Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

chosen ȝif þei hadden knowe siche moo; but, for þei knewun not þe beter of Joseph and Mathi, þei putten it in Goddis juge|ment wheþer of þes two Crist wolde have; and preieden ful devouteli, siþ Crist knewe þe hertis of men, þat Crist shulde shewe wheþer of þes two he hadde chosen, bi casting of lottis. And siþ Petre and oþer apostlis weren in þis chesinge, and þei weren moo, and more witti, þan þe Pope of Rome, it semeþ þat he shulde after hem make his more elecciouns. Apostlis chosen preestis in contres þat þei wenten bi, and maden hem dwellinge curatis; and þei hadden myche goodis. But apostlis weren algatis pore men and overseeris; for þis poverte was perfeccioun þat felde more to hem. For Crist, her alþer maister, was moost pore man. But oþer fourme of chesinge can we not grounde in Goddis lawe. And siþ Crist, God and man, chees so fewe men in þis office, and þe pope chesiþ so many, wiþoute siȝt in Godhede, it semeþ þat he is hied over Crist, and so over al þat is seid God. For certis Crist myȝte not make al þes eleccions; siþ Crist ne myȝte not chese, but þat he saw þe Godhede chese. But popis chesyn, for moneie or for preier of princis, many men þat ben unable to bere haly water in chirchis ['men þat ben unable to bere haly water in chirchis.'] This may either mean laymen,—men who are not qualified to discharge even the hum|blest ecclesiastical function,—or, as I am more inclined to believe, clerks, so ignorant and incompetent as to be unfit even for the duty of an acolyte in carrying the Asper|sorium with holy water, for the priest to use in the ceremony of the Asperges. To bere is the expression, not to use, for the act of sprinkling could only be performed by a priest. See Ferraris' Bibliotheca, articles Aspersorium, Aqua Benedicta, Ordo.] . Lord! siþ Crist myȝte not do þis,—and þis þei taken for excellence,—how sich men hien hem not above Crist and al þat is God! for certeinli Crist myȝte not make siche elecciouns. Þes men suen not Crist, as diden Peter and oþer apostlis, but algatis gon bifore Crist. And so Crist clepide hem Saþanas; siþ Crist acceptiþ not persones, but takiþ ech man as he is worþi, sum men goode and sum men fendis, after þat þei suen Crist. And þus it semeþ to many men, ȝif þe Pope wolde be Cristis disciple, he shulde leeve þes elecciouns, or use hem as Petre dide. Wel Y woot þat Crist forsook to juge in temporal goodis; and þis jugement, evyl done, is myche worse to þe juge. And þus apostlis makinge preestis hadden
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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 304
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 June 12, 2025.
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