Wyclif’s Latin works

De ecclesia, chapter 6, part 3

The first difficulty answered: Christ’s three weddings, and the temple as figure of the church

Loserth pp. 123.28–126.13

¶1123.28–125.32

123Ad illud autem videtur dicendum iuxta sepe dicta quod Christus in primo instanti mundi fuit sponsus ecclesie predestinacione, in confirmacione autem angelorum dedit dotem parti sponse sue et sic in confirmacione 124Abel iusti et aliorum sanctorum usque ad incarnacionem, manente continue eadem desponsacione, cum Cesar semper Augustus continue auget dotem. In incarnacione vero fecit secundas nupcias, creando quandam reginam partem tocius ecclesie que quadam proprietate dicitur ecclesia christiana. Tunc enim dux et legifer noster familiarius alloquens sponsam suam (ut dicit apostolus Hebr. 1°) per assumpcionem humanitatis inducit arma nostra et ut gigas superavit hostes ecclesie, redimens partem sponse incarceratam et docens aliam quomodo sequeretur eius vestigia. Unde tota doctrina christiana stat in ista oracione ecclesie qua rogamus sponsum per adventum eius in carnem, ut doceat nos terrena despicere et amare celestia. Despicere, id est, in affeccione postponere. Ille enim despicit temporalia qui a summa sede anime ipsa abicit et facit ipsa intencioni celestium abiectissime ministrare. Et bene foret sibi qui perfecte didicerit istam regulam religionis, tunc enim foret in recta via sequendi sponsum et assumptam iuvenculam in regnum celorum. Tercio vero in ultimo adventu faciet agnus nupcias consummatas, coronando et confirmando reginam integram que est una columba et universalis ecclesia, non pars alterius ecclesie (ut patet Apoc. XXI°). Et super ista consideracione dependet magna pars sensus scripture et servicii ecclesie. Nam ex fide erit una totalis ecclesia glorificata post diem iudicii, et illa secundum magnam partem est modo sponsa in celo, in purgatorio et in mundo. Ideo illa est continue una universalis et sancta mater ecclesia, et illa est quam 125debent leges intelligere et omnis christianus reverenter intendere; illa, inquam, figurata est in Salomone et templo, ut canit ecclesia. Frustra namque ordinaretur vel legeretur quod Salomon haberet tot reginas, tot concubinas et tot adolescentulas, nisi ut figurando Christum significet nobis suum coniugium cum spiritibus celestibus, tam angelis quam animabus, quam cum adolescentibus viantibus; ex quibus omnibus componitur una columba que est universalis ecclesia, eadem que coronabitur in patria, quia aliter foret continue alia et alia universalis ecclesia. Frustra eciam ordinaretur et legeretur construccio templi Salomonis (de quo III° Reg. VI° cap.) ad figurandum Christum et ecclesiam, que est templum suum (ut dicit apostolus Iª Cor. III° 17). Sicut enim fuerunt tres partes templi: prima in quam totum vulgus et alienigene intraverunt, quam sacerdotes in tempore Christi negociacionibus occuparunt (ut patet Matthei XXI°, 12). Et illa signat militantem ecclesiam in qua sunt eciam alienigene ut presciti. Secunda vero fuit corpus ecclesie populo Israhelitico deputata, signans perfecciores pure Israhelitas a rugis in purgatorio depurandos. Tercia vero fuit sancta sanctorum in quam soli sacerdotes intrarunt solempniter semel in anno. Et illa signat triumphantes, ut exponit apostolus Hebr. IX°, 11: Christus assistens pontifex etc. Sic, inquam, tota fabrica templi signat universalem ecclesiam iuxta fidem. Unde istum articulum fidei tenentur episcopi docere inferiores sacerdotes et populum, quia aliter ignorarent usum servicii ecclesie ad cuius noticiam obligantur, et specialiter illum articulum fidei ecclesiam sanctam catholicam quem omnis catholicus debet scire.

And to that, it seems, the answer must be, according to what has often been said, that Christ at the first instant of the world was the bridegroomsponsa / sponsus: bride / bridegroom of the churchecclesia: church by predestination; and at the confirmation of the angels he gave a dowry to part of his bridesponsa / sponsus: bride / bridegroom, and so at the confirmation of 124Abel the just and of the other saints up to the incarnation, the same espousal remaining continuously, since Caesar ever Augustus continually increases the dowry.1 And at the incarnation he held a second wedding, creating a certain part of the whole church a queen, which by a certain propriety is called the christian church.2 For then our leader and lawgiver, speaking more familiarly to his bride (as the apostle says, Hebrews 1), through the assumption of humanity puts on our armour, and as a giant overcame the enemies of the church, redeeming the imprisoned part of the bride and teaching the other how it should follow his footsteps.3 Hence the whole christian doctrinedoctrina: doctrine stands in this prayer of the church, in which we ask the bridegroom, by his coming into the flesh, to teach us to despise earthly things and to love heavenly. To despise, that is, to put after in affection. For he despises temporal goodstemporalia: temporal goods who casts them away from the highest seat of the soul and makes them serve, most abjectly, the intention of heavenly things.4 And it would be well with him who had perfectly learned this rule of religion; for then he would be on the right way of following the bridegroom and the young girliuvencula: young girl he has taken to himself into the kingdomregnum: kingdom of heaven.5 And thirdly, at the last coming the Lamb will make the nuptials consummate, crowning and confirming the queen entire, which is one dove and the universal church, not part of another church (as is clear, Apocalypse 21).6 And on this consideration depends a great part of the sense of scripture and of the church’s service. For as faith teachesex fide: as faith teaches; with a genitive, from the faith of [scripture] there will be one total church glorified after the day of judgment, and that [church] is now, in great part, the bride in heaven, in purgatory and in the world. Therefore she is continuously one universal and holy mother church, and she it is whom 125the laws ought to understand and every christian reverently to attend to; she, I say, was figured in Solomon and the temple, as the church sings.7 For in vain would it be ordained or read that Solomon had so many queens, so many concubines and so many young maidensadolescentula: young maiden, unless it were that, by figuring Christ, he signifies to us his marriage with the heavenly spirits, angels as well as souls, as well as with the young ones who are on the roadviantes: those on the road; of all of whom is composed one dove, which is the universal church, the same that will be crowned in the homelandvia / patria: the way / the homeland; for otherwise there would continually be one universal church after another.8 In vain, too, would the building of Solomon’s temple (of which 3 Kings, chapter 6) be ordained and read, [were it not] to figure Christ and the church, which is his temple (as the apostle says, 1 Corinthians 3:17).9 For just as there were three parts of the temple: the first, into which the whole common people and the foreigners entered, which the priests in Christ’s time occupied with their trafficking (as is clear, Matthew 21:12). And that signifies the church militantecclesia militans / triumphans / dormiens: the church militant / triumphant / sleeping, in which there are foreigners too, as the foreknownprescitus, -i: the foreknown.10 And the second was the body of the church, assigned to the people of Israel, signifying the more perfect, purely Israelites, who are to be cleansed of their wrinkles in purgatory. And the third was the holy of holies, into which the priests alone entered solemnly once a year. And that signifies the triumphant, as the apostle expounds, Hebrews 9:11: "Christ, being come an high priest" etc.11 So, I say, the whole fabric of the temple signifies the universal church, according to faith. Hence the bishopsepiscopus; dominus episcopus: bishop; the lord bishop are bound to teach this article of faitharticulus fidei: article of faith to the lower priestssacerdos / presbiter: priest / presbyter and to the people, since otherwise they would be ignorant ofignorare: to be ignorant of the use of the church’s service, to the knowledge of which they are obliged; and especially that article of faith, "the holy catholic church", which every catholic ought to know.12

¶2126.1–126.13

126Et patet quod Christus semper est caput ecclesie. Unde ego credo quod, quicunque episcopus vere presidet in particulari ecclesia, remanet post mortem suam caput vel patronus eiusdem ecclesie. Quamvis enim moriatur in corpore, procurat tamen in spiritu pro subditis eciam fervencius quam in via, et post diem iudicii habebit quandam preeminenciam et illuminacionem, sicut in angelis longe alterius racionis quam prepositura viancium. Ideo rogamus, ut sanctos episcopos semper habeamus patronos in celis. Sed illi non contendebant circa primatus, adulterantes scripturam sacram, ut populus astringatur in via credere quod ipsi sunt capita sancte matris ecclesie.

And it is clear that Christ is always headcaput: head of the church. Hence I believe that whatever bishop truly presides in a particular church remains after his death head or patronpatronus: patron of that same church.13 For although he dies in the body, yet in spirit he acts for his subjects even more fervently than on the wayvia / patria: the way / the homeland, and after the day of judgment he will have a certain pre-eminence and illumination, as among the angels, of a far other kind than the office of superiorprepositura: office of superior of those on the road. Therefore we pray that we may always have holy bishops as patrons in heaven. But they did not contend about primacies, adulterating holy scripture, so that the people on the way should be bound to believe that they themselves are heads of holy mother church.14

Notes

  1. 1 A margin Christus in primo instanti mundi fuit sponsus ecclesie (123.30); Loserth (123.30): cf. Hus, De ecclesia, Opp. I, 198b. Ad illud: the first difficulty, whether Christ was before the incarnation (123.24–27, 06-b). Cesar semper Augustus: the imperial style "ever Augustus", taken from augere: he who ever increases (auget) the dowry. Loserth (124.3): cf. Wyclif, De benedicta incarnacione c. 5, p. 67.
  2. 2 A margin Christus in incarnacione originavit ecclesiam christianam (124.4), Nupcie Christi per incarnacionem (124.8). Vero here and at Tercio vero marks the stages of a series: "and". Quadam proprietate: by a certain propriety of name; the part of the church since the incarnation is "christian" in a proper sense.
  3. 3 Heb. 1:1–2: God, who "spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days, hath spoken to us by his Son" (DR); hence familiarius. Ut gigas: Ps. 18:6, the bridegroom "hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way" (DR). Inducit: "puts on" (of armour or clothing), a present beside the perfect superavit, as printed. Partem … incarceratam: the fathers held below until Christ’s descent. Dux et legifer noster: after the Advent antiphon O Emmanuel, rex et legifer noster (Sarum Breviary, Procter–Wordsworth I, col. clvi), which some copies read dux et legifer noster (Thomas Cisterciensis, In Cant., PL 206:616A).
  4. 4 B margin Tota doctrina christiana stat in una oracione (124.12). The petition ut … terrena despicere et amare celestia is the postcommunion of the second Sunday of Advent, doceas nos terrena despicere et amare celestia (Sarum, Legg p. 17; Gregorian Sacr., PL 78:192A). B preponere for postponere (124.15), which reverses the sense; the print is translated. Abicit … abiectissime: Wyclif’s play, "casts away … most abjectly".
  5. 5 Regula religionis: a rule of life, with a glance at the rules of the orders. Assumptam iuvenculam: the church militant, taken as bride at the incarnation (assumere, as in assumpcio humanitatis). We take in regnum celorum with sequendi: following into the kingdom.
  6. 6 The token ad- before Tercio (124.22) is not Wyclif’s and is not translated. A margin Nupcie consumacionis; B nupcias consumptas (124.22). Una columba: Cant. 6:8, "One is my dove" (DR). Apoc. 21:2, 9: the city "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband", "the bride, the wife of the Lamb" (DR). The page foot gives "B: Moralium XXI" (124.25), apparently in place of Apoc. XXI°; the print is translated.
  7. 7 Secundum magnam partem: the greater part of that church is already the bride, in its three states (triumphant, sleeping, militant). Servicium ecclesie: the liturgy (untagged, the glossary servicium). Intendere: to attend to, not the thesis sense "maintain". Ut canit ecclesia: the office and mass of the dedication of a church: the Sarum sequence Jerusalem et Syon filie, where Christ desponsat hodie matrem nostram … ecclesiam, praised a reginis (Cant. 6:8), and the queen of the south comes to Solomon (Legg pp. 203, 473–74); and the dedication lessons on Solomon and the temple (Sarum Breviary, Procter–Wordsworth I, cols. mcccclvi–lix). Loserth (125.3): cf. above, 97.5.
  8. 8 Cant. 6:7, "There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and young maidens without number" (DR), with Solomon taken as the Song’s speaker. A regninas; A margin Concubine, regine, adolescentule Salomonis (125.4). Tam angelis quam animabus, quam cum adolescentibus viantibus: three classes, answering the three of the Song; adolescentibus viantibus, "the young ones on the road", picks up adolescentulas.
  9. 9 3 Kings 6 (1 Kings 6 in modern numbering); A III Reg. VI cap. (125.13). 1 Cor. 3:17, "For the temple of God is holy, which you are" (DR). Frustra … ad figurandum: the parallel with nisi ut figurando above gives "in vain, unless to figure"; hence our "[were it not]". A margin Distinccio templi Salomonis ad ecclesiam (125.15).
  10. 10 A primam in, aligenigene (125.16); B margin (later hand) Templi partes tres. Sicut enim has no answering sic until Sic, inquam below; the period is left open as printed. Matt. 21:12, the sellers cast out of the temple, is cited, not quoted. Ut presciti: the foreknown are such foreigners in the church militant.
  11. 11 Corpus ecclesie: the nave, the church-building’s word given to the temple’s holy place. Pure Israhelitas: Israelites without admixture; a rugis … depurandos: the church sleeping, still to be cleansed of the "wrinkle" of Eph. 5:27. The page foot gives "Codd.: qua" (125.23, cut short), apparently against the print’s quam, which we follow. Heb. 9:7 has the high priest alone (solus pontifex) enter once a year; soli sacerdotes is Wyclif’s. Heb. 9:11 agrees with the Vulgate less autem.
  12. 12 Iuxta fidem: according to faith, not the formula ex fide. Usum servicii ecclesie: the meaning of the church’s rites, as of the temple-figure above. Ecclesiam sanctam catholicam: the creed’s article, quoted in the accusative it has after credo.
  13. 13 A margin Conclusio (126.1). At 126.4 the page foot reads "A: est (in red ink) suam est caput": A apparently has post mortem suam est caput, with est for remanet; the OCR is unclear. Patronus: the bishop as patron in heaven of his church, not the patron of a benefice; caput vel patronus grants him "headship" of a particular church only in that sense.
  14. 14 Procurat … pro subditis: acts on his subjects’ behalf, as a proctor would. B quandam primiciam (126.7), apparently for quandam preeminenciam. Alterius racionis: of another kind. Illi: the holy bishops of old, against present prelates who claim to be capita; in via goes with populus.
How the Latin of this chapter was established
  • Plate readings; page · reading · note):
    • 123: Christus
    • 124: familiarius
    • 125: III°
    • 125: Iª (15 is the line number)
    • 125: 12 (print "XXI°, 12)."; main token holds the whole number, lost its 1)
    • 126: illi (10 is the line number)
    • 125: debent (145c folio mark glued)
  • Not Wyclif’s, not translated: p. 124 ad- before Tercio vero (124.22).
  • OCR scars, translated as corrected: p. 125 Cor. 111° (read III°), Hebr. IX°, 1 1 (read 11).