John Wycliffe
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this monstrous inhumanity,” as Luther afterward styled it, “savoring
more of the wolf and the tyrant than of the Christian and the man,”
were the hearts of children steeled against their parents. Thus did the
papal leaders, like the Pharisees of old, make the commandment of
God of none effect by their tradition. Thus homes were made desolate,
and parents were deprived of the society of their sons and daughters.
Even the students in the universities were deceived by the false
representations of the monks, and induced to join their orders. Many
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afterward repented this step, seeing that they had blighted their own
lives, and had brought sorrow upon their parents; but once fast in
the snare, it was impossible for them to obtain their freedom. Many
parents, fearing the influence of the monks, refused to send their sons
to the universities. There was a marked falling off in the number of
students in attendance at the great centers of learning. The schools
languished, and ignorance prevailed.
The pope had bestowed on these monks the power to hear confes-
sions and to grant pardon. This became a source of great evil. Bent on
enhancing their gains, the friars were so ready to grant absolution that
criminals of all descriptions resorted to them, and as a result, the worst
vices rapidly increased. The sick and the poor were left to suffer, while
the gifts that should have relieved their wants went to the monks, who
with threats demanded the alms of the people, denouncing the impiety
of those who should withhold gifts from their orders. Notwithstanding
their profession of poverty, the wealth of the friars was constantly
increasing, and their magnificent edifices and luxurious tables made
more apparent the growing poverty of the nation. And while spending
their time in luxury and pleasure, they sent out in their stead ignorant
men, who could only recount marvelous tales, legends, and jests to
amuse the people, and make them still more completely the dupes
of the monks. Yet the friars continued to maintain their hold on the
superstitious multitudes, and led them to believe that all religious duty
was comprised in acknowledging the supremacy of the pope, adoring
the saints, and making gifts to the monks, and that this was sufficient
to secure them a place in Heaven.
Men of learning and piety had labored in vain to bring about a
reform in these monastic orders; but Wycliffe, with clearer insight,
struck at the root of the evil, declaring that the system itself was false,
and that it should be abolished. Discussion and inquiry were awaken-