Select English works of John Wyclif. Vol. 3. Miscellaneous works / edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.

[PARS I.] [Some unlucky binder has cut away the greater part of the heading in the MS; it seems to have been 'Pars Prima Blasphemiae.']

HIT is seide þat thre þinges stourblen þis reume, and specialy [The prevalence of Blasphemy, especially among friars, with whom it takes three forms:] heresie, þat hafs thre parties; bot of blasphemye, þat is þo worste, is bot litel spoken. And, for wickidnesse of þis vice, þo bischopis of þo temple putten blasphemye upon Crist, to do [Ps. lxiv. 3.] him to deþ. For, as þo Psalme seis, and þo gospel beris witte∣nesse, Þei scharpid hor toungis and cried togedir, What kepe ȝe wittenesse? ȝe have herde his blasphemye. Blasphemye is in a maner sclaundring of God. And so in þre maners may mon blaspheme in God. Ffirst, when worþynesse approprid to God is unworþily putt to a pore creature. Þo secounde, when unperfeccioun is putt upon God. Þo þridde, when divynyte is denyed for God, þat mot acorde to hym for his grett

lordship. And if blasphemye be scaterid amonge mony men, nereþoles þis heresie is comynly wiþ freris. And wiþ thre blas∣pemyes þei blynden þo puple. Þo first is hor heresie of þo sacrament of þo auter. Þo secounde is blasphemye of beg∣gyng of Crist. Þo þridde is hor blasphemye of graunt of gostily helpe to hem þat wil bye or pourchasse to be Anticristis broþer.

As to þo first, we seyn, siker of oure feyth, þat þo whyte [I. Blasphemous doctrine re∣specting the Eucharist.] þing and rounde þat þo prest sacris, like to þo unsacrid oostis, and is broken and eeten, is verrely Gods body in þo fourme of bred. Ffor Crist toke bred in his hondes, blessid hit, brake hit, and bad alle his disciplis eete þerof. Ffor as he hymself seide, Þis is my body; and everiche Cristen mon is fully certeyn þat alle blasphemyes in þo world may not fals Crist. Bot here þo fals blasphemes gropen after weyes, and seyn þat bi þis þei schewe Gods body and not þat bred. Bot witte þei wil by Cristen mennis bileve, þat þes wordis of Crist ben not so naked of witte, to telle his apostils þat his body is his body, for þat knew þei first. Also, þof al Cristis shewyng were straunge to þo bred, hou shulde þese blasphemes, by virtu of þese wordes, proffe þat bred tournes to noȝt, and accident leeves wiþouten any sogett, or þat Gods body is newly þere? Also, as everiche Cristen mon moste graunt, Crist schewid wyn in þo chalis, þat he cald his blode. Lord, why shulde he not shewe by þo same skil bred, þat he toke in his honde and comaundid to eete hit? For everiche Cristen mon may wel witte, þat Crist seide not þat þo metal was his blode; ne Crist undirstode not þat accidentis were his blode, ne he schewid not his blode wiþinne his body, bothe for his wordis were þen wiþouten witte, and also þen his wordis were fals, for þo tyme þat he spake hom. Of þis may we se þat Crist was a gabber, or þis was soþ þat he seide, þis bred is my body.

And herfore Seynt Jerome, þat couthe more of holy writte [Their expla∣nation of the words of insti∣tution novel and untenable.] þen alle þo men now on lyve, for he was lenger tauȝt, wrytes þus [S. Hieron. ad Hedibiam, § 2.] . Here we, he seis; þat bred þat Crist brake, and gaf his disciplis to eete, is his owne body, ffor he hymself seis þat þis

is my body. And to dampne wordis or sentence of þis holy mon were a foolis tourne, to scorne of þo dampner; as we shulden scorne þes heretikes, þat leven Cristis wordis, and feynen wordis or sentence wiþouten auctorite. As somme seyn, þat is þo sentence of þo gospel, not þat þis bred is Cristis body, bot þat þis bred schal be Cristis body. Somme ben not payed of þis, but þat of þis bred shal be Cristis body. Þo þridde seis, þat Cristis body is not new made, ne getis not new mater þat was in þo bred; so þat not of þis bred is makid Gods body, but þat þes accidentis bitoken Gods body. Mony soche sentencis ben feyned of freris, by whom Anticristis clerkis reversen Cristis sentence. By þis mot we graunte þat þis bred þat Crist brak is verrely his body, or elles sey þat þis holy gospel is fals, or ellis uncraftily cloute to wordes of Crist. And sith everiche mon þat wiþouten auctorite of Crist puttes witte to Cristis wordes þat God askes not, is an heretike, hit is open þat soche feyners ben alle blasphemes.

Bot ageynis þis grutches Anticrist, þat þis sacrament schulde [The substance of the bread remains after consecration, contrary to what they maintain.] togedir be bred and Gods body. Bot, as he feynes, when þat Gods body bygynnes to be þere, þen bred turnes to noȝt, and accident leeves. Þes foolis shulden undirstonde þat Baptist, when he was naked, holly ceesid not to be Jon, ne non oþer þing. And so þes blasphemes passen Juwes in fooly, for Juwes knowen þat hit is bred when þei kyndely eten hit; and so þese freris and Pharisees ben madder þen Juwes and falser þen Paynims, siþ þei trowen nowþer þat hit is Gods body, ne bred, ne creature þat ever God made. Bot feythe of þo gospel techis us to trowe þat þis is verey bred after þo sacringe, for Crist hymself seis, þis bred is my body; bot what foole con not se þat ne þen hit is bred? Also þo gospel techis Cristen men to preye aftir þis iche day bred, or owne substaunce. And Austyn techis þat by þis bred Crist undirstode þis sacrament. Also þo apostlis knewen Crist by brekyng of þis bred; and þis bred was þo sacrament, as Austyn seis, wiþ þo popis lawe. And Seynt Poule, þat owver oþer knew of Gods priveytes, calles þis sacrament, bred þat we breke.

Owe, wheþer we shal se Anticrist so myghty þat he shal [They dare not publicly place their doctrine by the side of ours,] dampne Cristen men for þei graunte þo gospel! Wil I wot

þat we may amonge Saraȝens trowe and teche þis gospel wiþ∣outen any punyschyng; bot alle Cristen men shulden have freris suspecte, þat þei dar not putt out her feiþe to þo puple, and putt hit by oure feythe, and stonde þerby. And certis one of þese þree þinges semes to meete hom,—þat ouþer þei con not, or dar not, or þei travel by envye. God helpe us few Cristen men þat stonden in þis feythe, ffor leesynges and flater∣ynges of freris spreden ful wyde. And, as Crist schewid bred bifore þo sacringe, and bad hem all eete þerof, so he schewid aftir.

And as Anticrist marres men in hor wittis, so he destries [for it is con∣tradicted by the plainest evidence of sense,] virtues þat shulden cum of hom. Ffor amonge alle bodily wittis, moste certeyne of alle are gropynge and tastynge, as philoso∣phers seyn. Bot gropynge þei marren by hor foly sentence; ffor no bodily þing we knowen more certeynly þen hardenesse and sofftenesse of þis holy bred. For when hit is new baken, hit brekes in a maner, and varies in sounde fro olde baken bred; bot olde bred, in moyste tyme, brekes not þus. Bot, as philosoferes seyn, hardenesse and sofftenesse, freelnesse and towghnesse, with soche qualytees, may nowþer qualite ne quan∣tite sogetten. Ow, wheþer God, þat is treuþe, ordeyned Cristen men for to be marred in hor wittes in þo sacrament of trewht, more þen Juwes or Paynims erren in hor feythe! And so þo sacrament of þo chalis may opinly shewe, ffirst, swettenesse of wyne, and aftir sournesse, as prestis knowen wil. Lord, wheþer swettenesse and sournesse ben sogettid in figure! And here mennis innwittis mot algatis erre in knowynge and jugynge of difference of substaunce; as, if mony oostis, sacrid and un∣sacrid, were mengid togedir, a blaspheme þat knewe not þo medelynge of hom, kouthe not knowe accident fro bred, ne telle what is þis more þen a beeste. And if tonnes of wyne were sacrid byȝonde þo see, nowþer vyntyners of Englonde couthe taaste þis likoure, ne prestis myȝt synge wiþ soche accidentis. And so þes fals men mot algatis dowte wheþer alle soche men faylen in hor jugementis.

And after soche errours in kyndely wittes þei make men to [The friars quarrel with the new trans∣lation of the Bible.] erre in science and vertues, as þei mot curse gramaryens þat Englishen þo gospel, þat þo apostlis knewen Crist in brekyng

of bred, for þei myght make hor scolers to trowe þat þo sacra∣ment of þo auter were bodily bred; as þo gramarien were to blame þat taught þus hir childer, þat þo hounde schynes aboven þo sonne [The friars impute to gram∣marians, who undertake the trans∣lation of the Bible, the desire, by the way in which they render this passage, to bring down the sacra∣ment of the altar to the level of common bread,—which would be like saying that the dog-star shone more brightly than the sun. Such appears to me to be the meaning of this difficult passage.] . For if gramariens shulden construe þis þus,—þo apostils knew Crist in brekynge of accydent wiþouten suggett, þen nowþer þei ne þo puple wiste what þei mente; as þis were erroure in gramer to teche, for, þis bred is nedeful to mon, þat þing is nedeful to mon. And here Anticristis clerkes maken homself perplex; hit nedes not to suen. Owe! þis blasphemye pervertis boþe logik and science of kynde. Bot moste harm in þis mater stondes in þis; þat þei perverte þo feythe of þo gospel. For þo gospel seis, þat Crist toke bred in his hondes, blessid hit, and brake hit, and gaf his disciplis, and bad hom ich one, Eete ȝe of þis; for, as he seide, þis is my body. By þo first þis, þei sey þat bred is shewid, and by þo seconde þis is al anoþer þing. And so þei blaspheme in Crist and mystaken his worde. For as [dele as.] everiche gode mon by resoun con se, þat as þo wisdome of Crist shulde first schewe bred, so schulde he aftir shewe þo same bred; ffor elles þis were a causel wiþouten any witte, Eetis alle of þis, for þis is my body.

And herfore lordis and comyns and alle trew men schulden [The laity ought to suppress their errone∣ous teaching on the Eucha∣rist, and spi∣ritually stone them as blas∣phemers.] juge þo blasphemes in hor wronge partye. Ffor so myche may prelatis erre, þat hit is worthy þo puple to juge hom, as þo bischopis of þo temple were nedid to forsake to juge Crist, þat is trewth of þo gospel. And right as a blaspheme in þo olde lawe shulde be stoned of al þo puple, so alle Cristen men shulden gostily stone blasphemes. Bot who is a Cristen mon, bot he þat trowes þat bred is Cristis body, as þo gospel seies? And so by erroures þat growen of þes blasphemes is holy Chirche lettid to profit in virtues. Ffor if mon trowid holly in þo lawe of þo gospel, and durst not cloute þerto nor drawe þerfro, þen shulden þei be mekely Cristis disciplis and fle soche blasphemes,

as vertues techen; for boþe vertues and vyces ben knyttid togedir, and þen shulde Cristis lawe be worshippid as hit is worthy, for hit suffices by hitself to reule Cristis Chirche, wiþouten þo popis lawe or any suche oþer. And as men thar not renne to Rome, ne to any one, to fecche by leeve of Crist or ellis to be made Cristis membre, so men thar not go þider for to cum to heven. Ffor, as everiche mon had a lyne streght unto heven, so haves he Crist above hym, þat wiþouten oþer prelatis sufficis to gif grace and al þat men neden. Mony þinges ben hidde here þat Cristen men may fynde, and witte wel þat of vanyte sues more vanyte.

Bot ȝitte ageyns þis sentence meefes Anticrist, and, as an [The friars rest their doctrine on the Pope, whom they declare to be infallible.] heretik departid fro treuth, he wandris unwarly unto wronge wayes. Þo first is in derkenesse of resouns of scole. Þis wil we passe owver, certeyn of oure feythe þat þei shal nevere hirte oure sentence of þo gospel, bifore þei con Porfyry, wiþ Aristotils textis. Þo secounde wey þat þei walken is trist of new witte∣nesse. Þo first wittenesse and þo moste is þo pope and his cardynals, whom þei have hyed so myche, and evened him with Crist, þat as þei sey he myght not synne in leedyng of his Chirche, so he myght not erre in articles of þo trouth. Bot blessid be God, þat schewes us in dede þat one þat men callen pope may erre in þes bothe. And one þing I sey, certen of resoun, þat no mon in þis worlde may lightlyer or grevouslyer synne, for his fote is festid at pride by hynesse of state, and þo fende temptis hym more, for hope of more harmynge bycause of his synne. And one þing is certen, þat he is not confermed, in þat þat he hyes him and varyes fro Crist. And evere þo moo of soche men ben gedird togedir, þo strenger þei ben to Anti∣crist, and þo ferrer fro Crist; as aght hundrid prestis on Baal syde were not so stronge in God as Hely hym one. And here may we se hou falsely þo fend bigiles þo Chirche wiþ his fals principle, þat if þo more part of soche men assenten to a sen∣tence, þat al holy Chirche shulde trowe hit as gospel. And so, þof þo pope and alle his cardynals determen as gospel, þat þo sacrament of þo auter is accident wiþouten sugette, neverþoles, for þei con not grounde hem on Gods lawe ne resoun, holy Chirche shulde not trowe hom, bot have hom suspect.

Lord, wheþer feythe of þo gospel gyven to Cristen men, þo [This attempt to change the ancient faith must be re∣sisted.] whoche lastid þo thousande ȝere þat Sathanas was bounden, wolde not suffice nowe when Sathanas is lowsid! Ffaythe of þo gospel seis þat heven and erþe shal passe, and chaunge fro state to state, bot þo wordes of Crist schul not þus passe. Ow! what wodenesse þen were hit, any Cristen mon to leve þo wordis of Crist, þo gospel, and trowe to fals wordis! Bot worschippid be þo lore of sothfastnesse þat mevyd þis courte to confesse þis faythe, as schewes pope Nychol [The reference is, I think, to the recantation of Berengarius, incorpo∣rated in the Acts of the council held at Rome in the year 1059 under Nicholas II, in which the former declares that he accepts the faith concerning the Eucharist prescribed to him by 'Nicholas and this holy Synod.' Concilia, ed. reg. vol. xxv. p. 591.] . And ȝitte afftir, when þis courte was fer fro þo trewthe, hit determyned not þis feyned sentence þat men holden nowe, al þof wode glosatoures had wrytten in þis mater more than þei knew of, or elles couthen grounde. And ȝitte alle þes freris þat procur for Anticrist, mot cloute to leesynge to textis and glosis. And so þo fende haves counseilde wiþ Anticrist his viker, and heght hym Gog and Magog to bigyle þo puple; and comettis þis fantasye,—þat if þei maken men to denye hor wittes and Cristis wordis boþe, þat þis sacrament is not verely bred, but þing þat þei knowen not, he schuld make hom lightly to denye afftir þat þis were Gods body, or what he wolde. And so myȝt he lightliere make hom lye by wyfes, and disuse temporal godes, or do what þei wolde, and sey þo puple shulde not trowe soche þinges, bot trowe þo sawes þat Anticrist lyes, for wittes of þo puple erren ful ofte. For we may als opunly knowe þat þis is bred, as we may knowe þo synnes of Anticrist. Bot one þing lettis, þat þen þei myȝt not wynne þo money of hor soggettis, þat þei nowe spoyle; and so, by hydynge of synne þat þei nowe selle, þei shulde not feble þes rewmes þat þei nowe bygile. Ne alle Anti∣cristis clerkis con not telle þo cause, why accydentis schulden leve wiþouten sogett, bot if hit were to sygnifie one of þese þinges,—ouþer þat soche men ben partid fro Crist, or elles þat blessynge of prelatis are verely cursynge, or elles to make þo puple to trowe þat þei passe God. Ffor houevere þei blaber here wiþ hor lippes, hor soule may not understonde what are

þese accydentis; ne God may not undirstonde an accydent wiþoute a sugett. Bot anentis þo first of þese, Austyn seis þat as mon may not be wiþouten his God, so an accydent may not be wiþouten his sugett [This dictum is taken from a treatise on the Ten Categories, falsely ascribed to St. Augustine. See his Works, vol. i. App. p. 34 (Benedict. ed. 1679).] . And if we glose Austyn, þat þis may not be by kynde, by þo same skil shulde we putt on Austyn þat he shulde denye al holy faythe, for none of þes articles may be wiþouten myracle. And so þo first and þo laste ben falsely feyned, for al þof þei be partid fro God, neþoles God fyndes hom, and puttes hom to payne.

God wolde þat Anticristis clerkes, þat perverten oure byleve, [What St. Am∣brose really held on the subject;] and chargen more wordes of Ambrose þen wordes of þo gospel, wolden ȝif us leve to treuly glose Ambrose. When he seis þat aftir þo sacringe þo sacrament shulde not be holden bred, þis seynt undirstondes, as he ofte telles, þat it schulde not be trowid afftir principaly bred [See vol. i. p. 379, note.] . Ffor þis Ambrose seis þat þat þing þat was bred is nowe Gods body; and wil may we witte þat Am∣brose seis not þat bred gos to noght, as Anticrist seis. As anentis þis cursid blessynge falsely feyned, hit is knowen þat Crist curside þo fige tre more mekely þen þese men feynen þat þei blesse þis bred. Ffor ȝitte aftir Cristis cursynge was þo tre dryed, and substaunce lefft, as þo gospel seis. Bot, as þes seyn, aftir hor blessyng leves nowþer mater, ne forme, ne part of þis bred. Ffor, as þei seyn in sentense, þei blesse þis bred to noght in forme of noght. Bot schilde us fro soche blessynges of blaspheme prestis! And siþ noght þat was bifore in bred tournes into Gods body, or any oþer creature, as þei mot nedely sey, how falsely þen feyned þei þat þo bred of þo auter tournes into better! For by þo same skil hit tournes into Cristis soule, and into his Godhead. Sothe hit is þat þis bred tournes into Cristis body. Ffor, as Seint Ambrose seis, hit shal be Cristis body. And so þo substaunce of bred, offerd in [both sub∣stances remain after consecra∣tion.] þo auter, shal be turned into substaunce of Cristis owne body, and nowþer schal be broght to noght, for þei ben not contrarye. Lett we þese blasphemes take hede, how Crist, bifore þo sacrynge, bad alle eete of þis bred; bot everiche blaspheme schulde

schame þat Crist shulde bidde hom do þing contrarye to his purpose, þat were not for to do. And herefore wiþouten dowte Crist wolde þat þis bred were lastynge til it were his body, and aftir were eeten, ffor elles mot þei putt tregettrye and falsenes in Crist. And sith bodily eetyng was bidden of Crist, and þis bodily eetyng myȝt not be, bot if hit were bred, þen þis bred lastis aftir þo sacrynge. And þus Seynt Poule and oþer apos∣tils usiden suche eetynge; ffor gostily eetynge of Cristis owne body was not tauȝt by schewyng of bred, bot by brekyng of bred, as Seynt Poule seis. And oþer wittenes in þis mater is multitude of doctoures. Bot siþ Seynt Austyn forbedes þat ony man trowe hym, bot if he grounde hym in resoun, or elles in Gods lawe, myche more of alle þese doctors, siþen þo fende was loused, no mon schulde trowe hom, bot þei grounde hom þus. And myche more of oure popis wiþ alle hor cardinals. And so, þof we had an hundred of popis, and alle þo freris in þis worlde were tourned unto cardinals, ȝitte schulde we more trowe þo lawe of þo gospel þen we schulde trowe al þis mul∣titude.