now who would be ashamed to death if one had to tell them: You put books of men on a level with the books of the apostles and prophets? On the contrary, they become furious at such a reproach.

How Augustine stood with regard to Cyprian is shown by the following words: "We do Cyprian no wrong when we distinguish between all his writings and the canonical authority of the divine Scriptures." (Remarkable! The books inspired by the Holy Spirit were called canonical, but canon means rule, plumb-line. By this the old church indicated that other books are not canonical, and that one is therefore not to direct oneself by them as the rule of faith. The old church says expressly: we have only One canon. But our opponents say, with their appeal to the fathers, in effect: the writings of the dogmaticians are, after all, a little bit canonical too. But no! they are indeed witnesses, but not canons, but are regulated by Scripture.) "For not without cause has the ecclesiastical canon been fixed with such salutary care, to which certain books of the prophets and apostles belong, which we dare in no way to judge, and by which we are to judge freely the remaining writings of both believers and unbelievers. . . In your writing you adduce words of Cyprian from his letter to Jubaianus, in order to prove thereby that it was his opinion that those who had been baptized in a sect or schism must be baptized in the orthodox church. I do not consider myself bound by the authority of this letter, because I do not hold Cyprian's writings to be canonical, but judge them by the canonical ones, and what in them agrees with the authority of the divine Scriptures I accept with his praise, but what does not agree with it I reject, without wishing to do him wrong." (However high the respect and great the love and reverence that Augustine had for Cyprian: if he departed from Scripture, he would not let himself be moved by his authority to blind assent, but placed him under Scripture, yet without making him a heretic for his error. So also we. We would not give up the dogmaticians for any money or goods, so dear and valuable are they to us. But where they depart from Scripture, there we renounce them. Let no one believe, for God's sake, that this happens from shameful conceit, and as if we