John Wycliffe
73
Now they thought he would bitterly repent the evil he had done the
church, and they hurried to his chamber to listen to his confession.
Representatives from the four religious orders, with four civil officers,
gathered about the supposed dying man. “You have death on your
lips,” they said; “be touched by your faults, and retract in our presence
all you have said to our injury.” The reformer listened in silence; then
he bade his attendant raise him in his bed, and gazing steadily upon
them as they stood waiting for his recantation, he said, in the firm,
strong voice which had so often caused them to tremble, “I shall not
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die, but live, and declare the evil deeds of the friars.” Astonished and
abashed, the monks hurried from the room.
Wycliffe’s words were fulfilled. He lived to place in the hands of
his countrymen the most powerful of all weapons against Rome; to
give them the Bible, the Heaven-appointed agent to liberate, enlighten,
and evangelize the people. There were many and great obstacles to
surmount in the accomplishment of this work. Wycliffe was weighed
down with infirmities, he knew that only a few years for labor remained
for him, he saw the opposition which he must meet; but, encouraged
by the promises of God’s Word, he went forward nothing daunted.
In the full vigor of his intellectual powers, rich in experience, he had
been preserved and prepared by God’s special providence for this, the
greatest of his labors. While all Christendom was filled with tumult,
the reformer, in his rectory at Lutterworth, unheeding the storm that
raged without, applied himself to his chosen task.
At last the work was completed,—the first English translation of
the Bible ever made. The Word of God was opened to England. The
reformer feared not now the prison or the stake. He had placed in the
hands of the English people a light which should never be extinguished.
In giving the Bible to his countrymen, he had done more to break the
fetters of ignorance and vice, more to liberate and elevate his country,
than was ever achieved by the most brilliant victories on fields of
battle.
The art of printing being still unknown, it was only by slow and
wearisome labor that copies of the Bible could be multiplied. So great
was the interest to obtain the book, that many willingly engaged in the
work of transcribing it, but it was with difficulty that the copyists could
supply the demand. Some of the more wealthy purchasers desired the
whole Bible. Others bought only a portion. In many cases, several