The private religions and the pure religion of Christ

Pollard pp. 39.4–41.12

Falsehood39.4–39.10

39mendacium. Adhuc innuis quod omnes canonici regulares, nigri et albi, et omnes religiosi post ipsos prudenter in ecclesiam introducti, ut fratres hospitales, monachi cartusienses, fratres boni homines, sanctimoniales et sororisse cum anacoritis et ceteris inclusis deficerent et puram sectam Christi de novo induerent. Sed que major heresis plus religionis ecclesie turbativa?

Falsehood. You still imply that all the canons regular, black and white,¹ and all the religious prudently brought into the church after them, such as the Hospitaller brothers, the Carthusian monks, the brothers Bonshommes, the nuns and the sisters, with the anchorites and the other recluses, should come to an end and put on the pure sect of Christ anew. But what greater heresy, more disruptive of the church’s religion?

Truth39.11–41.12

39veritas. In parte verum concludis quod omnes iste religiones private cessarent, et puram ac nudam religionem Christi libere ut prius induerent. Verumtamen non est aliqua privata religio nunc cum prudencia moderata, quin in pura religione Christi homines possent penalitatem ejus prudentis subire, spiritu domini instigante. Et hoc foret liberius et meritorius quam est istius religionis private perpetuacio, et tanquam religionis domini stulta concatenacio. Unde ista divisio a religione Christi divisionem in moribus attestatur, ut divisiones in thematibus fratrum et aliorum hodie predicantium, dimissa integritate vivacis sensus scripture et fabulis introductis, attestantur causaliter divisionem a caritate Christi sicut recessum a sua ordinacione; et sic fiunt omnes divisiones hujusmodi in peccatum. Nam omnes tales novitates rituum in nullo addunt ad meritum, cum omnia opera meritoria illorum, si sunt aliqua, possent esse sine tali cerimonia magis facilia, et plus deo placencia. Cui ergo dubium quin 40a patre generacionis adultere sunt talia superflue introducta, quod pateret evidencius discurrendo particularius per istas 8 species et vicia per que occasione earum in criminibus tam latentibus quam pupplicis involvuntur. Ideo manifestum videtur quod hii qui sine autoritate domini hec autorizant, defendunt, vel eis consenciunt in gravi culpa contra dominum se involvunt. Ideo de isto peccato introducende consuetudinis sine autoritate domini, homines et specialiter majores in ecclesia peccaverunt. Nam videtur quod introducendo a proposito talem consuetudinem tanquam perpetuam, homo incidit in blasfemiam contra deum; quia deo est proprium autorizare talem consuetudinem perpetuam, quis ergo mortalis et momentaneus presumeret talem consuetudinem introducere supra vires? Fundamentum autem ad stabiliendum totam istam sententiam stat in isto, quod lex et ordinacio Christi est optima sine defectu possibili, quia ut patet jo 8° nemo potest ipsum arguere de peccato. Cum ergo Christus ordinavit sectam unicam militantem et ipsam habere tres partes sine hiis novis ritibus, tanquam difficultans ac illibertans perpetuum introductis, manifestum videtur quod ordinacionem istam Christi in laxacione sue libertatis dimittere, et aliam novam sine autoritate admittere est peccatum grave et stulticia manifesta; specialiter cum Christus non innuit approbative quod talis consuetudo perpetua sit catholice admittenda. Quis, inquam, dubitat quin talem consuetudinem malam admittere et consuetudinem bonam contempnere sit peccatum grave? Ordinacio autem Christi, sive pura sua religio, excellit omnes alias in hiis tribus; in autoritate, in facilitate, et in securitate. in auctoritate] quia Christus deus et homo ex omnisciencia sua ipsam instituit. In 41facilitate excellit quia eximit omnes ocupaciones frivolas sive superfluas circa signa, ideo, tota ocupacione circa noticiam istorum signorum superfluam expensa circa salubrem noticiam legis dei, posset Christianus currere compendiosius ad patriam quam nunc faciunt religiosi nostri, qui in istis ceremoniis retardantur. In securitate autem excedit hec religio Christi quia potest sine dispensacione hominis quantum racio exigit variare, et substantia illius regule, cum sit evangelium, non potest deficere. Et patet quod stulte, quia imprudenter, fuerunt iste secte in ecclesiam introducte. Et sic sentencia ista non est heresis sed doctrina catholica Christi ecclesie juvativa, licet sit synagoge sathane turbativa.

Truth. In part you infer truly that all these private religions should cease, and [their members] freely put on the pure and naked religion of Christ as before. Nevertheless there is no private religion, now tempered with prudence, but that men could undergo its prudent hardship within the pure religion of Christ, at the prompting of the Spirit of the Lord.² And this would be more free and more meritorious than is the perpetuation of this private religion, and as it were a foolish chaining-up of the Lord’s religion. Hence this division from the religion of Christ attests a division in morals; just as the divisions in the themes of the friars and of others preaching today,³ with the integrity of the living sense of scripture abandoned and fables brought in, attest causally a division from the charity of Christ, as a withdrawal from his ordinance; and so all divisions of this kind turn into sin. For all such novelties of rites add nothing whatever to merit, since all their meritorious works, if there are any, could be easier without such ceremony, and more pleasing to God. To whom, then, is it doubtful that 40such things were superfluously brought in by the father of an adulterous generation,⁴ as would appear more evidently by running through in more detail these eight kinds⁵ and the vices by which, on their occasion, they are entangled in crimes both hidden and public? Therefore it seems manifest that those who without the Lord’s authority authorize these things, defend them, or consent to them, involve themselves in grave guilt against the Lord. Therefore men, and especially the greater ones in the church, have sinned in this sin of introducing a custom without the Lord’s authority. For it seems that by deliberately introducing such a custom as perpetual, a man falls into blasphemy against God; for since it is proper to God to authorize such a perpetual custom, who then, mortal and momentary, would presume to introduce such a custom beyond his powers? And the foundation for establishing this whole teaching rests on this, that the law and ordinance of Christ is the best, without any possible defect, because, as is clear from John 8, no one can convince him of sin.⁶ Since, then, Christ ordained a single sect militant, and that it should have three parts,⁷ without these new rites, introduced as making it perpetually difficult and unfree,⁸ it seems manifest that to abandon this ordinance of Christ in the loosening of its liberty,⁹ and to admit another, new one without authority, is a grave sin and manifest folly; especially since Christ did not imply by way of approval that such a perpetual custom is to be admitted as catholic. Who, I say, doubts that to admit such a bad custom and to despise a good custom is a grave sin? Now the ordinance of Christ, or his pure religion, excels all others in these three: in authority, in ease, and in security. [In authority,]¹⁰ because Christ, God and man, instituted it out of his omniscience. In 41ease it excels because it exempts [us] from all frivolous or superfluous occupations about signs; so, with the whole occupation about the superfluous knowledge of these signs spent instead on the wholesome knowledge of God’s law, a Christian could run to the homeland by a shorter road than our religious now do, who are held back in these ceremonies. And in security this religion of Christ exceeds [them] because it can vary, as far as reason requires, without the dispensation of man, and the substance of that rule, since it is the gospel, cannot fail. And it is clear that these sects were brought into the church foolishly, because imprudently.¹¹ And so this teaching is not heresy but the catholic doctrine of Christ, helpful to the church, although it is disruptive of the synagogue of Satan.¹²

Notes

1 Canonici regulares, nigri et albi: the black canons (Augustinian) and the white canons (Premonstratensian); fratres boni homines are the English Bonshommes (Ashridge, Edington); sororisse are sisters of an order, beside the sanctimoniales, nuns. B, B¹, C read albi monachi at 39.5.
2 Penalitatem ejus prudentis: "its prudent hardship", prudentis agreeing with ejus (the private religion, taken at its prudent best). B, B¹, C read prudenter: "undergo its hardship prudently". At 39.14 B, C omit nunc and read non moderata.
3 Thematibus: the thema, the scriptural text announced at the head of a sermon and divided in the scholastic manner. Attestantur causaliter: the divisions testify, as effects, to their cause, the division from Christ’s charity. B, B¹, C read causare (22) and omit Christi.
4 Pater generacionis adultere: the devil (Pollard’s side-note), combining "an evil and adulterous generation" (Matt. 12:39) with "you are of your father the devil" (John 8:44).
5 Istas 8 species: the plate prints 8°, dropped by the scan text. Apparently the eight kinds of religious Falsehood has just listed (39.4–8), though his list does not count out to eight unambiguously. B, B¹, C read illas for istas and add ergo.
6 John 8:46, "Which of you shall convince me of sin?", turned into the third person; Pollard’s margin gives "John viii. 46".
7 The three parts of the church militant are Wyclif’s three estates: clergy, lords, and the common people.
8 The print’s tanquam difficultans ac illibertans perpetuum introductis does not construe (a nominative singular with an ablative plural). Translated from B, B¹, C difficultantibus ac illibertantibus, agreeing with ritibus; B¹ reads tanquam for ipsam at 40.19, and Pollard notes B first read as his text.
9 In laxacione sue libertatis: taken as the ordinance’s relaxing, i.e. its freeing, of liberty (its lightness of burden), which is abandoned. Possibly "by a slackening of its [the sect’s] liberty", i.e. abandoning the ordinance is itself a loss of freedom.
10 In auctoritate: supplied in brackets by Pollard from B, B¹, C (apparatus 28), which also omit in before hiis.
11 Stulte, quia imprudenter: the reply to Falsehood’s prudenter in ecclesiam introducti (39.5).
12 "The synagogue of Satan": Apoc. 2:9; 3:9. Turbativa answers Falsehood’s religionis ecclesie turbativa (39.9–10).

How the Latin of this chapter was established

Plate readings; page · reading · note):
- 40: a
- 40: in
- 40: securitate.
- 40: ∅ (pivot already has "in auctontate" at 226–227; see 227)
- 39: CAPITULUM 20m.
- 40: auctoritate] (editor brackets: [In auctoritate])
- 40: istas 8 (8 dropped; scan OCR + Fordham)
Omitted per §3.5 / kept in the English (margin matter): MS mark Bl. 155 a. (40.4); reference John viii. (40.16).