Chapter 35

How the devil brought in the clergy's lordship

Pollard pp. 82.7–83.31

Truth82.7–83.31

82.7 The secular dominion of the clergy has gradually progressed, and is now regarded as sanctioned by God.

82.15 Cæsar was first persuaded that as he excelled other secular lords, so his priest, the Roman pontiff, should excel all other priests.

82.20 Hence arose the plea that the Pope should help Cæsar, borne down by the weight of dominion.

82.24 For did not the deacons help the apostles?

83.1 The Pope surely knows best how to rule Rome.

83.3 Thus while particular endowments are called 'perpetual alms,' the papal dominion is 'the patrimony of the crucified,' as of hereditary right.

83.8 Then the higher prelates were led to reserve certain lucrative functions to themselves.

83.16 And so the devil introduced the doctrine of the necessary preponderance of pope and bishops.

83.21 These ill customs have no good foundation.

83.28 In seducing priests from poverty the devil has seduced them from every ministry of Christ's ordinance.

82veritas. Ista cleri dominacio fuit paulative ex cautela diaboli per mille annos et amplius introducta, et per processum temporis fuit continue plus et plus in secularitate hominum confirmata, in tantum quod hodie censetur naturalitas a domino consecrata. Olym enim fuit notum ut fides quod Christus fuit homo pauperrimus, et virtute sui mandati apostoli et discipuli consequentes, qui omnes seculare dominium tanquam magis periculosum fuerant detestati. Sed captato tempore seduccionis populi, diabolus movebat cesarem quod sicut ipse excellebat alios seculares dominos, sic sacerdos suus, quem vocat romanum pontificem, debet excellere quoslibet alios sacerdotes. Et tunc dicitur vocari papa et pater sanctissimus, et suaderi potest istud peccatum ex ipocrisi per diabolum machinata; cesar et alii seculares domini per seculare dominium in animo sunt oppressi, sed spirituale opus misericordie foret oppressos hujusmodi relevare, ideo papa debet specialiter juvare dominum suum cesarem onus terreni dominii supportando. Sic enim apostoli elegerunt septem diaconos qui eos a mensarum ministerio excusarunt et ad predicacionem evangelii et oracionem ac contemplacionem, que est officium alcius, libertarunt. Papa 83ergo qui habet scienciam a deo et potestatem a petro scit optime regere romam et medietatem imperii conformiter legi Christi. Unde particulares dotaciones vocate sunt elemosine perpetue, licet papale dominium vocetur, quasi jure hereditario, patrimonium crucifixi. Et postmodum magister istius ipocrisis docuit scolam suam quod superiores prelati reservent sibi quedam officia specialia que sonent in dominium et lucrum sacramenta et sacramentalia ministrandi, cujusmodi sunt plene absoluciones, generales excommunicaciones et censure alie, ac potestates, privilegia et dispensaciones cunctis mortalibus parciende, ut quod episcopi habeant confirmaciones, ordinum collaciones et locorum consecraciones sibi specialiter limitatas, et alii prelate incedant cum mitris vel anulis secundum quod placuerit illi patri. Et deus scit si intercedat zelus magisterii vel appetitus lucri pro istis privilegiis optinendis. Et sic, quasi ut legem nature similem, introduxit diabolus quod necesse est papam et prelatos alios taliter prepollere. Et totum istud est falsitas ipocritica infundabilis et religioni Christi contraria, per quam ecclesia militancium est seducta. Et nota evidencias que fiunt pro ista sentencia et videbis manifeste quod vel deficiunt in fundamentis apocrifis vel aliis falsitatibus simulatis, vel 2° deficiunt in consequenciis ex veritate fidei impertinens concludendo. Ideo fama et consuetudo inveterati erroris est locus potissimus ad istud peccatum ecclesie confirmandum. Et sic ut diabolus pervertit sacerdotes suos a Christi pauperie ad seculare dominium, sic pervertit eos ab humilitate, ab evangelica predicacione et quocunque alio ministerio quod Christus injunxerat sacerdoti. Et decidentibus superioribus partibus ecclesie ab isto ministerio regulari, necesse est magnam partem ecclesie in membra diaboli transformari.

Truth. This exercise of lordship by the clergy was brought in little by little through the devil's wile over a thousand years and more, and in the course of time it was confirmed continually more and more in the worldliness of men, so far that today it is reckoned a natural thing consecrated by the Lord.¹ For of old it was known as [a matter of] faith that Christ was a man most poor, and [so were] the apostles and disciples following [him] by virtue of his command, who had all detested secular lordship as the more dangerous.² But, seizing a time for seducing the people, the devil moved Caesar [to hold] that, as he himself excelled the other secular lords, so his priest, whom he calls the Roman pontiff, ought to excel all other priests. And then he is said to be called pope and most holy father; and this sin can be urged by a hypocrisy contrived by the devil: Caesar and the other secular lords are oppressed in mind by secular lordship; now it would be a spiritual work of mercy to relieve those so oppressed; therefore the pope ought specially to help his lord Caesar by bearing the burden of earthly lordship. For so the apostles chose seven deacons, who excused them from the ministry of tables and set them free for the preaching of the gospel, and for prayer and contemplation, which is the higher office.³ The pope, 83therefore, who has knowledge from God and power from Peter, knows best how to rule Rome and half the empire in conformity with the law of Christ. Hence particular endowments have been called perpetual alms, although the papal lordship is called, as if by hereditary right, the patrimony of the crucified.⁴ And afterwards the master of this hypocrisy taught his school that the higher prelates should reserve to themselves certain special offices of ministering sacraments and sacramentals, which smack of lordship and gain;⁵ of this sort are plenary absolutions, general excommunications and other censures, and powers, privileges and dispensations to be dealt out to all mortals: as that bishops should have confirmations, the conferring of orders, and the consecrations of places specially assigned to themselves, and that other prelates should go about with mitres or rings as it shall please that father. And God knows whether zeal for rule or appetite for gain comes in over the obtaining of these privileges.⁶ And so the devil brought in, as though like a law of nature, that it is necessary for the pope and the other prelates to be pre-eminent in this way. And all this is a hypocritical falsehood, without foundation and contrary to the religion of Christ,⁷ by which the church of the militant has been seduced.⁸ And note the evidences that are brought for this teaching, and you will see plainly that either they fail in apocryphal foundations or other feigned falsehoods, or, secondly, they fail in their inferences, inferring from the truth of faith what is irrelevant. Therefore the repute and custom of an inveterate error is the strongest topic for confirming this sin of the church.⁹ And as the devil has perverted his priests from Christ's poverty to secular lordship, so he has perverted them from humility, from gospel preaching, and from every other ministry which Christ had enjoined on the priest. And when the higher parts of the church fall away from this regular ministry, a great part of the church must be transformed into members of the devil.¹⁰

Notes

1 Censetur naturalitas: "is reckoned a natural thing", naturalitas as predicate noun. B¹, C read naturaliter: "is reckoned naturally consecrated by the Lord". B, B¹, C omit processum … secularitate (82.9), and B, B¹, C read hominem (82.10).
2 The clause is elliptical: apostoli et discipuli consequentes has no verb and is taken as a second subject of fuit … pauperrimus, with consequentes "following [him]". It could also be read "and consequently the apostles and disciples" [were poor].
3 Acts 6:2–4, paraphrased: the Twelve will not "leave the word of God and serve tables" but "give [themselves] continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word". The whole argument from suaderi potest to here is the devil's plea, which Truth reports. At 82.23 B omits juvare, with hortari in the margin in another hand; B¹ reads in hoc facto relevare. B, C add ut ipsum exoneret before onus (82.24), in B in the margin in another hand.
4 Medietatem imperii, "half the empire", alludes to the Donation of Constantine. Patrimonium crucifixi, a current name for church goods held for the poor (ch. 8 n2), is here given to papal lordship "as if by hereditary right", beside the usual name "patrimony of St Peter" for the papal lands. B¹, C read Petri for a petro (83.1).
5 Officia specialia … sacramenta et sacramentalia ministrandi: the gerund with its objects is taken as a genitive on officia ("offices of ministering sacraments"), and que sonent in dominium et lucrum as the relative on officia ("smack of", literally "sound towards"). Parciende (from partiri) is "to be dealt out"; B reads percipiendi, B¹, C parciendi, and B, B¹, C read ipsi for episcopi (83.11).
6 At 83.5 Pollard prints magister from B, B¹, C; his base manuscript reads magisterio. Zelus magisterii is rendered "zeal for rule"; magisterium may also mean the office of teaching, which would answer the magister … docuit scolam just above.
7 Religioni Christi: B has legi corrected to religioni in another hand; B¹, C read legi, "the law of Christ" (83.19).
8 Ecclesia militancium, "the church of the militant": the genitive of persons, not the usual ecclesia militans, the church militant.
9 Locus is the dialectical topic, the seat of an argument: custom is the strongest ground the defenders have. B, B¹, C read ypocriticis for apocrifis (83.22): "hypocritical foundations".
10 Regulari is taken with ministerio, "this regular ministry", i.e. the ministry Christ ruled for priests; decidentibus … partibus is an ablative absolute.

How the Latin of this chapter was established

Plate readings; page · reading · note):
- 82: CAPITULUM 35m.
- 82: sic (MS mark B. 200 a. follows)
- 82: ministerio (line no. 25)
- 83: ergo
- 83: ∅ (cujusmodi already joined)
- 83: ∅ (side-note "to themselves")
- 83: ∅ (side-note "In seducing")
Omitted per §3.5 (margin matter): the marginal reference "116." (83.2); MS folio marks B¹. 160 a. (82.10), B. 200 a. (82.16), B. 20 b. (83.15).