Wyclif, Dialogus

Chapter 28

Perpetual alms

Pollard pp. 58.7–60.14

Truth and Falsehood58.7–60.3

58mendacium. Moveres per tuam stulticiam consciencias multarum generacionum quarum principia fundarunt elemosinas multas perpetuas. Numquid ergo scis probare quod fundaverant illas stulte? Si autem ille elemosine possunt ad tempus expendi ad honorem dei et utilitatem sue ecclesie, quare non possunt amplius usque ad diem judicii, cum deus sit eque omnipotens et eque graciosus in uno tempore sicut in alio? Et specialiter cum ille elemosine sint per multa juramenta regum et dominorum secularium et cum legibus papalibus confirmate, nec audebant scioli usque hodie istam elemosinam improbare: qua ergo lege vel racione, quin pocius imprudencia, hoc attemptas? veritas. Scio ex fide quod Christus est dominus etiam temporis, et cum hoc omnipotens ac etiam omnisciens. Ipse autem non fundavit tales elemosinas, quin pocius in evangelio contradixit; cum voluit clericos suos vivere hic tanquam peregrinos et pauperes, tendendo ad patriam tanquam heredes beatitudinis et non terrene possessionis, ad bona beatitudinis aspirare. Ideo precipit Mt 6° Nolite esse soliciti in crastinum, crastinus enim dies solicitus erit sibi ipsi. Sufficit enim diei malicia sua. Nunc autem contrarium hujus doctrine Christi de perpetuis elemosinis est tanquam prudencia tam a clero quam secularibus adoptata. Scimus tamen ex lege quod Christus manet in eternum, et isti temporales domini hodie 59florent ut herba et cras in clibanum convertuntur. Ideo videtur non esse prudencia tales globos claustralium vel aliorum mortalium atque tam fragiliter peccabilium contra dominum stabilire; ymmo ingressi habitacionem secundum tale propositum in principio peccaverunt et infra tempus notabile plus sensibiliter; nec movet plus evidencia facta in contrarium quam si argueres pisces extracti de aqua possunt vivere ad tempus in aere, ergo pro suo perpetuo; vel homines possunt manere ad tempus sine inspiracione aeris sub uno anelitu, ergo possunt sic vivere satis diu. Oportet enim viantes in seculo tribulacionibus et aqua secundum influencias domini temperari, et aspirando ad celestia cordis refrigeria mitigari. Et sub ista figura creditur quod Christus elegit tam communiter sub divo cum hominibus conversari. Idem ergo videtur vocare istas cohabitaciones stultas elemosinas perpetuas, et vocare deliramenta contra dominum conquisita hereditates perpetuas ad viros diabolicos incolendum. Sed que elemosina est talem habitacionem perpetuare, cum quocunque attemptante istam stulticiam dominus ordinat quod non fiat? Et sic racionabiliter moverentur generaciones hominum ad peccata sue generacionis preterite condolendum, et non ad continuendum in sua culpa preterita, sed ad juvandum ne amplius fiat parentibus suis mortuis in peccatum. Et sic racione multiplici est mihi evidens quod fundaverant ista stulte, cum blasfeme contra ordinacionem domini se extulerant supra Christum. [Ideo videtur quod domini temporales perpetuantes elemosinas blasfemant in deum dupliciter; primo enim videntur usurpare implicite quod illos elemosinatos ad hoc habilitabunt per tantum temporis, quod non placet communitus deo suo. Videtur 2° ex parte alia quod dicunt sic tacite deo suo quod constituent suos elemosynarios super tales redditus, velit nolit ille dominus capitalis. 60Sed sciant mundani principes quod durum est eos contra stimulum calcitrare cum defendens proditorem incurrit ut sic peccatum proditorium domini capitalis.]

Falsehood. By your folly you would trouble the consciences of many generations whose beginnings founded many perpetual almselemosina: alms.1 Can you, then, prove that they founded them foolishly? And if those alms can be spent for a time to the honour of God and the profit of his churchecclesia: church, why can they not be so further, until the day of judgement, since God is equally almighty and equally gracious at one time as at another? And especially since those alms are confirmed by many oaths of kings and secular lordsdominus; dominari: lord; to exercise lordship / to lord it, and by papal laws, and the wisesciolus: knowing, wise have not dared until today to reject this alms: by what law or reason, then, or rather by what imprudence, do you attempt this?

Truth. I know, as faith teachesex fide: as faith teaches; with a genitive, from the faith of [scripture], that Christ is lord of time too, and with this almighty and also all-knowing. Now he did not found such alms, but rather spoke against them in the gospel; since he willed his clericsclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric to live here as pilgrimspars peregrinans; peregrinari: the pilgrim part; to be a pilgrim and poor men, making their way to the homelandvia / patria: the way / the homeland as heirs of blessedness and not of earthly possession, [and] to aspire to the goods of blessedness.2 Therefore he commands in Matthew 6: "Be not solicitous for to morrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. For sufficient for the day is the evil thereof."3 But now the contrary of this doctrinedoctrina: doctrine of Christ, in perpetual alms, has been adopted as though it were prudence, as much by the clergyclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric as by secularssecularis (noun): a secular. Yet we know out of the law that "Christ abideth for ever", and these temporal lordstemporales domini: temporal lords today 59"flourish like grass, and tomorrow" are turned "into the oven".4 Therefore it seems no prudence to establish, against the Lord, such bands of cloisterersclaustrales: cloisterers or of other mortals, and mortals so frailly liable to sin; indeed, those who entered the dwelling on such a purpose sinned at the start, and within a notable time more perceptiblysensibilis: perceptible; nor does the evidenceevidencia: evidence brought to the contrary move [me] more than if you argued: fish taken out of water can live for a time in the air, therefore for their perpetuity; or: men can remain for a time without breathing in air, on one breath, therefore they can live so long enough. For those on the wayviator: wayfarer in the world must be tempered by tribulations and by water according to the Lord's influences, and, breathing towards heavenly things, be soothed by the refreshments of the heart.5 And under this figure it is believed that Christ chose so commonly to converse with men in the open airsub divo: in the open air. It seems, then, the same thing to call these joint dwellings foolish perpetual alms, and to call follies acquired against the Lord perpetual inheritances for diabolical men to dwell in. But what alms is it to perpetuate such a dwelling, since, whoever attempts this folly, the Lord ordains that it should not be? And so the generations of men would reasonably be moved to grieve over the sins of their past generation, and not to continue in its past fault, but to help that it may no longer turn to sin for their dead parents.6 And so by manifold reason it is evident to me that they founded these things foolishly, since blasphemously, against the Lord's ordinanceordinacio; ordinancia: ordinance; of the sacrament, ordination, they had exalted themselves above Christ. [Therefore it seems that temporal lords who perpetuate alms blaspheme against God in two ways. For, first, they seem implicitly to usurp [the claim] that they will make those almsmenelemosinare; elemosinatus: to give alms to; almsman fit for this for so long a time, which does not commonly please their God.7 Secondly, on the other side, it seems that they tacitly say to their God that they will set their almsmen over such revenuesreditus: revenue(s), whether that chief lordcapitalis dominus; tenere de: chief lord; to hold of will or no. 60But let worldly princes know that it is hard for them "to kick against the goad", since one who defends a traitor incurs, as such, the sin of treason against the chief lord.]8

Truth60.4–60.14

60Et quantum ad juramenta procerum et cartas eorum istas elemosynas confirmantes, patet quod non est juramentum vel carta contra dominum, sed omnia illa conformiter legi domini cum prudencia sagaci festinancius sunt solvenda. Et conformiter dicitur de legibus papalibus in hac parte, omnia enim talia videntur sapere contra primum mandatum secunde tabule de Christo patre et matre ecclesia honorandis; et sic antiquus dierum tam omittendo quam legem condendo, patenter istam stulticiam reprobavit. Unde inter alias cautelas diaboli hec est una quod peccata que introduxit subdole baptizat nomine elemosine vel virtutis.

And as for the oaths of the nobles, and their charters confirming these alms, it is clear that there is no oath or charter against the Lord, but all those, in conformity with the Lord's law, are to be dissolved the more speedily with shrewd prudence.9 And in conformity [with this] the same is said of the papal laws in this matter; for all such seem to savour against the first commandment of the second table, of honouring Christ as father and the church as mother;10 and so the Ancient of days, as much by omitting as by making law, has openly reproved this folly. Hence among the other wilescautela: wile of the devil this is one, that the sins which he has slyly brought in he baptizes with the name of alms or of virtue.

Notes

  1. 1 Quarum principia: "whose beginnings", i.e. the founding forebears of those generations. Moveres is "you would move", here of stirring consciences to scruple. Pollard's side-note gives "pious founders".
  2. 2 Ad bona beatitudinis aspirare has no connective in the print; it is taken as a second infinitive after voluit ("he willed them to live … [and] to aspire"). It could also hang loosely on tendendo, with the same sense.
  3. 3 Matt. 6:34, Douay–Rheims. Wyclif's Latin reads Nolite esse soliciti (Vulgate Nolite ergo solliciti esse) and adds enim to the last clause (Vulgate sufficit diei malitia sua); the English follows his Latin. B¹, C read precepit, "commanded".
  4. 4 John 12:34, Douay–Rheims ("We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever"); Wyclif has scimus, "we know", for audivimus. The lords "flourish like grass" (Ps. 89:6 Vulg., floreat … sicut herba) and go "to morrow … into the oven" (Matt. 6:30, cras in clibanum mittitur), with convertuntur, "are turned", for mittitur. The conflation is his.
  5. 5 The figure continues the fish and the held breath: aqua is the water the wayfarer lives in, and aspirando ("breathing towards", also "aspiring to") picks up inspiracio aeris and aspirare above. B, B¹, C read refrigerio integrari, "be made whole by refreshment", for refrigeria mitigari. At 59.14 B, B¹, C omit cum hominibus; at 59.16 they read deum for dominum.
  6. 6 Ne amplius fiat parentibus suis mortuis in peccatum: "that it may no longer turn to sin for their dead parents", taking fiat in peccatum as "become [a cause] of sin"; the unexpressed subject is the foundation. This answers Falsehood's charge (58.7) that Truth would trouble the consciences of the founders' descendants.
  7. 7 Communitus is printed; it is an attested adverb, "in common, generally", rendered "commonly". Pollard's side-note paraphrases the clause "when it may not please God". Illos elemosinatos ad hoc habilitabunt: "make those almsmen fit (qualified) for this", i.e. guarantee their fitness for the whole term of the endowment.
  8. 8 Pollard's apparatus: B, B¹, C omit the bracketed words altogether, and "our codex" (A) set them only at the foot of the page. "To kick against the goad": Acts 9:5, Douay–Rheims (also Acts 26:14). The capitalis dominus whose leave is ignored is God (cf. Dial. 2.19).
  9. 9 Solvenda: "to be dissolved", i.e. oaths and charters are to be released or annulled, not "paid". B, B¹, C read cartulas for cartas and omit eorum (60.4).
  10. 10 The first commandment of the second table is "Honour thy father and thy mother" (Exod. 20:12; Pollard's side-note: "the fifth commandment"), read of Christ as father and the church as mother. "The ancient of days" is Dan. 7:9. Tam omittendo quam legem condendo: God reproved the folly both by leaving perpetual endowment out of his law and by the law he made; the object of omittendo is not expressed.
How the Latin of this chapter was established
  • Plate readings; page · reading · note):
    • 59: videtur (vide-|tur with side-note "It" between)
    • 59: ∅ (side-note "It shows little")
    • 58: CAPITULUM 28m.
    • 58: sicut (114. is a MS folio mark)
    • 59: ∅ (tail of vide-|tur; joined at 9)
    • 60: elemosynas
    • 60: vel
  • MS folio marks omitted: 58.13 "114."; 59.2 "B. 16 a."; 59.22 "C. 10 b."; 60.4 "B¹. 158 a."; 60.8 "B. 16 b."; 60.9 "114 b.".
  • Side-notes: read on plates n0089–n0091 and corrected from the OCR draft; notes at 60.16–60.30 belong to cap. 29 and were dropped. The two draft notes at 59.6 and 59.9–59.11 are one note (59.7–59.12 on the plate).
  • Pollard's margin references: none in range (the "Acts vi. 1–3" at 60.30 belongs to cap. 29).