Page:The Church, by John Huss.pdf/295

Rh therefore, God teaches through them, but, if they wish to teach their own things, do not hear them, do not do them."

Therefore, most true is Christ's saying and command, by which it is clear that he does not command the keeping and doing of all the precepts of those who sit in Moses' seat, for otherwise he would not have said: 'They lay heavy burdens and grievous to be borne," and consequently burdens which ought not to be borne. And in the next chapter it is seen how he excused his disciples in respect to eating with unwashen hands and fasting.

Then, as for the authority of Augustine (which the doctors immediately append), the chapter preceding this, near the end, gives his statement. As for the statement of St. Jerome, on the explanation of faith, see, where is set forth what he had spoken to Pope Damasus. But, after having looked at many old books, we have found that he wrote to St. Augustine, whom in his letters he often calls pope—which Augustine was a true pope—giving one significance to Peter's seat and Peter's faith, as appears near the beginning of. As to St. Bernard, when he speaks of the absolutely good and the absolutely evil, and things intermediate,  treats of that. And it is added: "In these things which are intermediate the law of obedience is placed as—tanguam—in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which was in the midst of Paradise." Certainly, in these things to prescribe our view to the judgment of the Masters is not right; and in these things neither the command nor the prohibition of prelates is in all cases to be despised. Here it is to be observed that the adverb of similitude, "as" [as it were]—tanguam—expresses a certain amount of likeness, not full likeness. For in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the law was placed by God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. This law was given under pain of mortal sin. For God said unto Adam: "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for