Chapter 16

Miracles no proof of holiness

Pollard pp. 31.11–32.31

Truth31.11–32.31

31veritas. Si autem sanctitatem vite et securitatem ejus preponderas, qua fronte meretricia tantum acceptas vitam istorum prelatorum qui multociens et graviter peccaverunt, et dimittis vitam Christi infinitum sanctiorem, infinitum securiorem, plus facilem et communem. Nemo autem potest subterfugere quin sic faciens non mediocriter peccas et in diaboli volutabro te immergis. Et sic si obicis quod fingo istos sanctos de ista declinacione a lege domini finaliter penitere, doce tu quod sint sancti et docebo quod sic finaliter penituerant communiter. Evangelista quidem, qui fuit longe sanctior istis tribus, dicit quod si dixerimus quod peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos seducimus. Quomodo ergo non honorat istos sanctos qui imponit eis quod sic fructuose finaliter penitebant; cum patet luce clarius quod dimittentes hanc stratam regiam et eligentes viam ambiguam apostolis prioribus incognitam non mediocriter peccaverunt. Et sic non contendimus circa istud quod iste tres persone sunt in sanctitate et oracionis efficacia sacerdotes vulgares et populum excellentes; quia de istis tribus, de sacerdotibus vulgaribus 32et populo non habemus evidenciam quod sunt sancti. Et quantum ad oraciones et miracula patet quod sunt illusiones diaboli sompniate, cum pupplicatur hodie quod quilibet sacerdos consecrando eucharistiam facit infinita miracula et tanta quanta fecit dominus jhus Christus. Et secundum apostolum p a cor. [1] 3°. Si viator habuerit omnem fidem ita ut montes transferat, caritatem autem non habuerit, nichil est. Multo magis ergo signa ostensa a deo sive diabolo in presencia corporis mortui non indicant quod sit sanctum. Ideo una de precipuis cautelis diaboli per quam seducit viantes est decepcio in hiis signis. Credamus ergo vivis operibus conformiter legi dei et dimittamus hec signa frivola, cum magi pharaonis post moysem fecerant signa magna, ut patet Exodi 7° et 8°; et secundum veritatem evangelii presciti dicent in die judicii: Domine nonne in nomine tuo prophetavimus et demonia ejecimus et virtutes multas fecimus, ut patet M. 7°. Et Christus asserit M. 24° pseudoChristi et pseudoprophete dabunt signa magna et prodigia. Erubesce igitur de cetero esse de generacione adulterii, nisi docere sciveris quod hec signa mortua miraculose fiunt ab homine quem asseris esse sanctum. Cum prope diem judicii antichristus faciet multa signa. Et sic cogitares quomodo iste cronice sunt apocrifa preter fidem et a probabili multa falsa ad placendum satrapis sunt inserta. Idem ergo est legem Christo postponere et ista apocrifa anteferre, et antiquum dierum relinquere et deos recentes infideliter acceptare. Et quantum ad fidem adhibendam de absolucione hominis a peccato, patet quod hoc debet sperare sed non credere tanquam fidem, licet fides condicionata in talibus sit adjuncta, scilicet quod si homo fructuose et finaliter peniteat, tunc est a cunctis suis peccatis que commiserat absolutus.

Truth. And if you give weight to holiness of life and its security, with what harlot's brow do you so highly accept the life of these prelates,¹ who have sinned often and gravely, and set aside the life of Christ, infinitely holier, infinitely more secure, easier and more common? And no one can evade [the conclusion] that in so doing you sin not moderately and plunge yourself into the devil's wallow. And so, if you object that I am inventing [the claim] that these saints finally repented of this turning aside from the law of the Lord, teach you that they are saints, and I will teach that they had, as a rule, finally so repented. The Evangelist indeed, who was far holier than these three,² says that "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (1 John 1:8). How then does he not honour these saints who ascribes to them that they so fruitfully repented at the end, since it is clearer than light that, in leaving this king's highway and choosing a doubtful way unknown to the earlier apostles, they sinned not moderately? And so we do not contend about this, that these three persons excel common priests and the people in holiness and in the efficacy of prayer; for of these three, of common priests 32and the people, we have no evidence that they are saints. And as for prayers and miracles, it is clear that they are illusions of the devil, dreamed up, since it is published today that any priest, in consecrating the eucharist, does infinite miracles, and as great as the Lord Jesus Christ did. And according to the apostle, 1 Corinthians 13: "If a wayfarer should have all faith, so that he could remove mountains, and have not charity, he is nothing."³ Much more, then, do signs shown by God or by the devil in the presence of a dead body not indicate that it is holy. Therefore one of the devil's chief wiles, by which he deceives wayfarers, is deception in these signs. Let us therefore believe living works in conformity with God's law,⁴ and set aside these frivolous signs, since Pharaoh's magicians, after Moses, had done great signs, as is clear in Exodus 7 and 8; and according to the truth of the gospel the foreknown will say on the day of judgment: "Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils, and done many miracles?", as is clear in Matthew 7.⁵ And Christ asserts in Matthew 24 that "false Christs and false prophets shall shew great signs and wonders" (Matt. 24:24). Blush, therefore, henceforth to be of the generation of adultery (Matt. 12:39), unless you know how to teach that these dead signs are miraculously done by the man whom you assert to be a saint. Since near the day of judgment Antichrist will work many signs. And so you should consider how these chronicles are apocrypha, outside the faith, and how in all probability many false things have been inserted into them to please the satraps. It is the same, therefore, to put the true law behind⁶ and prefer these apocrypha, as to forsake the ancient of days and faithlessly accept new gods.⁷ And as for the faith to be given to a man's absolution from sin, it is clear that one ought to hope this but not believe it as faith,⁸ although a conditional faith is joined to such things, namely that if a man fruitfully and finally repents, then he is absolved from all his sins that he had committed.

Notes

1 Tantum acceptas: "so highly accept". Tantum may instead be "only": "accept only the life of these prelates … and set aside the life of Christ".
2 Istis tribus, iste tres persone: most likely Benedict, Gregory and Bernard, the last three named at the close of chapter 15 (31.6–7), who "held a few temporal goods in poverty" and "as is believed" repented of it. Augustine and Jerome are named just before them (31.2–4).
3 The Vulgate of 1 Cor. 13:2 is in the first person: si habuero omnem fidem … caritatem autem non habuero, nihil sum (DR "if I should have all faith … and have not charity, I am nothing"). Wyclif puts it in the third person and supplies viator. For 13° the MSS read 13 (B, B¹, C).
4 Conformiter legi dei may go with credamus ("believe, in conformity with God's law, living works") or, as here, with operibus. B, B¹, C read conformibus, "works conformable to God's law"; C adds signis after vivis.
5 Matt. 7:22, abridged: the Vulgate has Domine, Domine and repeats in nomine tuo before each verb.
6 The print reads legem Christo postponere, "to set the law behind Christ", which gives no sense beside ista apocrifa anteferre. We translate B, C veram legem, with B, B¹, C omitting Christo.
7 "The ancient of days": Dan. 7:9. "New gods": cf. Deut. 32:17, novi recentesque (DR "gods … that were newly come up").
8 The subject of debet is unexpressed: "one", i.e. the man absolved (homo, from hominis). Tanquam fidem: as an article of faith, against the conditional faith that follows.

How the Latin of this chapter was established

Plate readings; page · reading · note):
- 31: 16m. (heading number: CAPITULUM 16m.)
- 32: 1 (print: cor. 13° (1 Cor. 13))
- 32: 24° (print: M. 24°)
Omitted per §3.5 / kept in the English (margin matter): MS mark Bl. 153 d. (31.28); reference Matt. xxiv. (32.18).