Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

many weren helpers of God to bringe his Chirche to riȝt staat. Þe ȝate of þis citee is entree to religioun of Cristis Chirche, in which ȝate ben many ȝonge men, blynde and deed goostli, for þei knowen not Cristis religioun how it passiþ alle oþir. And so in þis ȝate ben two maneres of dede men. To summe lokiþ Crist, and quykeþ hem in grace, and ȝyveþ hem power and wille to come clene to his order. And wite þat al oþer ordris ben chargious to men as myche as þei adden to Cristis reli|gioun, ffor noon addicioun is worþ but ȝif Goddis lawe grounde it. Sum men ben deed in þis ȝate þat Crist aquykeþ not, but lasten in her olde errours to her deþ dai; and ben þes þat taken a lyf ungroundid in Goddis lawe, and þes men lasten in her errour out of þe bondis of Goddis lawe, and ben born fro þe ȝate to be beried in helle. But þere is a privy quykenynge þat God doiþ neiȝ þe deeþ, þat we can not telle of, but if God wil shewe it us, and þerefore folis jugement shulde be fled in þis mater; and þus þes men þat baren þis beere to putt þis deed man in erþe, ben men þat consenten and procuren to wickid|nesse. And so upon þes þree synnes God haþ mercy here, but upon þe ferþe synne God ceessiþ never to punnishe, for þei synnen to þe deeþ, and so aȝens the Hooly Goost, þat God mut needis punishe wiþouten ende, for þis synne may have noon eende in helle. In þis mater we shulden bewar of peril of ypocrisie, for many feynen hem in statis, and done reverse in her lyf, and ȝit þei seien þei ben perfiter þan weren þe first clerkis of Crist. And þus enemyes of Cristis religioun chalengen to be of his ordre, alȝif þey done even þe contrarie to name þat þei beren; as þe Pope shulde be moost meke man, moost ser|vysable and most pore, as we ben tauȝt in Seint Petir þat was Pope next after Crist. And now men seyen þat þe Pope mote nedis reverse þis ordenaunce, and have more power for to do þingis þat touchen excellence, and þus bishopis þat shulden be clerkis and pore men, as apostlis weren, ben moost lordis of þis world, and reversen apostlis lyf. Sum tyme weren mounkes lewede men, as seintis in Jerusalem; and þanne þei kept hem silf fro synne as seynt Bernard beriþ witnesse; but now monkes ben turned unto lordis of þis worlde moost ydel in goddis travaile, and seyen þat þei ben betre monkes þan weren þe first
/ 448
Pages Index

Actions

file_download Download Options Download this page PDF - Page 40 Image - Page 40 Plain Text - Page 40

About this Item

Title
Select English works of John Wyclif; edited from original mss. by Thomas Arnold.
Author
Wycliffe, John, d. 1384.
Canvas
Page 40
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/afb3713.0001.001/76:3

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 15, 2025.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.