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

ÞE GOSPEL OURE LADY DAY IN LENTE.

[SERMON CII.]

Missus est Angelus Gabriel a Deo.—LUYK. i. [26.]

ÞIS gospel telliþ to þe Chirche how þe aungel grette oure Ladi, and how she, bi hir mekenesse, ablide hir to conseyve Crist. And þis þridde feste of oure Ladi is a wondir hiȝe feste, for in þis was Crist maad man, and Crist passiþ alle oþer seintis. And so men seien comunli, þat oure Ladi hadde fyve joies. Þe firste was at þis tyme whanne she conceyvede Crist bi mekenes. þe secounde was whanne she bare Crist wiþouten peyne at Criste|masse; þe þridde was whanne it was shewid to hir þat Crist was risen fro deeþ to lyve; þe ferþe was whanne she saw hir sone stie in to hevene; and þe fifþe joie was whanne she was deed and take to blisse. And to þes fyve joies ben answerynge fyve vertues þat we mai have; and ȝif we wolen worshipe þis Ladi, holde we þes vertues wel. Þes fyve vertues ben in þis ordre: mekenesse and chastite, bileve and hope, and charite; and ȝif we kepen hem we plesen God. And siþ Crist and his modir moten nedis be of oo wille, þus shal we plese to Marie, þe which is Goddis modir.

Luk telliþ how, Gabriel was sent fro God to grete Marie. And, for sum men ben clepid Gabriel, þerfore þe gospel specifieþ þat, þe aungel Gabriel was sent fro God to Nazareth, þat was, a citee of Galilee, in which citee oure Ladi dwelte. And þis maiden was

weddid to Joseph, þe which was of Daviþis hous, and name of þe virgyn was Marie. And wel she is clepid a virgyn so ofte in þis Gospel, for she was virgyne whanne she was weddid, and a virgyn after to her deþ. And a litil before þis wedding, þis aungel grette þis maiden þus; and so was Crist conseyved of hir in verri matrimonie of Joseph. It semeþ þat Ambrose, upon Luk, seiþ [S. Ambros. Comment. in Lucam, Lib. II, cap. I.] , þat þei weren weddid bifore, and soone, bitwixe þat tyme and nyȝt, þe aungel cam and grette Marie þus. And algatis, on ech wey, oure Ladi was weddid in þe same hour, or nye þat hour þat she was greet [gret, E.] . Suppose we þat þis greting cam after, and neiþer wordis ne resoun semeþ to aȝen seie þis. Þis aungel cam in to þis maiden, and seide to hir on þis manere, Hail, ful of grace, God is wiþ þee; blessid be þou among wymmen. Þis angel clepide not now Marie bi hir propir name, þat she was clepid, for common uss [use, E.] wiþ lordis and ladies axiþ, þat comun servauntis of hem clepen hem not bi propre name, but bi name of excellence; as men þat speken of oure Kyng leeven to clepen him Kyng Richard, but seien þat þis is þe wille of þe Kyng, or þus þe Kyng biddiþ to do [This indication of date, which confines the composition of these sermons within the years 1378-1399, has been considered in the Intro|duction.] . And clouting of þis word Marie to þis gretinge of þe angel is not worþ ful myche pardone, but ȝif it be ['but ȝif it be' appears to be used here in the sense of 'much less.' But perhaps the sentence should be punctuated thus,—'myche pardone; but ȝif it be, two þousand ȝeer, as men seien, þe pope haþ grauntid,' &c.] two þousand ȝeer; as men seien þe pope haþ grauntid [I have searched the Bullarium (that of Cocquelines, Rome, 1739), which however is very meagre for the pontificate of Urban VI, and toiled through the numerous pro|clamations of indulgence of that pope, which are thickly strewn over the pages of Raynaldus, the con|tinuator of Baronius, but without finding anything to support the statement in the text. The usual indulgence granted to those who took up arms against the anti-pope was a plenary indulgence, on the same conditions and with the same privileges as were customary in the case of crusaders to the Holy Land.] for þe seiyng of an orisoun bitwixe þe sacryng and Agnus Dei. But many þenken þat þe Pater noster is þe bettere. And so it semeþ to many men þat God and þe pope varien, siþ God doiþ al þing upon resoun, and not but for certeyn causis.

Oure Ladi, whanne she herde þis greting, was troublid in þis word, and þouȝte, as a wise maiden, what manere shulde be þis greting. Þis troublinge in þis gretinge puttiþ no synne or blame in Marie, siþ Crist seiþ þat his soule is troublid, bifore his deþ. And þis angel seide to hir, Drede þe not, Marie, for þou hast foundun grace bifore þe Lord of alle Lordis. And here þis aungel, for confort, clepide Marie bi hir propre name, to telle þat he knewe hir wel, and eke þe Lord þat sente him. For whoever haþ founden grace of a lord is loved of him. Lo, þou shalt conseyve in wombe, and þou shalt bere a sone, and þou shalt clepe his name Jesus. And he þis ['He this' is the reading in this place of a single MS. (Bodl. 277) of the later Wycliffite version.] shal be greet, and he shal be clepid þe sone of þe hiȝeste Lord; and þe Lord God shal ȝeve him Daviþis seete, þe which Daviþ is his fadir; and he shal rengne in Jacobis [Jacobs, E.] hous wiþouten ende [So in E; om. A.] and of his rewme shal be noon ende. Bi þis mai men undirstonden þat Crist was king, as Daviþ was, but more spirituali, as his kyngdom was more spiritual. For ech worldli lordship mote nedis have an ende; and þus rengn|yng wiþouten eende in þe hous of Jacob, and þat of his rewme shal be noon eende, tellen how Crist rengneþ spirituali, and not contrarie to worldli lordis.

And Marie seide to þis angel, On what manere shal þis be, for I knowe no man fleishli? And þis angel answering seide to hir, Þe Hooli Goost shal come above in þee, and þe vertue of alþer hiȝeste Lord shal make umbre unto þee. Þe vertue of God makiþ umbre, whanne in a lowe place it lettiþ heete [þe hete, E.] of synne, as it fel in oure Ladi; for she was lower in kinde þan aungels, and she conseyvede wiþouten synne. And þerfore þat holi þing þat shal be born of þee shal be clepid Goddis Sone, singulerli bifore oþer. And lo, Eliȝabeth þi cosyn, and she haþ conseyved a sone in hir elde; and þis moneþ is þe sixte to him þat is clepid bareyne [to him that is clepid bareyne. Both A and E concur in this reading, and the expression a few lines be|low, 'Zacharie in reprefe was clepid bareyne,' leaves no doubt that it is correct. But it is not easy to understand why the writer adopted this most erroneous version of the original, or where he found any countenance for it. The very nu|merous MSS. of the two Wycliffite versions all read 'hir,' and the ren|dering of the Vulgate is 'illi quae vocatur sterilis.' Did the writer inadvertently read 'qui' for 'quae?'] .

For Zakary, Baptist fadir, hadde geten Joon sixe moneþis bifore; and so bi a litil tyme Joon was man bifore Crist. But evene bi sixe moneþis was Joon born before Crist; for Crist was man, but not Joon, fro þe [So E; for tyme, A.] tyme þat he was conceyved. And Zacharie in repreef was clepid bareyne, wiþouten fruyte. For no word þat God seiþ shal be impossible to him; and so, siþ God wole have it þus, it mote algatis be so.

And Marie, as ful ripe in mekenesse, answeride þus to þe aungel: Lo, here þe handmaiden of God; Be it done to me after þi word. And, as men seien comunli, in þis tyme Marie con|seyvede Crist. For, as Eve, for þe tyme þat she was moost proud, loste mankynde, so Marie, for þe tyme þat she was most meke, won mankynde. And here, ȝif þou wilt plese Marie, or God hir sone, be algatis meke; for mekenes wole plese to Marie, siþ she woot it plesiþ to God. And herfore she seiþ in hir song: God bihelde þe mekenesse of his maiden, and certis, herfore, lo, alle kynredis shal seie þat I am blessid. And so, ȝif þou wilt plese oure Ladi, traveile þou to growe in mekenes. Also, siþ ech hie þing mote have a good and stable ground, and ȝif þou wilt come to hevene þou moost make a tour þidir, and so, if þou wilt come to hevene, stable þee in Cristis mekenesse. And so as þe sentre is lowest of alle þingis, so Crist is þe mekeste þat mai be. Also, þe lower þat a vessel is, þe more of licour wole it take; and so þe mekere þat a man is, þe more of grace wole he take. And so, ȝif þou wilt have grace of God, meke þee wele in þi soule; for mekenes meveþ to pacience, and to al oþer manere of vertues.