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

ÞE SEVENTENÞE SONDAI AFTIR TRINITE.

[SERMON XVII.]

Cum intrasset Jesus domum cujusdam.—LUC. xiv.[I.]

ÞIS gospel techiþ men how þei shal not by þer hiȝ staat hide þere synne, and disturble þe ordenaunce þat Crist haþ made. Þe story telliþ hou Jesus entride in to a Pharisees hous on a Satirday to ete wiþ him, and þei aspieden to take him in defaute; and a syke man in dropesie was þer bifore Crist. And Jesus spake to wyse men of þe lawe, and to Pharisees, where it were leveful to hele in þe Sabot; and þei weren stille, lest þat resoun wente aȝens hem; but Crist toke þis syke man, and heelide him þanne bifore hem, and Crist axide hem þis demaunde, þat ȝif þer oxe or þer asse felle in þe diche, wolde þei not drawe him out in þer sabot daie; and þei wisten wel þat þei shulden by bileve of þere owen lawe, and þei myȝte not answere him to denye þat he axide. And upon þis arguyde Crist þat myche more it were leveful to helpe in þe Sabot a man put in more peril, siþ þis work is more spirituel, and man is beter þan a beest. And, for þe synne of þese men stood in pryde of her statis, Crist tolde hem a parable, techinge hem how þei shulden chese þe first statis; þat God lovede moost, þat was moost meke statis, but þei chosen as proude men þe first statis to þe world. But Crist biddiþ in his parable, Whan þou ert biden to þe feste, sitte not in þe first place, lest a more wor|shipful þan þou be beden to þe same feest, and þe lord of þe feste bidde þee, Ȝive þis man stede, and þut þee doun out of þi place, and þan shalt þou bygynne wiþ shame for to holde þe last place. And herfore whan þou art beden to a feste, sitte doun in þe last place,

so þat he þat haþ beden þee seie to þee for þi mekenesse, Frend stye more up; þanne shalt þou have worship and joie bifore hem þat sitten at þe feste. For ech man þat heieþ him by presumpcioun shal be mekid bi God, and he þat mekiþ him in his soule shal be heyed bi God. Þere we shal undirstonde þat Crist spekiþ not here of worldely feste, ne of place, for þanne his sentence were nouȝt; for þan strif shulde be for place, and oonli oon shulde do Cristis bidding, and so Crist shulde ordeyne discencioun wiþouten fruyt among men; and herfore shulde we undirstonde þat þis feste is þe laste soper, þat shal be in heven of seintis aftir þe day of dome; and þe last place at þis feeste shulde be mannis reputacioun, bi whiche he shulde not presume to be in heven bifore oþirs, but reste mekeli in þis þat he shal come to hevene. Eche man shal hope for to come to blisse; and if he lyve febly and make þis hope fals, himsilf is cause whi his hope is suche. Ffor þis fals hope, þat sum men do clepen dispeir, shulde have anoþir qualite, and it shulde not be sich, whan we witen þat we shulden hope for to come to hevene, after we maken comparisoun bytwene us and oþers; and many men for pryde hopen to passe oþers, and suche presumpcioun of hope is sittynge here in hey place. We shulden reste in þis hope þat we shal come to hevene, and leve sich veyne comparisouns, lest we setten us here to hey, and þis is þe last place þat þe gospel spekiþ of. And þus siche false presumpcioun of heynes of state, and aftir þis presumpcioun, of heyenesse in hevene, makiþ a man to come at þe laste to þe loweste place in þe world, þat is to seie, to depe helle, þat is þe myddil of þe world. And so spekiþ þe gospel on two weies of þe last place. The laste place here stondiþ in meke reputacioun, but þe last place at þe day of dome stondiþ in dampnacioun. And so knyttiþ Crist wel þe helynge of þis ydropesie, for as ydropesie is an yvel of fals gretenesse of mennys lymes, and comeþ of unkyndli watir bitwene þe fleish and þe skyn; so pride of worldly goodis, þat ben unstable as þe watir, makiþ a man in ydropesie, and falsely presume of himsilf; as many men in greet astaate and in ryches of þis worlde þenken þat þei shulden þus in heven be bifore oþir men. For, as þei supposen now, þei lyven to God aftir þer staat, and so þei profiten more in þis world þan

done men under hem, and after þat þei profiten more, þei shal be heiȝer in hevene, and so þei seien, as þei shulden hope to come to hevene, so shulde þei hopen here to be heier in hevene. But siche proude men, and presumptuous of her staat, shulden traveil in virtues þat þei begilen not hem silf; and þerfore techiþ þe wise man, þat ever þe more þat þou be here, ever þe more meke þou shuldist be, in al manere of mekenes. And so, if þou be greet here, þou shuldist reste in þe last place, and suppose mekeli of þi silf wiþouten siche comparisoun. Ffor who is he þat may seie he serveþ God after his staat? and so statis here and statis in hevene, late or nevere acorden togidere, for fewe men here or noon serven God even to þer state; and so statis of men may cause þer dampnyng deep in helle, and for uneven service here in statis, may men ben ful lowe in hevene.

Þe lessoun of þis gospel is litil coud in þe Chirche, for lordis stryven wiþ hem silfe, and religiouse among hem silf, about heyenes of þer staat, and þe rote of al þis is pryde. And þei shulden wite þat states here ben harmful unto men, but ȝif men after her statis serven treuly to þer God; ffor falsnesse in statis makiþ men to be low or dampned.