Book One: On the Sacred and Apocryphal Books
Chapter Fourteen: On Ecclesiasticus
The book of Ecclesiasticus, because from it many dogmas of the faith are clearly proved, is vehemently hated by Calvin: “Whence,” he says in his Antidote, “would they better derive their stimulus?” But he has nothing to object to it. We however on the contrary can confirm the authority of the book by many testimonies of the ancients. Clement of Alexandria Stromateis bk.7 near the end, citing Ecclesiasticus ch.4, speaks thus: “But following the Scriptures we confirm what has been said”. St. Cyprian bk.3 epist.9 citing ch.7 says, “But Solomon too, established in the Holy Spirit, testifies and says”. Epiphanius in the Heresy of the Anomoeans numbers among the sacred and divine books the Wisdom of Solomon and of Sirach, that is, Ecclesiasticus. From which we understand that the same Epiphanius, when he says in his book on Measures and Weights, that these books are not received, is speaking of the opinion of the Jews. Divine Ambrose On the Faith bk.4 ch.4 calls the words of Ecclesiasticus in ch.24 divine oracles. Blessed Augustine in his book to Orosius Against the Priscilllianists says, “Divine Scripture calls out: seek not what is too high for you, which is the opinion of our Ecclesiasticus”. Finally Clement and Cyprian in the cited places, Sixtus II in epist. to Gratus, Damasus in epist. to the bishops of Italy, Basil bk.4 Against Eunomius, Ambrose on ch.7 of I Corinthians, Jerome on ch.10 of Ecclesiastes, and Gregory Moralia bk.10 ch.14 not only cite this book but even attribute it to Solomon; now there never was any doubt but that the books of Solomon are to be held as canonical and divine. But Epiphanius in his Heresy of the Anomoeans and some other authors want Jesus Sirach to be the author of this book. I reply that it could easily have been the case that Jesus Sirach reduced to a single volume the opinions of Solomon he had diligently collected, so that both can be said to be the author.
Robert Bellarmine’s: Controversies of the Christian Faith – Volume 1: On the Word of God — HOME