The friars’ silence on the clergy’s lordship

Pollard pp. 37.2–39.2

Falsehood37.2–37.15

37mendacium. Videtur quod innuitive accusas in isto omnes quatuor sectas cleri; sed quis auderet hoc curie romane imponere, et specialiter sectis fratrum, cum tunc regulando dominos, dominas atque regna forent proditores eorum et heretici ex consensu. Sed quis auderet sic accusare sapienciam hujus cleri? Si enim lex Christi in scriptura sacra sic diceret, verisimile est quod tot et tanti sancti de fratribus istud dominis, episcopis et abbatibus intimarent. Cum ergo in hoc tacent, ymmo impugnant istud tanquam hereticum, videtur quod nedum consenciunt, sed defendunt contrarium ut autores. Et si istud concernit salutem anime ac prosperitatem regnorum, evidens videtur quod sic similando vel asserendo forent heretici et proditores dei, hominum et regnorum.

Falsehood. It seems that by implication you accuse in this all four sects of the clergy;¹ but who would dare to lay this on the Roman curia, and especially on the sects of the friars, since then, in governing lords, ladies and kingdoms, they would be their traitors, and heretics by consent? But who would dare so to accuse the wisdom of this clergy? For if the law of Christ in holy scripture said so, it is likely that so many and such great saints among the friars would make this known to lords, bishops and abbots.² Since, therefore, they are silent on this, indeed rather attack it as heretical, it seems that they not only consent but defend the contrary, as its authors. And if this concerns the salvation of the soul and the prosperity of kingdoms, it seems evident that by so dissembling or asserting they would be heretics and traitors of God, of men and of kingdoms.³

Truth37.16–39.2

37veritas. In ista materia respondendum est a sectis et partibus quas impugnas; ego enim nescio in isto romanam curiam excusare, nec fratres aut sectas alias, sed adhuc in fide vivo domini Jesu Christi quod ipse sic vivere docuit clerum suum. Verum tamen si per impossibile fuero doctus contrarium, volo veritati catholice humiliter consentire, et omnino si doctus fuero a papa vel superioribus ecclesie ut prelatis. Sed scio quod conversacio et factum eorum non est tenendum a catholicis tanquam fides cum ipsi possunt macula avaricie infici ut mundani. Cupiditas enim infecit primum apostatam, genus humanum et alios multos lapsos. Et quantum ad quatuor sectas fratrum, ipse etatem habent, pro se ipsis respondeant, quia in hoc ipsos nescio excusare, et specialiter cum eligunt ex autoritati Christi vitam exproprietariam 38ut ceteris plus perfectam. Nec dubium quin in verbis et opere consenciunt dotacioni cleri, cum tam vecorditer in predicacionibus, in confessionibus et aliis communicacionibus tacent in isto dicere veritatem. Maledicta autem sit talis secta que ipsos necessitat ad falsum tam proditorie nutriendum. Ideo, ut quidam asserunt, fideles non communicarent cum illis, nec ave eis dicerent, antequam de isto cleri dominio palam proderint fidem suam. Si autem approbarent istud cleri dominium, tunc forent stulti sine autoritate Christi taliter mendicantes, cum foret perfeccio eis habere seculare dominium quod a Christo fuit multipliciter approbatum, et nunquam taliter mendicare, et specialiter a viris tam validis et tanto numero glomeratis, pro tantis edificiis construendis, et aliis sumptibus contra evangelium Christi fictis. Si autem ex autoritate scripture reprobant istud cleri dominium et tam multipliciter tacent ipsum hominibus quibus ex consciencia pupplicarent, quis dubitat quin sunt vir duplex animo, inconstanter tenens cum falsitate quam credit superare ad tempus modicum ut arundo? Et cum factum plus docet quam verba videtur ex professione sui ordinis quod plus est credendum suis operibus quod dominacio ista sit illicita, quam verbis suis duplicibus ad que pro temporali precio conducuntur. Nam plus est credendum medico de salubritate herbarum ab homine sicitato dicenti quod a herba est saluberrima et b herba mortifera, si a herbam aufugeret ut venenum et b herbam avide gustaverit, tanquam prandium salutare; plus, inquam, credendum est tali operi quam hiis verbis. Et sic videtur de fratribus. Sed unum scio quod fides scripture propter duplicitatem eorum non titubat. Sicut nec ordo eorum aliquam perfeccionem secte Christiane continet, nisi que ex evangelio est fundata; quod si essent usque ad illud a superfluis 39expurgate, non remaneret eis nisi clara et meritoria secta Christi.

Truth. In this matter answer must be made by the sects and parties that you attack; for I do not know how to excuse the Roman curia in this, nor the friars or the other sects, but I still live in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ that he taught his clergy to live so. Yet if, per impossibile, I should be taught the contrary, I am willing humbly to consent to catholic truth, and above all if I should be taught by the pope or by the superiors of the church, such as prelates. But I know that their manner of life and deed is not to be held by catholics as faith, since they can be infected with the stain of avarice, as worldly men are. For covetousness infected the first apostate, the human race, and many others who have fallen. And as for the four sects of friars, they are of age: let them answer for themselves,⁴ because in this I do not know how to excuse them, and especially since they choose, on Christ’s authority, the propertyless life 38as more perfect than the rest.⁵ Nor is there doubt that in words and deed they consent to the endowment of the clergy, since they so faint-heartedly keep silent from telling the truth on this in their preaching, in confessions and in other dealings.⁶ And cursed be such a sect as compels them to nourish falsehood so traitorously. Therefore, as some assert, the faithful should not have dealings with them, nor say "God speed" to them, until they have openly disclosed their faith concerning this lordship of the clergy.⁷ Now if they approved this lordship of the clergy, then they would be fools, [to go] begging in this way without Christ’s authority, since it would be perfection for them to have secular lordship, which was approved by Christ in many ways, and never to beg in this way; and especially by men so able-bodied and massed in such numbers, for building such great edifices and for other expenses contrived against the gospel of Christ.⁸ But if on the authority of scripture they reject this lordship of the clergy, and in so many ways keep it silent from men to whom in conscience they should publish it, who doubts that they are "a double minded man", inconstantly holding with the falsehood which he believes will prevail for a little while, like a reed?⁹ And since the deed teaches more than words, it seems from the profession of their order that their works, [teaching] that this exercise of lordship is unlawful, are more to be believed than their double words, to which they are hired for a temporal price. For a fevered man is more to believe a doctor, about the wholesomeness of herbs, who tells him that herb a is most wholesome and herb b deadly, if he fled herb a as poison and eagerly tasted herb b as a wholesome meal: more, I say, is such a deed to be believed than these words.¹⁰ And so it seems with the friars. But one thing I know: that the faith of scripture does not totter because of their doubleness. Just as their order contains no perfection of the Christian sect except what is founded on the gospel; and if they were 39purged of superfluities down to that, nothing would remain to them but the clear and meritorious sect of Christ.¹¹

Notes

1 Quatuor sectas cleri: Wyclif’s later writings reckon four sects in the clergy (the endowed secular clergy, monks, canons and friars); quatuor sectas fratrum (37.27) are the four mendicant orders, Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites and Austin friars.
2 Dominis, episcopis et abbatibus: taken with Pollard’s commas as a series. Without them dominis episcopis would be "the lord bishops" (the glossary, ), leaving "to the lord bishops and abbots".
3 Similando: taken as simulando, "dissembling", the friars’ silence of the preceding sentence. B reads asimulando, B¹, C asimilando.
4 John 9:21, etatem habet, ipse de se loquatur ("he is of age: let him speak for himself"), turned into the plural and to respondeant. Ipse is plural here (= ipsi).
5 Ex autoritati Christi: printed so, the ablative in -i; B, B¹, C read sibi for Christi.
6 Vecorditer: "faint-heartedly", the medieval sense of vecors; the classical sense, "senselessly", would also serve.
7 Nec ave eis dicerent: 2 John 10, nec Ave ei dixeritis, in DR’s "God speed". Proderint is printed; C reads prodiderint, "have disclosed", which is translated.
8 A viris tam validis et tanto numero glomeratis: taken as the agents of the begging, the friars themselves (able-bodied, massed in convents). A could instead mean "from": begging from men so powerful. B, C read in aliis sumptibus for et aliis sumptibus.
9 James 1:8, vir duplex animo inconstans est in omnibus viis suis; Wyclif keeps the singular after sunt. Ut arundo recalls the "reed shaken with the wind" (Matt. 11:7). B, B¹, C read constanter, "constantly holding with the falsehood", for inconstanter.
10 Sicitato, printed, gives no word; B, B¹, C read febricitato, "fevered", which is translated, with ab homine as the agent of credendum. B, B¹, C read gustaret for gustaverit.
11 Expurgate is feminine plural: its subject is the friars’ sects (secte), understood from ordo eorum. Usque ad illud: down to what is founded on the gospel.

How the Latin of this chapter was established

Plate readings; page · reading · note):
- 37: CAPITULUM 19m.
- 37: curiam