 |
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
-45-
God Hath Spoken
"The Vaudois Missionary"
In "The Vaudois Missionary," John Greenleaf Whittier describes a scene set during these times.
"O lady fair, these silks of mine Are beautiful and rare— The richest web of the Indian loom, Which Beauty's self might wear; And these pearls are pure and mild to behold, As with a radiant light they vie; I have brought them with me a weary way: Will my gentle lady buy?"
The lady smiled on the worn old man Through the dark and clustering curls Which veiled her brow as she bent to view His silk and glittering pearls: She placed their price in the old man's hand, And lightly turned away; But she paused at the wanderer's earnest call— "My gentle lady, stay! "
"Oh lady fair, I have yet a gem Which a purer luster flings Than the diamond flash of the jewelled crown On the lofty brow of kings: A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, Whose virtue shall not decay: Whose light shall be as a spell to thee And a blessing on thy way!"
The lady turned at the mirroring steel Where her youthful form was seen, Where her eyes shown clear and her dark locks waved Their clasping pearls between; "Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth Thou traveller gray and old, Name but the price of thy precious gem And my pages shall count thy gold."
The cloud went off the pilgrim's brow As a small and meagre book Unchased with gold or diamond gem From his folding robes he took: "Here, lady fair, is the pearl of price— May it prove as such to thee! Nay, keep thy gold, I ask it not— For the Word of God is free."
The hoary traveller went his way But the gold he left behind Hath had its pure and perfect work On that high born maiden's mind: And she hath turned from her pride of sin To the lowliness of truth, And given her human heart to God In the beautiful hour of youth.
And she hath left the old gray walls, Where an evil faith hath power, The courtly knights of her father's train And the maidens of her bower; And she hath gone to the Vaudois vale, By lordly feet untrod, Where the poor and needy of earth are rich In the perfect love of God!
She gave up her nobility to become an outcast of society with people who were the despised of the earth.
John Wycliffe and the Lollards
About the year 1315, John Wycliffe made a vast translation of the Vulgate into English. It was the first time the entire Bible appeared in the English language. Yet, dusk continued because the Bibles were handwritten and could not be disseminated except at the risk of death. The followers of Wycliffe were called "Lollards," and they acted as colporteurs or tract distributors, and often traveled as peddlers. An unfriendly person might very well be the cause of their being arrested and burned at the stake. Yet, the Lollard influence reached Bohemia, modern Czechoslovakia, fifty years later, and resulted in the conversion of John Huss.
The Gutenberg Bible
In the year 1456, Johann Gensfleisch invented the first printing press with moveable type. The name "Gensfleisch" means "goose flesh," so he took instead the name of his mother's side of the family, "Gutenberg." The first book he printed was the Bible, and he made one hundred copies. The authorities heard about it, confiscated the Bibles, and made him swear he would print no more. God would use another to accomplish His work.