Liber tertius

INTRODUCTION.XTXcopyists themselves say tbat tliey had to contend with yreat ditTiculties.On foHo iigd of codex 1294 we read: Correctus graviter anno domini1407 in vigiHa Purificationis sancte Marie Oxonii per Nicolaum Faulfisset Georgium de Knyehnicz.Not only the contents presented difficulties for the students, butperhaps also the external form, difficulties not easily overcome, but it isplain that they vvere in too great a hurry to correct the text properly,evidently desiring to take as much as possible of Wyclifs writing homewiththem.If the students' copy was copied again in Bohemia, there wouldbe more mistakes in the latter than there were already in the former.It is much to be regretted that no Manuscripts of De Civili Dominiohave been preserved in England, as they would have enabled us toobtain a more correct printed text than is now possible. Worst ofall is the condition of the MS. of the third book, that, as alreadymentioned, is in Codex 1341 of the Vienna Court Library, and concerningwhich a few words may here be said. Codex 1340 (from Hne 106)contains De CiviH Dominio fol. i— 266^ At the top to the bottomthere are brief marginal notes of the contents. Incipit: Ut supradicta delege Christi in genere plus lucescant.The writing is from the XV. century, from the first decades of it.In many places the text is written on scratched parchment, and thereforeless legible. During my stay in Vienna I took the opportunity myself tohave a look at the codex. It then came to me as an unpleasant surprisethat in the copy placed at the disposal of the Wyclit Society's editorthere are wanting those numerous notes which are to be found in themargins of the text.It is true that these marginal notes are not by Wyclif himself, butpossibly they are by some person connected with him, and thereforenot to be overlooked; on the other hand in many cases they serve asa means of correctly understanding passages in the text, which wereobscure expressed, or are corrupt. Here just one sample of theseomissions. Page i Hne 7 of the above mentioned text reads: Omnislex bona est Christi lex, omnis ordo bonus est Christi ordo. Then in thefirst two columns there are also the following notes:Christus est prior . . . Ordo quid sit et quomodo Christus continetin se ordinem , . , Christus prior Jesus, non tempore sed dignitate , . .B*