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

CAP. VI.

Lord! where þe pope þinke good to conferme siche newe [The friars are divided be∣tween the two Popes.] ordris! Certis synne of siche children turneþ into heed of þer fadir, as Helias sones maden þer fadir to be punishid sharply of God. And generalli, whoso synneþ for avantage of himsilf, his synne makiþ disavauntage of þat þat he weneþ turne to good. As, þes two popis han now no more enemyes, ne more hid, þan ben þes freris; for summe holden wiþ þe o pope and many and grete wiþ þe toþir; and þei enformen þer countreis to holde stifli wiþ þer pope. And no drede, ȝif cuntreis turne fro þe oo pope to þe toþir, þe freris wolden turne also, for þei obeishen to þe puple. And þus love ungroundid in God, but oonli in temporal goodis, mut nedis faile and do harm, for al siche love is sinful.

Siþ þes sectis ben so harmful to oure modir hooli Chirche, and, [All men ought to help to deliver the Church from them.] as bileve techiþ us, þe Chirche may be purgid of þis, it were sumwhat for to speke of þis purging of þe Chirche. For alȝif it shal not fulli be turned in þis lyf, but first in hevene, and [dele and.] ȝit it may be purgid in part, and in þis purginge stondiþ mennis mede. And no man is excusid here of consenting to þis synne, but ȝif he helpe on sum maner; for ech man mai helpe sum∣what. Sum men shulden helpe bi resoun þat is taken of Goddis lawe, and summe by worldli power, as erþely lordis þat God haþ ordeyned, and alle men bi good liif and good preieris to God, for in him liggiþ þe helpe here aȝens þe cautelis of þe fend.

And þus popis, bischopis, and freris, shulden helpe here to purge hemsilf; for bileve techiþ us þat ech man is endettid to God, as ech man is endettid to oþir, to helpe him algatis goostli and bodili. Dette is not to charge, but ȝif it turne to goostli help; and þus spekiþ Crist in þe gospel of dette in þe Pater Noster, and also in o parable, bi which he moveþ men to mercy. And þus seiþ Poul, þat he is dettour to ech man, but [Rom. i. 14.] bi ordre. And þus prelatis shulden helpe þe Chirche, as þe freris shulden helpe hemsilf. But more part of þis world erreþ here, and clepiþ harm helpe; but lawe of Crist shulde reule men here, to wite how men shulden come to blis.

Men speken here of a liȝt helpe to which men ben comunli [One easy way is this; to detect and expose their heretical belief about the sacred host.] holden, þat men shulden on þis maner comune wiþ freris, and ellis not. First, to seie þat þei putten not on freris þat þei ben heretikes, for þanne men wolden not dele wiþ hem, ne nurishe hem in worldli goodis; but men han hem suspect of heresie for many causis. First, for þei varien þus in bileve of þe sacrid oost. And þus þei schulden telle at þe bigynnynge what þing þei trowun þat it is,—wheþir it be Goddis bodi or not. And here þei mai not be excusid; for mynystrel or joȝelour, tumbler and harlot, wole not take of þe puple bifore þat þei han shewid þer craft; and siþ freris crafte stondiþ in þis, to teche þe puple þer bileve, and þe puple trowiþ comunli þat þis oost is Goddis bodi, here freris shulden bigynne, and telle men where þis be soiþ. And ȝif þei seien þat þis oost in no maner is Goddis bodi, flee þes freris as heretikes, for Crist and his Chirche seien þe contrarie. Ȝif þei seien þat it is Goddis bodi, and manye freres seien þe contrarie, þis word techiþ not þat ne þei gabben in comune bileve of þe Chirche; and þerfore men shulden abide witnes of þer comune seel, and bifore dele not wiþ hem, but have hem suspect of heresie. Ȝif þei seien þat þis oost is an accident wiþouten suget, as colour and figure, and þus it is not Goddis bodi, wel we witen þat olde bileve, groundid in þe wordis of Crist, seiþ þat it is Goddis bodi, as þe pope sumtyme seide. And it is not ynowȝ þat freris erren in colour and figure of þer abitis, to prove þat þis sacrid oost is colour and figure of breed. And þis defamynge shulde þe pope seke out wiþ greet traveile; for þes sectis han sclaundrid him, as he and hise hadden errid in bileve.

And it is not ynowȝ to seie þat þer is Goddis bodi, for beter þing þan Cristis bodi is everywhere for þe godhede; and men axen not what is þere, but what is þat þat men worshipen so. And ȝit freris seien, þat þei trowun here as holi Chirche doiþ in þis mater. So seien Jewis and Sarasynes. But, frere, telle me how Y shulde trowe. And ȝif þei seien þis mater is sutil, and men mai not undirstonde it, wel we witen þat God bindiþ not men to bileve ony þing which þei mai not undirstonde,—as we seien of þe Trinite. And ȝif þei seien þat þis sacrament is Goddis bodi, as it is in hevene, þes freris speken as idiotis. For we axen of þis sacrid oost þat men seen bodili brekun and etun comunli, and it is moved as oþer oostis. And þus, whatever a frere seiþ, trewe men shulden leeve hym here as suspect of heresie, bifore he have wel put þis of.

Aftir þis myȝte a man axe, siþ God tolde of newe sectis þat [Another is to show, that not one of the new Orders was founded by Christ.] shulen come into þe Chirche, to charge and harm of þe Chirche, how groundiþ þis frere his ordre, and in what tyme it bigan. And siþ o frere contrarieþ anoþer in þis mater, and nouȝt is proved, men shulden avoide þis frere til he hadde here tauȝt þe treuþe. Þis strif is mater of gabbing and of synnyng among manie; and þus for profit of þe Chirche shulden freris worche to quenche þis strif. Carmes seien þat þei weren bifore þe tyme þat Crist was born [The Carmelites pretended that their Order was founded by the pro∣phet Elijah, when he retired to Mount Carmel to escape the wrath of Ahab. But the wide extension and notoriety of the Order date from the time of St. Simon Stock, an Englishman of the thirteenth cen∣tury, concerning whose marvellous vision consult Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints, May 16. The Augusti∣nian friars, or the Hermits of St. Austin, claim to have been founded and placed under a special rule by the great Bishop of Hippo. The Friars Preachers (Dominicans) and the Friars Minors (Franciscans) were, as all the world knows, founded near the beginning of the thirteenth century by SS. Dominic and Francis.] . Austyns seien þat þei weren many hundrid wynters bifore oþer freris. Prechouris and Menours seyn þe reverse. But noon groundiþ here his word, as noon of þes newe ordris groundiþ þat he cam in bi Crist; and but þis grounding be in dede, dremes and confermyngis ben nouȝt. On þis maner shulden trewe men seke wisely þe soþe, and purge oure modir of apostemes þat ben harmful in þe Chirche. To þis shulde þe pope helpe, for to þis dette weren apostlis bounden,

and not to lordschippes of moneie, but in as myche as it helpide herto. And siþ it lettiþ comunli, popis shulden flee þis, as dide apostlis; for ellis þei seiden wiþ oþer foolis, þat helpe were harm, and good were yvel.