Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

of him worchen all oþer fadris. And þis fadir shulden we sue in alle our werkes, for alȝif we may not atteyne to þis fadir, neþeles þo dedis ben nouȝtis þat ben not ensaumplid and wrouȝt by þis fadir. Þe mercy of þis fadir can we not telle fulli, for he is þe mooste worcher þat may be in þis world, and he cannot worche, but ȝif he medle mercy, for he wrouȝt by mercy whan he made þis worlde, siþ he dide good to angelis, and makide hem perfit, and brouȝte hem to heyer state wiþ|outen her disert. And so when he doiþ good to eny creature, he makiþ it perfit of his pure grace, siþ God Almiȝty, al witty, and al godely, cannot worche but ȝif he worche by mercy. Be we þan mercyful for goodnesse of God. Þe lest mercy of men is among clerkis: þat wolen not ȝyve goodis of grace but ȝif þei sillen hem, and þerefore þis synne is heresie before God, þe most and þe first þat parteþ men fro God, for þei weyen her wynnynges more þan þer God. And herfore all þat we done shulde be done in Goddis name, to wirchip of oure God, and profit of his church. Ȝhe ȝif we ben holden boþe to God and man by resoun of dette to do a good dede, loke þat þis reson be first hidde in our þouȝt, and so no man may excuse him fro werkes of mercy as no man may wante werkes of a good wille, for þat werke is þe first and heiest in man. First shulde a man have mercy of himsilf, and mercy of his modir, þat is Holy Chirche; and þan haþ he mercy of all his ende kyn [ende kyn. There is no difference of reading in the MSS. The phrase seems to mean 'remoter kindred,' as 'ende-men' signifies 'borderers' in Anglo-Saxon.] . Þe secound word of Crist forbediþ fool jugement; and resoun of þis stondiþ hereinne þat God may not folily juge ony man; and so as oure wille haþ nede to be cloþid wiþ mercy, so oure undirstondinge haþ nede to have riȝt jugement. For many men wenen to be merciful to ypocritis, and þei done harm to men to which þei wenen do profit; and many men wenen to juge þer breþeren, and ȝit þei jugen falsely and cruely of many; and eche man shulde tempere sich jugement aftir God, for God in his jugement may not faile for resoun. Þe þridde word bidditþ Cristen men beware of foly dampnynge up peyne of þer dampnacion; and al ȝif þis semeþ no comoun
/ 448
Pages Index

Actions

file_download Download Options Download this page PDF - Page 10 Image - Page 10 Plain Text - Page 10

About this Item

Title
Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.
Author
Wycliffe, John, d. 1384.
Canvas
Page 10
Publication
Oxford,: Clarendon Press,
1869-71.

Technical Details

Link to this Item
https://name.umdl.umich.edu/afb3713.0001.001
Link to this scan
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/afb3713.0001.001/46:3

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain. If you have questions about the collection, please contact [email protected]. If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact [email protected].

DPLA Rights Statement: No Copyright - United States

Related Links

Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/cme:afb3713.0001.001

Cite this Item

Full citation
"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.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.