The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-17
WYCLIFFE.
The Morning STAR as a Statesman, a Pa
triot, and Protestant.

The Morning STAR as Statesman, a Pa
triot, and Protestant.
Rev. James Mcleod, D. D.. in the Presbyterian.
The fact that Protestant Christendom is now
engaged in singing the praises of John Wycliffe
is striking tribute to his real greatness He
must have lived to some purpose, and he must
have been truly great when. after the lapse Of
five centuries he is deemed worthy Of such high
honor. If just recognition of Wyclffe's place
IN history has been somewhat tardy, he is secur
ing it at last; nor will it be complete until all his
| works are made accessible to the English speak
ing world.
What DR. Deilinger has said Of Luther's infu.
| ence In Germany, might with equal propriety,
be SAID OF Wycliffe's influence in England: The
mind and heart of the English were in Wycliffe's
| hands, as the Tyre in the hands of the musician.
| Did he not give to his nation more than any
other man in Christian times ever gave to
ton-.ianguage, books for ALL and especially the
Bible? Others were stammering
| he spoke he alone it was who has impressed the
| inettaceable stamp Of his genius, not only upon
| the English language but also upon the English
MIND. AND even those who detest him from the
depths OF their souls as the mighty hereto and
the seducer of the English people are forced to
speak in his words and think with his thoughts
Ii it be true that Chaucer is the father of En-
gllsh poetry, it is no less true that Wyclife Is
the father of English prose. Indeed, an Oxford
professor Montague Burrows, does not hesitate
to affirm that to Wychffe, more than to cav one
person that can be mentioned, we owe our En-
glish language our English Biblc and our re-
! !..f1 religion. Dr. Deihneer calls Wycliffe
SO good an authority as Archbishop Trench calls
| hlm the spiritual ancestor of the Puritansn If
TINS De True Ten there is connection between
cine I'D the Pilgrim Fathers which ought,
| nov 10 30 overlooked in these days when so many
ag-o celebrating the landing of the May flower.
I That Wycliffe was stalwart Protestant is be-
yond all question. His views of church doc
trine and Of church authority are in the main as
kt~d< H. %locA &c
| Protestant church to-day. Indeed, there is
good reason to believe that the Oxford professor
of 1860 was more orthodox than some Oxford
professors of 1860 DIR. Wyclife was surely
| quite as orthodox and quite as evangelical as
DR.. Pussy, and he was certainly quite as pro-
nouced Protestant. 1t is in view of his ster-
ling Professionalism and true-bue Purtanism
that Dr. Trench expresses his gratitude that the
| Reformation did not take place under him, but
was postponed until the time of Luther In his
Judgment Puritan reformation under'Wycliffe
| would have deprived the Episcopal Church of its
Catholic element In our Judgment, and tax
| into account the great success of other Protest
ant churches, such deprivation would have
been no great loss, but rather great gain in
| every way. At all events, does not the good
Bishop place far too high value upon that
| Catholic element" which is found in the Angli-
can cOmmunion9
Wycliffe was patriot as we'll as Protestant.
He was indeed Romish priest, but he was also
1 an Englishman; and he was an Engishman first
|
against the errors of the church, or if he had
loved England less and Rome more then, instead
| of being execrated and his bones disinhumed,
he would doubtless have been canonized long
ago, and to- day he would be receiving the HON
ago of the whole Papal world. But he loved his
country, and hence he stood with Edward Ill.
and his barons against the imperious demands
and usurpatons of Urban V, and his vassals.
His mission to Bruges was patriotic mission.
His bitter opposition to the Friars Mendicants
was on patriotic as well as on religious grounds.
He believed in civil liberty well as in religious
liberty. He had no sympathy with that craven
coward King John, and he urged Parliament to
hold fast the Magma Charta which had been
wrung from Johns unwilling hands. AS a
loyal Englishman, he defended his civil
rights and his country's cause against
priesty interference and Papal arrogance In
his Trialogus along with Dante, he represents
Antichrist as produced by the "Donation of Con
stantine," and in his Divine Dominion he advo
Yates complete separation between Church and
State. In advocating such a separation he was
500 years in advance of his country. But he
was right and he lives in history as the first
great British champion of civil and religious
liberty.
In the days of Wycliffe Rome chung with the
utmost tenacity to the doctrine that she had the
divine right, and therefore the legal right, to
lord it over Gods heritage She believed then
as she believes now that kings should be her
vassals, and that republics should be her obedi-
ent servants and that it is rank heresy to deny to
the Pope his claim to universal empire This is
true, notwithstanding the apparent disclaimer
of the recent so-called plenary council held in
Baltimore. "Vaticanism" is fact in history
which pastoral epistle can change
authority of the council there is abund-
ance of room left to write between the
lines. The authors of that letter notstrangers
to Delphi. But why did they deem it necessary
to repel the charge that the Roman Catholic
Church is more loyal to a foreign government
than the government of the United Statesl
What other church in our land has found it
necessary to make laborious argument to prove
that it is patrioticl Your letter won't do, gem
tlemen of the priesthood The voice of history
is the voice of truth when it proclaims that the
suspicion under which you lie is too well
|, founded It's voice is this: that in every case
when conflict has arisen between the supreme
authority Of the Church of Rome and the civil
government the loyal Papist has evermore been
the disloyal citizen In proof of this, let US
quote again from DIR: Dellinger, who may be re-
garded as an impartial witness. He says: "Do
yon in the United States comprehend what
, Papal infallibility involvess 1t imposes upon
, those who accept it the solemn obi
CATION to violate civil law to set them
, selves up in opposition to the ordinances of
your government whenever the Pope shall
pronounce his infallible judgment against any
one of those ordinances upon moral or religious
i grounds. In word it is the assumption of
power on the part of the Pope to proclaim a
higher law, which, according to the dogma, his
. | children must obey, though such obedience In
wolves treason to the state and the overthrow Of
your government" This is very strong Ian
guage But is it true2 Is it contrary to history.
or is it in harmony with itl If the Pope com
hands one thing and our government another
which authority is the Roman Catholic citizen
bound to obeya
TIE disclaimer of the council in regard to this
matter is not likely to deceive anybody Rome
is not yet out of politics. If she were, the case
might be different But she is not The Pope
is still poor prisoner in the Vatican, according
of the world, and especially that of Italy, are
treating him badly. But, though i. a cage he
; will bear watching He sun Yields great po-
litical power, and he will not be slow to use it
J wherever he can turn it to good advantage
, The authors of the letters referred to must
think that the American people have very