volume, is entitled Speculum hujus vitæ. It contains also a treatise, which appears to be the tract attributed to Wyckliffe by Bale and Lewis, under the title De dilectione,* beginning, In quolibet homine peccatore. The present copy is in English, and begins thus : "In uche a t synful man and womman that is bonden in dedly syne, byn three wrechednes, the whoche bregen hem to deth of helle." This piece occupies fifteen pages of the MS., and is followed by a treatise thus entitled in rubric: "Diliges dmn deù tuū. M. xxij. two the first commaudmētes. richard." Aft Seynt What St. Richard is here meant I do not know, unless it be Richard of Hampole, of whom Henry Wharton tells us, "Sancti titulum apud populares suos post obitum sortitus videtur. Habetur enim MS. in Bibliotheca Cottoniana [sub effigie Tiberii A. 15]. Officium S. Richardi Hampola Eremitæ, in quo de vita et miraculis ejus agitur." Two the first commandments I suppose means "the first two commandments."§ Lewis mentions a Homily on Matt. xxii. 37, which is attributed to Wycliffe in a MS. preserved in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge; but the introductory paragraph quoted by Lewis || does not appear in the Dublin copy, which begins with the following words: Το "Thou shalt loue thi lord God w' al thi hert, w' al thy soule, w' al thi_thout. loue God wt al thi hert is nought elles but that thi hert be nougt louyg ne worschypyg no thing that may be, so muche as hym, and to kepe hys comaūdemetes." This tract occupies twenty-three pages. Dr. Lyon, in his catalogue of the MSS. of Trinity College, Dublin, conjectures that John Peckam, Archbishop of Canterbury, may have been the author of this piece, but he does not state the grounds of his conjecture; it does not appear to coincide with any of the tracts attributed to that prelate by Bale and Cave. But I must not digress any farther from my promised hymns; they are introduced in a devotional tract, which Dr. Lyon says is probably by Richard Rolle, with which the volume begins. It is a kind of meditation or instruction on the passage, Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat; and it may, perhaps, be interesting to quote the paragraph which immediately precedes the first of the following hymns: "Resistite diabolo et fagiet a vobis, for myche helpe t† the bysy preyer of an ryghtwisse man to Jhu c'st, whose m'cy helpe and grace gretely vs nedes. ‡‡ and that thou be neuer ydel, but thou be ay oth' [either] spekyng of God or worchyge some good werke and profytable, and pncipally that thou have him ay in thi mynde, and This work is mentioned by Mr. we know nothing but the names. library of Trinity College, Dublin. Vaughan among the treatises of which he says So much for his boasted researches in the ↑ Uche a, each one, i. e. every. Hem for them, and her for their, are very common in English of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: we shall see many instances of it in the following poems; and the pronunciation still survives,-we often say, bring 'em, take 'em, for bring them, take them. $ See Appendix ad Cavæi Hist. Litter. || Lewis, p. 216. Dr. Lyon's catalogue has never been printed; it exists in his own autograph MS. in Trinity College library. tt Helpe, for helpeth. Nedes, active; somewhat in the sense of behoves. thekyng on his harde passyon that he suffurd for makynde, how he that was kynge of alle kynges weped water wt sore teres and sykynges [sighings] for the harde peyne that he schuld goo unto and suffer; and for the noye (a) and the sorowg (b) that he schuld have, alle hys body swatte wat' and blode and so dude neuer creatre in this world, safe onely he; for neuer man mygt suffer so muche peyne as he dude for the love of manes soule; and that grete loue schulde stur vs to haue grete sorowg and mynde of his passyon syngyng this mournýge songe. grete loue (c) CANTUS. I To suffur the peynd (on the (yre bode Thu bothe hande and fote of the Of that wicked lede and bolde, for grete sorowge it is a lord to se To the iewes ihū that the duden bete,(e) for of hym thei token non hede, Were nayled to a tree, Ihu thi flesche thei deiden to tere, (p) hard thei duden him thring (4) to apyler In fyue places lord with outen moo (r) of stone, with thornes thei crouned hym kynge; hard was that prykkyng, that he suffurd than of hem. Alas my dere swetyng, with her hard throngynge, (i) Grete peyne was the thāne on; Swete ihu thei demed (j) the honged for to be, With falshede and with wrong, And to a cros of tree ful fast thei neyled the, With yrnen neyles (k) strong. the stremes of blode runen the froo, as water frō a welle; Alas, lord, why dude thei soo, hū pyte Ihful soft hem mekele, (t) To spitte in thi fayre face; With outen gutt (u) or trespasse. (a) Noye, trouble, anguish; hence the word annoy. (b) The character here represented by g, very closely resembles the italic Z, and denotes the aspirated or quiescent gh, of which our language still retains the use, as in bought, through, sigh, &c.; the word sorrowg, therefore, is in pronunciation the same as sorrough, sorrow. (c) Mened, led, constrained. (d) The for thee: this spelling is very common. So also se for see. (e) The duden bete, thee did beat. (f) Her for their, hem for them, are very common in MSS. of this period, and the pronunciation is still retained; we still familiarly say, bring 'em, take 'em. (g) The word knouthen I cannot explain, nor am I sure that I have read it correctly; dynge, or ding, means to dash with violence. (h) Thring appears to signify bind; to apyler, to a pillar. (i) Her hard throngynge, their hard binding. (j) Demed, judged, condemned, sentenced. (k) Yrnen, iron; neyles, nails, dissyllable. (1) Therled, pierced. (m) Rode, or rood, the cross; al one, wholly, entirely. (n) By ronnen, perhaps for beronnen, (i.e. berun,) the reduplicate intransitive form of run, used here in the sense of besmeared,—“ berun with spittle and blood." The form is still used in such words as bethink, betroth, besprinkle, befall. (0) Stongen, stung, wounded. (p) Thei deiden to tere, perhaps for they did tear. (q) Woundes appears to be here a trissyllable; perhaps it was written wonudes, or wonundes, a line being over both o and n. (s) So in Scotland to this day muckle for much. (r) Moo, or mo, more. (t) Hem mekele, them meekly. (u) Gutt, probably the same as Quyte, (Wicliffe, N. T., 2 Thes.) quit, reward, desert, merit. Hence our word requite. VOL. IX.-May, 1836. 3 T Of peyne gif (a) I take hede, ffor he suffurd woūdes depe, hū receyue my hert, for my desire thou art, And to thy loue me bring, that I may gostly se the brygtenesse (ƒ) of the, for I coueyte thi comyng; thou make me clene of syne, Now may I teres (d) lete, I lorde full of pyte, in thi joyful place. Amen. CANTUS IJUS. And let me neuer fro the twynne (g) No blisse that neuer schal blyne, Thu hete & erthe hast wrought, And my thougt to the bynde, pi louer make me to be, In ioy that thou hast wrougt. Mathi loue chauges my chere, Take my soule brygt & clere, How long schal I be here? Then follows a paragraph in prose, of which I shall only quote the concluding words :— 66 thāne schall ihū be al thi delygte, al thi desyre, al thi ioy, al thi solace & comforte. So that of hym schal eur be thi songe in desyrable longÿg of soule, and in ioyful thougtes of hym al thi reste, thāne may thou sey safely, I slepe & my herte wakes, and synge this song of loue. Thu for the mourne I may, as turtel that longeth both nygt & day, for her loue is loue hyr froo; (h) for aft the lorde me longeth ay, And that is al my myrthe & pley, Where I sitte or goo; thefore lord thou rewe (i) on me, may see, Although I have already occupied too much space, I must beg the favour of a few lines more, to mention that the same volume from which I have transcribed the foregoing poems contains a copy of the sermon, alluded to by your correspondent "R. S. B.,"* on the text Redde rationem villicationis tuæ, which John Fox has attributed to R. (a) Gif for if. The aspirated g in the beginning of a word was probably pronounced y, a pronunciation still retained in some provincial dialects of England, as yate for gate; ayenst for against, &c. This sound of g is still preserved in the German Language, and is represented as nearly as possible by y. (b) Dyng, use with violence. (c) Rewthful, pitiful, rueful: th probably quiescent. (d) Teres, dissyllable; tears. (e) Thurg, through. (f) Brygtenesse, trissyllable. (g) Twynne, (twayne) divide, separate, become two. (h) There is apparently some error of the scribe in this line: perhaps the second loue should be lone, or long. (i) Rewe (sometimes spelt rewthe, but with th mute) have pity; also, to grieve. Hence to rue, rueful. (k) Feyerhe, or Feyerhood, probably fairness. (1) Clethere for clear: th was quiescent, as appears from the rhyme. Brit. Mag. for February, p. 138. Wimbledon, and which Lewis supposed to be more probably "one of Dr. Wycliffe's tracts." The Dublin copy of this sermon agrees exactly, so far as I have compared it, with that which John Fox has printed,* except that the MS. enables us to correct some trifling verbal inaccuracies, which may have been typographical errors, in the printed copy. The author's name is not given in this MS., which is written in a different hand from the rest of the volume, although of the same period, and occupies eighteen closely written pages. Many separate editions of this sermon have been printed besides that of 1582, mentioned by "R. S. B.," for its strong denunciations of the Pope and popery rendered it very popular among the reformers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century; but all those editions are now rare. T. DEVOTIONAL. FROM THE PARISIAN BREVIARY. Ir may seem necessary to make some apology for anything that appears to countenance popery, in the present state of things. Far be it from any of us to give reasonable ground of offence to any, and so to do prejudice to the cause of the holy church. But let it be remembered, that whatever danger we may be in, from that quarter, must be from the effects of ultra-protestant and rationalistic opinions, for it is very evident how they are and ever must be the most powerful instrument in the cause of Romanism. On the contrary, that our only protection and strength, and the only true defence against the corruptions of Rome, must be found in maintaining the ancient catholic and primitive church, which is not a mere cold form of right doctrines, but a living and vital body, with the devotional spirit of early piety circulating in its veins. On these grounds we claim for ourselves, and are thankful to acknowledge, in the church of Rome, whatever she has retained of primitive piety and truth. ON THE FESTIVAL OF LAZARUS, MARTHA, AND MARY. THE HOSTS OF CHRIST. Duplex Minus. IN THE FIRST VESPER S. Ant. Jesus entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.-Luke, x. Ant. She had a sister, called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving.-Luke, x. Ant. Martha came, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her, therefore, that she help me.-Luke, x. Ant. Jesus answered, and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful.-Luke, x. Ant. Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.-Luke, x. * Acts and Mon., vol. i. p. 712., ed. 1631. See these editions enumerated by Lowndes, Bibliographer's Manual, nom. Wimbledon. Also Strype, Annals of the Ref., vol. iii. 287, fol. Capitulum. Heb. 13. Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. r. If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.v. Wisdom layeth hold of them that seek her; he that loveth her loveth life,* and my Father, &c.—John, xiv. ; Eccles. iv. As Jesus sought his wandering sheep, He came to Martha's lowly roof, Blessed art thou, whose threshold poor The Hymn. While Martha serves with busy feet, In reverential mood, Meek Mary sits beside the Judge, Yea, Martha soon herself shall sit, Sole rest of all who come to thee, That we may have in thee, at last, v. Mine eyes look upon such as are faithful in the land, that they may sit with me. r. Whoso leadeth a godly life, he shall serve me.-Ps. ci. Ant, at the Magnificat. Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.—John, ii. Ant. A certain man was sick, Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.-John, xi. Ant. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick.-John, xi. Ant. His sisters sent unto Jesus, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.— John, xi. v. The Lord comfort him when he lieth sick upon his bed; r. make thou all his bed in his sickness.-Ps. xli. The Responsories after the Scripture Lectios are as follow:— After the 1st Lect. r. When Jesus heard that he was sick, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.. v. The Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. This sickness is not unto death, &c.-John, ii.; Deut. xiii. After the 2nd Lect. r. Jesus saith unto them, our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death.v. Now that he lieth, say they, he shall rise up no more ;* but I go that I may, &c.-John, xi.; Ps. xli. |