Wyclif’s Latin works

Dialogus, chapter 33

True and false trade, buying and selling

Pollard pp. 78.11–80.20

Truth78.11–80.20

78Video quod adversarius noster non movet efficaciter pro parte sua racionibus vel scriptura, sed pocius irritat socios et contendit; nos autem talem consuetudinem non habemus, sicut nec ecclesia dei, ut docet paulus [1ª] Cor. [2°]. Ideo dimissis omnibus tradicionibus hominum vocatis legibus, et dictis scriptorum sequencium, que nec in fide scripture nec in racionibus sunt fundata, videtur quod in fine veritas catholica cum silencio sit loquenda. Sed primo pro declaracione dictorum de commercio sacerdotum et de simonia cum aliis commerciis hodie usitatis, videndum est quid sit emere et vendere. Et videtur quod ipsum sumptum analogice sit unam rem pro alia voluntarie commutare; et intelligo terminos analogice modo quo dicitur deum vendere beatitudinem et promerentem de congruo ipsam emere. Et isto modo videtur deum loqui ys 55°. Venite et emite absque argento et absque ulla commutacione vinum et lac. Et sic intelligendo commercium commune ad empcionem et vendicionem videtur quod empcio sit personam ementem facere 79aliquid esse suum, et vendicio sit personam vendentem facere suum esse persone ementis. Et sic deus analogice vendit beatitudinem, quia facit ipsam esse persone de congruo promerentis; et promerens emit beatitudinem, quia facit ipsam ex commutacione cum domino esse suam. Et sic commutacio intelligi potest dupliciter; primo modo proprie pro commutacione substancie quantum ad proprietatem possessionis, modo quo emens bovem commutat argentum vel aliud precium pro eodem (et isto modo videtur isayam loqui de commutacione in autoritate proposita, cum deus non potest mutari, nec aliquid substancie vel nature ementis beatitudinem perditur ab emente); 2° modo laxius pro commutacione cujuscunque rei substancie vel racionis, modo quo respectus et alie veritates dicuntur res, et sic beatificatus, licet habeat is deum pro substancia sue beatitudinis, habet tamen sibi propriam beatitudinem respectivam. Et sic commutat suum meritum ex dei gracia pro eadem. Et sic duplex videtur commercium; primum verum a deo tanquam principali vendente racionabiliter approbatum: secundum est commercium fantasticum sive falsum, et illud fit a diabolo tanquam capitaliter commercante, et illo modo omnis commercacio symoniaca sive illicita dicitur commercium a domino deacceptum. Istis premissis videtur mihi quod sacerdos potest licite cum suo corporali labore et mercede sensibili commercari, sed quod vendat suam oracionem vel meritum est racioni contrarium, quia valor sue oracionis vel meriti est supra suam possessionem in manu dei. Et sic quicunque vendunt beneficia ecclesiastica, vel literas fraternitatum aut meriti videntur commercari cum diabolo et contra deum blasfemare, cum fingunt se vendere quod deo est proprium. Ideo ne sacerdos incidat in istam blasfemiam videtur securum quod 80dicat in principio ipsum velle accipere alimenta et tegumenta pure titulo elemosyne, et velle e contra quantum deus acceptaverit in sacerdotali officio laborare. Et sic videtur quod papa vel patronus alius conferens beneficium ecclesiasticum debet pure ex titulo elemosine ad expressum spirituale curati officium limitare; et in principio convenire quod accipienda elemosina non est sua, sed dei et populi reverendi; ideo sine retribucione corporali reddenda sibi exspectat a deo premium, ut beneficiatur sincere et spiritualiter prosit ecclesie. Et multa talia signa sacerdotum et novorum ordinum hodie introducta videntur esse signa generacionis adultere et non a domino approbata. Et hec racio quare consecraciones corporum vel locorum per episcopos usitate, litere fraternitatum et alie commutaciones sacerdotum pro consecracione eucaristie in lege domini non fundantur, sed labor liber et utilis, modo quo foret in statu innocencie; et commercia secularia sunt prope periculum propter fraudem. Qui ergo haberet istam sentenciam clare discussam posset de simonia et aliis commerciis illicitis atque beatitudinis meritis clare loqui.

TRUTH.1 I see that our adversary does not argue effectively for his side by reasons or by scripture, but rather provokes his fellows and contends; but we have no such customconsuetudo: custom, nor the churchecclesia: church of God, as Paul teaches, 1 Corinthians 2.2 Therefore, setting aside all the traditions of men that are called laws, and the sayings of later writers, which are founded neither in the faith of scripture nor in reasons, it seems that in the end the catholic truth is to be spoken with silence.3 But first, to make clear what has been said of the tradecommercium; commercari: trade; to trade of priestssacerdos / presbiter: priest / presbyter and of simonysimonia: simony, together with the other trades in use today, we must see what it is to buy and to sell. And it seems that this, taken analogically, is voluntarily to exchangecommutacio; commutare: exchange; to exchange one thing for another; and I understand the terms analogically in the way in which God is said to sell blessedness, and one who merits it by congruityde congruo / de condigno: by congruity / by condignity to buy it. And in this way God seems to speak in Isaiah 55: "Come, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price."4 And so, understanding trade as common to buying and selling, it seems that buying is for the person buying to make 79something be his own, and selling is for the person selling to make what is his own be the buying person’s. And so God analogically sells blessedness, because he makes it belong to the person who merits by congruity; and the one who merits buys blessedness, because he makes it his own by exchangecommutacio; commutare: exchange; to exchange with the Lorddominus; dominari: lord; to exercise lordship / to lord it. And so exchange can be understood in two ways: in the first way, properly, for an exchange of substance as regards the ownership of a possession, in the way in which one buying an ox exchanges silver or some other price for it (and in this way Isaiah seems to speak of exchange in the authority set forth, since God cannot be changed, nor is anything of the substance or nature of the one buying blessedness lost by the buyer);5 in the second way, more loosely, for an exchange of anything whatever, of substance or of aspect, in the way in which relationsrespectus; respectivus: relation; relational and other truths are called things; and so the blessed one, although he has God as the substance of his blessedness, nevertheless has a relational blessedness proper to himself. And so he exchanges his merit, [had] from God’s grace, for it.6 And so trade seems to be twofold: the first true, reasonably approved by God as the principal seller; the second is fantastic or false trade, and that is done by the devil as chief trader, and in that way all simoniacal or unlawful tradingcommercium; commercari: trade; to trade is called trade disowned by the Lord.7 With these premised, it seems to me that a priest may lawfully trade with his bodily labour and with perceptiblesensibilis: perceptible wages; but that he should sell his prayer or merit is contrary to reason, because the worth of his prayer or merit is above his possession, in the hand of God. And so all who sell ecclesiastical beneficesbeneficium ecclesiasticum: ecclesiastical benefice, or letters of fraternitylitere fraternitatum: letters of fraternity or of merit,8 seem to trade with the devil and to blaspheme against God, since they pretend to sell what is proper to God. Therefore, lest a priest fall into this blasphemy, it seems safe that 80he say at the outset that he wishes to accept food and covering purely by titletitulus: title of almselemosina: alms, and in return to labour in the priestly office as much as God will have accepted. And so it seems that the popepapa: pope or other patronpatronus: patron conferring an ecclesiastical benefice ought, purely by title of alms, to assignlimitare; limites: to assign (an office); limits [it] to the express spiritual office of the curatecuratus: curate; and at the outset to agree that the alms to be received is not his, but God’s and the people’s, who are to be revered; therefore, with no bodily recompense to be rendered to him, he awaits a reward from God, so that [the curate] may be beneficed sincerely and may profit the church spiritually.9 And many such signs of priests and of the new orders, introduced today, seem to be signs of an adulterous generation,10 and not approved by the Lord. And this is the reason why consecrations of bodies or of places customary among bishopsepiscopus; dominus episcopus: bishop; the lord bishop, letters of fraternity, and other exchanges of priests for the consecration of the eucharist are not founded in the law of the Lord, but free and useful labour is, as it would be in the state of innocence; and secular trades are near to danger on account of fraud. Whoever, therefore, had this teachingsentencia: teaching clearly discussed could speak clearly of simony and of the other unlawful trades, and of the merits of blessedness.

Notes

  1. 1 The chapter opens with no speaker’s name in the print. The speaker calls Falsehood "our adversary" and continues the argument of chapter 32, so it is Truth.
  2. 2 The words quoted are 1 Cor. 11:16 (DR: "we have no such custom, nor the Church of God"), not chapter 2. The numbers [1ª] and [2°] are in the editor’s brackets, and Pollard’s margin gives "1 Cor. ii."; the English keeps the print’s reference.
  3. 3 Cum silencio sit loquenda: "is to be spoken with silence", i.e. without the contention just blamed on the adversary. It may also mean "while [all the rest] is kept silent", the traditions and later writers having been set aside.
  4. 4 Isa. 55:1, which Wyclif quotes as the Vulgate with et added (venite et emite). DR renders absque ulla commutacione "without any price"; Wyclif’s analysis turns on the Latin word, which in what follows is "exchange".
  5. 5 The parenthesis takes Isaiah’s "without any exchange" to deny exchange in this first, proper sense: nothing passes out of the buyer’s substance, and God is not changed.
  6. 6 Is (79.14) is taken as the pronoun "he", the blessed one. Ex dei gracia may attach to meritum ("his merit, [which is] from God’s grace", so the side-note) or to commutat ("by God’s grace he exchanges his merit"). Pro eadem: for the blessedness.
  7. 7 Deacceptum, "not accepted, disowned" (plate: de-|acceptum). B, C read deo for domino, "disowned by God".
  8. 8 Aut meriti: "or [letters] of merit". B had merita, corrected to meriti; B¹ reads merita, which would make it "or merits".
  9. 9 Sua, sibi and exspectat refer to the patron (so the side-notes: "not theirs, but God’s and the people’s"; "the patron should look to God"). Populi reverendi is taken as "the people, who are to be revered"; reverendi may instead go with dei as well ("of God and the people, to be revered"). Beneficiatur passes to the curate as subject, as does prosit.
  10. 10 Matt. 12:39, "an evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign": Wyclif plays on signa, the outward signs of the priests and new orders.
How the Latin of this chapter was established
  • Plate readings; page · reading · note):
    • 78: [1ª] (editor brackets: [1ª] Cor. [2°])
    • 78: catholica (catho-|lica)
    • 78: 55°.
    • 79: propriam (pro-|priam)
    • 79: meritum
    • 79: securum quod (secu-|rum across pp. 79–80; pivot lost "rum")
    • 80: quod
    • 80: sed
    • 79: deacceptum. (plate: de-|acceptum)
    • 78: [2°]. (plate n109 (sheet read): [1ª] Cor. [2°].)
  • Omitted per §3.5 / kept in the English (margin matter): reference 1 Cor. ii. (78.14); reference Is. lv. 1. (78.25).
  • Omitted per §3.5 (MS folio marks in the margin): 114 b. (78.11), B. 19 a. (78.22), B¹. 159 c. (78.26), B. 19 b. (79.23), 115. (79.30), C. 22 a. (80.2), B. 19 c. and B¹. 159 d. (80.19).
  • Side-notes corrected against plates n0109–n0111; draft notes at 78.1–78.8 (chapter 32) and 80.24–80.28 (chapter 34) dropped as outside this range.