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

ÞE ÞRIDDE SONDAI GOSPEL AFTER EESTIR.

[SERMON XLIX.]

Modicum et jam non videbitis me.—JOON xvi. [16.]

HERE telliþ Crist to his Chirche how þer wille shulde be tem|prid, for variynge of þer heed after his resureccioun. He seiþ ferst to his apostlis þat þer is ny a litil tyme and þei shal not see him, for he shal be deed and buried; for þes wordis of Crist weren seid þe nexte Þursday bifore his deeþ; and aftir Crist seiþ to his disciplis, þat þere shulde sue a more tyme and þan þei shulden see Crist, and ofte tymes be confortid by him. And þat was fro rysynge of Crist to þe tyme þat he steye to hevene. But for Crist haþ lymytid tyme þat he shuld come to his Fadir, Crist seiþ þis time shal be litil, for he goiþ to his Fadir. For boþe Cristis liynge in þe sepulcre and his dwellinge here in erþe was litil tyme as God limitide, to answere to his ascencioun. And sum of disciplis of Crist saiden togidere, What is þis þat Crist seiþ to us, a litil and efte ȝe shal se me, for Y go to my Fadir. And þei seiden, What is þis litil, for we witen nevere what he meneþ. And Jesus wiste þat his disciplis wolden axe him of þis unknowun þinge [So E; A and B wrongly italicise the word.] , and he seide þus to hem; Of þis ȝe axen among you, þat Y seide, a litil tyme shulde come, and þan ȝe shal not se me, and siþ a litil but more tyme, and þan ȝe shal see me. Forsoþe, fforsoþe, Y seie to you, þat ȝe shal boþe grete and wepe, but þe world

þanne shal joie, and þan shal ȝe be soreuful, but ȝoure sorewe shal turne to joie. And þis was soþ of þe apostlis aftir þe rysyng of Crist, ffor first þei maden more sorewe, and siþ lasse, and siþ joie. And worldely men contrarieden hem, þat first hadden joie and siþ sorewe, for þei joieden of apostlis sorewe and sorewiden of apostlis joie. And efte Crist telliþ a kyndely saumple, to prynte þis word more in þer herte.

A womman, seiþ Crist, whan she travailiþ wiþ child, haþ sorewe of hir peyne, but aftir whan she is delyverid, she haþ joie of hir child, and forȝetiþ her former sorewe, for man is bore in to þe world. And þerfore ȝe have sorewe now, but efte Y shal see you, and youre herte shal have joie, and no man shal take fro ȝou ȝour joie. Þis womman, to Cristis entent, is oure modir holy Chirche, and every party þerof þat is also holy Chirche. And as long as we lyven here, we ben travelynge of child, to brynge oure soule to surete fro bisie sorewe of þis world, and so to brynge forþ þe hole man to blisse boþe in bodi and soule. And whan we comen to þis state we þenken not of oure former sorewe to oure anoye or to oure mornynge, for joie of ende þat sueþ; but we þenken in oure herte þat for þis peyne þat we have now, we shal have myche joie whan we ben ful made in þe world. And þat shal nevere be done fully bifore þat we come to blisse, for we mornen til þat tyme. For we may liȝtly perishe fro lyfe, but þanne a man is fully made, whan he is corouned in blisse, for þanne he is certeyne to lyve evere in blis withouten peyne.

Clerkis seien þat whan a man is brouȝt þus to Goddis chambre, þan he is fully spousid with God, and dowid, boþe in bodi and in soule, of foure doweris of þe bodi. Crist toke ernes [ernys, C.] here in þis world, for whan he cam out of his modir he brak not þe cloister of hir, but, as þe sunne comeþ þorouȝ þe glas, so Crist cam fro his modir wombe. And þis morwȝyve [morwe-ȝyve, B; morow-ȝyfe, E; more ȝif, C.] is clepid of clerkes, dower of bodily sutilte, and ofte usid Crist þis dower fro þat tyme þat he was rysen. Þe secounde dower of þe bodi is clepid agilite, þat is swiftnesse þerof and to moven hou a man wole; and þis dower usid Crist whan he wente upon þe water, and specialy at þat tyme þat he stied in to heven. Þe

þridde dower of þe bodi is incorruptibilite, þat þe body may not die ne be broke bi no þing; and þis dower knew þe fend whan he aleggide to Crist þat he shulde not hurte his foot, ȝif he lepte doun fro þe temple. And by vertue of þis dower þe knyȝtis broken not Cristis þies, ne, whan he cam in at þe ȝatis þe bordis broken not his bodi. Þe fourþe dower and þe laste is cleryng of mannis bodi, whan it shyneþ briȝt in hevene as þe sunne or oþer sterres; and þis dower toke Crist to him in tyme of his trans|figuringe. And herfore seide Petre þanne, þat good was hem to be þere, for þis is þe heiest dower þat falliþ unto mannis body.

And after þes foure doweris fallen foure unto þe soule. Þe first and þe moste dower answeriþ to þe last of þe bodi, þat a soule blessid in hevene haþ clere knowyng of alle þingis, þat is or was or ever shal be. And siþ a man haþ delite to see a pley here in erþe, or a lord, or þing of wounder, and þerwiþ fediþ his bodi, myche more þis clere siȝt of God and alle his creaturis shulden fulli fede þe blessid soule, and þereafter blisse þe bodi. And herfor seiþ oure Jesus, in the gospel of Seint Joon, þat þis is lyf wiþouten ende, to knowe þe Fadir and his Sone. For þan men knowen in þis myrour al creaturis þat may be; and þis clere siȝt is more joyeful þan ony tunge may telle here. Þe secounde dower of þe soule is vertue to kepe ful knowynge, so þat knowyng of oo þing contrarieþ not to anoþer. And riȝt as bodi shal ever last, for acorde of alle his partis, so mannis wittis shal ever last for lokynge in þe first myrour; and so man forȝiteþ not in hevene þingis þat he sum tyme knewe. Þe þridde dower of þe soule is redynesse for to knowe al þingis þat man wole, hou ofte þat he wole þenke on hem; for ȝif he traveilid in þis þouȝt ony þing aȝens his wille, he were not fully in blisse, ne wiþouten anoyous peyne. And neþeles we bileven þat seintis have what þei wolen have, and þei wolen noo þing þat is yvel. And þus men grounden many blyssis, but al ben brouȝt to þes foure þat we can rekene in seintis. As þe fourþe dowery of man in blis, answeryng to þe first of þe bodi, is sutilte of mannis soule, þat it takiþ al kyn treuþe, and herby is [not] [The 'not,' which spoils the sense, is rightly omitted in E.] undisposid to cast out oo treuþe by

anoþer; but as many blessid bodies ben togidere in o place, so many blessid knowyngis ben togidere in oo soule. Surete of siche goodis may not faile to þes seintis, siþ þei seen clerely in God how it is nede al þis to be. And so þei witen how þei have al þe joie þat þei wolen, siþ hem wantiþ no kyn þing þat þei shulden desire to have.