Wyclif’s Latin works

Dialogus, chapter 29

Alms without lordship, and the dead hand

Pollard pp. 60.16–63.11

Falsehood60.16–61.4

60Mendacium. Sed adhuc repplicatur specialius quod licet clericus sic dotari. Nam nulli dubium quin domini temporales possunt per annum dare redditus suorum dominiorum in manum mortuam et fratribus optinendos, et per idem per quantumcunque temporis; etiam sic servari possunt elemosine perpetue a progenitoribus concessa per generacionem ex dei ordinancia succedentem. Stat ergo servari dominium in manu principalis domini secularis, et genus sacerdotum per quantumcunque tempus racionabile percipere puros fructus; sic enim possent vivere continue in paupertate evangelica et pauperibus distribuere fideliter quod superest de elemosinis sibi datis. Quare ergo non licet dominis sic dare suas elemosinas exonerando se et suos posteros? Et ex parte altera licet clericis prudenter distribuere has elemosinas, sicut apostoli et diaconi fecerunt, ut patet act. 6°; et sic 61apostoli collegerunt fragmenta, ut patet Mᵗ 14. 15, sed ad quid nisi ad distribuendum pauperibus? Faciant ergo clerici secundum hanc formam evangelicam, ut promittunt, et nemo potest eos ex racione vel evangelio impugnare.

Falsehood. But it is rejoinedrepplicacio; repplicare: rejoinder; to rejoin · of a grant, renewal still more specifically that it is lawful for a clericclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric to be endoweddotacio: endowment in this way. For no one doubts that temporal lordsdominus; dominari: lord; to exercise lordship / to lord it can give the revenuesreditus: revenue(s) of their lordshipsdominium: lordship for a year, to be held in the dead handmanus mortua: the dead hand and by friarsfrater: friar (of the mendicants) / brother,1 and by the same token for any length of time whatever; also in this way perpetual almselemosina: alms granted by forebears can be kept up through the generation that succeeds by God’s ordinanceordinacio; ordinancia: ordinance; of the sacrament, ordination. It holds, therefore, that the lordship be kept in the hand of the principal secular lord, and that the priestly kind receive the bare fruits for any reasonable length of time whatever;2 for so they could live continually in gospel poverty and faithfully distribute to the poor what is left over from the alms given them. Why therefore is it not lawful for lords to give their alms in this way, unburdening themselves and their posterity? And on the other side it is lawful for clerics prudently to distribute these alms, as the apostles and deacons did, as is clear from Acts 6; and so the 61apostles gathered up the fragments, as is clear from Matt. 14 [and] 15,3 but for what, except to distribute them to the poor? Let the clerics therefore act according to this gospel form, as they promise, and no one can attack them from reason or the gospel.

Truth61.6–63.11

61veritas. Videtur mihi quod evidencior sagitta de tua pharetra non processit. Sed quantum ad assumptum tuum fideles debent ut fidem supponere quod non licet mundanis dominis vel angelis de celo dare temporales elemosinas cuicunque de ecclesia militante, nisi conformiter voluntati divine ad edificacionem tocius ecclesie et secundum autorizacionem legis divine, cum deus sit dominus capitalis. Ideo et per ista dicitur quod redditus non fundantur, quantum concipio, dari in manum mortuam, nec sectis istis extraneis aliquid elemosine corporalis, sed convertantur pure ad sectam Christi, ut debent, et tunc potest eis talis elemosina impartiri. Nec video quare manus cleri debet vocari mortua nisi forte quia est spiritualiter mortua ab imitacione operacionis domini jhu Christi. Et quantum ad arguciam qua arguitur quod per idem, patet quod sagitta caret pennis, cum sit argucia gulosorum, qua sic arguunt; si licet potare quartam vini, per idem duplum, cum duplam virtutem contineat; et sic quousque potans fuerit debriatus. Et in ista argucia videtur diabolum primum hominem decepisse, ac si innueret quod non est nisi verbum jocosum domini, de ligno sciencie boni et mali ne comederis, vel saltem non est nisi leve peccatum quod potest esse per merita alia faciliter expergatum. [Ideo sicut nemo debet accipere elemosinas nisi autorizante deo, sic nemo debet dare elemosinas nisi autorizante domino capitali. Sicut enim secularis dominus non 62debet accipere episcopale ministerium, licet episcopus errans potestatem illam finxerit sibi dare, sic nullus sacerdos debet accipere seculare dominium, licet secularis errans per elemosinam illam finxerit sibi dare, quia deficit autoritas domini approbans tale factum.] Sed cum modificacione gravetur sic racio, quod per idem licet elemosinare clerum quamdiu placeret domino capitali et prodesset ecclesie militanti; quia certum est quod sine tali modificacione non valet argucia. Sed rogo mendacium docere si sciverit quod ista elemosinacio ad edificacionem ecclesie placet domino ihu Christo, vel quod non dat occasionem clero superbire, multa alia peccata committere et in Christi ministerio ociari. Ymmo quod non foret major elemosina dare aliis pauperibus ad quos Christus limitat luce 14° elemosinas has predictas. Quod cum mendacium nesciat, patet quod regula secura domini est tenenda. Cum debet esse fideli tanquam principium quod omne opus de quo debet esse sibi evidens quod deviat a voluntate vel regula ihu Christi debet dimitti, cum debet habere conscienciam facere tale opus. Sed debet esse evidens quod sic ditare clerum a voluntate et regula Christi deviat, ergo secularis debet istud dimittere. Evidens quidem est quod clerus per talem copiam temporalium peccat in quantitate et qualitate contrarius voluntati domini jhu Christi. in quantitate quidem, quo ad numerum proporcionalem aliis partibus ecclesie militantis, evidens quidem est quod talis mundana prosperitas facit clerum in numero superfluo appetere istum statum. Nam in lege veteri ubi labor fuit onerosior in mactando bestias et observando ceremonias, ut patet act. 15, fuit minor numerus sacerdotum et levitarum quam est in anglia quo ad residuum populi regni nostri, vel saltem non fuerunt tantum proporcionaliter ditati sicut jam 63ditatur in anglia clerus noster. Habuerunt autem decimas et alias portiunculas bestiarum, sed quid est hoc quo ad omnes decimas in anglia et alios redditus cum privatis elemosinis quas percipit clerus noster? Ideo nulli fideli foret evidens quin numerus cleri nostri excedit numerum quem approbat jhs noster. Et quo ad qualitatem patet quod cleri ocupacio circa temporalia et dimissio evangelizacionis paupertatis et humilitatis que a domino sunt precepta tollit qualitatem, quia virtutem cleri secundum limites a domino nominatos. Quis ergo prudens daret istas elemosinas tali forma?

Truth. It seems to me that no more evident arrow has come out of your quiver. But as to your assumptionassumptum: the assumption, believers ought to suppose as a matter of faith that it is not lawful for worldly lords, or for angels from heaven,4 to give temporal alms to anyone at all of the church militantecclesia militans / triumphans / dormiens: the church militant / triumphant / sleeping, except in conformity with the divine will, for the edification of the whole churchecclesia: church, and according to the authorizationautorizare: authorize of the divine law, since God is the chief lordcapitalis dominus; tenere de: chief lord; to hold of. Therefore by these things too it is said that revenues are not founded, as far as I understand, to be given into the dead hand, nor any bodily alms to these strange sectsreligio privata; secta: private religion; sect; but let them be converted purely to the sect of Christ, as they ought, and then such alms can be bestowed on them.5 Nor do I see why the hand of the clergyclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric should be called dead, unless perhaps because it is spiritually dead to the imitation of the working of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as to the quibbleargucie; argucia: stratagems, quibbles; a quibble by which it is argued "by the same token", it is clear that the arrow lacks feathers, since it is the quibble of gluttons, by which they argue thus: if it is lawful to drink a quart of wine, by the same token [it is lawful to drink] double, since that holds double the virtue; and so on until the drinker is drunk. And by this quibble the devil seems to have deceived the first man, as though he hinted that the Lord’s word, "Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat", is only a jest, or at least that [eating] is only a light sin, which can easily be purged by other merits.6 [Therefore, as no one ought to accept alms except with God authorizing, so no one ought to give alms except with the chief lord authorizing. For as a secular lord ought not 62to accept the episcopal ministry, although an erring bishopepiscopus; dominus episcopus: bishop; the lord bishop has pretended to give him that power, so no priestsacerdos / presbiter: priest / presbyter ought to accept secular lordship, although an erring secular [lord] has pretended to give it him by way of alms, because the authority of the lord approving such a deed is lacking.]7 But let the argument be pressed with a qualification, thus: that by the same token it is lawful to give alms to the clergy so long as it should please the chief lord and profit the church militant; because it is certain that without such a qualification the quibble is worthless.8 But I ask Falsehood to teach, if it knows, that this almsgiving pleases the Lord Jesus Christ for the edification of the church, or that it does not give the clergy occasion to grow proud, to commit many other sins, and to idle in Christ’s ministry; indeed, that it would not be a greater alms to give to the other poor to whom Christ assignslimitare; limites: to assign (an office); limits these aforesaid alms in Luke 14 [:13]. And since Falsehood does not know this, it is clear that the Lord’s safe rule must be held. For it ought to be to the believer as a principle that every work of which it ought to be evident to him that it deviates from the will or rule of Jesus Christ must be abandoned, since he ought to be troubled in consciencehabere conscienciam super: to be troubled in conscience over to do such a work.9 Now it ought to be evident that so to enrichditare: to enrich the clergy deviates from the will and rule of Christ; therefore the secular [lord] ought to abandon it. It is indeed evident that the clergy, through such plenty of temporal goodstemporalia: temporal goods, sins in quantity and in quality, contrary to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ. In quantity, namely as to its number in proportion to the other parts of the church militant: it is indeed evident that such worldly prosperity makes the clergy seek this estate in superfluous number. For in the old law, where the labour was more burdensome, in slaughtering beasts and observing ceremonies, as is clear from Acts 15 [:10], there was a smaller number of priests and levites than there is in England relative to the rest of the people of our kingdomregnum: kingdom,10 or at least they were not so richly endowed in proportion as our clergy is now 63enriched in England. And they had tithesdecime; pars decima: tithes; the tenth part and other small portions of the beasts; but what is this compared with all the tithes in England, and the other revenues, together with the private alms, that our clergy receives? Therefore no believer could fail to see that the number of our clergy exceeds the number that our Jesus approves.11 And as to quality, it is clear that the clergy’s occupation about temporal goods, and their abandoning the preaching of the gospel, of poverty and of humility, which were commanded by the Lord, takes away quality, because [it takes away] the virtue of the clergy according to the limitslimitare; limites: to assign (an office); limits named by the Lord.12 Who then that is prudent would give these alms in such a form?

Notes

  1. 1 In manum mortuam: "into the dead hand", mortmain, the tenure of land by a corporation that never dies; English law let land pass to the church only by licence (Statute of Mortmain, 1279). Fratribus could also be "brethren", but the friars are Wyclif’s usual target here (cf. sectis istis extraneis, 61.14).
  2. 2 Stat is the logician’s "it holds, it is consistent" governing the two infinitives; B, B¹, C read licet, "it is lawful". Concessa (60.21) does not agree with elemosine; translated as agreeing. Puros fructus: the fruits alone, without the lordship.
  3. 3 Mᵗ 14. 15: Matt. 14:20 and 15:37, both feedings (Pollard’s margin); B, B¹, C read et 15. B, B¹, C omit et diaconi (60.30) and read sicut for sic.
  4. 4 Angelis de celo echoes Gal. 1:8, "though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you".
  5. 5 Redditus non fundantur ... dari: "revenues are not founded ... to be given", i.e. no endowment rightly has the dead hand as its end; the verb is carried over to nec sectis ... elemosine corporalis. The subject of convertantur is taken as the sects. B has nisi written over sed by another hand, and B¹, C read nisi: "nor any bodily alms to these strange sects unless they are converted purely to the sect of Christ".
  6. 6 Gen. 2:17: Wyclif has ne comederis for the Vulgate’s ne comedas; B, B¹, C read comederitis. Non est nisi leve peccatum has no expressed subject; "[eating]" is supplied.
  7. 7 The bracketed passage (61.28–62.5) is Pollard’s: B, B¹, C omit it entirely, and his base codex has it only at the foot of the page.
  8. 8 Gravetur sic racio: "let the argument be pressed [weighted] thus"; B, B¹ read ideo, C scilicet quod, for racio. B¹, C read placet for placeret (62.7).
  9. 9 Habere conscienciam with an infinitive: "to be troubled in conscience to do"; the glossary’s habere conscienciam super.
  10. 10 C, the Bohemian copy, reads Bohemia for anglia here (62.30), and B, C proprii for populi. B, B¹, C read dotati, "endowed", for ditati (62.31).
  11. 11 Literally "to no believer would it be evident but that the number ... exceeds", i.e. every believer would see it. B, B¹, C read Christus for noster: "the number that Jesus Christ approves".
  12. 12 Quia virtutem cleri is elliptical; tollit is understood again: quality is taken away because the clergy’s virtue is. B, B¹, C read precipitanter tollunt for precepta tollit: "which [occupation and abandonment] precipitately take away quality". B, B¹, C read ewangelice for evangelizacionis.
How the Latin of this chapter was established
  • Plate readings; page · reading · note):
    • 60: Mendacium. (speaker, small caps)
    • 60: elemosinis
    • 61: Mᵗ (superscript t)
    • 61: ad quid nisi ad (pivot line garbled: two tokens for five words) — plate-confirmed 2026-09-29
    • 61: distribuendum — plate-confirmed 2026-09-29
    • 61: domini (do-|mini)
    • 62: est
    • 62: ∅ (side-note "is")
    • 62: fuit
    • 62: 14° (plate n93: luce 14°)
  • Omitted per §3.5 / kept in the English (margin matter): Pollard’s references Acts vi. 1–3 (60.30), Matt. xiv. 20; xv. 37 (61.1), Luke xiv. 13 (62.14), Acts xv. 10 (62.29), all given in the English; MS marks 118. (60.16), B. 16 c. (61.5), C. 19 a. (61.18), B. 158 b. (61.24), B. 16 d. (62.10), B. 17 a. (63.6).
  • Side-notes read on plates n91–n94; the 61.17 note is printed as one continuous block and kept whole.