Page:Illustrations of the history of medieval thought and learning.djvu/275

Rh considered either as the holy spouse of Christ or as, in its transitory condition, the human society mixed of good and evil. To the church in its ideal signification God makes his grant; the wicked have their share only by virtue of their outward membership of it. But since, as has been said, the sole sufficient title to any possession is the immediate grant of God, it results that such possession as the wicked have is not worthy the name of possession at all: and Whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

By means of this and similar texts of Scripture the way is prepared for Wycliffe's second main principle; namely, that the righteous is lord of all things, or in precise terms every righteous man is lord over the whole sensible world. If a man has anything he has everything: for, as Wycliffe says elsewhere, the grant of God is most appropriate, most ample, and most useful to the creature; so ample indeed that God gives not any dominion to his servants except he first give himself to them. Thus, even when the righteous is afflicted in this life, he still has true possession of the whole universe, inasmuch as all things work together for good to him, in assisting him towards eternal happiness. It would be impossible to indicate the spiritual nature of the dominion claimed by Wycliffe for the righteous, more distinctly than by this example: yet he proceeds to dwell upon its literal truth in a way that might almost persuade us that he is really developing a system of polity applicable to the existing conditions of life. He is not afraid to pursue his doctrine to the logical conclusion that, as there are many righteous and each is lord of the universe, all goods must necessarily