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

ÞE NYNÞE SONDAI GOSPEL AFTER TRINITE SONDAY.

[SERMON IX.]

Homo quidam erat dives et habebat villicum.—LUC. xvi. [I.]

ÞIS gospel telliþ how men shulde make hem frendis of worldely goodis, for reward þat þei shulden have aftir in hevene. Þe parable telliþ how a man hadde a fermour, as keper of a toun ['toun,' from the A.S. verb tynan, to hedge in or enclose, had origi|nally pretty nearly the same mean|ing as the word 'clearing' has in our colonies now; it was the piece of land enclosed from the forest or moor and made habitable for men. From a single clearing, it came to be applied to the whole cleared and enclosed land in any particular locality, and so to the principal collection of dwellings forming the homes of the cultivators of such land.] , þat was defamyd to him as he hadde wastid his goodis; but not al fulli, for he hadde spendid hem unwarly, but þe lord hadde þe worship. Þis lord clepide þis fermour and seide þus to him, How heere Y þus of þee, þat þou wastist my good? Ȝife a rekenynge of þi baillyship, for þou maist be no longer in þis office. And þis servant seide wiþyne to himsilfe, What shal Y do? for my lord takiþ fro me þis office; delve may Y not, and me shameþ for to begge; but Y woot what Y shal do, þat whan Y am removed fro þis office, oþir tenauntis of þe lord shal resceyve me into þere housis, for goodis þat Y shal do to hem: while Y am in þis office. And he gaderide togidere alle þe dettours of his lord; and axide þe first how myche he ouȝt his lord; and he seide he ouȝte him an hundrid barels of oyle. And he seide to him, Take þi caucioun and sitte soone and wryte fifty barellis. And efte he seide to anoþir, How myche owist þou? And he seide he ouȝte an hundrid skippis of corn. (Þis mesure of corn is more þan a quarter.) And he badde him take his lettris, bi which he was bounden, and wryte foure score. And þe lord preiside þe bailly of wickidnes, for he hadde warly done; for children of þis worlde ben more ware þan children of liȝt in þer kynrede. In þis parable we shulden wite þat Crist is þis lord, þat is kyng of kyngis and lord of lordis; þis bailly of þis

lord, or keper of his litil toun, is eche man of þis world, seme he never so greet, for emperoure or kyng is tenaunt to þis lord and keper of his litil toun, to regard of Cristis greet lord|ship. For Crist is lord of hevene and helle and al þis erþe, ȝhe lord of al þis world, wiþ goodis of it opyn and hidde, and no conquerrour myȝte ateyne to lordship of al þis erþe, for Alis|aundre and Julius leften myche to conquere, and God wolde not þat þer lordship were more here in erþe, techinge us þat þe fend prince of þis world haþ but litil lordship of children of pryde, alȝif he be now partener wiþ Crist of mo servauntis of þe fend þan shal come to hevene. But Crist is chefe lord of þe fend and al his lymes, and þei mut nedis serve him oþir wele or yvel, doinge wel þat þei shulden do, or ellis suffringe peyne. And siþ Crist haþ lent ech man here al þat he haþ, and wole axe of þis streite rekenynge, how he dispendiþ it, to ech man of þis world may þis parable be applied; and whanne men dispenden not warly Goddis goodis, þanne þei ben defamyd to him as þei hadden wastid hem, but dispending of alle goodis mut sowne to Goddis worship. For alle men shulden knowe þat alle þes ben Goddis goodis, and he wole þat þei be spendid þus to profit of his Churche, and so spekyng of þis lord is movynge of mennys conscience, and þus God telliþ to men boþe more and lasse, how he knowiþ her traytery, whan þei done amys, and hou þei ben nedid to die from þis office, and hou þei ben nedid to God to rykene for þis servyse. And sum han drede how þei shal lyve after þis lyf, for after þer deeþ þei may not delve, or do medefulli to þer soule, and shameful þing it is to begge oþer of men þat here lyven, or of seintis in hevene, but as þei witen þat þei shulden helpe after þat men han her deserved while þei lyveden here in þis lyf. And so þis fermour grantide þre þingis þat men shulden knowe here in þis lyf. First he grantide þat aftir þis lyf he myȝt not wirche medefulli. Aftir he grantide þat he shulde shame to begge more þan he hadde disservyd. And so stronge beggers here on lyf, ben more unshameful þan ben soulis or in helle or in purgatorie, þat wolen not axe but þat þei han disservyd, for þei witen þat it were veyn to axe more of þer God. But þis baily turnede wisely him to a good conseil; þat while he lyvede

here in erþe he shulde make men his frendis wiþ goodis of God þat he kepiþ, and þei shulde helpe him whan he is deed. And þus it perteyneþ to kingis first to do worship to God, and siþ to do riȝt to þer servauntis and so to alle men under hem. And þis discharge may baillies do wiþouten injurie to God; for sum men þenken þat þis bailly þat forȝafe fifty barels of oile and þerto twenty skippis of corn, dide wronge to his lord, and so þe lord preiside him not wele; but we shal wite þat þis lord is God, and þis bailly lord of þis world, and so God approveþ wele forȝyvynge of mannis rente; and wiþ graunte of þe cheef lord, baillyes may forȝyve þer dette; and so it were a medeful þinge to worldely lordis to forȝyve dette, and discharge þer pore tenantis of many chargis þat þei ben inne. And so as þis miȝte falle in dede, þat þis bailly was worldly wyse, so hevenly prudence myȝte falle to children of liȝt, but þe first prudence falliþ more comounly þan þe secounde unto men, for pryde and coveitise of goodis blyndiþ men to do almes, but herfore goodis of for|tune ben clepid bi a fendis name, þingis of wickidnessis, for þei ben ofte unjustly delt. But conseil and bidding of Crist, þat is chefe lord of alle, is þat men make hem frendis here of siche goodis of wickednesse.