Wyclif’s Latin works

Dialogus, chapter 7

Christ’s poverty and the endowed clergy

Pollard pp. 13.2–14.21

Truth13.2–14.21

13veritas. Iterum Christus docet in verbis suam pauperiem Mat. 8° cuidam fingenti se velle sequi Christum, dum tamen terrenorum cupiditas fuit causa. Vulpes, inquit, foveas habent, et volucres celi nidos, filius autem hominis non habet ubi capud suum reclinet; quasi diceret: noli sequi me propter spem lucri terreni, cum sim pauperrimus homo mundi, sicut dicit in suo apostolo 2 Cor. 8° Scitis enim graciam domini nostri jhu Christi qui propter vos egenus factus est, ut illius inopia vos divites essetis. Et ad idem sonat evangelium totum concorditer a nativitate Christi que facta est in diversorio usque ad mortem penalem et pauperem que facta est in cruce. Ubi ergo major infidelitas quam prelatos et sacerdotes alios tam cece deserere sanctam fidem. Nec solum dotati presbiteri ipsam deserunt, sed exproprietarii imponentes Christo blasfeme quod ab ipso edocti sunt taliter mendicare. Christus enim fuit homo pauperrimus, cum pauperies sua sonuit in perfeccionem virtutum, et in qualibet perfeccione hujusmodi fuit summus; et tamen citra istam mendicacionem tenebat se in medio, juxta illud quod docet sapienciam salomonis prov. 30 mendicitatem et divicias ne dederis michi, tribue tantum victui meo necessaria. Et hoc movebat apostolum pᵃ thymo 6° tradentem 14generaliter sacerdotibus pro regula istam fidem: Nichil, inquit intulimus in hunc mundum, haut dubium nec aliquid inde auferre possumus. Habentes igitur alimenta et quibus tegamur hiis contenti simus. Et hic videtur fidelibus si auderent depromere, quod papa et tota secta sua dotata temporali dominio sit hereticus induratus, quia scripture que non potest solvi pertinaciter contrarius; sed quis est hereticus nisi talis? Unde petrus pᵃ petri 5° precipit: pascite qui in vobis est gregem dei, providentes non coacte sed spontanee secundum deum, neque turpis lucri gracia sed voluntarie. Neque ut dominantes in clero, sed forma facti gregis ex animo, ut cum apparuerit princeps pastorum percipiatis immarcessibilem glorie coronam. Sed sicut vita pape et cleri sui cesarii soporavit istam petri sentenciam, sic decretales epistole soporaverant istam fidem. Ideo videtur evidens quod prelati ignorantes istam fidem tam opere quam sermone sunt perfidi antichristi. Et cum ex fide claret fidelibus quod in isto unico verbo petri sit salubrior sentencia quam in omnibus epistolis decretalibus vel bullis papalibus, patet quod stulte clerici deserunt discere hanc fidem salubrem et student ista apocrifa que seducunt.

Truth. Again, Christ teaches his poverty in words, in Matthew 8, to a certain man who feigned that he wished to follow Christ, while yet greed for earthly things was the cause: "The foxes," he says, "have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head"; as if he said: Do not follow me in hope of earthly gain, since I am the poorest man in the world; as he says in his apostle, 2 Cor. 8: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who for your sakes became poor, that through his poverty you might be rich."1 And the whole gospel sounds in agreement to the same effect, from the birth of Christ, which took place in an inn, to his penal and poor death, which took place on the cross. Where, then, is greater unbeliefinfidelitas: heathenism, unbelief than for prelatesprelatus: prelate and other priestssacerdos / presbiter: priest / presbyter so blindly to desert the holy faith? Nor do the endoweddotacio: endowment presbyterssacerdos / presbiter: priest / presbyter alone desert it, but also the propertylessexproprietarii: the propertyless, blasphemously imputing to Christ that they were taught by him to beg in this way.2 For Christ was the poorest of men, since his poverty resounded in the perfection of the virtues, and in every perfection of this kind he was highest; and yet, short of this begging, he kept himself in the mean, according to what the Wisdom of Solomon teaches, Prov. 30: "Give me neither beggary, nor riches: give me only the necessaries of life." And this moved the apostle, 1 Tim. 6, delivering 14generally to priests as a rule this faith: "We brought nothing," he says, "into this world: and certainly we can carry nothing out of it. Having therefore food and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content."3 And here it seems to the faithful, if they dared to bring it out, that the popepapa: pope and his whole sectreligio privata; secta: private religion; sect, endowed with temporal lordshipdominium: lordship, is a hardened heretic, because stubbornly contrary to scripture, which cannot be broken; now who is a heretic but such a one?4 Hence Peter, in 1 Peter 5, commands: "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint but willingly, according to God: not for filthy lucre’s sake but voluntarily: neither as lording itdominus; dominari: lord; to exercise lordship / to lord it over the clergyclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart; that when the prince of pastors shall appear, you may receive a never fading crown of glory."5 But as the life of the pope and of his caesarean clergyclerus cesareus: the caesarean clergy has lulled this teachingsentencia: teaching of Peter to sleep, so the decretal letters have lulled this faith to sleep. Therefore it seems evident that prelates who are ignorant ofignorare: to be ignorant of this faith, as much in deed as in word, are faithless antichrists.6 And since, as faith teachesex fide: as faith teaches; with a genitive, from the faith of [scripture], it is plain to the faithful that in this single word of Peter there is a more wholesome teaching than in all the decretal letters or papal bulls, it is clear that clericsclerus; clericus: the clergy; cleric foolishly leave off learning this wholesome faith and study these apocryphaapocrifa; apocrifus: apocrypha; apocryphal, which lead astray.

Notes

  1. 1 Matt. 8:19–20: in the gospel the man is "a certain scribe" who offers to follow; fingenti ("who feigned") is Wyclif’s reading of his motive. 2 Cor. 8:9: Wyclif has qui for the Vulgate’s quoniam and omits cum esset dives ("being rich"). In suo apostolo: Christ speaks through Paul.
  2. 2 Exproprietarii: "the propertyless", those who profess to hold nothing of their own, here the mendicant friars (Pollard’s side-note: "friars who pretend to have learnt begging from Christ"). C reads sed et ("but also") and blasfemiam for blasfeme.
  3. 3 Pollard prints docet sapienciam salomonis, which leaves quod with no clear object; B, C read sapiencia, "what the Wisdom of Solomon teaches", and we translate it. The plate prints prov. 30; the apparatus gives 26 vel 36 for the chapter. Citra istam mendicacionem: "short of this begging": his poverty stopped before mendicancy, at the mean of Prov. 30:8; B¹, C read cum for tamen. 1 Tim. 6:7–8: Wyclif adds inde and has igitur for the Vulgate’s autem ("But having food…"); possumus and simus as Vulgate.
  4. 4 John 10:35, "the scripture cannot be broken". Pertinaciter: stubborn persistence against scripture is what makes an error heresy in the canonists’ definition, from Augustine: those who hold a false opinion nulla pertinaci animositate are not heretics, those who resistunt contumaciter become so (Gratian C.24 q.3 cc.29, 31). The singular sit hereticus induratus takes pope and sect together.
  5. 5 1 Pet. 5:2–4. Wyclif has in clero for in cleris and ut … percipiatis ("that … you may receive") for percipietis ("you shall receive").
  6. 6 Soporaverant: pluperfect in Pollard, rendered as a perfect beside soporavit; B, B¹ correct to soporaverunt. Tam opere quam sermone may go with perfidi instead: "are, as much in deed as in word, faithless antichrists". Antichristi could also be genitive singular, "faithless [men] of Antichrist".
How the Latin of this chapter was established
  • Plate readings; page · reading · note):
    • 13: CAPITULUM VII.
    • 13: foveas (italic)
    • 13: pᵃ (superscript a: pᵃ = prima (1 Tim.))
    • 14: tegamur (italic)
    • 14: dotata (line no. 5)
    • 14: pᵃ (superscript a = prima)
    • 14: 5° (degree sign)
    • 14: ut (line no. 10)
  • Omitted per §3.5 / kept in the English (margin matter): reference Matt. viii. 20. (13.3); reference 2 Cor. viii. 9. (13.8); reference Prov. xxx. 8. (13.20); reference 1 Tim. vi. 7. (13.22); reference 1 Pet. v. 2. (14.8). Folio marks B. 151 c., B. 3 d., 100 b., C. 4 b., B. 4 a. dropped.
  • Side-notes read on plates n44–n45. The draft’s 13.14 friars note begins at 13.15; its 13.14 "B. 3 d." and 14.13 "15 C. 4b." were folio marks; 14.8 "1 Pet. v. 2." is a reference, not a side-note.
  • Plate check: at 13.20 the plate prints salomonis prov. 30; the working transcription’s Latin lacks 30. At 13.22 6°tradentem is a word-division artefact (plate: 6° traden-). Latin left frozen; both reported.
  • Apparatus consulted: 13.14 istam for sanctam, B¹, C; 13.15 (n. 2); 13.19 cum for tamen, B¹, C; 13.20 sapiencia, B, C, and 26 vel 36 (n. 3); 14.5 exprimere for depromere, B, B¹, C; 14.6 scripture sacre, C; 14.14 soporaverunt (n. 6); 14.19 quam for quod, B, B¹; stolide for stulte, B.