servants of God,[1] not only a Roman bishop but, in a general way he is the bishop of all the churches. He is himself the bishop of Prague. But, as he is a servant or minister not by the compulsion of civil law, because a life where activities are moved by compulsion did not befit him, so he is the bishop of souls, not of secular riches or possessions, for he as bishop, lowly and meek, mounted the foal of an ass, as is attested by Zech. 9:9. And he said: "Foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head," Matt. 8:20. Why was this? The apostle gives the reason when he says: "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who[2] for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich,” II Cor. 8:9.
The second definition of obedience is also defective, as is seen from what has already been said, because it states that obedience is the disposition to follow the command of a superior. For all obedience is not with respect to a superior to whom the obedience is rendered, or with respect to a command. For sometimes obedience is with respect to an inferior, as has been said already. And obedience is also related to counsel, as when a man obeys the counsels of God, which he is not under obligation to obey under any pain of mortal sin. Obedience is also related to entreaty, as when God obeyed at Joshua's entreaty, bidding the sun stand still over Gibeon and not be moved towards its setting. Hence Jerome, Ep. 113, says: "God sometimes seems to obey the prayers of the saints." And it is clear that obedience is sometimes a fulfilment of a command, sometimes of a counsel, and sometimes of anentreaty, which is neither a command nor a counsel. And sometimes it is the result of persuasion, the way in which the devil persuaded Christ, Matt. 4:5, to go with him to
- ↑ A title used by Gregory the Great in his letters, and common in Huss's time; Boniface's bull Unam sanctam opens in that way: "Bon., bishop, the servant of the servants of God."
- ↑ Qui. Vulgate: quoniam, because.
