Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

and bishopis; whi shulden not þei chese curatis? for ellis shulden officeris perishe, and, bi defaute of hem, Goddis hous. And þus þes two þingis wolen sue: þat oþer popis shulden not sue Crist, or ellis þei shulden chese prelatis, as þe popis lawe techiþ. Þe secounde þing þat sueþ here is foule inconvenient, þat þe pope, Cristis viker, þat haþ his Chirche for to kepe, shulde lete þe Chirche perishe for defaute of siche chesinge. And it is fittinge þat þe pope, þat haþ more witt and autorite, shulde ordeyne for þis chesing, siþ he is heed of holy Chirche. Here we shal suppose, first, þat we speken in þis mater, as if þe pope hadde not ȝit ordeyned lawis of sich eleccioun, but how Goddis lawe and resoun wolde teche for to worche here; and þanne many men þenken þat þis eleccioun shulde not be, siþ it mai not be groundid in resoun ne in Goddis lawe. And to þe resoun þat is maad for þe contrarie part, we shal suppose þat ech man, but algatis þe pope, shulde sue Crist. But ȝit, for dignite of Crist, men shulden ever putte him bifore, and ȝyve to Crist a worþines þat mai oonli acorde to him, for ellis Crist were not abbot over alle oþer men, and maister over alle hise breþeren, as he is boþe God and man. And þus ech oþer preest shulde mekeli sue Crist, and neiþer go evene wiþ Crist, ne bifore him, as dide Petre, and þerfore he was clepide Saþanas, and beden go bihynde Crist. And þus a perel in þe Chirche, þat Poul tauȝte for to come, is, þat Anticrist hiȝe him above Crist, boþe God and man. And þus we graunten þat Crist chese to him apostlis and oþer disciplis, oþerwise þan þe Pope of Rome mai or can chese him servauntis; siþ Crist was boþe God and man, and knewe alle þingis þat shulde be, and wiste fulli what was best, and wrouȝte ever wiþoute defaute. And þus seiþ þe gospel bifore, þat disciplis sawun where Crist shulde dwelle; for alle þingis þat Crist dide he shulde do so for þe beste. And þus ȝif Crist chees disciplis, þe pope shulde not þerfore chese þus; for þe pope mai not be evene wiþ Crist, in witt, ne in autorite; but he shulde sue Crist here as diden Cristis apostlis bifore. Goddis lawe telliþ, whanne þei chosen Mathi as þe twelfþe postle of Crist in þe stede of Scarioth, þei kepten þis ordre in þis eleccioun: þei chosen two, þe whiche þei wisten moost able to be apostle, and moo þei wolden have
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Title
Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.
Author
Wycliffe, John, d. 1384.
Canvas
Page 303
Publication
Oxford,: Clarendon Press,
1869-71.

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"Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/afb3713.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 16, 2025.
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