In præfat.

CHAP VIII.

Of Dr. Wiclif's Opinions.

In the foregoing chapters I have, according to the best light I could get, given a faithful account of the life of Dr. John Wiclif, and the sufferings he met with on account of the opposition which he made to the errors and corruptions of the age in which he lived. In doing this, I have been obliged to mention some of the opinions for which he was persecuted by the then Church representative. But since they were afterwards so much misrepresented by his adversaries, and so many others were charged upon him which were not so much as mentioned during his lifetime; I have thought it proper to add this chapter, in which I intend to give as good an account of them as I can get from those of his writings which I have seen.

The censure which the great Melancthon passed on him is well known, and made great use of by the Papistsa. "I have tentiæ Vete- " looked," says he, "into Wiclif, who is very confused in na Domini "this controversy, [of the Lord's Supper;] but I have found inscrip. Fre" in him many other errors, by which a judgment may be conio. t. i. " made of his spirit. He neither understood, nor believed "the righteousness of faith. He foolishly confounds the Three Con- "Gospel and politics, and does not see that the Gospel al"lows us to make use of the lawful forms of government of "all nations: he contends, that it is not lawful for priests

VIII.

" to have any property. He will have it that tithes ought CHAP. " to be paid to none but those who teach, as if the Gospel " forbade the use of political ordinances. He wrangles so"phistically and downright seditiously about civil domi"nion. In the same manner he cavils sophistically against "the received opinion of the Lord's Supper."

hum. p.127.

Elsewhere he observes, that "Wiclif plainly raved in De trad. " denying that it was lawful for priests to have any proper- In certis dis"ty: that Wiclif was mad in thinking that the ungodly put. p. 330. "could have no dominion."

So again, in another tract, he says, that "the Wiclifian Loci com"superstition which obliges the ministers of the Church to Potestate

munes; de

" be beggars, and denies that it is lawful for them to have Ecclesiæ,

any property, is pernicious and seditious."

The same things were objected to him by the Papists, as what they thought even Protestants themselves would not defend.

t. ii. p. 555.

Conver

"1. b That if a Bishop or Priest should give holy Orders, F. Paror consecrate the Sacrament of the Aultar, or minister sons's Three "Baptisme, whiles he is in mortal syn, it were nothing sions, part 2. " avaylable.

" 2. That it is against Scripture, for any ecclesiastical " ministers to have any temporal possessions at all.

"3. That no Prelate ought to excommunicate any person, " except he know him first to be excommunicated by God. " 4. That so long as a man is in deadly syn, he is neither " bishop nor prelate.

"5. That temporal lords may, according to their own " wills and discretion, take away the temporal goods from

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any Churchmen, whensoever they offend.

" 6. That tithes are meere almes, and detayned by the " parishioners, and bestowed where they will at their plea" sure."

c. 9. §. 9, 10.

The first and fourth of these are to the same purpose, Historia et

Monumenta, vol. i. p.

These articles are the 4th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, 18th, of those condemned by 159.
Archbishop Courtney, &c. at the Preaching Friars, London, in 1382, though F.
Parsons says, "they were some of Wiclif's first articles condemned at Oxford,
"about the year of Christ 1880, and that after he published many worse.”

VIII.

CHẤP. and are vindicated by John Huss, who observes that the carticle consists of three parts: 1. That a civil or temporal lord is no lord whilst he is in mortal sin. 2. That a prelate 3. That a bishop The first of these

Wiclefum

is no prelate whilst he is in mortal sin.
is no bishop whilst he is in mortal sin.

he thus explains; That a civil or temporal lord is not a ci-
vil lord apud Deum, or in God's account, so long as he con-
tinues in mortal sin. For this he quotes Hosea viii. which he
thus paraphrases: "They reigned, to wit, by usurpation,
" and not by me, who never approved of their abuse of
"their government. They were princes, to wit, by name
" or title, and I did not know them; that is, I did not ap-
" prove of their usurped principality as to the abuse of it."

And this seems very plainly to have been Dr. Wiclif's Adv. Johan. meaning. In his Trialogue, as it is quoted by William WodAnglum. ford, he thus writes: "In the viiith of Hosea it is written of "unbelieving kings, They reigned, but not by me; they were princes, and I knew it not; and it is added as the "reason, of their silver and their gold have they made them "idols, that they may be cut off. They who do not reign " of God, and whom in bearing rule he does not acknow"ledge; there is no doubt but they want a just dominion." And therefore he concludes, that " it seems plain, that no " one in mortal sin hath a true dominion over any of the "creatures apud Deum, in the sight of God; but deserves "to be called a tyrant, a thief, and a robber, although, by " reason of some human law, he retain the name of a king, " or a prince, or a lord." In this opinion he followed St. Austin, as has been before hinted, who is quoted by Huss, as asserting that omne quod male possidetur, alienum est, male autem possidet qui male utitur. Fideli homini totus mundus divitiarum est, infideli autem nec obolus. To the Ecclesiæ re- same purpose he elsewhere observed, "If temporal lords " do wrongs and extortions to the people, they ben traytors " to God and his people, and tyrants of Antichrist."

VIII.

Curse ex

MS. c. 11,

obedience to princes. " Christ," says he, " and his Apo- CHAP. "stles weren most abeisant to kings and lords, and taught" en all men to be suget to them, and serve them truly and Great Sen" wilfully in bodily works and tribute, and dread them and tence of "worship them before all other men. Jesu Christ pounded. " paid tribute to Emperor, and commanded men to pay him "tribute. And St. Peter commandeth in God's name "Christen men to be suget to every creature of man either " to King as more high than other, either to Dukes as sent " of him to the vengeance of misdoers, and praising of "good men. Also St. Paul commandeth by auctority of "God that every soul be suget to higher powers, for there " is no power but of God. Princes ben not to the dread of "good work, but of evil work. Wilt thou not dread the "potestate, do good, and thou shalt have praising thereof. " For he is God's minister to them to good. Sothly if "thou hast don evil, dread thou, for he beareth not the "sword without cause; for he is God's minister, venger " into wrath to him that doth evil. Therefore through "need be ye suget not only for wrath but for conscience. "Pay to all men debts, both tribute, and custom for things " born about in the lond, and dread and honour and love. "And our Saviour Jesu Christ suffered mekely painful " death of Pilate not excusing him for his jurisdiction by "his Clergy. And St. Paul profered him ready to suffer "death by doom of the Emperor's justice, if he were wor"thy to death, as deeds of the Apostles techen." Accordingly he blames the Clergy of his time for being traitors to kings and lords in denying this obedience, because they pleaded to be exempt from the King's jurisdiction and chastising, and refused " to pay any subsidie, or tax, or help"ing of our King and our rewme, without leave and as"sent of the worldly priest of Rome." So true is what Dr. Wiclif says of himself and followers, that they " de"stroien most by God's law rebelty of servants agenst "lords, and charge servants to be suget though lords be " tyrants."

As to the second and third parts of this article, viz. that

VIII.

CHAP. prelates and bishops in mortal sin are no prelates and bishops, or that they do not ordain, consecrate, nor baptize; I have shewn before that Wiclif denied the charge, and expressly affirms, that the effect of Christ's ordinance is not taken away by the wickedness of those that minister it; How Prayer since, as he observes, d" they ben not autours of the Saof good "craments." What gave occasion to his being understood much. MS. otherwise seems to have been his affirming, that "wick

men helpeth

"ed men's prayer displeaseth God, and harmeth them"selves and the people." It was then said, that "though

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men be not worthy to be heard in praying for their own "good life, yet their prayer is heard in merit of holy Church, " for they ben procuratours of the Church." To which Dr. Wiclif replied, "that this is a foul sophisme, a foul and

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a sotil deceit of Antichrist's clerks to colour their sin "thereby. For this gloss is foule but contrary to God's “words, and none of these great holy Doctors knewen this "feyned sotilty of words till the fend was unbounden. "Why shoulde God hear graciously such a cursed man's "prayer? for he despiseth God in his holy service, and "falsly deceiveth Christen men, and evil taketh the ho

66

nour of priesthood agenst God's hests. For God com" mandeth by St. Paul that no man take to him this ho

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nour but he that is cleped of God as Aaron. And the "people gesseth to find a true servant of God and clene of "life and devout to help them against their sins, and com"brance of the fend; and if he be not such he deceiveth "foul Christen people."

But notwithstanding the falseness of this charge, the enemies of the Protestant name and religion are continually repeating it, to expose Protestants as enemies to all order either in Church or State, and particularly as to the Apologia, last, of very seditious and rebellious principles. "If," c. 13. says Bellarmine, "the King pleases to hear or read the