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John Wiclijfe.
to be silent. If he is the weakest in power he is the strongest in truth! J" The issues of this affair were favourable to the Reformation. The cause of Wicliife began to be more widely discussed and better understood by the nation. The designs of his enemies had been thwarted, but their hostility increased. They sent nineteen articles selected from his writings, from his divinity lectures, and from his private conversations. to Rome, to Pope Gregory XI. These articles consisted of state足 ments opposed to the doctrine of the Pope's temporal power, and to the worldly possessions of the hierarchy. They also denied the power of the Pope or the Bishop to excommunicate any man, unless by sin he had first made himself obnoxious to God. They likewise declared that every priest truly ordained was com足 petent to administer every sacrament, and asserted that the highest dignitaries, not excepting the Pontiff himself, might be lawfully corrected by their inferiors and even by laymen. Speedy condemnation followed the receipt of these articles, and five separate bulls were drafted on the same day, 22nd May, 1377, and despatched to England. Three of these were addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the Bishop of London, the fourth solicited the aid of the King, and the fifth demanded the prompt obedience of the University of Oxford. Events happened, however, which caused the pub足 lication of these bulls to be delayed. On the 21st June, 1377, Edward III. died and was succeeded by his grandson Richard II., a child eleven years of age. His WholesomeWords.org