Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.

ÞE GOSPEL ON NATIVYTE AND CONSEPCIOUN DAIES OF OURE LADI; AND ON CRISTEMASSE NYȜT BIFORE TE DEUM.

[SERMON CXVII.]

Liber generacionis.—MATT. i. [I.]

ÞIS gospel telliþ þe gendrure bi which Crist cam of Jewes. For he cam of his modir, and she and Joseph weren of oo kynne. Matheu [So E; Mathu, A.] was tauȝt of God to write þus þis booke, and in þre fourtenes to eende þus þis gendrure. He takiþ two bigynneris, Daviþ and Abraham; for to þes two was speciali Jesus Goddis Sone bihiȝt. Daviþ was putt bifore for worshipe and acordaunce, alȝif Abraham was bifore and brouȝte forþ holi kynredis. Abraham gat Isaac, and Isaac gat Jacob; Jacob gat Judas and his oþer breþeren, And þes þre patriarchis weren þree holi men. Of þes twelve Jacobis sones Judas was þe beste; neiþer þe firste, ne þe last, but cam of his first wyf. And of him tolde Jacob þat Crist shulde come. Judas gat Phares and Zaram of Thamar. Þis Phares and Zaram weren boþe getun togidere; and þis Thamar was not þe firste wyf of Judas. Phares gat Esrom, and Esrom gat Aram; Aram gat Amynadab, and Amynadab gat Nasoun; Naasoun gat Salomoun, and Salomoun gat Booz, of a womman þat was Raab [þat hiȝte Raab, E.] , þe which was an alien, and helpide mouche Jewes; Booz gat Obeth of Ruth, þat was an alien; Obeþ gat Gesse, and Gesse gat Daviþ þe king. And in þis firste fourtene ben aliens and synful folk, for Crist wolde save aliens and oþer synful men. Daviþ þe laste of þes fourtene is clepid a kyng; for God made him kyng; and bifore þis Daviþ weren patriarkes and jugis, and no kyngis of Jewis, as Goddis lawe telliþ. Saul was þe firste kyng of Jewis bifore Daviþ, but he was a wickide man, and Crist cam not of him.

Daviþ gat Salomon of hir þat was Uryus [Uries, E.] wyf; Salomon gat Roboam, and Roboam gat Abias; Abias gat Asa, and Aza gat

Josephat; Josephat gat Joram, and Joram gat Osias; Josias [Osias, E.] gat Joathan, and Joathan gat Achaz; Achaz gat Ezechie, and Ezechie gat Manassas; Manasses gat Amon, and Amon gat Jose; Jose [Josy, E.] gat Jeconie, and oþir breþeren whanne þei weren taken to Babiloyne, bi werre of þe kyng. Þis is þe toþir fourtene þat Matheu telliþ, and leeveþ here foure kyngis wiþouten liynge. For he þat bigetiþ a sone bigetiþ his sones sone; and so foure kingis weren left [The four kings left out are— Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, and Elia|kim. See the note on the subject in Dean Alford's Greek Testament.] , soþli for greet cause.

And whanne þes kyngis weren ceessid of worship of þer kyngdom, but not of þer gendrure, Jeconie gat Salatiel; Salatiel gat Sorobabel; Sorobabel gat Abyut; Abyut gat Eliachym; Eliachym gat Azor; Azor gat Sadoc; Sadok gat Achym; Achym gat Elyut; Elyut gat Eliazar; Eliazar gat Mathan; Mathan gat Jacob, and Jacob gat Joseph, Maries housebonde; of which Marie is Jesus born, þe which is clepid Crist. And so, to counte Joseph Marie and Crist, is þis þridde fourtene fillid þat þe gospel spekiþ of. And alȝif we have not þis þridde gendrure in holi writt, ȝit we trowen þat it is soþ [So E; A has soiþ.] bi autorite of Mathew, as we trowun þe firste gendruris boþe bi autorite of Genesis. Mathew comeþ dounward in rekenynge of Cristis eldris, and Luk goiþ upward, rekenyng of more fadris. For it sufficide to Mathew to telle how Crist bicam man bi þes þree fourtenes, biginnynge at Abraham. But Luk, figure of preestis [Luk, figure of preestis. The figure of the calf in the Apocalypse (ch. iv.) was very early associated with St. Luke, who was thought to treat more fully than the other Evan|gelists of the priestly office of Christ. See Cave's Antiq. Apost., p. 169. In the Legenda Aurea, it is said, 'Lucas figuratur in vitulo, agens de Christi sacerdotio;' and it is shown at great length how this evangelist was 'recte ordinatus,' in relation to God, to his neighbour, to himself, and to his office of writing the gospel.] , telliþ more diffuseli how man stieþ up to God, from Adam to þe Trinite. And variyng of names, wiþ leevyng of sum fadris, techiþ how Matheu and Luk varien not in sentence [Dean Alford (in his notes on Matt. i. and Luke iii.) thinks that no attempt to reconcile the two genealogies has succeeded, laying stress at the same time on the fact that both give the line of Joseph, not that of Mary.] .

And þis text moten preestis knowe, to undirstonde Goddis lawe, and to defende it from false men þat arguen aȝens it. For siþ it is our bileve, we trowun fulli þat it is soþ [So E; A has soiþ.] ; and many helpis þer ben to undirstonde þis gendrure. For we may wite how Crist cam of aliens, and how þis comyng was figurid in oþir dedis þat Crist dide; as þe gospel of Luk telliþ how Crist cam to Jerusalem, boþe þourȝ Samarie and þe cuntre of Galile; and siþ Samarie was þanne in þe hondis of gentile men, and Galile was þanne in þe hondis of Jewis, þis comyng bitokeneþ þe gendrure of Crist, how he cam boþe of Jewis and gentil folk. And þis bitokeneþ over, how he wolde save hem boþe. Crist cam not evere of þe firste sone, but ofte of þe toþer sone; to teche us þe lore þat spiritual gendrure is figurid by Cristis comyng, and God telliþ more þerof þan of kyndeli gendrure. And þus ech word of þe gospel were lore to Cristene men, to travaile and to undirstonde þe privytees of God. And þus shulden preestis ȝyve hem to contemplacioun, and leve worldli occupacioun, wiþ vanytees of þe world. For wordis of Poul techen us þat what kyn þingis ben writun ben writun to oure lore, and to confort of us. And so bi suche confort we shal growe in hope.