Tractatus de apostasia

VIII INTROD1 CTION.
the sense ol dealing with certain subjects in one part to the exclusion
of others. It looks more like a series of scholastic debates upon
Transsubstantiation, to which the first two chapters form the in-
troduction by an attack upon the friars, who are responsible for this
heresy, as Wyclif calls it. If it were not so, I should be quite
at a
loss to see how a man of even a weak memory could so often repeat
the same arguments, refute the same objections, and use the same
invectives, over and over again, in almost the very same words.
These repetitions have decided me to undertake the analysis, after
the first two chapters, in a very free manner. I intend adding all
remarks that I think useful to point out Wyclif's exact position, so
far as I understand it; at the same time, I shall only
notice in each
chapter those arguments that have not been dealt with before. For
such readers as should wish for a more complete summary, there
are abundant side notes.
Ch. I. Apostasy, according to Wyclif's theory, is but a general
denomination for every grievous sin, in so far as it loosens the bond
of religion between God the Father and man; similarly, blasphemy
(sinning against the Son) and simony (against the Holy Ghost) are
not specific sins, but mere aspects of every mortal sin. The book
examines (r), Apostasy in
chief result
(chs. 3— 17).
itself
This
(ch. i, 2); and (2),
divides the whole
Apostasy in its
work into two
very distinct parts; for Wyclif looks upon the theory of Trans-
substantiation, as understood by the Friars, as the great effect of
the apostasy which he contended was general throughout the Church;
but he first of all deals with the Friars as the most notorious
apostates. To do so, he takes two definitions, one for each of the first
two chapters; the first defines apostasy by means of its —
contrary
religion; the second is the definition given by Holy Writ.
Religion may be defined either as the simple observance of
Christ's law, or of certain rites and ceremonies superadded thereto
This second observance Wyclif calls private religion, and then examines
certain questions relative to those called 'religions'
in the second
sense; some of these questions seem useless, but all, as we shall
see, tend to establish his proposition: A man may, without apostasy,
leave any of these private religions. Of this the converse appears
in the second chapter: A man may, without leaving any private