The English works of Wyclif hitherto unprinted.Edited by F. D. Matthew.

[page 25] Capitulum primum.

god seiþ bi ieremye þat he wakide eerly to his puple [[Jer. xxv. 4.]] & criede his lawe bi his prophetis, þat weren martrid in goddis cause & for profit of his chirche, boþe for clerkis, lordis & comyns. but god seiþ by salomon þat his wisdom [Prov. i. [20-28.]] cryeþ in stretis but men dispisen his counsel & wolen not lyue bi his lore, & þerfore god shal leyȝe in þe tyme þat þey shulen perische; þanne þei shulen crie to hym & he shal not here & spede hem. þus god moueþ many men in tyme of grace to telle his lawe; & ȝit anticrist dispisiþ it & lordis ben necgligent in þer help. & for prestis faylen heere on þer syde, as oþere men don, summe prestis þenken þat þey shulden crye & telle goddis lawe to þe puple; for it may falle þat þey boþe shulen perische for þer necgligense. ground of cristenmennus bileue seiþ þat crist is god & man, & was porerste man of lif & mekerste & moost vertuous. cristen|men taken ouer þat petre was cristis viker, & suyde hym in maner of lif & tauȝte þe chirche bi his lore. þe fend hadde enuye to crist & oþere men þat suyden hym, & temptide prestis to worldly lordchipis as he temptide crist in his persone &, as he liȝede in þis tempting & seyde þat he wolde ȝyue to crist alle þe reumes of þe world so þat he wolde loute hym, so bi craft of his lesingis he haþ getun lordchip to clerkis. so þat nou myche of þis world holdiþ on anticristis syde; as many seyen þat þe pope shulde bi vertu of cristis lif be seculer lord of al þis world, & bi his leeue kyngis ben lordis. & þe fendis part is heere so strong & colourid wiþ so many cautels þat fewe men doren putte hem out to stonde & speke for goddis cause. but ȝit men trowen, as þei doren, þat crist chees to be pore to ȝyue ensaumple to his prestis & oþere men to triste in god, & leeue to triste in

þis world for þey moten dye & leeue it. & petre was pore aftir crist, & alle þe apostlis but scarioth, for he wolde be riche & haue in propre, & þis brouȝt hym to double deþ. but þe fend haþ blyndid men, boþe clerkis & lordis, in þe chirche þat þey bileuen þe contrarye; & þis defaute in bileue reuersiþ cristenmennus lif, & lettiþ hem to sue crist. for þe fend coueytiþ myche to quenche bileue in þe chirche, for þis is þe firste vertu & ground of cristis religioun. & for þe pope is holdun moost & nexst viker of iesu crist, þerfore þe fend in þe pope haþ gederid many worldly poyntis [page 25b] boþe of lordchip & worldly lif, & castiþ to disseyue þe chirche by hym. For manye taken as bileue þat he may not do amys, but what þing þat he grauntiþ or seiþ crist mut conferme it; & bi þis cautel of þe fend ben many men dampnyd to helle. & ground of al þis disseyt is lesing contrarye to treuþe; for as þe fend disseyuede eue bi lesing þat she shulde not dye, whanne god hadde seyd þat she shulde dye what day þat she eet of þe appul, so þe fend disseyueþ þe chirche bi oon as opyn lesing, þat crist was heere worldly lord moost hye of alle oþere, & so shulde his viker be þat is clepid þe pope of rome. but whanne crist was temptid heere he seyde: "go, satanas." to teche alle cristenmen hou þat crist wolde be pore; & ȝit þer ben fewe men þat wolen defende þis bileue, for anticrist haþ many clerkis þat maken it derk bi many weyes.