By the law of Christ, every man is bound to love his neighbour as himself; but every servant is a neighbour of every civil lord; therefore every civil lord must love any of his servants as himself; but by natural instinct, every lord abhors slavery; therefore, by the law of charity, he is bound not to impose slavery on any brother in Christ.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the moral obligation of love and equality among individuals, particularly in the context of servitude and freedom.
John Wycliffe's quote articulates the Christian principle that individuals are required to love one another as they love themselves. It argues against the moral legitimacy of slavery by asserting that every person, regardless of their standing, should treat others with love and respect, highlighting the inherent dignity of every individual as a brother in Christ.
In practice
In a speech on social justice, one might reference this quote to advocate for the treatment of all individuals with love and respect.
We should know that faith is a gift of God, and that it may not be given to men, except it be graciously. Thus, indeed, all the good which we have is of God; and accordingly, when God rewardeth a good work of man, he crowneth his own gift.
The New Testament is of full authority and open to the understanding of simple men as to the points most needful to salvation.
No man is to be credited for his mere authority's sake, unless he can show Scripture for the maintenance of his opinion.
The higher the hill, the stronger the wind: so the loftier the life, the stronger the enemy's temptations.
The gospel alone is sufficient to rule the lives of Christians everywhere - any additional rules made to govern men's conduct added nothing to the perfection already found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I shall not die, but live; and again declare the evil deeds of the friars.
We cannot change our past. We can not change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can not change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
We must never lose sight of the fact that the law has a moral foundation, and we must never fail to ask ourselves not only what the law is, but what the law should be.
There is a great difference between feeding parties to wild beasts and stirring up their finer feelings in an inquisition. One is the system of degraded barbarians, the other of enlightened civilized people.
There are slavish souls who carry their appreciation for favors done them so far that they strangle themselves with the rope of gratitude.
When the Way governs the world, the proud stallions drag dung carriages. When the Way is lost to the world, war horses are bred outside the city.
Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of government.
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