Wyclif, Dialogus

Chapter 18

Noble prelates and the poverty of Christ

Pollard pp. 34.28–36.30

Falsehood34.28–35.7

34mendacium. Quomodo potes subterfugere quin moliaris destruere matrem nostram, quia nulli dubium isti prelati 35majores cum suo dominio et confederacione magnorum de suo sanguine extinguunt multa peccata et hereses, faciunt elemosinas multas et magnas et tenent venerabilem domum et magnam familiam que regnis est ad fortitudinem et honorem. Quis ergo intenderet tales prelatos nobiles mendicare? Videtur quod hoc machinans intendit regnum destruere et laxare abenas hominibus ad peccandum.

Falsehood. How can you escape [the charge] that you are striving to destroy our mothermater nostra: our mother? For it is doubtful to no one that these greater prelatesprelatus: prelate, 35with their lordshipdominium: lordship and the alliance of great men of their own blood, extinguish many sins and heresies, give almselemosina: alms many and great, and keep a venerable house and a great householdfamilia: household, which serves the kingdomsregnum: kingdom for strength and honour.1 Who, then, would intend such noble prelates to begmendicacio; mendicare; mendicitas: begging; to beg; beggary? It seems that whoever contrives this intends to destroy the kingdom and to slacken the reins for men to sin.

Truth35.8–36.30

35veritas. Scimus quod nostra intencio est catholica quia fides. Intendimus enim profectum trium parcium ecclesie secundum armoniam et formam quam dederat jhus Christus. Sed quis infidelis posset inficere hoc sanctum propositum? Christus enim fuit nobilissimus homo mundi et tamen postquam acceperat hunc statum cleri tam in se quam in suis cognatis servavit ad regulam paupertatem humilitatem et dei obedienciam. Et fecit alios quos elegerat in apostolos, quorum quidam erant sui cognati virtute nobiles, istam regulam observare. Quomodo ergo non erubesceret quis gratis accipiens istum statum, et post acceptum degenerans ab eodem, nam in hoc faceret se servum diaboli et peccati. Et ista est servitus maxima, servitute seculi plus horrenda. Et sic magnates, nitentes cognatos suos in dignitatibus magnis preficere, propter honores mundanos et lucrum seculi in seipsis, primo degenerant a domino jhu Christo, quia videntur esse socii furum et fautores hereticorum; quod est contra facta et verba domini, ut patet Mat. 20 de filiis zebedei. Conceditur ergo quod nobilitas generis in prelatis potest esse tam in ipsis quam ecclesia occasio multi boni, sicut et potest esse occasio multi mali, specialiter si virtutum nobilitas non jungatur. Ideo Christus prudens medicus eligendo suos 36cognatos in apostolos ipsos a mundana superbia, a vita voluptuosa et avaricia coartavit, et istam regulam Christianis posteris reservavit, quia jo 13 dicit ipse: Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem; sicut et ego dilexi vos ut et vos invicem diligatis. Et patet quod operacio prelatorum hujusmodi, sicut et operacio luciferi, potest occasionaliter multa peccata extinguere; sicut et potest vocari elemosina et honor regnorum quod est bonorum pauperum spoliacio et flagicium contra simplices ecclesie militantis; et talis conversacio non foret honor regnorum sive utilitas, sed diaboli machinacio introducta. Sic ergo prelatorum divicie atque nobilitas possunt esse occasio tam prelatis quam aliis ad peccandum superbia, avaricia, atque gula, et possunt esse occasio ad tam sibi quam ecclesie promerendum: et nisi assint gracia et virtus primus effectus contigit communius quam secundus. Ideo videamus disposicionem quam Christus adhibuit ad consequendum graciam et virtutes; et vel oportet concedere quod Christus fuit fatuus, vel quod pauperies quam ipse disposuit plus disponit episcopos ad virtutes. Nec sequitur ex isto quod debeant mendicare ab homine, cum Christus, exemplar nostrum, tenebat se in medio et utrumque extremum tanquam culpabile reprobavit. Ideo ista evidencia est similis stulticie cecorum qui baculum suum proiciunt ad astra ut ipsa in sua substancia stulte ledant. Et patet quod istud sentenciare non esset regnum destruere, nec dare hominibus licenciam ad peccandum. Nisi forte infidelis dicat cum sacerdotibus Christum accusantibus, quod ipse subvertit totum regnum judee et imperatoris imperium perturbavit. Ideo sic judicantes secundum faciem sunt communiter tam verbis quam opere infideles.

Truth. We know that our intention is catholic, because [it is] faith.2 For we intend the progress of the three parts of the churchecclesia: church, according to the harmony and form which Jesus Christ had given.3 But what unbelieverinfidelis: unbeliever; with a dative, faithless (to) could taint this holy purpose?4 For Christ was the noblest man in the world, and yet, after he had taken up this state of the clergyclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric, he kept as a rule, both in himself and in his kinsmen, poverty, humility, and obedience to God.5 And he made the others whom he had chosen as apostles, some of whom were his kinsmen, noble in virtue, observe this rule. How then would anyone not blush who, receiving this state freely, after receiving it degenerates from it? For in this he would make himself a servant of the devil and of sin.6 And this is the greatest servitude, more horrible than the servitude of the world. And so magnatesmagnates: magnates, striving to set their kinsmen over [others] in great dignities for the sake of worldly honours and the world's gain in themselves, in the first place degenerate from the Lorddominus; dominari: lord; to exercise lordship / to lord it Jesus Christ, since they seem to be "companions of thieves" and abettors of heretics; which is against the deeds and words of the Lord, as is clear in Matthew 20 concerning the sons of Zebedee.7 It is granted, then, that nobility of birth in prelates can be the occasion of much good, both in themselves and [in] the church, just as it can also be the occasion of much evil, especially if nobility of virtues is not joined [to it]. Therefore Christ, a prudent physician, in choosing his 36kinsmen as apostles, restrained them from worldly pride, from a voluptuous life and from avarice, and reserved this rule for Christians after him; for in John 13 he himself says: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I also have loved you, that you also love one another."8 And it is clear that the working of such prelates, like the working of Lucifer, can by occasionoccasionaliter: by occasion extinguish many sins;9 just as what is the despoiling of the goods of the poor, and an outrage against the simple of the church militantecclesia militans / triumphans / dormiens: the church militant / triumphant / sleeping, can also be called alms and the honour of kingdoms; and such a manner of lifeconversacio: manner of life would not be the honour or the benefit of kingdoms, but a contrivance of the devil brought in. So then the riches and nobility of prelates can be an occasion, both to prelates and to others, of sinning by pride, avarice, and gluttony, and they can be an occasion of meriting both for themselves and for the church; and unless grace and virtue are present, the first effect comes about more commonly than the second. Therefore let us see the disposition which Christ applied for attaining grace and virtues; and either one must grant that Christ was a fool, or that the poverty which he himself disposed disposes bishopsepiscopus; dominus episcopus: bishop; the lord bishop more to virtues. Nor does it followsequitur: it follows from this that they ought to beg from man, since Christ, our exemplar, kept himself in the mean and reproved each extreme as culpable. Therefore this evidenceevidencia: evidence is like the folly of the blind, who throw their staff at the stars so as, foolishly, to hurt them in their substance.10 And it is clear that to pronouncesentenciare: to pronounce this would not be to destroy the kingdom, nor to give men licence to sin. Unless perhaps an unbeliever should say, with the priestssacerdos / presbiter: priest / presbyter accusing Christ, that he subverted the whole kingdom of Judea and disturbed the emperor's empire. Therefore those who judge thus "according to the appearance" are commonly unbelievers, as much in words as in deed.11

Notes

  1. 1 De suo sanguine is taken with magnorum: "great men of their own blood", the prelates' noble kin. Familia is the household or retinue a great prelate kept. At 34.29 B reads dubium quin, B¹ and C dubium quod; the sense is unchanged. At 35.5 B, B¹, C read tenderet for intenderet.
  2. 2 Quia fides has no verb; we supply "it is". The likelier sense is that the intention is catholic because it is of the faith (grounded in scripture); an alternative takes fides as the subject of an unexpressed scit or docet: "because faith [teaches it]".
  3. 3 The three parts are those of the church militant divided in Dial. cap. 1 (pp. 2–3): the clergy, the lords, and the commons who labour, joined by charity.
  4. 4 Inficere is rendered in its own sense, "stain, taint". It may stand for inficiari, "deny": "what unbeliever could deny this holy purpose?" The print is kept.
  5. 5 B, B¹, C read ei for dei (35.15): "obedience to him". B and C also add et before humilitatem (35.14). In the next sentence (35.15–17) the manuscripts vary: B, B¹, C have Christ's apostles themselves "observe" the rule (observarunt, observarent) rather than being made to observe it; the print is translated.
  6. 6 Erubesceret governs the whole question; accipiens and degenerans both hang on quis, rendered as a relative clause. Gratis accipiens echoes Matt. 10:8, "freely have you received"; servum … peccati echoes John 8:34, "the servant of sin". B, B¹, C read esset for est at 35.20.
  7. 7 Socii furum: Isa. 1:23, principes tui infideles, socii furum, DR "Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves". Matt. 20:20–28: the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks places for them, and Christ answers that "whosoever is the greater among you, let him be your minister". At 35.24 the manuscripts reorder socii … fautores … furum … hereticorum (B: companions and abettors of thieves and heretics). At 35.27 B, B¹, C read in ecclesia; at 35.29 they read mergatur for jungatur, "is drowned".
  8. 8 John 13:34. Wyclif's sicut et ego dilexi vos adds et ego to the Vulgate's sicut dilexi vos; the English follows his Latin.
  9. 9 Occasionaliter: as an occasion, not as a cause, as Lucifer's malice occasions goods it does not intend. B, B¹, C read sicut for sic at 36.11, and omit et at 36.13.
  10. 10 C reads percuciunt for proiciunt (36.23): "who strike at the stars with their staff". Evidencia is Falsehood's argument of 34.28–35.7.
  11. 11 The accusation paraphrases Luke 23:2 ("We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar") and 23:5 ("He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea"), with John 19:12 ("If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend"). Secundum faciem: John 7:24, "Judge not according to the appearance". B and C read est for esset at 36.25.
How the Latin of this chapter was established
  • Omitted per (MS folio marks, not side-notes): 36.1 C. 11 a.; 36.16 B. 9 d.; 36.23 B¹. 154 c.
  • Plate readings; page · reading · note):
    • 35: dederat
    • 34: CAPITULUM 18m.
    • 34: ∅ (heading number, carried by the HEAD reading)
  • Omitted per §3.5 / kept in the English (margin matter): reference John xiii. (36.3).
  • Side-notes read on the plate (n65–n67). The left-margin marks at 35.19 ("c.") and 35.24 ("xx.", evidently Matt. xx.) are cut off by the scan's gutter and are not given. Folio references 36.1, 36.16, 36.23 are Pollard's manuscript foliation.