Ebook The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

I zelfric the monk hate turned this book from Latin books into the English tongue, for those men to read who know not Latin. 1 have taken it from the holy gospels, and treated it after the expositions of highly venerable doctors, the names of which doctors Iwrote down in the former book in the Latin preface. I have set the matter which I have turned in two books, because I thought that it were less tedious to hear, if the one book were read in the course of one year, and the other in the year following. In each of these books there are forty discourses, without the preface, but they are not all taken from the gospels, but are very many of them gathered from the life or passion of God's saints, of those only whom the Engliah nation honours with feast-days. Before each discourse we have set the argument in Latin, though every one who will, may order the chapters according to the preface. I now pray and implore, in the name of God, if any one will transcribe this book, that he carefully rectify it by the copy, lest, through negligent writers, we be blamed. He does great evil who writes false, unless he rectify it, as though he brought the true doctrine to false heresy; therefore should every one correct that which he had perverted to wrong, if he will be guiltless at God's doom.