‘gave my opinion, I should say that the thoughts are those of the Apostle, but the phrasing and composition are those of some one who remembered what the teacher had said. If then any church holds this Epistle to be Paul’s, let it be commended for this. For not without reason (εἰκῆ) have our predecessors (οἱ ἀρχαῖοι ἄνδρες) handed it down as Paul’s. But who wrote the Epistle, in truth God knows. The account that has reached us is, that some say it was written by Clement who became bishop of the Romans, while others ascribed it to Luke, the author of the Gospel and Acts.”
Unsatisfactory as such a decision was, the idea that the Epistle was Paul’s generally! prevailed over the whole Church, so that from the fifth century to the reformation, there were few who took the trouble to inquire. The conversion of the Latin Church to this opinion was mainly due to the influence of Augustine and Jerome. The formule under which the latter writer cited the Epistle reveal his personal dubiety. ‘‘ The Epistle which, under the name of Paul, is written to the Hebrews.” ‘He who writes to the Hebrews.” “The Apostle Paul, or whoever else wrote the Epistle to the Heb- rews.” “The Apostle Paul in the Epistle to Hebrews, which the Latin custom does not receive.” He mentions that the Greek writers accept it as Paul’s, although many ascribe it either to Barnabas or Clement.2 It would apparently, have taken little to persuade Jerome that the latter opinion was well-grounded, for he had himself noticed a striking similarity between the Epistle of Clement and that to the Hebrews.2 In short, we find that Jerome acted in regard to this Epistle on the principle he carried through his formation of the Vul- gate canon, the principle that it was better to include than to exclude a good book and that prevalent opinion must be allowed a great weight.
Instructive also is Augustine’s treatment of the Epistle. Some- times he reckons it among Paul’s, sometimes he cites it anonymously [‘“‘epistola quae ad Hebraeos inscribitur,” or “est’’]; sometimes he calls attention to the doubts entertained regarding it by others, but professes that for his part he is moved by the authority of the Eastern Churches. The facile and uncritical spirit of the time is conspicuous in the manner in which the councils of North Africa dealt with this
1 For exceptions in the Western Church, see Westcott On the Canon, p. 401.
Σε Licet plerique eam vel Barnabae vel Clementis arbitrentur,” Ep. ad. Dardanum.
3««Clemens scripsit . . . utilemepistolam .. . quae mihi videtur characteri epistolae, quae sub Pauli nomine ad Hebraeos fertur, convenire,” De Vir. Illus, ο 15.