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

IN þis gospel moveþ Crist his children to love, for charite is þe best cloiþ þat ony man may have; and herfore seiþ Goddis lawe þat love is stronge as deeþ, for love moveþ men to suffre deeþ gladly, in Goddis cause. And where deþ is þe moste þing þat man drediþ here, þis love passiþ kynde and makiþ men to coveite siche deeþ; and þis wille is not harmful but glorious to men, siþ bi siche love men brennen as coolis [colis, B.] , and turnen in to Goddis cloþis as angelis of hevene. First seiþ Crist þus, ȝif ony man love him, he shulde kepe his word, for þat is þe same treuþe; and siþ God is kynde aȝen to men þat loven him þus, Crist seiþ þat his Fadir shal love him aȝen; and ȝif his Fadir love a man, þe two oþer persones loveþ [This is the old plural present indicative of the Southern dialect, proceeding directly from the West Saxon form lufiað.] him, and al siche love of God mut nedis be evermore. And þe manhede of Crist worchiþ þus bi þis love; it shal brynge wiþ Crist siche membris of him to hevene, and so to clere siȝt of þe holy Trinite. And so Crist wiþ his membris shal make þere þer dwellinge wiþ|outen ony ende, bi love of þe Holy Goost; for seintis in hevene may not passe þis ende, for þan þei weren foolis chesynge a worse eende.

For Crist wolde shewen oonhede to loven him and to kepen his wordis; þerfore he seiþ efte, He þat loveþ him not, he kepiþ not hise wordis. And herfore Crist, discryvynge a man þat loveþ him, seiþ þus after in þe same gospel, He þat haþ my comandementis and kepiþ hem in his lyfe, he is þat ilke þat loveþ me wel [So E and B; A and C give no marks of quotation.] . Here may we wite where a man love God, for ȝif he loveþ God, he loveþ his lawe and wordis