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

CAP. VIII.

Of þis may men see hou perilous it is to coveite prelacie or [Those who seek high posts and dignities in the Church are not fit to have them] gret benefice in þe Chirche, siþ no man almost comeþ to hem wiþouten pride, veyn glorie, and symonye. Þerfore seide Seynt Gregory and þe comyn lawe of þe Chirche, þat honour or prelacie schulde not be ȝoven to hem þat seken and coveiten it, but to siche men as fleen honouris and dignyte; and þe same seiþ Seynt Austyn and Crisostom, wiþ oþere doctoures. For Crist techiþ us bi Seynt Poul, þat no man schal take honour to hym, but he þat is clepid of God, as Aaron was. Þerfore Moyses and þe holy prophete Jeremye, halewid in his moder wombe, excusiden hem mekely whanne God badde hem take þe ledyng and governyng of þe peple; and þe holy prophete Ysaye durst not take þis offis at Goddis profer, til he was clensed fro synne bi angelis mynystracion, and enflawmed wiþ Goddis science and charite. Þerfore Seynt Gregory and Seynt Austyn fledden at al here power to be bischopis, but souȝtten to lyve in devocion and studie of holy writt and in lowe degre, and coveitiden not þe heyenesse of þe statis, but wiþ sorowe and grete drede of God, and for grete nede of Cristene soulis, token þis staat, not of honour, but of traveile and bysynesse, as Austyn and Jerom witnessen. Lord! what stireþ us foolis, ful of ignoraunce and moche synne, þat kunnen not governe o soule wel, to seke so bisily grete statis where we schullen governe many þousand, and for þe leste of hem alle answere at domes day to þe blood of Jesus Crist,—gilti of schedyng þerof ȝif ony perische bi oure defaute. Where strong scham∣pions and pileris of holy Chirche dredden so sore to governe a fewe soulis, whi roten festues seken so moche charge? Certis it is ful soþ þat Seynt Jon wiþ þe gilden mouþ seiþ, wiþ [proved from the Fathers and from the canon law.] lawe canoun, þat what clerk sekiþ or desireþ prelacie or primacie

in erþe, schal fynde confusion in hevene. And who wolde desire sich dignyte of þe Chirche, in whiche he muste forsake his owene profit, and be servaunt of alle men, and bounden in tyme to take wilful deþ for oþer mennys helpe, and answere for so many soulis to Crist, rytful domesman? Certis, seiþ þis seynt [St. John Chrys. Comm. in Acta Apost. Hom. III. § 4.] , no man but he þat drediþ not Goddis harde dom. Þerfore seiþ Seynt Austyn and þe comyn lawe, þat no þing in þis world is more traveilous, more harde, and more perilous þan þe office of bischop, prest or dekene, to do it wel as oure emperoure Crist comaundiþ; and ȝif it be evyl don, no þing is more wrecchid ne more dampnable in Goddis dom. But what was þe good reulynge of þis staat he lernede nevere fro child∣hod ne ful age of man. And þerefore Seynt Austyn crieþ in þe story of his lif, þat he felide nevere God so moche wroþ aȝenus hym, as whanne, in peyne of his synnes, he suffride him take þe grete charge of bischopis staat. Þerfore he fleiȝ algatis citees where bischopis weren olde, lest þe peple wolde have hym bischop. Þerefore me þenkeþ treuly, þat who evere comeþ wel to ony benefice in þe Chirche, he sekiþ not dignyte ne honour of men undir him, but traveile and servyce, and dispit of worldly hienesse, as diden Crist and his disciplis, and oþere holy doctouris and bischopis, as Seynt Martyn, Seynt Colas, and siche oþere. And loke þat no worldly clerk excuse hym [Several words are lost here, through their having been inadvertently cut off when the MS. was bound. The sense seems to require the insertion of some such words as 'for þat love of soulis.'] . . . . . makeþ him take his office; for Seynt Gregory seiþ in þe lawe, whanne a man comeþ to siche a staat as bringiþ wiþ hym worschipe and ese, ȝif he come þerto of his owene desire, he fordoiþ to himself þe vertue of obedience. And þerfore Moyses forsoke þe ledynge of þe peple as fer as durst for wraþþe of God. And wanne bodely traveile and disese is putt bi sovereyn on þe suget, but ȝif he take it þanne of his owene desire, it is not plesaunt to God. Þerfore Seynt Poul forsok riches and honour of þe world as dritt, and wilfully putte him to traveil and peyne and martirdom. And in tokene of þis

obedience Crist fledde awey whanne þe peple wold have maad him kyng, as þe gospel of Jon witnesseþ; but he offred hym self wilfully to Jerusalem, to suffre peyne, woundis, and dis∣pitous deþ for oþere mennus nede and profit.

And certis oure worldly clerkis myȝtten longe ynowȝ be [Application of the principle to present cir∣cumstances.] wiþouten hem, bifore þat trewe prelatis wolden prese on hem; and ȝif þei weren opyn trewe men in Goddis cause, þei schulden sunere [corrected; sumere, X.] gete pursuyng cursing and prisonyng, or brennyng, of worldly coveitouse prelatis, þan fatte benefices or grete dig∣nytees. Þerfore Seynt Gregory techiþ in his Pastoralis [There is nothing about the poverty of bishops in the passage from St. Gregory's Pastorale here cited. He was considering the text, 'If any man desireth the office of a bishop he desireth a good work,' and observes,—'Quamvis notandum, quod illo in tempore hoc dicitur, quo quisquis plebibus praeerat, primus ad martyrii tor∣menta ducebatur. Tunc ergo lauda∣bile fuit episcopatum quaerere, quando per hunc quemque dubium non erat ad supplicia graviora per∣venire.' (Past. Pars I. cap. 8.)] , þat whanne bischoprichees weren pore, and bischopis weren þe first in martirdom for Cristene feiþ, þanne it was worþi grete preysynge to coveite a bischopriche. But now, siþ bischop∣riches ben riche, and many worldly bysinesses knyȝtt þerto, it is not do but dredeful to have bischopriches. Þerfore Seynt Bernard wrot to Egenye [read Eugenye.] þe pope, þat he drede no vermyn so moche to come to þe pope as foul lust to be lord; and ȝit comynly in þat tyme popis weren poysond, for coveitise of þe staat þat oþere men hadden þerto. And to refreyne synful ydiotis fro siche statis and beneficis, seiþ lawe canoun, he þat passiþ oþer in honour or dygnite of þe Chirche, he is most foul of alle but ȝif he passe oþere men in kunnynge and holynesse. Of þes few wordis may worldly foolis see here pereles and sclaundris, and do no symonye for holy ordris ne benefices ne sacramentis, bi feyned colour of dispensyng and privylegie, and customes of Anticristis weiward collegie and synagoge of Sathanas.