An apology for Lollard doctrines, attributed to Wicliffe. Now first printed from a manuscript in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. With an introduction and notes by James Henthorn Todd.

XXIV. Ymagis are not to be worschipid.

An oþer is þis; þat ymagis of seyntis are not to be worschipid. Þis haue I seid, and to sey þis steriþ me, þat God seiþ in his com|aundment, þu schalt not mak þe a grauyn þing, noiþer in ilk liknes þat is in heuen a bouen, ne þat is in ȝerþ be neþ, ne of þingis þat [Exod xx^o.] are in wateris vnder þe ȝerþ; þu schalt not lowt, ne worschip hem. And Gregor seiþ þus, If ani wil mak an ymage, as for a bok tul [Gregor.] him, forbed him not, but to worschip þe ymage almaner wittirly forbeed þu him; but þi broþerhed stere bisily þis, þat men tak of þe siȝt of þe þing þe more compunccoun, and be kesed in þe wor|schiping of þe Trinite a lone, for on is to honor þe þing, a noþer is to se þer by wat is to be honorid. And for þis seiþ a noþer, If [Another.] ymagis be worschipid, not bi vicary worschip, but by þe same worschip of God, doutles it is idolatrie; for noiþer þe stok, noiþer þe craft of man is to be worschipid so. It is certeyn bi witnes of holy writ, and of seyntis, and of experiens, þat we awe not to arett swelk þingis, or þingis formid of mannis craft, heyar nor euen to man in kynd, wam God haþ maad to his ymage and similitude; ne we owe not to rett hem more lek to Crist, or to seyntis, in form or representacoun, þan man, ne worþiar ne holyar gostly; ne we howe not to hope ne trist in hem more, ne luf hem better, ne ȝef hem moo þingis, ne grace. God biddiþ vs honor man many fold, and for many causes; and it is not were he biddiþ so worschip þer ymagis, but his forbeding to worschip hem is opunly found. And many veniaunces are schorid to her worschipars, for þus is writun in holy writ, Wat profitiþ a grauen þing? for his feynar haþ hopid [Hab. ij^o.] in his feynid þingis, þat he schuld mak doumb simulacre. Wo to him þat seiþ to a tre, be sterid, and a stil ston, arise; weþer it schal not ken sciens? Lo it is helid wiþ gold, and ilk spirit is not in þe bowell. And eft, þe trees polist of forgars, and engilt, and [Bar. uj^o.]

siluerid, is fals, and may not speke; þey are bout in ilk price, and in hem is no spirit. Wiþ [out] feet þey are born in schuldres, schewing to men þer on nobeley; þey schal be confoundid þat worschipun hem. If þei fal vn to þe ȝerþ, þey schal not rise of hem silf: if ani sett hem vp, þey schal not stand. And if þei þole ani iuel or good of ani, þei schal not quit; þey may not ordeyn a king, ne do a wey, ne ȝef riches, ne quit iuel. If ani vow a vow to hem, and quit it not, þey schal not ax it; þei schal not liuer a man fro deþ, ne pulle a wey þe feble fro þe miȝtiare; þei restore not þe blind to þe syȝt, ne liuer man fro need; þey schal not haue mercy of þe wydowe, ne do wel to þe faderles; þei han no feling; þei are forgid of forgers, and of goldsmiþis; þei schal not ellis be, not but os þe prestis wel; þey schal lefe fals þingis, and repreue þo þat are to cum after; þey reyse not a king to regioun, þey schal not ȝeue reyn to men; þey schal not deme dome, ne liuer þe regioun fro wrong, for þey may no þing; þey schal noiþer curse kyngis, ne blesse; þei schal not schew tokunis in heuen, ne schyn os þe sunne, ne ȝef liȝt as þe mone; after þei schal be rotun, and schal be repreue in þe regioun. Better is þe iust man þat haþ no simulacre, for he schal be far fro repreuis. Þus seiþ þe prophet Baruc. And [Baruc.] þe wise man seiþ, Þei are vnblessid, and her trist a mong þe ded, [Sap. xiij^o.] þat han callid goddis þe werk of mannis handis, gold, siluer, and fynding of craft. Or if þe carpenter hew doun of þe wode a tre, and graue it diligently, and forg it, and mak a dwelling for it, setting it in a wal, festining it wiþ irne þat it fal not, loking to it, witing þat it may not help it silf, it is an ymage. And of his substauns, and of his sonis, and of his weddingis making a vow he enquiriþ. He schamiþ not to spek wiþ it, þat is wiþ out sowle: and for hele he prayeþ þe seek, and for lif þe dede, and incalliþ in to help it þat is vnprofitable; and for jurney axiþ of it þat is vnprofitable in all þingis. Blessid þe tre þat riȝtfulnes is don by; but þis þat is maad [Sap. xiu^o.] an idol bi hand, is cursid, and he þat maad it. Þerfor respice schal

not be idols of nacouns; for þe createris of God are maad in to hate, and foundingis to þe soul of men, and to fot trappis in to feet of vnwyse men. For þe multitude browȝt to bi þe spice of þe warke, now þei ȝeue to hold os God þat bi forn was honored as a man. And þis haþ ben þe desseit of mannis lif; for men deser|uing oiþer to affeccoun, oiþer to kyngis, þey han ȝeuen þe incom|municable name to trees and to stonis; and it sufficied hem not han errid about þe sciens of God, but lyuing in bateyl of vnkun|ning, þus many and gret iuel þey calle pees; forsoþ oiþer sacrify|ing þer sonis, or making merk sacrifices, or hauing warks ful of wodnes, þey kepe noiþer clene lif, ne wedding, but on sleþ an oþer bi enemy [? envy], and vowtrand, or doing a vowtri, drying, and al oþer mengid to gidre, blud, mansleyng, þeft, feyning, corrupcoun, vnfeiþfulnes, trouby, periury, noys, wasting of þe goodis of God, filyng of soulis, chaunging of berþe, vnstedfastnes of wedding, vnkynd lechery, and vnchastite, Þe worschiping of cursid idols is þe bikynning, cause, and ende of all iuel; for wil þey joyen, oiþer þei wax wode, or prophecyen fals þingis, or lyuen vniustly, or for sweren hem sone. Wil þei trist in þe idol þat is wiþ out soule, swering iuel, þey wen hem not be noyed; þer for boþ schal cum worþly to hem, for iuel þei felid of God, tenting to idols. And vniustly þei sware in idol, dispicing riȝtfulnes.

But þu sey aȝen, þat þes, and oþer swilk, are seid of idols þat vnfeiþful men worschipid as þer god, and in wilk þei worschipid deuel, and þat forgid to þe liknes of no þing; for þe apostil seiþ, An idol is no þing in þe world; þey are not seid of ymagis brout [1 Cor. uiij^o.] in bi þe kirk. For þe decre seiþ, Cristun men callen not worscipful [Decre.] ymagis goddis, ne seruen not to hem as to goddis, ne put not hope of help in hem, ne abidiþ not in hem þe dome of help to cum, but þei worschip hem to þe memory and record of raþer men, but þei serue not hem wiþ Goddis worschip, ne any creature; þus seiþ þe decre. Forsoþ þe decre seiþ wel, acording holi writ, þat cristun

men serue not to hem, ne to ani creature, bi Goddis worschip; þat is þei how not to serue to hem; ne verrey cristun men don not; þerfor þei þat don are not verrey cristun. And it is to note, þat in diueris maners a man haþ a god. First alle we han God Almiȝti, þat is God to alle, and autor of lif, and ȝefar of alle goodis. Þe secound, he haþ god þis þat he moost lufiþ, and wer in he tristiþ, as in God; and þus mani han mani goddis, þat þei sett in þer affeccoun bifor God Almiȝti, and to serue þeym raþer, and wam þei more worschip; os it semiþ of dedis, and of sawis of þe scrip|ture, and of seyntis. And in diuers maner doþ man idolatre; first wan he settiþ in his affeccoun ani þing bi for God; þe secunde, of vndu ordre and cause: and þus on þre wise; first, ȝeuing to þe creature þing onli to God du; þe secound, honoring God vn|honestly; þe þrid, honoring þe creature for God, and vnhonestly. And þus man doþ idolatre in hert synning; for als mani idols haþ a man, as he haþ dedly synnis. Also of his gold and siluer a man makiþ an idol, wan he worschipiþ it a boun God, for þe apostil seiþ, [Col. iij^o.] þat auarice is seruice of idolis. And þus man hoping ouermikil or tristing in a ymage, or making oþer to trist þer in, þat he may coueytously geyt þer good, forsoþ he makiþ to him þer of an idol, and þus in maner doþ as foul idolatre as eþen men. And þis may not be noyed to be don, for many trowen þat ymage to be God, and many trowen Goddis vertu sogetly to be þer in, and þus þey are more affect to o ymage þan to an oþer; þat doutles is idolatre, as trewe men seyn. And þus mani erren, and þis were to be mendid. For þus seiþ Austeyn, Vtterly þei han deseruid to erre, [Austeyn.] þat han sowt Crist and his Apostlis, not in holy boks, but in peyn|tid walls. Also Clement seiþ, If we wil verreyly worschip Goddis [Clement.] ymage, doing wel to a man, honor þe verey ymage of God in him. In ilk man forsoþ is þe ymage of God, but þe similitud of God is not in alle, but were þe sowle is beninge, and to mynd pure. Þerfor if ȝe wil verily worschip þe ymage of God, we opun to ȝow þis þat

is verrey, þat ȝe do wel to a man þat is maad to þe ymage of God, and ȝeue him honor and reuerens; ȝeuit meyt to þe hungry, drink to þe þristy, cloþis to þe nakid, minstring to þe seek, herbarow to þe straunger, and necessarijs to þe prisouner. And þis is þat schal be gessid verrily done; þeis gon so myche in to þe honor of God, þat he þat doþ not þeis þingis, if he may, schal be trowid to do despit to þe ymage of God. Wat honor of God is þis, to ren a bout bi tre, and stone, and formis, and honor as God veyn figeris, and wiþ out soule, and despice man, in wam is verily þe ymage of God. But and beþ certeyn, þat if ani do mansleing, spowsbrekyng, or ani þing of wrong to man, in þis þing þe ymage of God is sylid; þis seiþ Clement. Þerfor now, as Poule biddiþ, fle we for worschiping of idols; for [1 Cor. x^o.] now is God maad man, and perid haþ a man, and schewid to us al þingis of his godhed þat are to lif, and to pite, and we are maad on wiþ Crist, and his body, and his membris, and quiknid of his spirit; þat we schuld do no idolatre, ne worschip no þing for no iuel ende; þat we schuld mak now no dead ymagis, ne idolis of our self, þat we do wan we are wiþ out þe spirit of Crist, and lif in pride, lechery, and fals coueytis, and swilk oþer synnis; þan are we foul idols and foul fendis ymagis, as Crisostom merkiþ wel. And if [Crisost.] we worschip and luf þeis þingis, and oþer men for hem, doutles we are foul, doing idolatrie; and þus we do wiþ oþer createris wan we honor hem aȝen Goddis bidding, and a mis, and for foul ende, as Austeyn declariþ. And þus we schuld flee idolatrie þat we do wiþ [Austeyn.] men, þat honor we mikyl more þan Ihu Crist; for wan a man is sett to do þe office of God, and haþ not in him þe vertu of God, ne wit, ne wil, ne dede, wat is he but ymage and idol maad of men. As Bernard seiþ, A kynge vnwise is but a nape in þe house rofe; [Bernard.] and þus it is of prestis, prelatis, and of oþer religioun, in þe same maner. Wil þu hast habit and schauin croun, and oþer signis wiþ out vertu and lif of spirit, and wiþ out þe dede; þu art but peyntid and lied ymage, as Jerom witnessiþ wel, and idols and similacris. [Jerom.]

Archedeacoun seiþ, As þe heþun men had sex kyndis of similacris, [Archedea|coun.] cleyen, treen, brasun, stonun, silueren, and golden, so han lordis now sex kyndis of prelatis. Cleyen similacris are fleschli prelatis, of þe wilk þe Salme seiþ, I schal do hem awey as þe cley of þe [Salme xuiij^o.] stretis. Treen similacris are prelatis rude in þer doctrin, and on|sensible of wit. Jerom seiþ, Þe tre is woundun in siluer, þei are [Jerom.] seid to be maad in to prelatis, for þei are tan vp wiþ out mater of dignite, bering vp in her schuldres þat are not but in opynioun. Brasyn prelatis are þei þat han worldli eloquence; of wilk þe apostil seiþ, I am maad as bras sounning, or as þe cymbal tynking. [1 Cor. xiij^o.] Stonen prelatis are þey endurid in temporal þingis bi þe affeccounis of men þat þey brek bi seculer power. Silueryn are þey þat seyn wiþ þer maister to þe persewars of Crist in his membris, Wat wil ȝe ȝeue vs and we schal betray him to ȝow? Goldun prelatis are þey þat are maad only for nobelay of kyn; þus seiþ he. In swilk men schuld idolatre be fled, for þei schuld desir no worschip, obediens, ne seruice, but as God biddiþ hem; so þat in hem God be honorid, seruid, and obeyed, and neuer bid but his biddingis; nor put not his bidding be hynd, for keping of her, for þus doyng þei don werst idolatri, and taken to hem þe honor þat God schuld haue, and putten him out. And þus men schuld obey hem, and trust and serue, os God biddiþ, and no farþer; þat þei do not ido|latrie wiþ hem, if þei obey to þer biddingis aȝen Goddis biddingis, or trust to þer wordis, if þey be not wordis of God.