VII. church holy-day or wake, speaking of church-yards, and CHAP. burying the dead, the writer has these words. "Church"yards," says he, " were appointed by the fathers to bury "in for two causes, one to be prayed for as our holy "Church useth, and another for the body to lie there at 66 rest, for the fiend hath no manner of power within "Christian burials. No burying in the church, except it "be the patron, that defends it from bodily enemies, and "the Parson, Vicar, Priest, or Clerk, that defend the "church from ghostly enemies with their prayers. Some "have been buried there, and cast out again on the 66 morrow, and all the clothes left still in the grave. An 66 angel came on a time to a warden of a church, and bade "him go to the Bishop, to cast out the body he had bu"ried there, or else he should be dead within thirty days; " and so he was, for he would not do as he was bidden." So again: "Many walk on nights, when buried in holy "place, but that is not long of the fiend, but the grace of "God to get them help. And some be guilty and have 66 no rest. Four men stale an Abbot's ox to their larder; "the Abbot did a sentence, and cursed them; so three of "them were shriven, and asked mercy; the fourth died, " and was not assoiled, and had not forgiveness. So when “he was dead, the spirit went by night, and feared all "the people about, that none durst walk after sun down. "Then as the parish Priest went on a night with God's 66 body to housel a sick man, this spirit went with him, "and told him what he was, and why he went, and prayed "the Priest to go to his wife, that they should go both to "the Abbot, and make him amends for his trespass, and "so to assoil him, for he might have no rest. And anon "the Abbot assoiled him, and he went to rest and joy for evermore." 66 Such were the fables and idle tales which were then delivered from the pulpits as Gospel truths, and for which our Bishop censured them as pulpit bawlers. 6. Of divine offices. Gal. iv. MS. 8 Of the providence of God. 9. Of the liberty of the Gospel. This was what Dr. Wiclif pleaded for, in opposition to the being bounden by sinful men's jurisdiction, or their statutes, privileges, and wayward customs. If this was therefore the Bishop's book, it is probable the design of it was to shew wherein the liberty of the Gospel consisted, and that in some things we are obliged by men's statutes and ordinances. 10. Of the power of seculars. 11. Against Constantine's donation. 12. Of the equality of ministers. This tract might possibly be to shew, that all ministers are not equal; but that there are different degrees in the order of Priesthood. 13. Of the laws and doctrines of men. To shew, perhaps, that they should not infringe that liberty which the Gospel allows; or that men should not be punished more for acting contrary to the laws and doctrines of men, than Homily on for open breaking God's commandments. Doctor Wiclif complained, that the Church that wandrith here is made thral by man's law, that it was then more thral than in time of the old lawe. And therefore he advised to get agen our former freedome, and trowe no Prelate in this Church but if he grounde him in God's lawe; since thus men should shake away all the law that the Pope hath made, and all rules of the new orders, but inasmuch as they been grounded in the law that Gad hath given. What our Bishop's opinion was of the multitude of ceremonies introduced into the Church has been shewn before, viz. that though the burden of them was grown excessively great, to the prejudice of our Christian liberty, yet that some of them ought to be retained. 14. Of communion under both kinds. It does not appear that ever Doctor Wiclif contended for administering the Communion in both kinds. But his followers, it is plain, asserted, that "the Priests ought to carry to the "sick the blood of Christ, as well as his body." If this VII. tract therefore was our Bishop's, it might be perhaps his CHAP. design in it to justify the usages of the then Church, in carrying to them the host or wafer only. 15. Against unlawful begging. Whoever was the author of this tract, it seems to have been designed against the begging Friars, and to expose their roguery. 16. An account of his own recantation. This does not seem likely to be our Bishop's, because in the instructions given by the Archbishop to the Abbot of Thorney, it is expressly provided, that the Bishop should have nothing to write with, nor stuff to write upon. However this be, it is certain that the greatest part of all these books are now lost, they being studiously suppressed by the Archbishop, by whose order as many of our Bishop's writings as could any where be found were wholly destroyed. 1602. Our historian, John Stow, in his Annals tells us, that P. 666, ed. our Bishop had laboured many years in translating the holy Scriptures into English: but there is no good authority for this. Our Bishop himself, it is sure, in those writings of his which are yet left, and in which he mentions a good many of his works, takes no manner of notice of his making, or intending to make, any such translation. Nay it does not appear, that he so much as thought it lawful to have the Scriptures in the vulgar or mother tongue; however he allowed them to be read in the Vulgate Latin version by such of the laity as were able to read and understand them in that language; though in his books he translates very large parcels of them into English. Abbot Whethamstede on much better grounds intimates that our Bishop translated the Lord's Prayer into English, and commented or paraphrased on it in the same language: "So proud," says he, "was he of his knowledge "in his own conceit, that over and above that saving d In tantum in suo sensu de sua scientia superbierat, taliter se supra se in VII. CHAP. ❝6 prayer, which the most learned Doctor of doctors, our "Lord Jesus Christ, composed with his own mouth, he "set forth no less than three other prayers, and published "them to the people, that they might say them :" unless he meant, that the Bishop published three forms of prayer of his own composing in English, besides his translation of the Lord's Prayer into that language. However this be, here is another instance of the care which was then taken to hide from the people the means of greater knowledge, lest they should discover the follies and superstitions which were then practised, and no longer give credit to those fabulous legends and romantic stories, which they were so commonly made to believe for truth. Mr. Henry A much later writer mentions another English tract of our Bishop's, in the late Archbishop Tenison's library, entitled The poor man's looking-glass; at the end of which is added another little tract called, Some counsels for humane instruction, in which the author advises his readers to be diligent in perusing the Scriptures, and to have frequent commerce with those divine books. But so far as I can see, we have no reason to ascribe either of these tracts to our Bishop. Thus have I endeavoured to give the best account I could of the life and actions of our Bishop. He was certainly a person of very great parts and abilities, and was much superior in learning to even the generality of those of his own order at that time. But he seems to have been a little too confidente in these rare endowments, of which altum elevabat, quod ultra oracionem illam salvificam, quam Doctor doctorum doctissimus, Dominus videlicet Jesus Christus, proprio suo ore composuit, ederet in suo vulgari nedum alias tres, et populo ad dicendum propalaret. Acta, &c. MS. • In this manner does the Bishop express himself in his first part of the Book of Faith. “I haue spake oft tyme and bi long leiser with the wittiest "and kunnyngist men of thilk seid soort contrarie to the Chirche, and which "han beholde as dukis amonge hem, and which han loued me for that y wolde "pacientli heere her evydencis and her motyues without exprobracioun; and VII. he was so great a master, and to have trusted too much CHAP. to them; whilst he hoped to be able by pure reason and argument to defend a very corrupt Church, in all its main doctrines and usages, against all opposers or assailants. It is very plain to any one who peruses those writings of his Lordship's which are yet remaining, how he was forced to sweat and labour hard in performing the difficult task which he undertook. So that however confident he was of success, and that, as his Lordship expressed himself, "the wittiest and most knowing men of that sort, "contrary to the Church, and which have been held as "dukes among them, knew right little to do for their "party;" he was yet forced here and there to drop many a concession, such as the warm and violent men of the Church could by no means brook or consent to. Our Bishop seems to have hoped, that in doing this he might have been safe enough from censure, since he was writing on the Church's side, defending her Bishops and Clergy from the clamours and invectives used against them, and shewing to those who scrupled the obligation of her determinations the lawfulness and reasonableness of their conformity to them. In this his Lordship judged too kindly of other men's moderation and candour by his own, and soon found himself mistaken. Under so severe Leland de judges, as the Prelates and Clergy of that time generally Script. Brit. were, it was not indeed likely that one of our Bishop's " verili noon of hem couthe make eny motiue for her parti so stronge, as y "myself couthe have made therto. And noon of hem couthe make eny mo"tiue, which schulde meve a thrifti sad Clerke nedis into concent; but ech "thrifti sad Clerk in logik, philosophie, and divinitie schulde soone schewe "her motive to be ouer feble, to be a cleer and undoutable proof. And if y 66 may not herynne be bileeued of hem, write thei her euydencis and motyves " in which thei trusten, and thei schullen se by writyng agen, that thei kunne "rigt litil maistrie do for her party: ghe, moche lasse than good Clerkis kun"nen for her parti do. Ceese thei therfore, and leve thei werk; for y wote “weel thei hewen above her heedis, and weenen that thei han more and clerer "sight in kunning thanne thei han, or mowe haue, without Clergie or greet "helpe of Clerkis." |