New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-03

rrasonall the 1t certain to those In authority
that II would be casting before swlne ln.oAc.
ng weak and uprepare souls with precious core NJ w
ire BY the Scriptures 10 all UndouhleuB uI'tn,
TO devout minds. II seemed token OF revetenG1, nI
thsse to keep them apart from ienope nhnuS MINI be
So II came TO pIs NJ fash OF prtuant ARROGANCE.
by tho ipesp icsbie renzy OF Councils, but by iogi
cal oral progress, certain and governing; mat ihe
enIy rlan " putting the writings III winch Chrs anV
was declared 10 the world into the hand OF every reader
for his guidance 10 tie Mater, OF VIZ wv, ,
wisdom and grace. was suspended and ahthgOn go ~
the later plan II keeping ali teaching In inc sanas o.
the priesthood md reservlns 10 lansnage uno"fSo0u
KEEPING TIE BrsIE FROM THE LAfrY.
Reverence hooks had preserved them In the
monasterles with efectual care. IL had caused
them TO Ia often transcribed by the monks
10 be spenddly oruamented supe-bly bound embossed
and enriched " th god and gems ti cop7 was almost
worth the price of castle. But il had hid
don them nom the touch Of the laity with Jealous
care and the tendency that uureturning ms the
steady G,w OF the stream TO the sea.
distinct prohibition OF the Scriptures to
the people promulgated at Toulouse
1929 1t had been rule OF the Creek Church before.
nj particular DEGREES only uttered rule which IA,
back Of ALL ana Inherent IN the system OF thOu9ht
from winch they 9rraog As hat system necn,T per-
watched its domains with vigilance nnreen'' ,h
And he who thereafter wouid pace ou ane
cross swords with the power upon the plates of who
AL
Bn row n Is also to he observed that against this
tendency mad least occasional resistance ny
manr Of the bst among the people ard of the priest
hood md thar this had been a. mani'est ns
any here in that earlier En- gland which, after long anu
painful uara ysls had come. al Just the tine OF M3cr
70 its propDec resurrection W. have to trace this his
tory also. get his work IN its Importance It's mean
lag and lis fruitful "A CT fully before us.
(The speaker then discussed the characteristic DINER
the English peopls. aud The way In whcn those were ~
last united against both secular aud religious oppres
SIGN
ENGLAND IN TIRE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
It's apparent thol, that have at last reached
point where MANY conditions were favorable IN Eng
land TO the revival OF the movement toward freedom III
religion and toward unhindered popular acquaintance
with the books OF the Scriptures fet II must not fail
10 be noticed that two forces were moving distinctly
and with violence in the opposite direction and were
in fact deepened and made swifer by the general OBJ
vious progress toward freedom. The one was the
jeacus. excited passionate spirit Of leading prelaes,
Ike wykeham OF courtney whUsy p ,hT st s,
for tne spiritual place and prer1gatlVe OF me
1SiG ao t. seSnr astsbs5%ent T"e o,bcn
some pects dangerous forccwas the Jesl-
quay o. .nI b@ lager liberties The repeated
breaking Of the plague IL Eng ana ana lie terrible
on,sop had unsettled oil conditions OF labor and
men acsiug 10 TO necessary work WINE harvests
Successive statutes beginning IN A. d. 1872 had sought
| to compel The service OF laoorers aud to
| for forty years. and the fear and wrath Of pro
| prioiors were aroused against the turbulence
uence when promised additional impulse 10 the peas
ant class must therefore encounter their fierce resist
ditons OF Rome. only more watcbful against every
hrea tened moral assault because they had to yield and
mann Ia the will Parliament concerning the enlarge
ment o. their temporal estates - ,,,
die of The fourteenth century and 1t s In the midst of
this excited fernenng e on the fronf OF tns Ola yet
new movement toward freedom. nationality. ana nd
hsss SHARPLY on Wyss cJ%ronl- that 'ps
| is obvious think. that he appeared at critical time
and that msny had contributed 10 determine his
spirit aims and TO him his work IN the world
and thai tuat wOrk-alJhOugh it in the perilOus
| timo--was Of the most difficult as well as OF the
largest yet mtrusted to any man I think 1t Will APP
pear TOO that ne of singular fitness for it, and did
II with supreme fidelity aud that the fruit of 1t has
passed English history IL somo respects certainly
ms is one OF most conspicuous Of tDe historical fig
ures OF tue Tue saxon and the Norman were sin-
scholar and stsle-uan writer and Ambassador. deyou
use aud determined reformrr Ana we to-nI&ht may
well be conscious Ut real and rich Indebtedness 10 him.
INCIDENTS OF wYCLIFTE's LIFE.
The principal outward incidents Of his life sufi-
ciehtly familiar lie was born in Yorkshire not far from
Richmond famous for its noble castle an estate
which rad belonged 10 the family OF his name from the
| time OF the Conquest The earlier clements of the
English population had continued that district in
larger numbers and had cung to the old traditions Of
the kingdom with greater tenacity than in the Midland
or Southern counties though WycIIes family. TO
the end Of its history remained attached pecu
yea to the Roman Church. II seems indeed TO have
carefully Oberated the traces OF his connection with
H. TO whOse fame alone 1t owes remembrance in the
world.
meat or probably, little earlier. the boy John
was pere Or nstrocIion ID childhood nave
no gDecal knowledge; but probably abO0t the year
1855 ne TO Oxford and entered one OF the five COL
legcs then there existins-ether Aerloa as has been
uenov sad. OF b which he
connected, ana which nsd been found d by family
"A
Mort ern Nation" which had is own PROCTOR,
be spirit OF the place ANA the whole unvcrsy-whicJ
Simply vast pu3Lc schooi-coGsiipei peculiar
shin and IN which the scholar q DIFF rent
countries eQn lily at home. RicE6Id o; Armagh,
YET archbishop, was in Oxford az the oe oi whom
Neander speaks forelunner OF Wyc.ife, by his
freedom oi thought; and Thomas BradwarGDe nRd re-
Gently been there, VINO anticipated EDWARDS % hs doe
trne Of tue w and whose vIgor OF Character made all
his speculauons Impressive and vital How Tar the
young udent was In contact win snch teachers can
not affirmed but DOUBTLESS the nne and feIvid spirit
which emanated from tnem fccted al mnds rs re-
sponsive and nj hearts as deeply touched with
u sense of religion.
lie becs me. of course familiar with Latin. as then
used among scholars but not WIN 1Ieeg win GA Was
not YET at home in Oxford. And The liberal arts
mar. rhetoric, and l0glc-tne TTyium "-arhmeilc,
astronomy, geometry, eud nosle-lne 0lauriIlum -
tnat he successfully pursued The physical and
IN thematIcal studies, Indeed appear - have had Tor
speculative. He passed from them all 10 the
sbe d % and New Tsstamens as found in he Vnga,e
the reading Of the Fathers and of Scno astc Doctors
also the Civ Law then, afcrwaTd Ia equally certain
with the history and cauonc law OF his kiugdom.
And these studies were to bear later fruit IN his
life
In such pursuits probably Ten years were occupied :;
and ~ A. .. 1916, or thereabOuts-tne year before
Crecy years alter Petrarcn had been crowned al
she Capit0l-he was ready for larger university
work as Fellow and Master IL is not
necessary olOw hts course for the twenty A.
terward. 1ich years with Inn OF silent growth
III ORE D. lion for Work W ilcn he could Then have
scarcely txpected. After 1857 ne was Tor some tine
Fellow OF Mer On College; ~ 1861 he vas Master OF
Raj ii "A -Ff
lege Rector OF Fllngnani, Lincolnshire PARISH, which
ALLOW ed hun continue connection with OXFORD. For
n short time he WaTden OF Canterbury II al. y
pOiute BY tie Arcadia itb founder. account Of
6Ncelloncrs OF learning and o. NE, but
soon rea. we'd by successor OF the prclae and IN
1866 he first ryeartd upon TIE stage OF national al
ialrs began 10 gather that broader brightness about
il name with hual'V To become shlulu
during spendOr To unde stand his at uie and course
ime aud after we must recall the controlling