iii., without qualification or sign of misgiving, as may be
seen in the quotations given in the chapter on 'Early Christian
Literature,' p. 76 _sqq._ Loisy's contention is a noticeable one (_A.T._
p. 236), "Presque tous les auteurs catholiques, anciens et modernes, qui
ont emis des reserves touchant l'autorit?© des deutero-canoniques, ont
regard?©s ces livres comme inspir?©s. Ils ne les croyaient pas bons pour
?©tablir le dogme; mais cela est parfaitement compatible avec
l'inspiration, attendu qu'un livre peut-??tre inspir?© sans ??tre
dogmatique, et que s'il n'est pas dogmatique par son contenu il ne
saurait regler le dogme." But this contention savours somewhat of clever
special pleading in order to evade the force of opposing evidence.
Loisy, however, for a Roman Catholic, is a wonderfully frank and fair
writer on these matters.
The explanation of the early mixture of non-canonical books with
canonical, by reason of their having been kept as separate papyrus rolls
in the same chest (Swete's _Introd._ p. 225), seems not an unlikely one
in the case of independent works such as Judith or Wisdom.
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