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

worþi to declare Cristis manhede; but, as me þinkiþ, it is beter and more suynge þis gospel to seie, þat Joon grauntiþ him not worþi to loose þe ordre of Crist, bi which Crist hadde ordeyned to be patroun of Cristene men. For þis ordre is a þuonge to bynde mennis willes togidere; and þus me þinkiþ þat freris chiden in veyn. Prechours [Fratres praedicantes, or Domi|nicans.] seyn þat Crist hadde hiȝe shone as þei have; ffor ellis wolde not Baptist mene þat Crist hadde þuongis of siche schone. Menours [Fratres minores, or Franciscans.] seyn þat Crist wente bar|fote, or ellis was shood as þei ben, for ellis Magdalene shulde not have founde to þus have washid Cristis feet. But levynge þis chidynge, we supposen of oure Jesus þat he tok ful litil hede of such manere of wendinge, but he chargide myche þe wille of his religioun and affeccioun of his disciplis to be bounden fro worldely goodis. And þus freris, as Pharisees, clensen þe gnatte and swolewen þe camel; for þei dar, above Baptist, founde hem newe ordres, of reulis þat Crist chargide not, but ȝif it were to dampne hem; and coveitise of worldely goodis chargen þes ordres not, ȝif þei be gete [geten, B, C.] wiþ fals menes, which treuþe of Crist haþ dampnyd. But þis was done in Beþanye be|ȝonde þe water of Jordan, in þe lond of two kynredis ['Þe lond of two kynredis.' For a long time I was unable to satisfy myself as to the exact meaning of this phrase. There is nothing in the Commentaries of S. Austin, S. Je|rome, and the Venerable Bede, nor in the Homilies of Pope Gregory, which throws the smallest light up|on it. Upon turning however to the Commentary of Nicholas de Lyra, written in the early part of the four|teenth century, I found some words which, I think, solve the difficulty. Distinguishing this Bethany (Beth|abara in the authorized version) from the one near Jerusalem, De Lyra de|scribes it as lying beyond the Jordan, 'scilicet in sorte duarum tribuum et dimidiae;' i. e. Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Wyclif probably meant to say the same thing, but inadvertently omitted mention of the half-tribe, of which indeed very slight notice is taken in the account (Numb. xxxii.) of the negotiation between Moses and the 'lynages' (Wycl. Ver.) of Reuben and Gad.] ; and so men seyen þat þer ben two Beþanies in þat lond, oon biside Jerusalem where Lazarus was reisid to lyf, and anoþer biȝonde þe water where Joon hadde mater to baptise men. For Beþanie [Bethany signifies 'house of dates.' (Smith's Dict. Bible.)] sowneþ þes þre; it is hous of obedience and also hous of penaunce, and hous of Goddis ȝifte. Alle þes names accorden to Joon; but þei ben contrarie to alle þes newe ordris þat ben presumed aȝens Crist.