THIS tract should be compared with a short fly-leaf printed by Mr. Arnold, S. E. W. III. 186.
I cannot pretend to any sure judgment as to the authorship, but there is nothing in it at variance with Wyclif's teaching. It seems to have been written when the controversy with the poor priests had been carried on some time, and when they found it necessary to justify their constant appeals to God's law (Talem enim habebant terminum in omnibus suis dictis, semper prætendendo legem Dei; Goddis lawe, Knighton 2664.) It is possible that the need of such a justification would be soon felt even among the popular preachers, as it must certainly have been discovered very early in the schools. We need not, therefore, assign a very late date to this composition.
Copied from the Corpus MS. X. and collated with the Dublin MS. AA.
| CHAP. I. | As Christ ordained four Gospels, so Satan has four devices to set men's authority above that of the Gospel. These devices are specially used by friars for the glory of their orders | p. 255 |
| II. | The first false pretence is that the Church is of more authority than the Gospel, since it decreed which gospels should be received | 256 |
| III. | The second, that Austin says he would not believe the Gospel, unless the Church told him | 258 |
| Austin's meaning is misrepresented | 258 | |
| Duty of maintaining the truth | 259 | |
| IV. | The third, that men only know the Gospel by the Church | 259 |
| The true ground of faith is Christ himself | 260 | |
| V. | The fourth, that men believe the Gospel without knowing why | 260 |
| Faith is given by God; its power | 261 |
