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Those books may be extremely useful for our own instruction, but they are worse than useless if we are in conflict with a Romish controversialist; if we wish to be strong on such an occasion we must appeal to the “ipsissima verba” of some authoritative document, such as the decrees of the Council of Trent, or the Creed of Pope Pius IV. 

In order to be admitted into the clerical caste and have holy hands laid upon his youthful head he must believe or profess to believe, ipsissima verba, just what the “Confession” and “Catechism” contain.

To the modern mind such a use of Scripture is unwarrantable and seems to imply essential indifference to its real value, but in Clement and his contemporaries it is not inconsistent with—indeed, it is indicative of—a high sense of the value of Scripture as the ipsissima verba of God.

One of the Aramaic words, which the church cherished from the first as the ipsissima verba of Jesus, was Abba.

Indeed, in respect of the ipsissima verba of Scripture, the evidence of Versions in other languages must be precarious in a high degree.