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

Capitulum 3^m.

Also comunly prelatis ben false prophetis & heretikis, for þei indede [page 69] seyn heresie & techen aȝenst ihū crist & his apostlis; for aȝenst cristis wilful pouert þei techen in dede worldly coueitise & moche wast in worldly goodis, & aȝenst cristis mekenesse þei techen in-dede pompe & pride of þe world & of here statis, and aȝen cristis bysynesse in prechynge & preieyng & traueile bi contrees þei techen in-dede vanyte & idelnesse, & ben ȝeuen to glotonye & worldly bisynesse, & haunten courtis of lordis & worldly plees, & ben doumb fro þe gospel & tellen here owen lawis to magnyfie here power & pride & coueitise, & couchen in castelis as lordis; & wiþ all þis þei seyn þat cristis & his apostlis lif & here proude lif acorden, & seyn þat þei lyuen as crist & his apostlis diden.

¶ A lord! siþ prelatis comen in stede of apostlis, hou may þei for schame lyue so contrariously aȝenst here pore lif, in wast seruauntis, in grete fatte hors & nedles, in shynyng vessel, in gret aray of cloþis; ȝe, more þan many grete lordis. certis in ensaumple of here lif þei techen errour aȝenst crist & his apostlis, siþ þei seyn þat þei suen crist and apostlis in manere of lyuynge. O lord! what tokene of mekenesse & forsakynge of worldly richesses is þis; a prelat as an abott or a priour, þat is ded to þe world & pride & vanyte þer-of, to ride wiþ foure score hors, wiþ harneis of siluer & gold, & many raggid & fittrid squyeris & oþere men swerynge herte & bonys & nailis & oþere membris of crist, & to spende

wiþ erlis & barons & here pore tenauntis boþe þousand markis & poundes to meyntene a false plee of þe world, & forbarre men of here riȝt. & ȝit þes ypocritis seyn þat þis is worschipe of holy chirche, but certis þei lien, but ȝif þei clepen be contrarie name þe deuelis chirche to be holy chirche, as þei clepen hem self men of religion & þat þei forsaken þe world; but certis þei distroien holy religion & magnyfien veyn religion, of whiche seynt Iames spekiþ, & forsaken traueile & peyne & dissese of þe world, & han lordschipis, rentis, gaie houses & costy, & welfare of mete & drynk, þere þei myȝtten vnneþe before haue bene-bred & watir or feble ale. ȝe, wiþ moche care & traueile now vnneþe ony mete [nite X.] or wyn may serue & plese hem, but likerousnesse & lustis of here bely han now alle þe bisinessis, and deuocion & holynesse & penaunce litel or riȝt nouȝt. Of þis veyn pride of religious it semeþ wel þei ben not bok of cristis pouert & holynesse, as þei seye in here wordis, but bok of pride, coueitise, vanyte & oþere synnes, to disceit [dissect X.] of goddis peple & distroiynge of his lawe. ¶ harde crieþ seynt bernard aȝenst pompous prelatis & axeþ hem þus: ȝee [þe X.] prelatis, what doþ gold in ȝoure bridelis & oþere araies, where it kepe hem fro cold; we perischen for hunger [page 70] and cold, seyn pore men, oure goodis þei ben þat ȝe wasten from vs, þei ben drawen cruelly aȝenst mercy, & þus ȝee [þei X.] don tweie euele þingis, on for ȝoure pride & wast of pore mennus goodis ȝe gon to helle, And we pore men perischen in þis world for ȝoure vanyte & pride. & siþ þe lif of prelatis is bok & ensaumple of sugetis, as grosted seiþ wiþ many moo, & þei lyuen so opynly in pride, coueitise & idelnesse, passynge alle oþere, þei ben open heretikis & stronge, þat han no schame of here heresie, for heresie in fals lif meyntened is werse þan heresie only in herte or wordis, and for sclaundere þat þei ȝeuen to oþere men bi here cursed lif god him self curseþ hem in þe gospel & seiþ þus: who to þat man bi whom comeþ a sclaundre, þat is ensaumple to do synne, it spediþ to him þat a mylneston of

assis be hangid in his necke, & þat he be dreynt in-to [[Matt. xviii. 6.]] depnesse of þe see. þat is, seiþ gregory, it spediþ to euyl prelatis þat ȝeuen ensaumpele of synne to here sugetis þat þei weren in lowere staat of worldly labour & þer-wiþ wer dampnyd to depe helle; for þan þei schulden haue lesse peyne þan to lyue [leve X.] euele in þe heȝe staat & teche oþere men do synne, for þei ben worþi as many deþes as þei ȝeuen euyle ensaumples of synne to here sugetis. But lord, who is nowe so coueitous abouten worldly lordschipis & temporal goodis as oure prelatis, for comunly alle here visitacion, alle here sacramentis and ordris ȝeuynge & halwynge of placis & vesty|mentis & blissyng is don [ben X.] for coueitise & worldly pride & dignyte; alle here preue spekyng & prechyng & techyng in scolis is for coueitise & magnyfyynge of here worldly staat: who is more idel in goddis seruyce, more in glotonye & wastynge of pore mennus goodis in schynynge vesselis & oþere costis? & ȝif þei preien, þat is wiþ-outen deuocion to plese þe peple, & comunly for offrynge, & cotidian distri|bucion, & stynkyng lif of lecherie, robberie, pride, coueitise, glotonye; þat þei raþere stiren god to wraþe & vengaunce þan to mercy & pite, as goddis lawe, austyn & gregory & oþere seyntis witnessen. but, lord, siþ heresie stondiþ most in cursed lif, were ben more heretikes, siþ þei ben most synful in opyn & preuy cursed lyuynge; but where schal ony be deppere dampnyd in helle?