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.dt The Project Gutenberg eBook of A boke made by John Fryth, prysoner in the Tower of London
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A boke made by John Fryth, prysoner in the Tower of London
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¶ A boke made by John Fryth prysoner in the Tower of London,
answerynge vnto
M. Mores letter, which he wrote agaynst
the fyrste lytle treatyse that John Fryth
made concernynge the Sacramente of the
body and bloode of Christ: vnto whiche
boke are added in the ende the artycles of
hys examynacyon before the Byshoppes
of London, Wynchester and Lyncolne, in
Paules churche at London, for whyche
John Fryth was condempned
and after brente in Smythfelde
wythout Newgate,
the fourth daye of
July. Anno. 1533.
Now newly reuysed corrected & prynted.
In the Yeare of our Lorde, 1546,
the last daye of June.
¶ Deade men shall ryse agayne.
.nf-
.pn 2
.sp 4
.h2
The Preface
.sp 2
Grace and increace
of knowelege
frō God the Father
through oure Lorde
Jesus Christ, be with
the Christen reader,
and with all thē that
loue the Lorde vnfaynedly
Amen.
.sn 1. Tim. 3. Tit. 1.
I chaunced beynge in these partyes, to
be in companye with a Christen brother
which for hys commendable conversaciō,
and sobre behaueoure myght better be a
Byshoppe thē many that weare myters,
yf the rule of .S. Paule were regarded in
their electyon. Thys brother after moche
cōmunycacyō, desyred to knowe my mynde
as touchynge the sacramēt of the body
ād bloode of our sauyoure Christ. Which
thynge I opened vnto hym accordynge to
the gyfte that God had geuen me. Firste
I proved vnto hym that yt was no article
of oure fayth necessarye to be beleued
vnder payne of dampnacyon. Then I declared
that Christe had a naturall bodye,
euen as myne ys (savynge synne) and that
yt coulde no more be in two places at ones
// File: 004.png
then myne can. Thyrdly, I shewed
hym that it was not necessarye, that the
wordes shulde so be vnderstonde as they
sownde. But that yt myght be a phrase of
scrypture, as there are innumerable. After
that I shewed hym certen suche phrases
ād maner of speakynges. And that yt was
well vsed in oure Englyshe tongue. And
fynally, I recyted after what maner they
myght receyue yt accordynge to Christes
institucyon, not fearynge the frowarde alteracyon
that the Prestes vse, contrarye to
the fyrste forme and institucion.
When I had suffycyently publyshed
my mynde, he desyred me to entitle the some
of my wordes, ād write them for hym,
because they semed ouerlonge to be well
reteyned in memorye. And albeit I was
loth to take the matter in hāde, yet to fullfyll
his instaunte intercession, I toke vpon
me to touche this terryble tragedye, and
wrote a treatyse, whiche beside my paynfull
impresonment, is lyke to purchace me
moste cruell death, which I am readye ād
gladde to receyue with the spiryte and inwarde
man (although the fleshe be frayle)
when so euer yt shall please God to laye
yt vpon me. Notwithstondynge to saye
the truthe, I wrote yt not to the intent that
yt shulde haue bene publyshed. For thē I
wolde haue towched the matter more earnestlye,
and haue wryten, as well of the
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.pn 3
spyrytuall eatynge & drynkynge whiche
is of necessyte, as I ded of the Carnall,
whiche is not so necessarye. For the treatyse
that I made was not expedyent for all
men, albeit yt were suffycient for thē whō
I toke in hande to instructe. For they knewe
the spyrytuall and necessarye eatynge
and drynkynge of his bodye and bloode,
whiche is not receyued with the teth and
belye, but with the eares and fayth, and
onely neaded instructyon in the outwarde
eatynge, which thynge I therfore onely
declared. But now it is commen a brode
and in many mens mowthes, in so moche
that master More which of late hathe busyed
hym selfe to medle in all soche mattres
(of what zele I wyll not defyne) hath
sore laboured to confute yt. But some mē
thynke that he is ashamed of his parte, ād
for that cause doth so dylygently suppresse
the worke whiche he prynted. For I my
selfe sawe the worke in prynte in my Lorde
of Wynchesters howse, upon S. Stephens
day last paste. But neyther I, nor
all the fryndes I coulde make, myght attayne
any copye, but onely one wryten copye
whiche as yt semed was drawen out
in greate haste. Not withstondynge I can
not well Judge, what the cause shulde
be, that hys boke is kept so secrete. But
this I am ryght sure of, that he neuer touched
the foundacyō that my treatyse was
// File: 006.png
buylded upon. And therfore syth my foundacyon
stondeth so sure and invyncyble
(for els I thynke verely he wolde sore
haue laboured to haue undermyned yt)
I wyll therupon buylde a lytle more,
and also declare that hys ordynaunce
is to slender to breake
it downe although
it were sett vpon a
worse foundacyon.
❧
// File: 007.png
.pn 4
The foundacyon
of that lytle treatyse
was, that it is no artycle of our fayth necessarye
to be beleued under payne of
dampnacyon, that the Sacramēt
shuld be the naturall bodye of
Christe: which thynge is
proued after this
maner as foloweth.
Firste we muste all aknowlege
that it is no artycle
of our fayth whiche can
saue vs nor whiche we are
bounde to beleue under the
payne of eternall dampnacyon. For yf I
shulde beleue that hys verye naturall bodye
bothe fleshe and bloode were naturally
in the breade and wyne, that shulde not
save me, seynge many beleue that, and receyue
it to their dampnacyon, for it is not
hys presēce in the breade that cā saue me,
but hys presence in my harte through
fayth in hys bloode, which hathe washed
out my synnes and pacyfyed the Fathers
wrathe towarde me.
.sn Obiection.
And a gayne yf I do not beleue hys
bodelye presence in the breade and wyne,
// File: 008.png
that shall not dampne me, but the absence
out of my harte through vnbeleue.
Now yf they wolde here obiecte that thoughe
yt be true that the absence out of the
breade coulde not dampne vs: yet are we
bounde to beleue it because of Goddes
worde, whiche who beleueth not, as moche
as in hym lyeth, maketh God a lyer. And
therfore of an obstynate mynde not to beleue
hys worde, maye be an occasyon of
dampnacyon.
.sn Soluciō
To this we may answere, that we beleue
Goddes worde and knowlege that it
is true: but in this we dissent, whether it
be true in the sense that we take it in, or in
the sense that ye take it in. And we saye
agayne, that though ye haue (as yt apereth
vnto yow) the evidēt wordes of Christe,
and therfor consiste in the barke of the
letter: yet are we compelled by conferrynge
of the scryptures together, within the
letter to serche out the mynde of our sauiour
whiche spake the worde. And we saye
thyrdly, that we do it not of an obstinate
mynde. For he that defendeth a cause obstinatly
(whether yt be true or false) is euer
to be reprehended. But we do yt to satysfye
our consciences whiche are compelled
by other places of scripture, reasons, and
doctours, so to Iudge of yt.
And euen so ought yow to Iudge
of youre partye, and to defend youre
// File: 009.png
.pn 5
sentence not of obstinacye, but by the reason
of scriptures which cause you so to take
yt. And so ought neyther partye to dispyse
other, for eche seaketh the glory of
God, and the true vnderstondynge of the
scripture. This was the foundacyon of
my fyrste treatyse that he hathe left vnshaken,
which ys agreate argument that
yt is very true. For els hys pregnant witte
could not haue passed yt so cleane over.
But wolde haue assayled yt with some sophisticall
cavillacyon which by hys paynted
poetrye he myght so haue colloured,
that at the least he myght make the ignoraunt
some apparēce of truthe, as he hathe
done agaynste the resydue of my fyrste
treatyse, which neuertheles ys true ād
shall so be proved. ¶And firste that it is
none article of our faythe necessarye to
be beleued vnder payne of dampnacyon,
may thus be furder cōfyrmed. The same
faithe shall saue vs whiche saued the
old fathers before Christes incarnacyon:
But they were not bounde vnder payne
of dāpnacyon to beleue this poynte, therfore
yt foloweth that we are not bounde
therto vnder the payne of dampnacyon.
The fyrste parte of myne argument ys
proued by S. Austen ad Dardamum.
And I dare boldly say almost in an .C. places
more. For I thynke there be no proposicyon
which he doth more often inculcate
// File: 010.png
then thys, that the same faythe saved vs
which saued our fathers. The secōde parte
ys manyfest, that yt nedeth no probacyon.
For how coulde they beleue that thynge
which was neuer sayde nor done, and
without the worde they coulde haue no
faythe. Upon the truthe of these two partes
muste the conclusyon neades folowe.
Not withstōdynge they all ded eate Christes
bodye and dronke hys bloode spirytually,
although they had hym not presēt
to their teth. And by that spirytuall eatynge
(which is the fayth in hys body ād blode)
were saued as well as we are. For assoone
Adam. as our fore father Adam had transgressed
Godes precepte, & was fallē vnder
cōdēpnacyō, oure moste mercyfull father
of hys gracyous favoure gaue hym
the promyse of helthe and conforte, wherby
as many as beleued yt, were saued frō
the thraldome of their transgressyon. The
worde and promyse was this. I shall put
enmyte betwene thy sede and her sede,
Gene. 3. that sede shalt treade the on the heade, and
thou shall trede yt on the hele. In this promyse
they had knowlege that Christe
shulde destroye the devyll with all his power,
ād delyuer hys faythfull from their
synnes. And where he sayd that the devyl
shulde treade yt on the hele, they vnderstode
ryght well that the devyll shulde fynde
the meanes by his wyles and wycked
// File: 011.png
.pn 6
mynysters to put Christe to deathe. And they
knewe that God was true, and wolde
fulfyll hys promyse vnto them, and hartely
longed after this sede, and so dede bothe
eate hys bodye and drynke his bloode,
acknowlegynge with infynyte thankes,
that Christ shulde for their synnes take
the perfecte nature of manhode upon
hym and also suffer the deathe: This promyse
was geuen to Adam, and saued as
many as ded beleue and were thankefull
to God for his kyndnes, ād after yt was
Abrahā. Gene. 12
establyshed vnto our father Abraham by
the worde of God, which sayde, in thy sede
shall all nacyons of the earthe be blessed.
And with hym God made a couenāt,
that he wolde be his God and do hym
good. And Abraham a gayne promysed
to kepe his preceptes and walke in hys
wayes. Then God gaue hym the sacrament
of circumsicion and called that hys
couenaunte, which thynge notwithstōdynge
was not the very couenaunt in dede although
yt were so called. But was only a
sygne, token, sacrament, or memoryall of
the couenaunte that was betwene God
and hym, whiche myght expounde our
matter, yf men had eyes to see. After that
God promysed him a sone whē hys wyfe
was past chylde bearynge and he also very
olde. Neuerthelesse he doubted not
// File: 012.png
of Goddes worde. But surely beleued,
that he which promysed it was able to perfourme
it. And that was recounted vnto
hym for ryghtuousnes. This Abraham
ded bothe eate hys bodye ād drynke hys
blode (through faythe) belevynge verely
that Christ shulde take our nature and
sprynge oute of hys seede (as touchynge
his fleshe) and also that he shulde suffer
deathe to redeme vs. And as Christ testifyeth,
Ioan. 8.
he hartely desyred to see the day of
Christ. And he sawe it and reioysed. He
sawe yt in faythe ād had the day of christ,
that is to say, all those thynges that shulde
chaunce hym, playnly revelated vnto
hym, albeit he were deade many hundred
yeres before yt were actually fulfylled ād
reuelated vnto the worlde. And by that
fayth was he saued, and yet neuer ded eate
hys fleshe with hys teth, nor neuer beleued
that breade shulde be hys bodye and
wyne hys bloode. And therfore syth he
was also saued without that fayth, and
the same faythe shall saue vs which saued
hym, I thynke that we shall also be saued
yf we eate hym spiritually (as he ded) although
we neuer beleued that the breade
ys hys bodye. Furthermore that mercyfull
Moses.Moses (which brought the chyldern
of Israell out of Egypte in to the wyldernes)
obtayned of God by prayers, both
manna from heauen to feade hys people,
// File: 013.png
.pn 7
also water out of the stone to refresh and
comforte them. This māna and water
were even the same thynge vnto thē that
the breade and wyne ys to vs. For as S.
Austyn saythe:
Aug. de uite agē darum.
Quicunque in manna Christum
intellexerunt eumdem quem nos cibum
spiritualem manducauerunt. Quicunque
autem de manna solam saturitatem quesiuerunt
manducabant et mortui sunt. Sic etiam
eundem potum: petra enim erat Christus.
That is to say, as many as in that manna
vnderstoode Christ, ded eate that same
spirytuall meate that we do, but as many
as sought onely to fyll their bellyes of
that māna (the fathers of the unfaythful)
dyd eate and are dead. And lykewyse the
same drynke, for the stone was Christ. Here
maye you gather of S. Austyn, that
the manna was vnto them, as the breade
ys to vs, and lykewyse that the water
was to them, as the wyne ys to vs, whiche
anone shall apeare more playnly. s. Austyn
sayth further.
Aug. super Ioā. tract. 26.
Manducauit & Moyses
manna manducauit & Phinees, manducauerunt
ibi multi qui deo placuerunt & mortui
non sunt. Quare quia uisibilem cibum spiritualiter
intellexerunt, spiritualiter esurierunt,
spiritualiter gustauerunt, ut spiritualiter satiarentur,
omnes eandem escam spiritualem māducauerunt,
& omnes eundem potum spiritualem
biberunt, spiritualem utique eandem nā
corporalem alterā (quia illi manna, nos aliud)
// File: 014.png
spiritualem uero eandem quam nos. Vt
omnes eundem potum spiritualem biberunt
aliud illi, aliud nos: sed spem uisibili quod tamen
hoc idem significaret uirtute spirituali.
Quomodo eundem potum biberant (inquit
Apostolus) de spirituali sequenti petra: petra
autem erat Christus. That ys to saye, Moses
also dede eat manna, and Aaron, ād
Phinees, ded eate of yt, which plesed God
and are not deade. Wherfore? Because
they understode the visyble meate spiritually.
They were spiritually an hongred,
they tasted yt spiritually, that they myght
spiritually be replenyshed. They ded all
eate the same spyrytuall meate and all drāke
the same spyrytuall drynke. Euen the
same spyrituall meate albeit an other
bodely meate, for they ded eate manna,
and we eat an other thyng, but they ded
eate the same spirituall which we doo.
And they all ded drynke the same spirituall
drynke. They dranke one thynge, and
we an other: But that was in the outwarde
apparence, which neuerthelesse ded sygnyfye
the same thynge spiritually. Nowe
dranke they the same drynke. They
(sayth Thapostle) drāke of the spirytuall
stone folowynge them, and that stone
was Christ. And therunto Bede added
these wordes. Videte autem fide manente
signa uariata. That is to saye. Beholde
that the sygnes are altered, and yet the
// File: 015.png
.pn 8
faythe abydeth one.
Beda super.
1. Cor.
10.
Of these places you
may playnely perceyue not onely that yt
is non artycle necessary to be beleued vnder
payne of dampnacyō, seynge the olde
Fathers neuer beleued yt. And yet ded eate
Christ in fayth bothe before they had
the manna, and with no lesse frute whan
the manna was ceased. And albeit the māna
was to them as the sacrament ys to
vs, and they eate even the same spirytuall
meate that we do, yet were they neuer so
madde as to beleue that the manna was
chaunged in to Christes owne naturall body.
But vnderstode yt spirytually, that as
the outwarde man ded eate the materyall
manna which comforted the bodye, so ded
the inwarde man through fayth, eate the
bodye of Christ, belevynge that as that
manna came downe from heavē and conforted
their bodyes, so shulde their savyoure
Christe which was promysed thē of
God the Father, come downe from heauē
and strēgthē their soules in euerlastynge
lyfe, redeamynge them from their synne
by his death and resurrectyon. And lyke
wyse do we eate Christe in fayth both before
we come to the sacrament, ād more expresly
through the sacrament, and with
no lesse frute after we haue receyued the
sacrament, and neade no more to make yt
hys naturall bodye, thē the manna was,
but myght moche better vnderstonde
// File: 016.png
yt spirytuallye, that as the outwarde mā
dothe eate the materyall breade which cōforteth
the bodye, so doth the inwarde mā
through faythe eate the bodye of Christe,
belevynge that as the breade ys broken,
so was Christes bodye broken on the crosse
for our synnes which cōforteth our soules
vnto lyfe euerlastynge. And as that
faythe ded saue thē without belevynge
that the manna was altered into hys bodye,
even so dothe this faythe saue vs, although
we beleue not that the substaunce
of breade ys turned in to his naturall bodye.
For the same fayth shall saue vs
which, saved them. And we are bounde to
beleue no more vnder payne of dampnacyon,
thē they were bounde to beleue. They
beleued in God the Father almyghty maker
of heaven and earth, and all that ys
in them.
Gene. 1.
They ded beleve that Christe
was the sōne of God. They ded beleue
that he shuld take our nature of a virgyn.
Psalm. 2. They beleued that he shulde suffer the death
Esay. 7. for our delyuerāce, which thynge was
Actes. 3. sygnyfied in all the sacryfyces, and besydes
that testyfyed in euery Prophete. For
Actes. 2. there was verely not one Prophete, but
he spake of that poynte:
Psal. 15.
They beleued
that hys soule shuld not be lefte in hell,
but that he shulde aryse from death and
reynge euerlastyngly with his Father.
And to be shorte, there is no poynte in oure
// File: 017.png
.pn 9
Crede, but that they beleued yt, as
well as we do, and those artycles are onely
necessarye vnto saluacyon. For them,
am I bounde to beleue, and am dampned
without excuse yf I beleue them not. But
the other poyntes contayned in scripture
although they be vndoubted verytees,
yet may I be saued without them. As be
it in case that I neuer harde of them, I canot
vnderstande them nor comprehende
them, or yf that I heare them, yet by the
reason of another texte mysconstrue thē,
as the Bohemes do the wordes of Christe
in the .6. chapiter of Iohan. All these
thynges I saye may be done without any
Ieoperdye of dampnacyō. In every texte
ys but onely one veryte, for which it was
spoken, ād yet some textes there be which
of catolycke doctours are expounded in
vi. or, vij. sondry fashyons. Therefore if
we beleue the artycles of our crede, in the
others ys no parell, so that we haue a probable
reason to dyssent from them. But now
to retourne to our purpose. Yf we wyll examyne
the autorytees of S. Austyn and
Beda before alleged, we shall espye that
besyde the probacyon of this forsayde proposicyon,
they open the mysterye of all
our matter to them that haue eyes to see.
For, S. Austyn sayth, that we and the olde
fathers do dyffer as touchynge the bodely
meate, for they ded eate manna, and
// File: 018.png
we breade, but albeit yt varyed in the outwarde
apperaunce, yet neuerthelesse spirytually
yt ded sygnyfye one thynge. For
both the māna ād breade sygnyfyed Christe.
And so both they and we do eate one
spirytuall meate, that ys to saye, we bothe
eate the thynge which sygnifyeth and representeth
vnto vs the very one spirituall
meate of out soules, which is Christe.
And beda doth playnely call both the māna
and the breade sygnes, sayēge. Beholde
that the sygnes are altered and yet the
fayth abydeth one. Now yf they be sygnes,
than they do sygnyfye and are not
the very thyng yt selfe which they do sygnyfye.
For the sygne is a thynge dyuerse
from the thynge yt selfe which it doth sygnyfye
and represent. As the ale polees are
not the ale yt selfe which they do sygnyfy
or represēt. Here thou wylt obiecte agaynste
me, that yf this fayth be suffycyent,
what nedeth the institucyō of a sacramēt?
I answere, that sacramētes are instituted
for. iij, causes: The fyrste ys assygned of
S. Austyn, which sayth on this maner.
Aug. cōtra
Faustum. Li.
19. ca. 11.
In
nullum autem nomen religionis, seu uerū, seu
falsum, coagulari homines possunt, nisi signaculorum
seu sacramentorum uisibilium cōsortio
colligantur, quorum sacramentorum uis
inenarrabiliter ualet plurimum, & ideo contempta
sacrilegos facit. impie quippe cōtemnitur
sine qua persici nō potest pietas. That
// File: 019.png
.pn 10
ys to saye: mē cā not be ioyned in to any
kynde of relygyō whether yt be treue or
false, excepte they be knytte in felowshyppe
by some vysyble tokēs or sacramētes,
the power of which sacramentes ys of suche
efficacyte, that cā not be expressed. And
therfor yt maketh them that dyspyse yt
to be abhorred, for it is wyckednes to despyse
that thynge without which godlynes
can not be brought to passe. Thus yt
apereth that necessyte ys the fyrst cause.
For there can no congregacyon be severed
out of the multytude of men, but they
muste nedes haue a sygne, tokē, sacramēt,
or commō badge, by the which they may
knowe eche other. And there is no defferēce
betwene a sygne or a badge ād a sacrament,
but that the sacrament sygnyfyeth
an holy thynge, and a sygne or a badge
dothe sygnyfye a worldly thyng.
Augustī
ad Marcellinū.
As S.
Austē sayeth. Sygnes when they are referred
to holy thynges are called sacramētes.
The seconde cause of their instytucyōys,
that they may be a meane to brynge vs
vnto hys fayth, & to enprēte yt the deper
in vs, for yt doth customably the more
move a man to beleue, when he perceyueth
the thynge expressed to dyuerse sēses at ones.
As yf I promyse a mā to mete hym
at aday appoynted, he wyll sōwhat trust
my worde, but yet he trusteth not so moche
vnto it, as yf I ded both promyse hym
// File: 020.png
with my worde and also clappe handes
with hym, or holde vp my fynger, for he
counteth that this promyse ys stronge ād
more faythfull then ys the bare worde, because
yt moveth mo senses. For the worde
doth but onely certyfye the thynge vnto
a mā by the sence of hearynge; but whē
with my promyse immedyatly after I
holde vp my fynger, then do I not onely
certyfye hym by the sense of hearynge:
But also by hys syght, he perceyueth that
that facte confyrmeth my worde. And in
the clappynge of handes he perceyueth
both by hys sight ād fealynge, besyde the
worde, that I wyll fulfyll my promyse.
And lykewyse yt ys in this sacramente,
Christ promysed them, that he wolde geue
hys bodye to be slayne for their synnes.
And for to establyshe the fayth of this promyse
in them, he ded instytute the sacrament
which he called hys bodye, to thentēt
that the very name yt selfe myght put
them in remembraunce what was mēt by
yt, he brake the breade before them, sygnyfyenge
vnto them outwardly euen the same
thynge, that he by his wordes hadde
before protested And euen as hys wordes
hadde enformed thē by their hearynge,
that he entended so to do: so the breakynge
of that breade enformed their eye syght
that he wolde fulfyll hys promyse. Then
he dede dystrybute yt amonge them to enprynte
// File: 021.png
.pn 11
the matter more depely in them,
sygnyfyenge therby, that even as that breade
was devyded amonge them, so shuld
hys bodye and frute of hys passyon be dystrybuted
vnto as many as beleued hys
wordes. Fynally he caused them to eate
yt, that nothynge shuld be lackynge to cōfyrme
that necessarye poynte of fayth in
them, sygnyfienge therby, that as verely
as they felte that breade within them, so
sure shuld they be of hys bodye through
fayth. And that euen as that breade doth
nouryshe the bodye, so doth the fayth in
hys bodye breakynge nouryshe the soule
vnto euerlastying lyfe. Thus ded our mercyfull
savyour (which knoweth our fraylte
ād weakenes) to establyshe ād strengthē
their fayth in hys bodye breakynge
ād bloode shedynge, which is our shoteāker
and laste refuge, without which we
shulde all peryshe. The thyrde cause of
this institucyon and profyte that cōmeth
of yt ys this. They that haue receyued
these blessed tydynges and worde of health,
do loue to publyshe thys felycyte vnto
other men. And to geue thankes before
the face of the congregacyon vnto their
bounteous benefactoure, and as moche as
in them is, to drawe all people to the praysynge
of God with them, which thynge
though yt be partely done by the prechynge
of Godes worde ād frutefull exhortcyons,
// File: 022.png
yet doth that vysyble token & sacramente
(yf a man vnderstāde what ys mēt
therby) more effectuously worke in them
both fayth and thankesgeuynge, thē doth
the bare worde: But yf a man wote not
what yt meaneth, ād seketh healthe in the
sacrament and outwarde sygne, thē may
he well be lykened vnto a fonde felowe,
which when he ys very drye, & an honest
man shewe hym an ale pole, and tell hym
that there is good ale ynough, wold go ād
sucke the ale pole, trustynge to get drynke
out of yt, and so to quench hys thurste.
Now a wyse man wyll tell hym that he
playeth the foole. For the ale pole doth
but sygnyfye that there ys good ale in the
howse, where the ale pole stādeth, ād wyll
tell hym that he must go nere the howse,
ād there he shall fynde the drynke, ād not
stāde suckynge the ale pole in vayne. For
yt shall not ease him, but rather make him
more drye. For the ale pole doth sygnyfye
good ale: yet the ale pole yt selfe ys no
good ale, neyther ys there any good ale
in the ale pole. And lykewyse yt ys in all
sacramentes. For yf we vnderstande not
what they meane, ād seke health in the outwarde
sygne: thē we sucke the ale pole ād
laboure in vayne. But yf we do vnderstāde
the meanynge of thē, thā shal we seake
what they sygnyfye, and go to the thynge
// File: 023.png
.pn 12
sygnyfyed, and there shall we fynde vndoubted
health. As to our purpose, in this
Sacrament wherof we speake, we muste
note what yt sygnyfyeth, ād there shall
we fynde our redēpcyon. It sygnyfyeth
that Christes bodye was broken vpon
the crosse to redeame vs from the thraldome
of the deuyll, ād that his blode was
shedde for vs to washe away our synnes.
Therfore we muste ronne thyther yf we
wyll be eased. For yf we thynke to haue
our synnes forgeven, for eatynge of the sacrament,
or for seynge the sacrament ones
a day, or for prayenge vnto yt: then surely
we sucke the ale pole. And by thys you
may perceyue what profytte commeth of
these sacramentes the which eyther haue
no sygnyfycacyons put vnto them, or els
when their sygnyfycacyons are loste and
forgotten. For then no doubt they are
not commended of God, but are rather
abhomynable. For whan we knowe not
what they meane, then seake we health in
the outwarde dede, and so are iniuryous
vnto Christe and hys bloode. As by example,
the sacryfyces of the Iewes were
well allowed and accepted of God as
longe as they vsed them a ryght and
vnderstoode by thē the death of Christe,
the sheadynge of hys blood, ād that holy
oblacyō offred on the crosse ones for euer.
// File: 024.png
But when they begane to forget this sygnyfycacyon
and sought their healthe and
ryghtuousnes in the bodely worke and in
the sacryfyce yt selfe, then were they abhomynable
in the syght of God, and then
he cryed out of them bothe by the Prophete
Dauid and Esaye: And lykewyse yt is
with our sacramentes. Let vs therfore seke
vp the sygnyficacyōs, & go to the very
thyng which the sacramēt ys set to presēt
vnto vs. And there shall we fynd such frutefull
foode as shall neuer fayle vs, but cōforte
our soules into lyfe euerlastynge.
Now wyll I in order answere to master
Mores boke, and as I fynde occasyō
geuen me, I shall indeuoure my selfe to
supplye that thynge which lacked in the
fyrste treatyse. And I trust I shall shewe
suche lyght that all men whose eyes the
Prynce of thys worlde hath not blynded,
shall perceyue the truthe of the scripture
and glorye of Christe. And where as in
my fyrste treatyse the truthe was set forthe
with all symplycyte, and nothynge armed
agaynste the assaultes of sophysters,
that haue I somwhat redressed in this boke,
ād haue brought bones fytte for their
teth, which yf they be to busy, may chaunce
to choke them.
.pm letter-start
Thus endeth my lytle treatyse that I
wrote vnto my frynde, beynge sufficyent
for hys instructyon.
.pm letter-end
// File: 025.png
.pn 13
.sp 4
.h2
Here begynneth the preface of Master Mores boke.
.sp 2
Master. More.
In my moste hartye
wyse I recommende me vn
to you, & sende you by thys
brynger the wrytynge agayne
whyche I receyued from
you. Wherof I haue bene offered a cople
of copyes mo, in the meane whyle, as late
as ye wote well yt was.
Fryth.
¶ Deare bretherne consyder these wordes
& prepare you fo the crosse that Christe
shall laye vpon you, as ye haue ofte bene
counselled. For even as whan the wolue
1. Pet. 2.
howleth the shepe hadde neade to gather
Luc. 22.
them selues to their shepharde, to be
delyuered from the assaulte of the blodye
beaste, lykewyse hadde you neade to flye
vnto the shepharde of your soules Christe
Iesus, and to sell your cootes and bye hys
spirituall sworde
Ephe. 6.
(whiche is the worde of
God) to defende and delyuer you in thys
present necessyte. For now is the tyme that
Christ tolde vs of,
Mat. 10.
Math. 10. that he was
come (by hys worde) to sette varyaunce
betwene the sonne and hys father, betwene
the doughter and her mother, betwene
// File: 026.png
the doughter in lawe & her mother in lawe,
Mich. 3.
and that a mans owne housholde shalbe
hys enemyes. But be not dysmayed nor
thynke it no wonder, for Christ chose .12.
and one of them betrayed hys master.
Ioan. 6.
And we that are hys dyscyples may loke
for no better than he hadde hym selfe:
Mat. 10.
For
the scoler is not a boue hys master.
Saynt Paul protesteth that he was in
2. Cor. 11.
parell amonge the false bretherne, and surely
I suppose that we are in no lesse Ieopardye.
For yf it be so that hys mastershype
receyved one copye and hadde acople
of copyes mo offered in the meanewhyle,
then may ye be sure that there are
many false bretherne which pretende to haue
knowlege, and in dede be but pyke thākes,
prouydynge for their belye. Prepare
ye therfore clokes, for the wether wexeth
clowdye, and rayne is lyke to folowe. I
meane not false excuses and forswerynge
of your selfes: but that ye loke substancyally
vpon Goddes worde, that you may
be able to answere their sotle obectyons.
And rather chose māfully to dye for Christe
and hys worde, than cowardly to denye
hym, for this vayne and transytory lyfe,
consyderyng that they haue no further
power but ouer this corruptible bodye,
which yf they put it not to deathe, muste
yet at the length peryshe of yt selfe.
2. Cor. 10.
But I
truste the Lorde shall not suffer you to be
// File: 027.png
.pn 14
tēpted a boue that you may beare, but accordynge
to the spirite that he shall poure
vpon you, shall he also sende you the scourge,
ād make hym that hath receyued more
of the spyryte, to suffer more, ād hym that
receyueth lesse therof, to suffer accordynge
to hys talent. I thought it necessarye fyrst
to admonyshe you of thys matter, and
now I wyll recyte more of master Mores
boke.
More.
❧ Whereby men may see how greadely
these newe named bretherne wryte it
out, and secretely spreade it a brode.
Fryth.
¶ The name is of great antiquite, althoughe
you lyste to iest. For they were called
bretherne before our Byshoppes were called
Lordes, ād had the name gyuē thē by
Christe sayenge, Mat. xxiij. All ye are bretherne.
And Luc. xxij. Cōfyrme thy bretherne.
And the name was cōtynued by the Apostles,
& is a name that norysheth loue ād
amyte. And very gladde I am to heare of
their greadye affectyon in wrytynge out
the worde of God, for by that I do perceyue
the prophesye of Amos
Amos.
to haue place,
which sayth in the person of God. I wyll
sende hōger ād thurste in to the earth, not
honger for meate nor thurste for drynke.
But for to heare the worde of God. Now
begynneth the kyngdome of heuē to suffer
vyolēce:
Mat. 11.
Now rōne the poore Publicanes
whiche knowelege them selfes synners,
// File: 028.png
to the worde of God, puttynge both goodes
and bodye in
Luc. 18.
Ieoperdye for the soule
health. And though our Byshopes do calle
it heresye, and all them heretyques that
honger after yt, yet do we knowe that it
is the Gospell of the leuynge God, for the
health and saluacyon of all that beleue.
Rom. 1.
And as for the name doth nothynge offende
vs, though they call it heresy a thousande
tymes.Act. 24.
For saynte Paule testyfyeth
that the Pharysees and Prestes whyche
were counted the very churche in hys tyme,
ded so call it, and therfore it forseth
not though they, rulyng in their rowmes,
vse the same names.
More.
❧ Which yonge man I here say hathe
latelye made dyuers other thynges
that yet ronne in hoker moker so close amonge
the bretherne that there cometh no
copyes abrode.
Fryth.
¶ I answere, that surely I can not spynne,
and I thynke no man more hateth to be
ydle than I do. Wherfor in suche thynges
as I am able to do, I shalbe dylygent as
longe as God lendeth me my lyfe. And if
ye thynke I be to busye, you may rydde
me the sooner, for euen as the shepe is in
the bochers hādes ready bounde & loketh
but euen for the grace of the bocher when
he shall shedde hys blode: Euen so am I
bounde at the Byshoppes pleasures, euer
lokynge for the day of my deathe. In so
// File: 029.png
.pn 15
moche that playne worde was sent me,
that the chaunceloure of London sayde, it
shulde coste me the best bloode in my body,
which I wolde gladly were shedde tomorowe,
yf so be it myght open the Kynges
graces eyes.
And verely I maruell that any thynge
can ronne in hoker moker or be hydde frō
you. For seynge you myght haue suche
store of copyes, concernynge the thynge
which I moste desyred to haue bene kepte
secrete, how shuld you than lacke a copye
of those thynges wich I moste wolde haue
publyshed? And hereof ye maye be sure, I
care not though you and all the Byshoppes
within England loke vpon all that
euer I wrote, but rather wolde be gladde
that ye so ded. For yf there be any sparcle
of grace in your breastes, I trust it shulde
be an occasyon somwhat to kyndle it, that
you may consyder and know your selfes,
which is the first poynte of wysdome.
❧ And wolde God for hys mercye
More.
(sayeth M. More) that syth there can nothynge
refrayne their studye, from devyse
and compassynge of euill ād vngracyous
wrytynge, that they wolde ād coulde keape
it so secretely that neuer man shulde see
it. But suche as are so farre corrupted, as
neuer wolde be cured of their canker.
Fryth.
¶ It is not possyble for hym that hath
hys eyes and seeth hys brother which lacketh
// File: 030.png
syght in Ieoperdye of peryshynge at
a perellous pytte, but that he muste come
to hym ād guyde hym, tyll he be past that
Ieoperdye, and at the least wyse, yf he can
not come to hym, yet wyll he call and crye
vnto hym to cause hym chose the better
waye, excepte hys harte be cankered with
the contagyon of suche hatred that he can
reioyse in hys neyghbours dystructyon.
And euē so is it not possyble for vs which
haue receyued the knowelege of Goddes
worde, but that we muste crye and call to
other, that they leaue the perellous patthes
of their owne folyshe fantasyes.
Deut. 12.
And
do that onely to the Lorde, that he commaundeth
them, neyther addynge any thynge
nor dymynyshynge. And therfor vntyll
we see some meanes founde, by the which
a reasonable reformacyon may be had on
the one partye, and suffycyent instructyon
for the poore cōmons, I insure you, I neyther
wyll nor can cease to speake. For the
worde of God boyleth in my bodye, lyke
a fervente fyre, & wyll neades haue an yssue
and breake out, whā occasyon is geuē.
But this hath bene offered you, is offered,
and shall be offered. Graunte that the
worde of God, I meane the texte of scrypture,
maye go abrode in oure Englyshe
tonge, as other nacyons haue it in their tōges,
and my brother Wyllyā Tyndall ād
I haue done, & wyll promyse you to wryte
// File: 031.png
.pn 16
no more. Yf you wyll not graunte this
condycyō, then wyll we be doynge whyle
we haue breathe, and shewe in fewe wordes
that the scripture doth in many: and so
at the least saue some.
More.
❧ But a lacke this wyll not be. For as
S. Paule sayeth, the contagyō of heresye
creapeth ou lyke a cāker. For as the cāker
corrupteth the bodye forthere and forther,
& tourneth the hole partes in to the same
deadly sycknes, so doth these heresyes crepe
forth amonge good symple soules, tyll
at the laste it be almost past remedye.
Fryth.
¶ Thys is a very true sayēge ād maketh
well agaynst hys owne purpose. For in dede
thys contagyō begā to sprynge euē in
S. Paules tyme. In so moche that the Galathyans
were in a maner wholy seduced
from hys doctryne. And he sayde to the
Thessalonyans,
1. The. 2.
the mystery of iniquyte
euen now begynneth to worke.
1. Ioā. 4.
And saynt
Iohn testyfyeth that there were all readye
many Antichrystes rysen in hys dayes.
And also Paule prophesyed what shulde
folowe after hys tyme.
Act. 20.
Actes. xx. sayenge:
Take ye hede to your selues and to all the
flocke, ouer whyche the holye Gost hath
put you overseers, to feade the congregacyon
of God whyche he purchased wyth
hys owne bloode. For I knowe thys
well, that after my departynge shall enter
in greuouse wolues amonge you,
// File: 032.png
which shall not spare the flocke. And euen
of your selues shall aryse men, speakynge
perverse thynges, to drawe dyscyples after
them, and therfore watche, & ce. Thys
canker then began to sprede in the congregacyon,
and ded full sore noye the bodye,
in so moche that within .iiij. C. yeare there
were very many sectes scatered in euerye
coste. Notwithstandynge there were faythfull
fathers that dylygently subdued thē
wyth the swerde of Goddes worde.
Siluest. But
surely sens Siluester receyued suche possessyons,
hath the canker so crepte in the
churche, that it hath almoste lefte neuer a
founde member. And as Cistercensis wryteth
in the .viij. boke, that day that he receyued
revennues, was a voyce harde in the
ayre cryeng ouer the courte which sayde,
Thys daye is venome shed in to the churche
of God. Before that tyme there was
no Byshope greadye to take a cure. For it
was no honoure & profytte as it is now,
but onely a carefull charge which was lyke
to cost hym his lyfe at one tyme or other.
And therfore no man wolde take it,
but he that bare suche a loue and zele to
God and his flocke, that he coulde be content
to shedde hys bloode for them. But
after that it was made so honorable and
profytable, they that were worste bothe
in lernynge and leuynge, moste laboured
for it. For they that ware vertuous wolde
// File: 033.png
.pn 17
Mat. 7.
not entangle them selues with the vayne
pryde of thys worlde, ād weare .iij.
Mar. 15.
Crownes
of golde, where Christe ded weare one
of thorne.
Ioā. 19.
And in conclusyon it came so
farre, that who so euer wolde geue moste
money for it or beste coulde flatter the
Prynce (which he knewe well all good mē
to abhorre) had the prehemynence and gotte
the best Byshopryke, and then in steade
of Goddes worde, they publyshed their
owne commaundemētes, and made lawes
to haue all vnder them, and made men beleue
they coulde not erre what so euer they
ded or sayde, ād euē as in the rowines ād
stede of Moses, Aarō, Eliazer, Iosue, Calib,
and other faythfull folke, came Herode,
Annas, Caiphas, Pylate and Iudas,
which put Christ to death: So now in the
steade of Christe, Peter, Paule, Iames, ād
Iohn, and the faythfull folowers of Christe,
we haue the Pope, Cardynalles, Archebyshoppes,
Byshoppes, and proude prelates,
with their proctoure the malycyous
mynyster of their master the Deuyll,
which not withstondynge transforme thē
selues in to a lykenes,
1. Cor. 11.
as though they were
the mynysters of ryghtuousnes, whose
ende shalbe acordyng to their workes. So
that the bodye is cākered longe agone, ād
now are lefte but certayne small mēbres,
which God of hys puyssante power hath
reserued vncorrupted. And because they
// File: 034.png
see that they can not be cankered as their
owne fleshe is, for pure anger they burne
them, leaste yf they cōtynued there myght
seame some deformyte in their owne cankered
carcase, by the comparynge of these
whole membres to their scabbed body.
More.
¶ Techeth in a fewe leaues shortely all
the poyson that Wyclefe, Ecolāpadius,
Tyndall, & Zwynglius haue taught in
all their bokes before, cōcernynge the blessed
Sacramente of the aulter: not onelye
affyrmynge it to be verye breade styll (as
Luther doth) but also (as these other beastes
do) sayeth it is nothynge els. And after
the same syr Thomas More sayeth.
These dregges hath he dronken of Wyclefe,
Ecolāpadius, Tyndall, and Zwynglius,
and so hath he all that he argueth
here besyde, whych .iiij. what maner folke
they be, is metely well perceyued and knowen,
and God hath in parte, wyth hys open
vengeaunce declared.
Fryth.
¶ Luther is not the prycke that I ronne
at, but the scrypture of God. I do neyther
affyrme nor denye any thynge, because
Luther so sayeth but be cause the scrypture
of God doth so conclude and determe.
I take not Luther for soche an autoure
that I thynke he cānot erre, but I thynke
verely that he both may erre and doth
erre in certayne poyntes, although not in
suche as concerne saluacyon and dampnacyō.
// File: 035.png
.pn 18
For in thē (blessed be God) all these
whome ye call heretykes do agre ryght
well. And lykewyse I do not alowe thys
thynge because Wyclefe, Decolampadius,
Tyndall, and Zwinglius so saye, but
because I see them in that place more purely
expounde the scrypture, and that the
processe of the texte doth more fauoure
their sentence.
And where you saye that I affyrme yt
to be breade styll as Luther doth, the same
I saye agayne, not be cause Luther so sayeth,
but because I can proue my wordes
true by scrypture, reason of nature, and
doctours. Paule calleth it breade saynge:
1. Cor. 10.
The breade which we breake, is it not the
felowshyppe of the bodye of Christe: For
we though we be manye, are yet one bodye
and one breade: as manye as are pertakers
of one breade. And agayne he sayeth.
1. Cor. 11.
As often as ye eate of this breade, or
drynke of this cuppe, you shall shewe the
Lordes death vntyll he come. Also Luke
calleth it breade in the actes sayenge:
Act. 2.
they
contynued in the felowshyp of the Apostles
and in breakynge of breade, & in prayer.
Luc. 22.
Also Christe called the cuppe, the frute
of vyne, sayenge. I shall not from hence
forthe drynke of the frute of the vyne, vntyll
I drynke that a newe in the kyngdome
of my Father.
Furthermore nature doth teche you that
// File: 036.png
both the breade and wyne contynue in
their nature. For the breade mouldeth yf it
be kepte longe, yea, and wormes breede in
it. And the poore mouse wyll ronne away
with it, and desyre none other meate to her
dyner, whiche are euydēt ynough that there
remayneth breade. Also the wyne yf it
were reserued wolde wexe sower, as they
confesse thē selues, and therfore they howsell
the laye people but wyth one kynde
onely, because the wyne can not contynue
nor be reserued, to haue readye at hande
when neade were. And surely as yf there
remayned no breade it coulde not moulde
nor wexe full of wormes: Euē so yf there
remayned no wyne, it coulde not wexe sower,
and therfore it is but false doctryne,
that our Prelates so lōge haue publyshed.
Fynallye that there remayneth breade
myght be proued by the auctoryte of many
doctours, which call it breade and wyne,
as Christ and hys Apostles ded. And
thoughe some sophysters wolde wreste
their sayenges and expounde them after
their fantasye, yet shall I alledge thē one
doctoure (which was also Pope of Rome)
that maketh so playne wyth vs that they
shalbe compelled with shame to holde
their tonges. For Pope Gelasius wryteth
on this maner. Certe sacramenta quæ
sumimus corporis et sanguinis Christi diuinæ
res sunt & propterea per illa, participes facti
// File: 037.png
.pn 19
sumus diuinæ naturæ, & tamen non desinit
esse substantia uel panis & uini, sed permanēt
in suæ proprietati naturæ. Et certe imago &
similitudo corporis & sanguinis Christi in actione
misteriorum celebrantur. That is to
saye, surely the sacramentes of the bodye
and bloode of Christe, are a godly thynge,
and therfore through them are we made
partakers of the Godly nature. And
yet doth it not cease to be the substaunce,
or nature of breade and wyne, but they
contynue in the propertye of their owne
nature. And surely the Image and symylytude
of the bodye and bloode of Christe,
are celebrated in the acte of the mysteryes.
Thys I am sure was the olde doctryne
which they cā not avoyde. And therfor
wyth the scrypture, nature, ād fathers,
I wyll conclude that there remayneth the
substaunce, and nature, of breade and
wyne.
More.
And where ye saye that we affyrme it
to be nothynge els, I dare saye that ye vntrulye
reporte of vs all. And here after I
wyll shewe you what it is more then breade.
And where ye saye that it is meately
well knowen what maner of folke they
be, and that GOD hath in parte wyth
hys open vengeaunce declared.
Fryth.
¶ I answere that Master Wyclefe
was noted whyle he was lyuynge,
Wiclefe.
to be
a man not onely of moste famous doctryne,
// File: 038.png
but also of a very syncere lyfe and conversacyon.
Neuerthelesse to declare
your malycyous myndes and vengeable
hartes (as men saye) xv. yeares after he
was buryed, you toke hym vp and brente
hym, whiche facte declared your furye, although
he felte no fyre.
Mat. 10.
But blessed be
GOD whiche hath geuen suche tyrauntes
no further power, but over thys corruptyble
bodye. For the soule ye can not
bynde nor burne,
Mal. 2.
but God maye blesse
where you curse, and curse where you
blesse.
Ecolampadius.
¶ And as for Oecolampadius, that
notable learned man, hys moste aduersaryes
haue euer commended hys conversacyon
and Godlye lyfe, which when God
has appoynted hys tyme, gaue place vnto
nature (as euery man muste) and dyed
of a canker.
Tyndal.
And Tyndall I truste lyueth, well contente
with suche a poore Apostles lyfe, as
GOD gaue hys sone Christe, and hys
faythfull mynysters in thys worlde,
whiche is not sure of so many mytes, as
ye be yearly of poundes, although I am
sure that for hys learnynge and Iudgement
in scripture, he were more worthye
to be promoted, then all the Byshoppes
in Englande. I receyued a letter from
hym, whiche was wrytten sens Chrystmas,
wherin amonge other matters he
// File: 039.png
.pn 20
wryteth thus. I calle GOD to recorde
agaynst the daye we shall appere before
our Lorde Iesus to geue a rekonynge of
our doynges, that I neuer altered one syllable
of Godes worde agaynste my conscyēce,
nor wolde do this daye, yf all that
is in earth, whether it be honoure, pleasure,
or ryches, myght be geuen me. Morover
I take GOD to recorde to my conscience,
that I desyre of GOD to my selfe
in this wurlde no more then that without
whiche I can not keape hys lawes,
& ce. Iudge Christen reader whether these
wordes be not spokē of a faythfull clere
innocent harte. And as for hys behauyoure
is suche, that I am sure no man
can reproue hym of any synne, howbeit no
man is innocent before God which beholdeth
the harte.
Zwynglius.
Fynallye Zwinglius was a man of
suche learnynge and grauyte (besyde eloquence)
that I thynke no man in Christendome
myght haue compared with hym,
notwithstondynge he was slayne in battayle
in defendynge hys cytye, and cōmōwelth,
agaynste the assaulte of wycked
enemyes, whiche cause was moste ryghtuouse.
And yf hys mastershyp meane, that that
was the vēgeaunce of God, and declared
hym to be an euyll parson because he was
slayne: I maye say nay, and shewe euydēt
// File: 040.png
examples of the contrarye. For somtyme
God geueth the vyctorye agaynst them
that haue moste ryghtuouse cause, as it is
evydent in the boke of Iudicum,
Iudi. 20.
where all
the chylderne of Israell were gathered together
to punyshe the shamefull sodometrye
of the trybe of Beniamyn, whyche
were in nōbre but .25. thousande. And the
Israelytes were .CCCC. thousāde fyghtynge
men, whiche came in to Silo, and
asked of God who shulde be their capytayne
agaynst Beniamyn. And they beynge
but .xxv. thousāde slewe of the other
Israelytes .12. thousande in one day: Thē
fledde the chylderne of Israell vnto the
Lorde in Silo, and made greate lamentacyon
before hym euen vntyll nyght. And asked
hym counsell sayenge. Shall we go
any more to fyght agaynste the trybe of
Beniamyn oure brotherne or not? God
sayde vnto them yes, go vp and fyght agaynste
them. Then went they the nexte
day and faught agaynste them, and there
were slayne agayne of the Israelites .18.
thousande men: Then came they backe agayne
vnto the house of God, and sate
downe and wepte before the Lorde, and
fasted that daye vntyll euen, and asked
hym agayne whether they shulde anye
more fyght agaynste theyr bretherne or
not. God sayde vnto them yes, to morow
I wyll delyuer thē in to your hādes.
// File: 041.png
.pn 21
And the nexte day was the trybe of Bēiamyn
vtterly dystroyed, sauynge .600.
men which hydde themselues in the wyldernes.
Here yt is evydent that the chylderne
of Israell loste the vyctorye twyse,
and yet not withstondynge had a iuste
cause, and faught at Godds commaundement.
Besydes that, Iudas Machabeus,
was slayne, in a ryghtuouse cause, as yt
is manyfest in the fyrst boke of the Machabees.
Machabe. 9.
And therfore yt can be no evydent
argument of the vēgeaunce of God,
that he was slayne in battayle in a ryghtuouse
cause, and therfore me thynketh
that this manne ys to malaperte so bluntly
to enter in to Goddes Iudgement, ād
geue sentence in that matter before he be
called to counsell. Thus haue I suffycyētly
touched hys preface, for those poyntes
that he afterwarde towched more largely
haue I wyllyngly passed, because I shall
towche them earnestly hereafter.
Nowe lette vs see what he proueth.
Master More.
❧ It ys a greate wonder to see vpon
how lyght and sleyght occasyons, he ys
fallen vnto these abhomynable heresyes.
For he denyeth not nor can not say nay,
but that our sauyour sayde hym selfe, my
fleshe ys verely meate and my bloode ys
verely drynke. He denyeth not also that
Christ hym selfe at his last souper, takynge
the breade in to hys blessed handes, after
// File: 042.png
that he had blessed yt sayde vnto hys
discyples. Take you thys and eate yt,
thys is my bodye, that shall be geuen for
you. And lykewyse gaue them the chalyce
after hys blessynge and consecracyon,
and sayde vnto them, thys ys the chalyce
of my bloode of the newe testament, whyche
shalbe shedde out for manye, do ye
thys in remembraunce of me.
Fryth.
¶ It is a greate wonder to see howe ygnoraunte
their proctoure ys, in the playne
textes of scrypture. For yf he had any iudgement
at all he myght well perceyue
that when Christe spake these wordes,
my fleshe ys verely meate and my bloode
ys verely drynke, he spake nothynge
of the sacramēte. For yt was not instytuted
vntyll hys laste souper. And these wordes
were spoken to the Iewes longe before,
and ment them not of the carnall eatynge
or drynkynge of hys bodye or bloode,
but of the spirytuall eatynge, which is
done by faythe and not wyth tothe, ād
bellye. Wherof Saynt Austen sayeth vpon
thys Gospell of Iohan, why preparest
thou other tothe or bellye? beleue and
thou haste eaten hym. So that Christes
wordes must here be vnderstonde spirytually.
And that he calleth hys fleshe verymeate,
is because that as meate by the eatynge
of yt & digestynge yt in our body
dothe strengthen these corruptyble membres,
// File: 043.png
.pn 22
so lykewyse doth Christes fleshe (by
the beleuynge that yt taketh our synne vpon
yt selfe and suffered the death to delyuer
vs) strengthen our immortall soule.
And lykewyse as drynke when yt is
dronken, doth comforte and quycken our
frayle nature, So lykewyse both Christes
bloode by the drynkynge of yt in to
the bowells of our soule, that ys by the
belevynge and remembrynge that yt ys
shedde for our synnes, comforte and quycken
our soule vnto euerlastynge lyfe. And
thys is the eatynge and drynkynge that
he speaketh of in that place. And that yt
is so you may perceyue by the texte folowynge
which sayeth. He that eateth my
bodye & drynketh my bloode dwelleth in
me and I in hym, which ys not possyble
to be vnderstonde of the Sacrament.
For it is false to saye, that he that eateth
the Sacrament of hys bodye and drynketh
the sacrament of hys bloode, dwelleth
in Christe and Christe in hym. For some
man receyueth yt vnto hys condempnacyō.
And thus doth .S. Austen expounde
yt sayenge. Hoc est enim Christum manducare,
in illo manere, & illum manentem
in se habere. Thys is the very eatynge of
Christe, to dwell in hym, and to haue
hym dwellynge in vs. So that who so
euer dwelleth in Christ (that ys to saye)
beleueth that he is sent of God to saue vs
// File: 044.png
from our synnes doth verely eate ād drynke
hys bodye and bloode, although he neuer
receyued the sacrament. Thys ys the
spirytuall eatynge necessarye for all that
shalbe saued. For there ys no man that cōmeth
to God without this eatynge of
Christ, that is the beleuynge in hym. And
so I denye not but that Christ speaketh
these wordes, but surelye he ment spyrytually.
As S. Austen declareth, ād as the
place playnely proueth.
And as towchynge the other wordes
Mat. 26.
that Christe spake vnto hys dyscyples at
hys laste souper, I denye not but that he
sayde so, but that he so steshely mēt as ye
falsely fayne, I vtterly denye. For I saye
that hys wordes were then also spyrite
and lyfe, and were spyritually to be vnderstonde.
And that he called yt hys bodye,
Ioan. 6.
for a certayne propertye, euen as he
called hym selfe
Ioan. 15.
a very vyne, and hys dyscyples
very vyne braunches, and as he
called hym selfe a dore:
Ioan. 10.
not that he was so
in dede, but for certayne propertyes in the
symylytudes.
Gen. 35.
As a man for some propertye
sayeth of hys neyghbours horsse, this
horsse is myne vp and downe, meanynge
that yt is in euery thynge so lyke.
Gen. 32.
And lyke
as Iacob buylded an aulter and called
yt the God of Israel, and as Iacob called
the place where he wrasteled with the
Angell, the face of God, and as the pascall
// File: 045.png
.pn 23
lambe was called the passynge bye
of the Lorde.
Ezech. 5.
And as a broken potsherde
was called Hierusalem, not for that they
were so in dede, but for certayne symylytudes
in the propertyes, and that the very
name yt selfe myght put men in remembraunce
what ys ment by the thynge, as
I suffycyently declared in my fyrste treatyse.
More.
He muste neades confesse, that they that
beleue that yt ys the very bodye and hys
very bloode in dede, haue the playne wordes
of our sauyoure hym selfe vpon their
syde, for the grounde and foundacyon of
their faythe.
Fryth.
¶ That is very true, and so haue they
the very wordes of God, whiche saye a
broken potsherde ys Hierusalem, and that
Christe is a stone, and that Christe is a
vyne and a dore. And yet yf they shuld beleue
or thynke that he were in dede any of
these thynges, they were neuerthelesse deceyued.
For though he so sayde, yet I saye
hys wordes were spirituall ād spiritually
to be vnderstonde.
More.
❧ And where you saye that I flye
from the faythe of playne and open scryptures,
and for the allegorye destroye the
true sence of the letter.
Fryth.
¶ I answere that some textes of scripture
are onelye to be vnderstonde after
the letter: As when Paule sayeth, Christ
// File: 046.png
Rom. 4.
dyed for our synnes & rose agayne for ourre
iustificacyō. And some textes are onely
to be vnderstonde spirytually or in the
way of an allegory: As whē Paule sayth,
1. Cor. x.
Christe was the stone. And when Christe
sayeth hym selfe.
Johā. xv.
I am a very vyne.
Johan. x.
I ā the
doore. And some must be vnderstōde both
lytterallye, and spirytuallye: As when
God sayde, out of Egypte called I my
sonne,
Ozee. 11.
whyche although it were lytterallye
fulfylled in the chylderne of Israel
when he brought them out of Egypte
with greate power and wōders, yet was
yt also mente ād veryfyed in Christ hym
selfe,
Math. 2.
hys very spyrytuall sonne, which
was called out of Egygte after the death
of Herode. And agayne yt is very spiritually
fulfylled in vs whyche through
Christes bloode are delyuered from the
Egypte of synne, and from the power of
Pharao the devyll. And I say that this
texte of scripture, this is my bodye, ys
onely spirytually to be vnderstonde, ād
not lytterallye. And that doth S. Austen
also confyrme, which wryteth vnto Adamantus
and sayeth. These sentences of
scripture, Christ was the stone, the bloode
ys the soule, and thys is my bodye, are
fyguratyuelye to be vnderstonde (that
is to say) spiritually, or by the way of ā allegorye,
& thus haue I. S. Austē whollye
vpon my syde, whiche thynge shall yet
// File: 047.png
.pn 24
hereafter more playnely appere.
More.
❧ Nowe hys example of hys brydgromes
rynge I very well alowe. For I take
the blessed sacramēt to be left with vs for
a very token and a memoryall of Christe
in dede. But I say that the whole substaūce
of the same token & memoryall, is hys
owne blessed bodye. And so I saye that
Christe hathe lefte vs a better token then
this man wolde haue vs take yt for. And
therin he fareth lyke a mā, to whō a brydgrome
had delyuered a goodly golde rynge
with a ryche Rubye therin, to delyuer
to hys bryde for a token. And then he wolde
lyke a false shrewe, keape a waye that
golden rynge and geue the bryde in steade
thereof, a proper rynge of aryshe, and
tell her that the brydgrome wolde sende
her no better. Or els lyke one that
when the brydgrome hadde geuen soche
a rynge of golde to hys bryde for a tokē,
wyll tell her playne, ād make her beleue,
that the rynge were but coper or brasse, to
mynyshe the brydgromes thanke.
Fryth.
¶ I am ryght gladde that ye admytte
myne exāple, ād graūte that the sacramēt
is lefte to be a very tokē and memoryall
of Christe in dede. But where you saye,
that the whole substaunce of the same token
ād memoryall is hys owne blessed bodye,
that is sooner sayde than proued.
// File: 048.png
And where you saye that we fare lyke a
false shrewe that wolde keape the golde
rynge from the bryde, and geue her a rynge
of a ryshe, or tell her that her golde rynge
were coper or brasse, to mynyshe the
brydgromes thāke. I answere that we deny
not but that the ryng ys most fyne golde,
and is sette wyth as ryche Rubyes as
can be gotten. For that rynge (I meane
the Sacrament) ys not onely a moste perfecte
token and a memoryall of the brydegromes
benefyttes ād vnfayned fauoure
on hys partye, but yt is also on the other
partye a thankes geuynge for the gracyous
gyftes which she vndoubtedly knowlege
her selfe to haue receyued. For as verely
as that breade ys broken amōge thē,
so verely was Christes bodye broken for
their synnes. And as verely as they receyue
that breade in to their bellye through
eatynge yt, so verelye do they receyue the
frute of hys death in to their soules by beleuynge
in hym. And therfor they assemble
to that souper, not for the valoure of
the breade, wyne, or meate, that ys there
eate, but for the intent to geue hym thankes
commonly a monge them all, for hys
inestymable goodnes. But to procede vnto
our purpose, yf a man wolde come vnto
the bryde, and tell her that thys goodly
golde rynge were her owne brydgrome,
both fleshe bloode ād bones (as you do)
// File: 049.png
.pn 25
then I thynke yf she haue anye wytte, she
myght answere hym, that he mocked, and
the more he sayde yt, the lesse she myght
beleue hym, and saye that yf that were her
owne brydgrome, what shulde she thē neade
any remēbraunce of hym, or why shulde
he geue it her for a remembraunce. For
a remembraunce presupposeth the thynge
to be absent, and therfore yf thys be a remembraunce
of hym, than can he not here
be present.
More.
❧ I meruell therfore moche, that he is
not a frayde, to affyrme that these wordes
of Christe, of hys bodye and of hys
bloode, muste neades be vnderstonde by
waye of a symylytude or an allegorye, as
the wordes be of the vyne and the doore.
Nowe this he knoweth well, that though
some wordes spokē by the mouthe of Christe
be to be vnderstonde onely by waye of
a symylytude or an allegorye, yet foloweth
it not thervpon, that euery lyke worde
of Christe in other places was non other
but an allegorye, for suche was the
shyfte and cauyllacyon that the wycked
Arryans vsed which toke from Christes
parson hys omnypotent Godhed.
Fryth.
¶ I graunte that the Arryans erred,
for as Master More sayeth, though in some
place a worde betakē fyguratyuely, it
foloweth not therfor that in euery other
place, it shulde lykewyse be takē. But one
// File: 050.png
questyō muste I aske hys mastershyppe,
how doth he knowe that there is any worde
or texte in scripture that muste be takē
fyguratyuely, that is by the waye of a symylytude,
or as he calleth yt a necessarye
allegory? I thynke (though some mē may
assygne other good causes ād euydences)
that the fyrst knowelege ys by other textes
of scrypture. For yf other textes be cōferred
vnto yt, and wyll not stonde with
the litterall sence, then I thynke yt muste
neades be taken spirytually or fyguratyuelye,
as there are infynyte textes in scripture.
Now when I see that .S. Thomas
whiche felte Christes woundes ād put hys
fynger in hys syde, called hym hys Lorde
and God, and that no texte in scrypture
repugneth vnto the same, but that they
may well stonde together, me thynketh yt
were foly to affirme that this word, God,
in that texte shulde be taken fyguratyuely
or by waye of an allegorye: But nowe in
our matter the processe of scripture wyll
not stonde with the lytterall sence, as shall
here after appeare. And therfor necessyte
compellethe vs to expounde yt fyguratyuelye,
as doth also S. Austen and other holy
doctours, as hereafter shall playnely
appeare.
More.
❧ If euery man that can fynde out a
newe fonde fantasye vpon a text of holy
scrypture, may haue his owne mynd takē,
// File: 051.png
.pn 26
and hys owne exposicyon beleued agaynste
the exposycyons of the olde connynge
doctours and sayntes, then may you surely
see that none artycle of the Christen
fayth, can stonde and endure longe. And
then he alleageth .s. Hierome, which sayth,
that yf the exposycion of other interpretours,
and the consent of the common catholycke
churche, were of no more strēgth
but that euery mā myght be beleued that
coulde brynge some textes of scrypture
for hym, expounded as it pleaseth hym selfe,
then coulde I (sayth this holy mā) brynge
vpe a newe secte also, and saye by scrypture,
that no man were a true Christen
man, nor a membre of the churche, that keapeth
two cootes. And in good fayth (sayth
master More) yf that waye were alowed
I were able my selfe to fynde out fyftene
newe sectes in one fore none.
Fryth.
¶ Saynte Peter sayeth that the scripture
is not expounded after the appetyte of
any pryuate parson, but euē as yt was geuen
by the spyrite of God, and not by mānes
wyll: so muste yt be declared by
the same spiryte. And therfore I wyll not
that any mā shalbe beleued, by bryngynge
hys owne mynde and fantasye. But
yf he wyll be beleued, let hym brynge eyther
an other playne texte, which shall expounde
the fyrste, or els at the leaste he
muste brynge suche a manyfest sentence,
// File: 052.png
as wyll stonde wyth the processe of the
scripture. Whye was Saynt Hierome alowed
agaynst the determynacyon of the
counsell of Meldeley, syth he was alone,
and they a greate multytude, but onely
because he brought euydent scrypture,
which at the tyme of their sentence, none
of them remembred ād yet when yt was
brought, they coulde not auoyde yt. And
lykewyse excepte I brynge euydent scripture
which they all shall expounde as I
do, I desyre not to be beleued. And where
master More sayeth, that in good fayth
he were able to fynde out fyftene newe
sectes in one fore none, he may thanke
GOD that he hathe suche a pregnaunte
wytte: But yet I truste he shulde
not fynde one (yf there were any parell of
dāpnacyō therin) but that we wolde with
a playne texte confute yt, which he shulde
not be able to avoyde.
More.
❧ And ouer this, the very cyrcumstaunces
of the places in the Gospell in
which our sauyour speaketh of that sacramente,
may well make open the defference
of hys speache in this matter, and of
all the other, and that as he spake all
those but in an allegorye, so spake he this,
playnely meanynge that he spake of hys
very bodye and hys very bloode, besyde
all allegoryes. For when our Lorde sayde,
// File: 053.png
.pn 27
he was a very vyne, and when he
sayd he was the dore, there was none that
harde hym, that any thynge merueled therof.
And whye: For because they perceyued
well, that he ment not that he was
a materyall vyne in dede, nor a dore neyther:
But when he sayde that hys fleshe
was very meate, and hys bloode very
drynke, and that they shulde not be saued
but yf they ded eate hys fleshe and drynke
hys bloode, then were they all in suche
a wonder therof, that they coulde not
abyde. And wherfor, but because they perceyued
well by hys wordes and hys maner
of circumstaunces, that Chryste spake
of hys very fleshe and hys very bloode
in dede.
Fryth.
¶ It is openly knowen and confessed
amonge all learned men, that in the
Ioan. 6. .6.
chapytre of Ioan, Christe spake not one
worde concernynge the sacrament of hys
bodye and bloode (which at that tyme
was not yet instytuted) but all that he
there spake was of the spyrytuall eatynge
ād drynkynge of hys bodye, and bloode,
as I haue towched before. And the
circumstaunces of this place do in dede
proue that they were fleshly mynded, and
vnderstoode not the spirytuall wordes of
our sauyoure Christ, and therfor wondered
and mourmured. In so moche that
// File: 054.png
Christe sayde vnto them, doth this offende
you: What wyll ye say then whē ye shall
see the sone of man ascendynge thyther
where he was before: Thē (addeth S. Austen)
you shall knowe that he ment not to
geue hys fleshe to eate with your teth: for
he shall ascende whole. And Christ addeth,
it is the spirite that quyckeneth, the
fleshe profyteth nothynge, the wordes that
I speake, are spirite ād lyfe: that is to say,
sayeth S. Austen, are spirytually to be vnderstonde.
And where Christ sayeth, that
the fleshe profyteth nothynge (meanynge
of hys owne fleshe, as S. Austē sayeth) he
meaneth that it profyteth not, as they vnderstoode
hym, that is to saye, it profyteth
not, if it were eatē. But it doth moche profyte
to be slayne, that through it and the
shedynge of hys blode, the wrath of God
our Father is pacyfyed, ād our synnes forgeuen.
And where his mastershyp sayeth
that the people perceyued well what he
ment, and therfor wōdered so sore ād coulde
not abyde, because they perceyued well
by hys wordes ād maner of cyrcumstaunces
what hys meanynge was. I wyll say
as I ded before, that they vnderstoode
hym not. Nowe here he wyll saye vnto
me, if it be but your naye and my yea, then
I wolde thynke to be beleued as soone as
you, and surelye that were but reason.
Not withstondynge (thankes be to God)
// File: 055.png
.pn 28
I am able to brynge in auctoryte to Iudge
betwene vs bothe, whose Iudgemēt I truste
hys mastershyp wyll admytte. Thys
autoure is .S. Austen which sayeth.
Augusti
in sermo
ad infan.
Discipuli
enim eius qui cum sequebantur expauerunt
& exhorruerunt sermonem non intelligentes.
That is to saye, his dyscyples
whiche folowed hym, were a stoyned, and
abhorred hys wordes, ād vnderstoode thē
not. And because your mastershype shall
not thynke that he over schotte hym selfe,
and spake he wyste not what, we shall alledge
hym sayenge the same wordes in an
other place.
Aug. 54.
Cum diceret. Nisi quis manducauerit
carnem .& c. Illi non intelligentes dixerunt
ad inuicē. Durus est hic sermo, quis potest
eum audire? That is, when Christ sayde,
excepte a man eate my fleshe and drynke
my bloode, he shall haue no lyfe in hym,
they because they vnderstoode hym not,
sayde to eche other, this is an harde sayenge,
who can heare hym? Thus I truste
you wyll geue place (although not to me)
yet at the leaste vnto Saynte Austen, and
receyue the truth whiche is so playnelye
proved.
And where hys mastershyp alleageth
this texte for the Sacramente, that excepte
they ded eate hys fleshe and drynke hys
blode they coulde not be saued, yt seameth
that he is fallen in to the erroure of Pope
Innocēt, which lykewyse vnderstōdynge
// File: 056.png
this texte vpon the Sacrament (as master
More doth) caused yonge chylderne and
infantes to receyue the Sacrament, as
though they had all bene dampned which
dyed and had not receyued it. And of thys
Carnall mynde were many mo Byshoppes
a greate whyle (as are now the Bohemes,
whome he after dysprayseth, and yet
expoundeth the texte as they do) but afterward
they loked more spirytually vpō the
matter and confessed their ignoraunce, as
I truste master More wyll. But now
wyll I shew you .S. Austens mynde vpō
this texte, which shall helpe for the exposycyon
of all thys matter.
Augustinus
libro
3 de doctrina
christiana.
S. Austen in
the thyrde boke de doctrina christiana the .16.
chapytre, teachynge how we shall knowe
the tropes, fygures, allegoryes, and
phrases of the scrypture sayeth. Si aūt flagitium
aut facinus iubere uidetur, figurata locutio
est. Nisi manducaueritis (inqt) carnem filij
hominis et biberitis eius sanguinē, non habebitis
uitam in uobis. Facinus uel flagitium uidetur
iubere. Figura est ergo precipiens passionis
dominicæ esse comunicandū et suauiter atque
utiliter in memoria recondendum, quod
pro nobis caro eius crucifixa & uulnerata sit.
That is to saye: when so euer the scrypture
or Christe seameth to commaunde any
fowle or wycked thynge, than muste that
texte be taken fyguratyuelye, and that it
is a phrase, allegorye, and maner of speakynge,
// File: 057.png
.pn 29
ād muste be vnderstonde spyrytually
and not after the letter. Excepte (sayeth
Christ) ye eate the fleshe of the sonne
of man and drynke hys bloode ye shall haue
no lyfe in you. He seameth (sayeth S.
Austen) to cōmaunde a fowle and a wycked
thynge. It ys therfore a fygure, commaundyng
vs to be partakers of hys passyon,
and swetely ād profytablye to prynte
in our mynde that hys fleshe was crucyfyed
and wounded for vs. This truth
(thankes be to God) doth S. Austen declare
vnto vs, which thynge besyde
the openyng of thys texte agaynst master
Mores mynd, doth playnely shew what
he thought in the holye wordes of Christes
souper. For syth he called yt a fowle
and wycked thynge to eate hys fleshe,
than may you soone perceyue, that he
thought yt ys fowle and as wycked a
thynge to eate hys bodye, seynge hys bodye
ys fleshe, and then consequently yt
shall folowe, that eyther thys worde eate
(where Christe sayde take thys and eate
yt) muste be taken spirytually, or els that
thys sayēge of Christe, thys is my body,
muste be fyguratyuely spoken, but this
worde, eate, ys taken after the letter (for
they ded in dede eate the breade) therfore
yt muste neades folowe, that thys sentēce
(thys is my bodye) muste be fyguratyuely
spoken. Or els ys .S. Austen not to be
// File: 058.png
approued in thys place, which thynge our
Byshoppes I thynke, wyll not saye naye.
Besydes that .S. Austen sayeth.
Augustinus
in sermone
ad
infantes.
Quando
loquebatur dominus noster Iesus Christus
de corpore suo, nisi (inquit) quis manducauerit
carnem meam et biberit sanguinè meum, non
habebit in se uitam. Caro enim mea uere est
cibus, & sanguis meus uere est potus. Intellectus
spiritualis credentem saluum facit, quia littera
occidit, spiritus est qui uiuificat. That is
to saye: when our Lorde Iesus Christe spake
of hys bodye, excepte (sayeth he) a man
eate my fleshe and drynke my bloode, he
shall haue no lyfe in hym selfe, for my fleshe
is verye meate, and my bloode is very
drynke. The spyrytuall vnderstondynge
saueth hym that beleueth, for the letter kylleth,
but the spirite quyckeneth. Here may
you playnlye perceyue, that thys texte muste
onely be taken spyrituallye. For he
sayeth, that to take it after the letter it kylleth
and profyteth nothynge at all, & therfor
I wonder that we haue bene ledde so
longe in this grosse erroure.
Orig. in
leuiti.
homi .7.
This sayenge doth that famous clarke
Origene, confyrme sayēg. Agnosce, figuræ
sunt que in uoluminibus Domini scriptæ
sunt: & ideo tanquā spirituales & non tanquam
carnales, examinate & intelligite quæ
dicuntur. Si enim secundum litteram sequaris
hoc ipsum quod dictum est, Nisi manducaueritis
// File: 059.png
.pn 30
carnē &c. Occidit hæc littera. That is
to saye: Marke that they are fygures
which are wrytē in the scrypture of God.
And therfore examyne them as spyrytuall
men and not as Carnall, ād vnderstonde
those thynges that are spoken. For if thou
folowe after the letter, this thynge that is
spokē: excepte ye eate the fleshe of the sone
of man and drynke hys bloode, you cā haue
no lyfe in you, this letter kylleth. Alas
deare bretherne why shulde any mā be offended
with thys doctryne, seynge it is approued
so playnelye, by suche auncyent
and holy Fathers.
Augusti
sermo circa
sacraferia
pasche.
Agayne .S. Austē sayeth. Qui manducat
carnem meā & bibit meum sanguinem in memanet
& ego in illo. Hoc est ergo manducare
illā escam & illū bibere potum, in Christo manere
& illum manentē in se habere, ac per hoc
qui non manet in Christo & in quo non manet
Christus proculdubio non manducat eius carnem
nec bibit sanguinē, etiā si tanterei sacramentum
ad iudicium sibi manducet & bibit.
That is to saye, he that eateth my fleshe
and drynketh my bloode, abydeth in me,
and I in hym. This is therfore the eatynge
of that meate and drynkynge of that
bloode, to abyde in Christe and haue hym
abydynge in vs. And therfor he that abydeth
not in Christe, and in whome
Christe abydeth not, without doubte
he eateth not Christes fleshe nor drynketh
// File: 060.png
not hys bloode, although he eate and
drynke that sacramēt of so greate a thynge
vnto hys dampnacyon. And euē the same
wordes
Idē Beda
super
Cor. 10.
hath Bede vpon the Corynthyās
1. Corin. 10. Thys one place is suffycyent
for to proue my purpose though he sayde
not one worde more. For here he doth playnelye
determyne, that he whiche abydeth
not in Christe: that is to saye: he that is
wycked or vnfaythfull, doth not eate hys
fleshe nor drynke hys bloode, although he
eate and drynke the Sacramēt of so greate
a thynge. And so muste it neades folowe,
that the Sacramente is not the verye
naturall bodye of Christ. For then the vnfaythfull
shulde eate hys fleshe, seynge he
eateth the Sacrament of hys bodye. But
that doth S. Austen denye, wherfor it muste
neades folowe, that it is but onely a token
of a remembraunce, ād a sygne of hys
bodye breakynge, and a representacyon
of hys passyon,
Rom. 5.
that we myght keape hys
facte in memorye, and geve hym thankes
for hys tender loue and kyndenes, whiche
when we were hys enemyes toke vpon
hym to suffer moste vyle death, to reconcyle
vs vnto his Father, and make vs hys
frendes. Thys sayenge hath S. Austen in
a nother place also,
Augusti
deciuita:
dei lib. 21.
where he wryteth on
this maner. Qui non in me manet, & in quo
ego non maneo, non se dicat aut existimet māducare
corpus meum, aut bibere sanguinem
// File: 061.png
.pn 31
meum.
capi. 25.
Non itaq; maneat in Christo qui non
sunt eius membra: non sunt autem membra
Christi qui se faciunt membra meritricis.
That is to saye, he that abydeth not in
me, and in whome I abyde not, let hym
not saye or thynke that he eateth my bodye
or drynketh my bloode. They abyde
not in Christe which are not hys mēbers.
And they are not hys membres whiche
make them selues the membres of an harlote.
And these are also the verye wordes
of Bede. Here is it playne proued agayne
by the auctoryte of S. Austen and Bede,
Beda super.
1. Cor. 6.
that the wycked and vnfaythfull (whiche
are not the membres of Christe) do not eate
hys bodye nor drynke hys bloode, and
yet they do eate the Sacramēt as well as
the other. Wherfore you muste neades,
graunte, that the Sacramēt is not the naturall
bodye of Christ but a fygure, tokē,
or memoryall therof. Now good Christē
people counte not thys new learnynge
which is confyrmed by suche olde doctoures
and faythfull fathers.
Now were thys ynough for a Christē
man that loued no contencyon. But because
there are so manye sophysters in the
worlde whiche care not what they saye, so
they holde not their peace, I muste neades
sette some bulwarke by this holy doctoure,
to helpe to defende hym, for els they
wyll shortelye ouer rone hym (as they do
// File: 062.png
me) ād make hym an heretyck also. Therfore
I wyll alleage hys master saynt Ambrose.
Saynte Ambrose sayeth
Ambrosi
de sacra.
Non iste panis
qui uadit in corpus a nobis tā anxie queritur,
sed panis uitæ æterne que anime nostre
substanciam fulscit, qui autem discordat a
Christo non manducat carnem eius, nec bibit
sanguinem eius, & si tante rei sacramentum
iudicium sue perdicionis accipit. That is,
this breade that goeth in to the bodye ys
not so gredelye sought of vs, but the breade
of euerlastynge lyfe which vpholdeth
the substaunce of our soule. For he that
dyscordeth from Christ, doth not eate hys
fleshe, nor drynke hys bloode, although he
receyue the sacramente of so greate a thynge
vnto hys dampnacyon and destruccyon.
Furthermore, the greate clarke Prosper
confyrmeth the same, sayenge.
Prosper
in libro
sentenciarum.
Qui discordat
a Christo nec carnem Christi manducat,
nec sanguinem bibit, etiam si tantæ rei sacramentum
ad iudicium sue presumptionis
quotidie indifferenter accipiat. That is, he
that dyscordeth from Christ, doth neyther
eate hys fleshe, nor drynke hys bloode, although
he receyueth indyfferently euery
daye the sacrament of so greate a thynge
vnto the condempnacyon of hys presumpcyon.
And these are also the very wordes
of Bede
Idē Beda
super
1. Cor. 11.
vpō the xi. Chapiter of the fyrste
Epystle to the Corynthyans.
Now you may see, that it ys not saynt
// File: 063.png
.pn 32
Austens mynde onely, but also the sayēge
of many mo. And therfore I truste you
wyll be good vnto hym. And yf ye cōdempne
not these holye Fathers,
then am I wrongfullye punyshed.
But, yf you condempne
them, then
muste poore Iohan
Fryth be
contente to
beare
the burthen wyth
them.
// File: 064.png
.sp 4
.h2
The mynde & exposiciō of the olde doctours upon the wordes of Christes maundye.
.sp 2
More.
And where master
More sayeth, that
yf Chryste had not
ment after the playne
litterall sense, that
both the hearers at
that tyme, and the expositours
sens, and
all Christen people besyde thys xv.c. yeare
wolde not haue taken onelye the litterall
sens beynge so straunge and mervelous
that yt myght seame impossyble, ād
declyne from the letter for allegoryes in
all suche other thynges, beynge (as he sayeth)
and as in dede they be, so manye farre
in nombre mo.
Fryth.
¶ As towchynge the hearers they were
deceyued and vunderstoode hym not (I
meane as manye as toke hys wordes fleslye
as you do). And they had their answere
of Christe (when they mourmured) that
hys wordes were spyrite and lyfe: that is
(as S. Austen sayeth) spirytually to be
vnderstonde & not fleslye, as ys before declared.
And as for the exposytours, I
thynke he hath not one of the olde fathers
for hym, but certen newe felowes: as Dominicus,
S. Thomas, Occam, ād suche other
// File: 065.png
.pn 33
which haue made the Pope a God.
And as I haue shewed S. Austen maketh
full for vs, and so do all the olde fathers.
As Oecolompadius hath well declared
in hys boke. Quid ueteres senserint de sacramento
eucharistiæ. And some of their sayenges
I shall alleage a none. And where
you saye that all Christen people haue so
beleued this .1500. yeares, that is very false.
For there ys no doubte, but that the people
thought as holye Saynt Austen and
other faythful fathers taught thē. Which
as I sayde, make with vs. Notwithstondynge
in dede syth oure prelates haue bene
made lordes and haue sette vp their lawes
and decrees contrarye to the prerogatyue
of all Prynces, and lyke moste subtle
traytours, haue made all men beleue that
they may make lawes & bynde mens cōscyences
to obeye them: and that theyr lawes
are Gods lawes, blyndynge the peoples
eyes wyth two or thre textes wrongfully
wrested, to avaunce their pryde, where
they ought to obeye Kynges & Princes
& be subiect to their lawes, as Christ & hys
Apostles were euē vnto the death. Syth
that tyme I say, they haue made mē beleue
what they lyst, & make artycles of the faythe
at their pleasure. One artycle must be
that they be the church, ād cā not erre. And
this ys the grounde of all their doctryne.
But the truth of this artycle ys now suffycyently
// File: 066.png
knowē. For yf quene Katheryne
be Kynge Hēryes wyfe, thē they do erre,
& yf she be not, they haue thē erred. It is
nowe become an artycle of our fayth that
the Pope of Rome must be the hede of the
churche ād the vycar of Christe: & that by
Gods lawe. It is an artycle of our fayth,
that what soeuer he byndeth in earth, is
boūde in heauē, in so moche that yf he curse
wrōgfully, yet yt must be feared, ād infynite
suche other which are not in our crede,
but blessed be god that hath geuē some
lyght in to oure Prynces harte. For he
hath lately put forth a boke called the glasse
of truth, which proueth many of these
artycles very folysh fātasyes, ād that euē
by theyr owne doctours, and so I truste
you shall be proued in this poynt of the sacramēt.
For though it be an artycle of our
fayth, yt is none artycle of our Crede in
the .xij. artycles, whiche are suffycyent for
our saluacyon. And therfore we may
thynke that you lye without all Ieoperdye
of dampnacyon.
Neuerthelesse seynge hys mastershyp sayeth
that all make for hym, & I say cleane
contrarye, that allthe olde fathers make
agaynste hym, it were necessarye that one
of vs shulde proue hys purpose. But in
dede in this poynte he wolde loke to haue
the vātage of me. For he thynketh that
mē wyll sooner beleue him which is a greate
// File: 067.png
.pn 34
mā, thē me which am but a poore mā,
ād that therfor I had more neade to proue
my parte true, thē he to proue hys. Well,
I am content, and therfor geue eare dere
reader and iudge betwene vs.
Tertullianus
libro. 2. cōtra
Marcionem.
Tertullianus
libro 4. cōtra
Marcionem.
First I wyll begynne with Tertulyan,
because he is of moste antiquyte. Tertullyan
sayeth. Ipse (Christus) nec panem reprobauit
quod ipsum corpus suum representat.
That is to saye: Christ hym selfe ded not
reproue or discōmēde breade which doth
represent hys bodye. For the vnderstōdynge
of thys place, you must know that there
was an heretyke called Marcyō, which
ded reproue creatures, & sayde that all maner
of creatures were euell. This thynge
doth Tertullyā improue by the sacramēt
& sayeth. Christ ded not reproue or dyscōmende
breade the which doth represēt his
bodye: as though he shulde say, yf Christ
had counted the breade euell, then wolde
he not haue lefte yt for a sacrament to represent
hys bodye, meanynge that it is a
sacramente, sygne, token, and memoryall
of hys bodye, and not the body ytselfe.
And that this is hys mynde, doth
playnly appeare in his fourth boke, where
he sayeth. Christus acceptū panē et distributū
discipulis, corpus suū illud fecit: hoc est corpus
meū dicēdo, id est figura corporis mei. Figura
autē non fuisset, nisi ueritatis e ēt corpus.
Vacua res quod est phātasma, figuram
capere non posset.
// File: 068.png
That ys to saye: Christe takynge breade
and dystrybutynge vnto hys discyples
made yt hys bodye, sayēge. This ys my
body. But thys breade coulde not haue bene
a figure of yt, excepte Christ had had a
true bodye. For a vayne thynge or a fantasye
can take no fygure. For the vnderstondynge
of this place, you muste marke
that this heretycke Marcyō agaynst whome
thys auctoure wryteth, ded holde opynyon
that Christ had no naturall bodye,
but onelye a fantastycall bodye, ād this opynyon
doth thys doctoure improue by
the sacrament of the aulter sayenge. The
sacrament ys a fygure of hys bodye: ergo
Christ had a true bodye, ād not a fantastycall
bodye: For a vayne thynge or fantasye
can take no fygure. Loo, here doth this
olde father which was longe before .S.
Austen or .S. Hierome, expounde these
wordes of Christe. This is my bodye:
that is to saye, a fygure of my bodye.
Therfor ye are to blame to call it new lernynge.
Nowe because they shall not of temeraryous
presumpcyon reiecte this olde
father, I shall establyshe hys wordes by
S. Austen, which commendeth Christes
meruelous pacyence for sufferynge so lōge
that traytour Iudas, as though he had
bene a good man, and yet was not ignorāt
of hys wycked thoughtes.
Augusti.
Adhibuit (inquit)
ad cōuiuium in quo corporis & sanguinis
// File: 069.png
.pn 35
sui figura discipulis commendauit ac tradidit.
That is to saye:
in prefa.
Psalm. 3.
he admytted hym
sayeth S. Austē vnto the mandye wherin
he dede be take and delyuer vnto the dyscyples
the fygure of hys bodye and bloode.
Here doth thys holye father .S. Austē
call yt the fygure of hys body. And I am
sure there is no mā so chyldyshe, but that
he knoweth that the fygure of Christe ys
not Christe hym selfe, the fygure of .S.
Peter ys not saynt Peter hym selfe. And
yet we do neuerthelesse commōly call those
fygures by the name of the thynge
that they do represente. As I maye saye
when I see the fygure of .S. Peter, thys
ys S. Peter to whome Christe delyuered
the keyes of the kyngdome of heauē. And
yet he were a foole that wolde thynke
that fygure to be S. Peter hym selfe. For
yt is onelye a representacyon of hym. Besydes
that S. Austen sayeth.
Augusti
in prefa.
Psalm.
98.
Non hoc corpus
quod uidetis estis manducaturi, nec bibituri
illum sanguinem quem effusuri sunt qui
me crucifigent. Sacramentum aliquod uobis
commendaui, spiritualiter intellectum uiuificat
nos, caro autem non prodest quicquam.
That ys to saye: you shall not eate thys
bodye that you see, nor drynke that bloode
which they that crucyfye me shall shedde
out. I haue geuen a certayne sacramente
vnto you, yf yt be spirytually vnderstonde,
yt quyckeneth you: but the fleshe
// File: 070.png
profyteth nothynge. What thynges can
be more playnely spoken?
Furdermore S. Austen sayeth. Sepe ita
loquimur ut Pascha appropinquante crastinam
uel perendinam Domini passionem dicamus:
cum ille ante tam multos annes passus
sit, nec omnino nisi semel illa passio facta sit.
Nempe ipso die dominico dicimus bodie dominus
resurrexit cum ex quo surrexit tot anni
transierunt. Quare nemo tam ineptus est,
ut nos ita loquentes arguat esse mentitos,
quia istos dies secundum illorum quibus hæc
gesta sunt similitudinem nuncupamus: ut dicatur
ipse dies qui non sit ipse, sed reuolucio
ne temporum similes eius: & dicatur illo die
fieri propter sacramenti celebrationem, quod
non illo die, sed iam olim factum est. Nonne
semel immolatus est Christus in seipso? & tamen
in sacramento non solum per amnuas
Paschæ solennitates, sed omni die pro popuslis
immola tur: nec utique mentitur qui interrogatus,
responderit eum immolari. Si enim
sacramenta quandam similitudinem earum rerum
quarum sunt sacramenta non haberent,
omnino sacramenta non essent. Ex hac autem
similitudine plerumque etiam ipsarum rerum
nomina accipiunt. Sicut ergo secundum quendam
modum sacramētum corporis CHRISTI
corpus CHRISTI est. Et sacramentum sanguinis
CHRISTI sanguis CHRISTI est, ita
sacramenta fidei fides est, Nihil est autem aliud
// File: 071.png
.pn 36
ud credere, quam fidem habere, ac per hoc respondetur
fidem habere propter fidei sacramenta.
Et conuertere se ad Deum propter conuersionis
sacramentum. Quia & ipsa responsio
pertinet ad celebrationem sacramenti. Sicut
de ipso baptismo Apostolus dicit. Consepulti
(inquit) sumus Christo per baptismum
in mortem, Non ait sepulturam significauimus,
sed prorsus ait, consepulti sumus. Sacramentum
ergo tantæ rei non nisi eiusdem rei
uocabulo nuncupauit.
That is to saye: We often vse to saye,
when Easter draweth nyghe, that to morow
or the nexte day is the Lordes passyō,
ād yet yt is many yeares sens he suffered,
and that passyon was neuer done but
ones. And vpon that sondaye we saye,
thys daye the Lorde ded ryse agayne, and
yet yt ys many yeares sens he rose. Now
ys there no man so folyshe to reproue vs
as lyers for so sayenge, because we name
these dayes after the symylytude of those
in which these thynges were done, so
that yt is called the same daye, which is
not the verye same, but by the reuolucyon
of tyme lyke it. And yt is named to be done
the same daye through the celebracyon
of the sacramēt (through kepynge the memoryall
of the thynge ones done) which
ys not done that daye, but was done lōge
before. Was not Christe ones crucyfyed
// File: 072.png
in hys owne parson? ād yet in a mysterye
(which is the remembraunce of hys very
passyon) he ys crucyfyed for the people
not onely euery feaste of Easter, but euery
daye. Neyther doth he lye which (whē
he is asked) answereth that he is crucyfyed.
For yf the sacramentes, had not certayne
symylytudes of those thynges wherof
they are sacramentes, then shulde they be
no sacramentes at all. And for thys symylytude
for the most parte they take the names
of the very thynges, and therfore after
a certayne maner the sacramente of
Christes bodye ys Christes bodye, & the
sacramēte of Christes bloode, is christes
bloode, so the sacramēt of faythe, is fayth.
For yt ys nō other thyng to beleue, thē to
haue fayth, & therfore whē a mā āswereth
that the infante beleueth which hath not
the affecte of fayth, he answereth that yt
hath faythe for the sacramēt of fayth: And
that yt turneth yt selfe to GOD, for the
sacrament of conuersyon. For the answere
yt selfe perteyneth vnto the mynystrynge
of the sacrament. As the Apostle wryteth
of Baptyme: we are buryed (sayeth
he) wyth Christ through Baptyme vnto
death. He sayeth not, we sygnyfye buryenge,
but vtterlye sayeth, we are buryed.
He called therfore the sacrament of so
greate a thynge euen wyth the propre
// File: 073.png
.pn 37
name of the verye thynge it selfe. & ce. If a
man wolde avoyde contencyon and loke
soberly vpon those wordes of Saynte Austen,
he shall soone perceyue the mysterye
of thys matter. For euē as the nexte good
frydaye shalbe called the daye of Christes
passyon: and yet he shall not suffer death
a gayne vpon that daye, for he dyed but
ones and is nowe immortall, euē so is the
Sacrament called Christes bodye. And as
that daye is not the verye daye that he dyed
vpon, but onelye a remembraunce therof:
So the Sacrament is not hys very naturall
bodye, but onelye a remembraunce
of hys bodye breakynge and bloode sheadynge.
And lykewyse, as the nexte Easter
daye shall be called the daye of hys resurrectyon,
not that it is the very same daye
that Christe ded ryse in, but a remembraunce
of the same: Euen so the Sacrament
is called hys bodye: not that it is hys bodye
in dede, but onely a remembraunce of
the same. And furdermore, euē as the Preste
doth offer hym, that is to saye, crucyfye
hym at Masse, euē so is the sacramēt hys
bodye. But the Masse doth but onely represent
hys passyon. And so doth the Sacrament
represent hys bodye. And yet
though the Masse dothe but represent his
crucyfyēge, we maye trulye saye he is crucyfyed,
euen so though the Sacrament do
but sygnyfye or represent hys bodye, yet
// File: 074.png
may we trulye saye that it is hys bodye.
Why so? verely (sayeth he) for the sacramentes
haue a certayne symylytude of
those thynges wherof they are sacramentes.
And for thys symylytude for the moste
parte, they take the names of the verye
thynges. Blessed be God which hathe so
clearelye dyscussed this matter by thys
faythfull Father. Notwithstondynge he
doth yet expresse it more playnelye sayēg:
After a certayne maner the sacrament of
Christes bodye is Christes bodye. Beholde
deare bretherne he sayeth, after a certayne
maner the sacramēt is Christes bodye.
And by that you maye soone knowe that
he neuer mēte that it shulde be hys verye
naturall bodye in dede, but onelye a token
and memoryall to keape in memorye the
death of hys bodye, and so to nouryshe
our fayth. Besydes that, hys symylytude
which he after allegeth of Baptyme, doth
througlye expoūde this matter, for (sayeth
he) the Apostle sayeth not, we sygnyfye
buryenge: but he sayeth, we are buryed, &
yet in dede the Baptyme doth but sygnyfye
it. And therevpon .S. Austen addeth,
that he called the sacrament of so greate a
thynge euen with the name of the verye
thynge it selfe. And lykewyse it is in our
sacrament. Fynallye to be shorte, I wyll
passe ouer many places which I haue gathered
out of this holye father, and wyll
// File: 075.png
.pn 38
towche but this one more. Saynte Austē
sayeth.
Augusti
cōtr. adamantū.
Non enim Dominus dubitauit dicere,
Hoc est corpus meum, cum daret signum corporis
sui. Et in eoden capite exponit. Sic est
enim sanguis anima, quomodo petra erat Christus,
nec tamen petra (ait) significabat Christū,
sed ait petra erat Christus. That is to saye:
The lorde doubted not to saye, this is my
bodye, whē he gaue a sygne of hys bodye.
And after in the same chapyter he expoundeth
it. For trulye so the bloode is the soule,
as Christe was the stone. And yet the
Apostle sayeth not, the stone ded sygnyfye
Christ, but he sayeth the stone was Christ.
Here S. Austen sayeth playnelye, that
Christe called the sygne of hys bodye, his
bodye, and in this chapyter doth compare
these thre textes of scrypture, this is my bodye,
the bloode is the soule, and Christe
was the stone: And declareth them to be
one phrase, and to be expounded after one
fashyō. Now is there no mā so madde, as
to saye, that Christe was a naturall stone
(excepte he be a naturall foole) whose Judgemēt
we neade not greately to regarde.
Therefore we may well cōclude that the sacrament
is not his naturall bodye, but is
called his bodye, for a symylytude that it
hath, wherin it sygnyfyeth & representeth
his bodye. And that the sacramēt of so greate
a thynge is called euē with the name of
the very thynge it selfe. As s. Austē sayde.
// File: 076.png
Thys were prove ynough to conclude
that all the olde Fathers ded holde the
same opynyon, for who wolde ones surmyse
(seynge we haue. S. Austen so playne
for vs which is the cheafest amonge thē
all) who wolde ones surmyse I say, that
they dyssented in thys greate matter frō
the other faythfull fathers, or they from
hym? Neuerthelesse I dare not lett hym stōde
post alone, leaste ye dyspyse hym. And
therfore I wyll shewe you the mynde of
certayne other also: and fyrste of hys master
Saynt Ambrose.
Ambrosi
super illud
mortē
domini
annuncia.
S. Ambrose wrytynge vpon the Epystle
of Paule to the Corynthyans in the .xi.
Chapter sayeth. Quia enim morte Domini
liberati sumus, huius rei in edēdo & potādo,
carnem & sanguinem qui pro nobis oblata
sunt, significamus. That is to saye: because
we be delyuered by the death of the
Lorde, in eatynge and drynkynge of thys
thynge, meanynge of the Sacrament, we
sygnyfye the fleshe and bloode which were
offered for vs. Here doth S. Ambrose
saye ynough, yf men were not sophysters,
but wolde be content with reason. For he
sayeth that in eatynge and drynkynge the
Sacramēt of Christes bodye, we sygnyfye
or represent the fleshe and bloode of
our sauyoure Iesus. Notwithstondynge
be cause you are so slyppery, we shall bynde
you a lytle better by thys mās wordes.
// File: 077.png
.pn 39
Ambrosi
de sacra.
S. Ambrose sayeth. Sed forte dices speciem
sanguinis non uideo, sed habet similitudinem.
Sicut enim mortis similitudinem sumpsisti,
ita etiam similitudinem preciosi sanguinis
bibis. That is to saye. But perauenture
thou wylte saye, I see no apperaunce of
bloode, but it hathe a symylytude. For euē
as thou haste taken the symylytude of death,
euen so thou drynkest the symylytude
of the precyous bloode. Here maye ye see
by the conferrynge of these two Sacramentes,
what .S. Ambrose iudged of it.
For he sayeth, euen as thou haste taken a
symylytude of hys death in the sacramēt
of baptyme, so doste thou drynke a symylytude
of hys precyouse bloode in the Sacrament
of the Aulter. And yet as S. Austen
sayde before, the Apostle sayeth, not
we sygnyfye buryenge, but sayeth, we are
buryed. And lykewyse here Christe sayde,
not this sygnyfyeth my bodye, but this is
my bodye, callynge the Sacrament, a sygne,
token, and memoryall of so greate a
thynge, euen with the name of the verye
thynge it selfe. Thus doth S. Ambrose
choke our sophysters.
Neuerthelesse I wyll alleage one place
more out of Ambrose, where he sayeth.
Ambrosi
lib .3. de
sacramē.
Dicit sacerdos fac nobis hanc oblationē scriptam
rationabilem, quod est figura corporis
Domini nostri Iesu Christi. That is: the Preste
sayeth, make vs this oblacyon acceptable.
// File: 078.png
& ce. For it is a fygure of the bodye of
our Lorde Iesus Chryst. Here he calleth it
playnelye a fygure of Christes bodye,
which thynge you can not avoyde. Therfore
geue prayse vnto God and lette hys
trouth sprede, which is so playnelye testyfyed,
by these holye Fathers. Now lette
vs see what S. Hierome sayeth.
Hieronimus
super
eccle.
Saynte Hierome wrytynge vpon Ecclesiastes
sayeth on this maner. Caro Domini
uerus cibus est, & sanguis eius uerus potus
est, hoc solum habemus in presenti sæculo
bonum, si uescamur carne eius cruoreque potemur,
nō solum in misterio, sed etiam in scripturarum
lectione, uerus enim cibus est & potus,
qui ex uerbo Dei sumitur scientia scripturarum.
That is to saye: the fleshe of the lorde
is verye meate, and his bloode verye
drynke. This is onelye the pleasure or profytte
that we haue in this worlde, that we
maye eate hys fleshe and drynke his bloode,
not onely in a mysterye, but also in the
readynge of scryptures. For it is very meate
and drynke, which is taken out of Godes
worde, by the knowelege of scryptures.
Here maye ye see S. Hieroms mynde
in fewe wordes. For fyrste he sayeth that
we eate hys fleshe and drynke hys bloode
in a mysterye, whiche is the sacrament of
hys remembraunce, and memoryall of his
passyon. And after he addeth, that we eate
his fleshe ād drynke hys bloode in the readynge
// File: 079.png
.pn 40
ād knowelege of scriptures, ād calleth
that very meate ād very drynke. And
yet I am sure ye are not so grosse, as to
thynke that the letters whiche you reade
are tourned in to naturall fleshe ād blode.
And lykewyse it is not necessarye that the
breade shulde be tourned in to hys bodye,
no more than the letters in scrypture are
tourned in to his fleshe. And neuerthelesse
through faythe we may as well eate hys
bodye in receyuynge of the sacrament, as
eate hys fleshe in readynge of the letters
of the scrypture. Besydes that S. Hierome
calleth the vnsterstōdynge of the scripture
verye meate and very drynke: whiche
you muste neades vnderstonde in a mysterye
and spyrituall sense. For it is no materyall
meate nor drynke that is receyued
with the mouth and teth, but it is spyrytuall
meate and drynke, and is so called for
a symylytude and propertye: because that
as meate and drynke counforte the bodye
and outwarde man, so doth the readynge
and knowelege of scrypture conforte the
soule and inwarde man. And lykewyse it
is of Christes bodye, whiche is called verye
meate and verye drynke, whiche you
muste neades vnderstonde in a mysterye
or spyrytuall sense (as Saynte Hierome
called it) for hys bodye is no materyall
meate nor drynke that is receyued with
the mouth or teth: But it is spyrytuall
// File: 080.png
meate and drynke, and so called for a symilytude
and propertye, because that as meate
and drynke conforte the bodye, so doth
the fayth in hys bodye breakynge & bloode
sheadynge refreshe the soule vnto lyfe
euerlastynge. We vse it customablye in
our daylye speache to saye, when a chylde
setteth all hys mynde and delyght vpō
sporte and playe: It is meate and drynke
to thys chylde to playe. And also we saye
by a man that loueth well hawkynge and
huntynge: It is meate and drynke to thys
man to hawke and hunte. Where no man
doubteth, but it is a fyguratyue speache.
And therfore I wonder that they are so
blynde in thys one poynte of Christes bodye.
And can not also take the wordes fyguratyuelye,
as these olde doctours ded.
Hieronimus
super
Matheum.
Agayne S. Hierome sayeth. Postquam mysticum
pascha fuerat impletum & agni carnes
cum apostolis comederat, assumit panem
qui confortat cor hominis, & ad uerū paschæ
transgreditur sacramentum, quomodo in prefiguratione
eius Melchisedech uinum & panem
proferens fecerat, ipse quoq; ueritatem
corporis repræsentaret. That is to saye: after
the mystycall Easter lābe fullfylled,
and that Christe had eaten the lambes fleshe
with the Apostles, he toke breade which
conforteth the harte of man, and passeth
to the true sacramēt of the Easter lambe:
that as Melchisedech brought forthe breade
// File: 081.png
.pn 41
and wyne fygurynge hym, so myght
he lykewyse represent the truth of hys bodye.
Here doth S. Hierome speake after
the maner that Tertullyā ded before: that
Christe with breade and wyne ded represent
the truth of hys bodye. For excepte he
had had a true bodye, he coulde not leaue
a fygure of it nor represent it vnto vs. For
a vayne thynge or fantasye can haue no fygure,
nor can not be represented. As by example.
How shulde a mā make a fygure
of hys dreame or represent it vnto our memorye?
But Christ hath lefte vs a fygure
and representacyon of hys bodye in breade
and wyne: therfore it foloweth that he
had a true bodye. And that this was .S.
Hieroms mynde doth manefestly appeare
by the wordes of Bede, which doth more
copyouslye sette out this sayenge of Hierome.
Beda super
Luc.
For he wryteth on this maner. Finitis
paschæ ueteris solennijs que in commemorationē
antiquæ de ægypto liberationis agebantur,
transit ad nouū quod in suæ redemptionis
memoriā ecclesia frequētare desiderat, ut uidelicet
pro carne agni uel sanguine suo, carnis
sanguinisq; sacramentum in panis ac uini figura
substituens, ipsum se esse monstraret cui
iurauit Dominus. Tu es sacerdos in æternum
secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Frangit autem
ipse panem quem porrigit, ut ostendat
corporis sui fractionem non sine sua sponte
// File: 082.png
futuram. Similiter & calicem postquam cœna
uit dedit eis. Quia ergo panis carnē cōfirmat,
uinum uero sanguinē operatur in carne, hic ad
corpus Christi mystice, illud refertur ad sanguinem.
That is to saye. After the solempnyte
of the olde Easter lambe was fynyshed,
which was obserued in the remēbraunce
of the olde delyueraūce out of Egypte,
he goth vnto the newe which the churche
gladlye obserueth in the remēbraunce
of hys redempcyon, that he in the steade of
the fleshe and bloode of the lambe, myght
instytute and ordeyne the sacramēt of hys
fleshe and bloode in the fygure of breade
and wyne, and so declare hym selfe to be
the same vnto whome the Lorde sware,
thou arte a perpetuall Preste after the order
of Melchisedech. And he hym selfe brake
the breade which he gaue, to shewe that
the breakynge of hys bodye shulde not be
done without hys owne wyll. And lykewyse
he gaue them the cuppe after he had
supped. And because breade doth confyrme
or strengthen the fleshe, and wyne worketh
bloode in the fleshe, therfore is the
breade mystycallye referred vnto the bodye
of Christe, and the wyne referred vnto
hys bloode.
Here maye you note, fyrste that as the
lambe was a remembraunce of theyr delyueraunce
out of Egipte (and yet the lābe
delyuered them not) so is the sacrament
// File: 083.png
.pn 42
a remembraunce of our redemptyon, and
yet the sacrament redeamed vs not. Besydes
that he sayeth, that Christ in the steade
of the fleshe and bloode of the lambe, ded
instytute the sacrament of hys fleshe and
bloode in fygure of breade and wyne.
Marke well, he sayeth not that in the steade
of lambes fleshe and bloode he ded instytute
hys owne fleshe and bloode, but
sayeth that he ded instytute the sacrament
of hys fleshe and bloode. What thynge
is a sacrament? Verelye it is the sygne of
an holye thynge, and there is no dyference
betwene a sygne and a sacrament, but
that the sygne is referred vnto a worldlye
thynge, and a Sacrament vnto a spyrytuall
or holye thynge.
Ad Marcellum.
As Saynte Austen sayeth. Signa cum
ad res diuinas pertinent, sacramenta appellantur.
That is to saye: sygnes when they
partayne vnto godlye thynges are called
sacramentes.
Therfore when Bede sayeth, that they
ded instytute the Sacrament of hys fleshe
and bloode in the fygure of breade
and wyne, it is as moche to saye (by
Saynte Austens dyffynycyon) as that he
ded instytute the fygure of hys holye fleshe
and bloode in the fygure of breade
and wyne, that is to saye: that breade and
wyne shulde be the fygure and sygne representynge
hys most blessed holye fleshe
// File: 084.png
and bloode vnto vs, for a perpetuall remēbraunce.
And afterwarde he declared the
propertye for whiche the breade is called
the bodye ād the wyne the bloode: savynge
he speaketh not so darkelye as I now
do, but playnelye sayeth that the breade is
mystycallye referred vnto the bodye of
Christe: because that as breade doth strēgthē
the fleshe, so Christes bodye which is
fygured by the breade, doth strēgthen the
soule through fayth in hys death. And so
doth he clearlye proue my purpose.
Crisost.
super
Matth.
Now lette vs see what Chrisostome
sayeth, whiche shall descrybe vs the fayth
of the olde Grecyans, who had not loste
the true fayth, howsoeuer the wordle go
now adayes. Chrisostome sayeth in thys
maner. Si enim mortuus Iesus nō est cuius signum
& simbolū hoc sacrificū est? uides quantum
ei studium fuerit ut semper memoria teneamus
pro nobis ipsum mortuum fuisse.
That is to saye: Yf Iesus haue not dyed,
whose memoryall and sygne is this sacryfyce?
Thou seest what dylygence he
gaue that we shulde cōtynuallye keape in
memorye that he dyed for vs. Here you
maye see that Chrisostome calleth the sacramet
symbolum et signum: That is to
saye, a memoryall and sygne of Christ,
and that it was instytute to keape hys death
in perpetuall remembraunce. But of
one thynge thou muste be ware or els thou
// File: 085.png
.pn 43
arte deceyued, he calleth it also a sacryfyce,
and there thou muste wyselye vnderstonde
hym.
Sacryfyce.
For yf it were the sacryfyce
of Christes bodye, then muste Christes bodye
be slayne agayne, which thynge God
forbyd. And therfore thou muste vnderstōde
hym whē he calleth it a sacryfyce, that
he meaneth it to be a remēbraunce of that
holye sacryfyce, where Christes bodye
was offered on the crosse ones for all. For
he can be sacryfyced no more, seynge he is
immortall. Notwithstondynge our Prelates
wyll here note me of presumptiō, that
I dare be so bolde to expounde hys mynde
on this fashyon. For in dede they take
hym otherwyse, and thynke that it is a verye
sacryfyce. And therfore I wyll brynge
one other texte, where Chrisostome
shall expounde hym selfe. Chrisostome
sayeth:
Crisost.
ad Hebre.
hom. 17.
Nonne per singulos dies offerrimus?
offerrimus qdem, sed ad recordationem mortis
eius facientes. Hoc autem sacrificium (sicut
pontifex) sed id ipsum semper facimus:
imo recordationē sacrificij. That is to saye:
do we not daylye offer or do sacryfyce:
yes suerlye. But we do it for the remembraunce
of hys death, for this sacryfyce is
as an example of that we offer, not an
other sacryfyce (as the Byshopp in the olde
lawe ded) but euer the same: yea rather
a remembraunce of the sacryfyce. Fyrste
he sayeth that they daylye do sacryfyce,
// File: 086.png
but it is in remembraunce of Christes
death. Then he sayeth that the sacryfyce
is an example of that. Thyrdlye he
sayeth, that they offer not an other sacryfyce
(that is to saye an oxe or a gotte) as
the Byshoppes of the olde lawe, but euer
the same.
Marke thys poynte: For though it
seame at the fyrste syght to make wyth
them, yet doth yt make so derectelye agaynste
them, that they shall neuer be able
to avoyde it. Chrisostome sayeth, they
do not offer an other sacryfyce as the Bysshoppes
ded, but euer the same. They offer
other breade and wyne thys daye, then
they ded yesterdaye: they shall saye an other
Masse to morowe, then they ded this
daye.
Now yf thys breade and wyne or the
Masse be a sacryfyce, then do they offer
an other sacryfyce, as well as the Byshoppes
of the olde Lawe. For thys sacryfyce
ded sygnyfye that Christe shulde come
and shedde hys bloode, as well as the breade,
wyne, and Masse, do represent that
he hath done it in dede. And therfore yf it
be a sacryfyce, then do they offer an other
sacryfyce, representynge hys passyon, as
well as the Byshoppe of the olde Lawe.
But that doth Chrisostome denye, and
sayeth that they offer euerye daye the same.
What same? Verelye euen the same
// File: 087.png
.pn 44
that was done and sacryfyced when
Christe shedde hys bloode. In thys sacryfyce
is Christe euerye daye bounde and
buffetted, and ledde from Anna to Cayphas:
he is brought to Pylate and condempned;
he is scourged ād crowned with
thorne, and nayled on the crosse, and hys
harte opened with a spere, and so sheadeth
hys bloode for our redempcyon. Why
Chrisostome, and do you the selfe same
sacryfyce euerye daye? Yea verelye. Then
why doth Saynte Paule saye to the
Romaynes
Rom. 6.
in the syxte Chapter: that
Christe is rysen from death, and dyeth no
more? Yf he dye no more, how do you daylye
crucyfye hym? For sothe Paule sayeth
trouthe.
For we do it not actuallye in dede, but
onelye in a mysterye. And yet we saye,
that we do sacryfyce hym, and that thys
is hys sacryfyce, for the celebracyon of
the Sacrament and memorye of the passyon
whiche we keape: and for thys cause
it hath the name of the thynge that it
doth represente and sygnyfye. And therfore,
as Saynte Austen declareth a fore
ad Bonifacium,
Augustinus
ad
Bonifacium.
I expounde my mynde by
a rethorycall correctyon and saye, Imo recordationem
sacrificij. That is to saye: Yea
rather the remembraunce, and fygure of
the sacryfyce.
Graunde mercyes good Chrisostome,
// File: 088.png
now do I perceyue the pyth of thys matter:
euen as the Masse is the verye death
and passyon of Christe, so is it a sacryfyce.
Now it doth but onelye represente
the verye death and passyon of Christe,
therfore it doth folowe that the Masse in
verye dede doth but onely represente a sacryfyce.
And yet not withstandynge manye
tymes it is called a sacryfyce of holye
doctours, and hathe the name of the verye
same thynge that it doth represent ād
sygnyfye. And euen so we maye saye of
this sacrament, that as the Masse is the
verye sacryfyce and passyon of Christ, so
is the sacrament hys verye bodye and sacryfyce
that is offered. Nowe the Masse
doth but onely represent and sygnyfye the
passyon: so the sacrament doth but onelye
represent and sygnyfye the bodye and very
sacryfyce ones offred for euer. Notwithstondynge
manye tymes the Masse is called
the bodye and a sacryfyce. And hath
the name of the verye same thynge that it
doth represent and sygnyfye.
Crisostome.
Furthermore Chrisostome sayeth. Ipse
quos; bibitex eo, ne auditis uerbis illis dicerēt.
Quid igitur sanguinem bibimus & carnem
commedimus? ac ideo perturbarentur, nam &
quando prius de his uerba fecit, etiam uerbis
ipsius offendabantur. Ne igitur tunc id quoque
accideret, primus ipse hoc fecit, ut ad
// File: 089.png
.pn 45
communionem misteriorum induceret intrepidam.
That ys to saye: he also dranke of
yt, leaste when they harde hys wordes,
they shulde saye: why do we than drynke
bloode and eate fleshe? and so shulde be
troubled. For when he spake before of those
thynges, they were offended wyth hys
wordes. And because that shulde not now
also chaunce, he hym selfe dranke fyrst of
yt, that he myght cause thē to come without
feare to the partakynge of those mysteryes.
Here Chrisostome noteth that
Christe dranke of yt, to drawe them from
the grosse vnderstōdynge of hys wordes,
and by hys drynkynge to testyfye vnto
them, that yt was not hys naturall fleshe
in dede, but onely memoryalles and representacyons
of hys bodye and bloode. And
therfore he calleth them mysteryes: that is
to saye sacramentes. For in thys place a
sacramente ād a mysterye ys all one thynge.
Notwithstondynge some tyme thys
worde mysterye ys more common ād large
in signyfyenge then this worde sacrament.
And I haue shewed you before, that
a sacrament ys the sygne of an holy thynge,
and not the thynge it selfe that yt representeth:
albeit somtyme yt beare the name
of the verye thynge yt selfe. As the Image
of .S. Peter ys not saynt Peter hym
selfe, and yet yt beareth hys name.
Chrisostome sayeth. Caro non prodest
// File: 090.png
quicquam: hoc est, secundum spiritum uerba
mea audienda sunt. Qui secundum carnem audit,
nihil lucratur, nihil utilitatis accipit. Quid
est autem carnaliter intelligere: simpliciter ut
res dicuntur, neque aliud quippiam excogitare.
Misteria omnia interioribus oculis consideranda,
hoc est spiritualiter. That is
to saye. The fleshe profyteth nothynge,
that is: my wordes muste be vnderstonde
after the spiryte, he that vnderstondeth
them after the fleshe wynneth nothynge,
nor taketh no profytte. What meaneth
this, to vnderstonde after the fleshe or carnallye?
Verelye to take the thynges symplye
as they are spoken, and to thynke none
other thynge. All mysteryes or sacramentes
muste be consydered with the inwarde
eyes, that is to saye: spyrytuallye.
And after he expoundeth hym selfe on
this maner. Interiores autem oculi ut panem
uiderint, creaturas transuolant, & non de illo
pane a pistore cocto cogitant: sed de eo qui
dixit se panem uitæ, qui per mysticum panem
significatur. That is to saye. The inwarde
eyes as soone as they see the breade, they
passe ouer the creatures, ād thynke not of
that breade which is baken of the baker,
but of hym that called hym selfe the breade
of lyfe, which is sygnyfyed by the mystycall
or sacramētall breade. Wolde you
haue hym saye any more? he telleth you
playne, that Christe which ys the very
// File: 091.png
.pn 46
breade of lyfe, ys sygnyfyed by this sacramentall
breade. And that is the thynge
which our Byshoppes so fleshlye denye
now adayes, which thynge yet you maye
see, the olde Fathers cōclude with one assente.
Notwythstōdynge yet I wyll alleage
mo olde doctours, so that from hence
forthe they maye be a shamed to call yt
newe learnynge. Fulgentius sayeth.
Fulgentius
2. libro
de fide.
In illis
enim carnalibus (tèpore legis) uictunis,
significacio suit carnis Christi quam pro pctis
nostris & ipse sine pctō fuerat oblaturus, &
sanguinis quem erat effusurus in remissionè
peccarorum nostrorum. In isto autè sacrificio
gratiarum actio atq; cōmemoracio est carnis
Christi quam pro nobis obtulit, & sanguinis
quē pro nobis idē Deus effudit. That is to
saye. In these carnall sacrifyces in the tyme
of the lawe, was a sygnyficacyon of
the fleshe of Christe, which he without
synne, shuld offer for our synnes, ād of the
bloode which he shulde shedde out in remyssyon
of our synnes. But this sacryfyce
is a thankes geuynge ād remembraūce
of the fleshe of Christe which he offered
for vs, and of the bloode which the same
God shedde for vs. Fyrste note that he calleth
yt a sacryfyce, which notwithstōdyng
is but a remēbraūce of that sacryfyce offered
on the crosse ones for all: Thā he playnely
calleth yt a thankes geuynge, and remembraunce
of Christes very fleshe and
// File: 092.png
bloode: and so concludeth with vs. Neuerthelesse
because sophysters wolde soone
thynke to avoyde thys place, I wyll alleage
one other sayenge of the same autoure
which they shall neuer be able to avoyde.
Fulgen.
¶ Fulgentius sayeth, as Haymo testyfyeth.
Hic calix nouum testamentum est, id
est, hic calix quem uobis trado, nouum testamentum
significat. That is to saye. Thys
cuppe or chalyce is the newe testament:
That is: thys cuppe or chalyce which I
delyuer you doth sygnyfye the newe testament.
In this place he doth playnelye shewe
hys mynde, which cā not be avoyded.
For euen as the cuppe is the newe testament,
so ys the breade the bodye. Nowe
the cuppe dothe but sygnyfy the new testament.
And therfore I may conclude, that
the breade doth but sygnyfye the bodye.
Eusebius.
Eusebius sayeth. Quia corpus assumptum
ablaturus erat ex oculis nostris & syderibus
allaturus, necessarium erat ut uobis in
hac die sacramentum corporis & sanguinis
consecraret, ut coleretur iugiter per mysterium
quod semel offerebatur in precium.
That is to saye: Because he wolde take
awaye out of our eyes the bodye that he
toke, and carye yt in to heauen, it was necessarye
that in thys tyme he shulde consecrate
to vs the sacramēte of hys bodye ād
bloode: that that which was ones offered
for the pryce of our redemptyon, myght
// File: 093.png
.pn 47
contynuallye be honoured through the
mysterye.
Consecrate.
To consecrate a thynge, is to applye it
vnto an holye vse. Here you maye see that
he calleth yt the sacrament of hys bodye
and bloode, which bodye is caryed vp into
heauen. And also he calleth it a mysterye,
which is ynough for them that wyll
see.
Druthmarius.
Also Druthmarius expoundeth these
wordes, thys is my bodye on this maner:
Hoc est corpus meum in mysterio. That is
to saye: thys is my bodye in a mysterye. I
thynke you knowe what a mysterye meaneth.
Christe is crucyfyed euery daye in a
mysterye: that is to saye: euery daye hys
death ys represented by the sacramentes
of remembraunce. The Masse is Christes
passyon in a mysterye: that is to saye: the
Masse doth represente hys passyon and
keapeth yt in our memorye. The breade
ys Christes bodye in a mysterye: that is
to saye: it representeth hys body that was
broken for vs, and keapeth yt in our remēbraunce.
You haue harde already the mynde of
the doctours, how the sacrament ys Christes
bodye. And now I shall shewe you
how the sacrament ys our bodye, which
doth not a lytle healpe to the vnderstōdynge
of these wordes whych are in controversye.
// File: 094.png
The sacramēt of the Aulter ys our bodye
as well as it is Christes bodye. And
euē as it is our bodye, so yt is Christes.
But there is no man that cā saye that it is
our naturall bodye in dede, but onely a fygure,
sygne, memoryall, or represētacyon
of our bodye: Wherfore yt must also folowe,
that it is but onely a fygure, sygne,
memoryall or represētaciō of Christes bodye.
The fyrste parte of this argument
maye thus be proued.
Augustino
in sermone
ad
infantes.
S. Austen wrytynge
in a sermon sayeth on this maner. Corpus
ergo Christi si uultis intelligere, apostolum
audite dicentem. Vos estis corpus christi
& mēbra .1. Cor. 12. Si ergo estis corpus christi
& membra, mysteriū uestrumque in mensa
Domini positū est, mysteriū Domini accipitis,
ad id quod estis. Amē respōdetis et respōdēdo
subscribitis. That is to saye: Yf you wyll
vnderstōde the bodye of Christe, here the
Apostle which sayeth. We are the bodye of
Christe and mēbres .1. Cor. 12. Therfore
yf ye be the bodye of Christe and membres,
your mysterye is put vpon the Lordes
table, ye receyue the mysterye of the
Lorde, vnto that you are you answer Amē.
And in answerynge subscrybe vnto yt. Here
you maye see that the sacramēt ys also
our body, ād yet is not our naturall body,
but onely our body in a mysterye, that is
to saye: a fygure sygne, memoryall, or represētacyō
// File: 095.png
.pn 48
of our body. For as the breade
ys made of many graynes or cornes, so
we (though we be manye) are one breade
ād one bodye. And for this propertye and
symylitude it is called our bodye, and beareth
the name of the verye thynge which
yt doth represēt & sygnyfy. Agayne s. Austē
sayth.
Augusti
in ser. de
sacra feria
Pasche.
Quia Christus passy est pro nobis,
cŏmēdauit nobis in isto sacramēto corpus &
sanguinem suum, quod etiam fecit & nos ipsos.
Nam & nos ipsius corpus facti sumus, &
per misericordiā ipsius quod accipimus nos
sumus. Et postea dicit. Iam in nomine Christi
tanquam ad calicem Domini uenistis, ibi nos
estis in mensa & ibi uos estis in calice. That
is, because Christ hath suffered for vs, he
hath betakē vnto vs in thys sacramēt hys
bodye and bloode, which he hath also made
euen our selfes. For we also are made
hys bodye, and by his mercye we are euē
the same thynge that we receyue. And after
he sayeth. Now in the name of Christe
ye are come, as a man wolde saye, to the
chalyce of the Lorde: there are ye vpon the
table, and there are ye in the chalyce. Here
you maye see, that the sacrament is our
bodye. And yet yt is not our naturall
bodye, but onelye in a mysterye, as it is
before sayde.
Augusti
de sacra
feria pasche.
Furthermore S. Austen sayeth. Hunc
itaq; cibŭ & potū societatē uult intelligi corporis
& mēbrorū suorū quod est sācta ecclesia
// File: 096.png
in predestinatis & uocatis & iustificatis
& glorificatis sanctis & fidelibus eius. Huius
rei sacramentum alicubi quotidie, alicubi
certis interuallis dierum in dominico preparatur,
& de mensa Domini sumitur, quibusdà ad
uitam, quibusdam ad exitium. Res uero ipsa
cuius est sacramentum, est omni homini ad uitam,
nulli ad exitium, quicumque eius particeps
fuerit. That is to saye: he wyll that
this meate and drynke shulde be vnderstōde
to be the felowshyp of hys bodye and
membres, which ys the holy churche in
hys predestynate and called and iustyfyed
and gloryfyed sayntes and faythfull.
The sacrament of thys thynge ys prepared
in some place daylye, and in some place
at certayne appoynted dayes, as vpon
the sondaye. And yt is receyued at the
table of the Lorde, of some vnto lyfe, and
of some vnto destruccyō. But the thynge
yt selfe whose sacrament thys ys, is receyued
of all men vnto lyfe, and of no mā vnto
destruccyon, whosoeuer is partaker of
yt. Here doth S. Austen fyrste saye, that
this sacrament ys the felowshyppe of his
bodye and membres which are we. And
yet is not our naturall bodye, as ys before
sayde. And then he sayeth, that the sacrament
of thys thynge ys receyued of some
vnto lyfe and saluacyon, and of some vnto death
and dampnacyon. For both faythfull
and vnfaythfull maye receyue the sacramēt.
// File: 097.png
.pn 49
And after he sayeth, that the thynge
yt selfe whose sacrament yt ys, is receyued
of all men vnto lyfe, and of no man
vnto destruccyon, who so euer ys partaker
of yt. And of thys sayenge yt muste
neades folowe, that onely the faythfull eate
Christes bodye, and the vnfaythfull
eate hym not. For he is receyued of no mā
vnto destruccyon. And of thys yt muste
also folowe that the sacrament ys not
Christes bodye in dede, but onelye in a
mysterye. For yf the sacrament were hys
naturall bodye, then shulde yt folowe,
that the vnfaythfull shulde receyue hys
bodye. Which is contrarye to the mynde
of saynt Austen, and agaynst all truth.
Thus haue we suffycyentlye proued the
fyrste parte of our argumēte, that the sacrament
is our bodye, as well as yt is
Christes. And nowe wyll I proue the secōde
parte more playnely (although yt be
ynough declared already, to them that haue
eares) that euen as yt is our bodye so
it is Christes.
Fyrste you shall vnderstonde that in
the wyne, which ys called Christes bloode,
is admyxed water, which doth sygnyfye
the people that are redeamed with
hys bloode: so that the heade which is
Christe, ys not without hys bodye which
is the faythfull people, nor the bodye without
hys heade. Now yf the wyne when it
// File: 098.png
is consecrated, be tourned bodelye in to
Christes bloode, then is it also necessarye
that the water which is admyxed be bodelye
tourned in to the bloode of the faythfull
people. For where as is one cōsecracion
muste folowe one operacyō. And where
as is lyke reason, there muste folowe
lyke mysterye. But what so euer is sygnyfyed
by the water as cōcernynge the faythfull
people, is taken spirytually. Therfore
whatsoever is spokē of the bloode in
the wyne, muste also neades be taken spyrytuallye.
This reason is not myne, but
it is made by one Bartrame
Bartrame.
vpō a .700.
yeares sens, when this matter was fyrste
in dysputacyon. Whervpō at the instaunce
of greate Charles the Emperoure, he
made a boke professynge euen the same
thynge that I do, and proueth by the olde
doctours & faythfull fathers, that the sacrament
is Christes bodye in a mysterye,
that is to saye: a sygne, figure, or memoryall
of hys bodye, whiche was broken for
vs, and not hys naturall bodye. And therfore
that doctryne is newe which otherwyse
teacheth, and not myne, which is not
myne, but the doctryne of Christe and of
the olde fathers of Christes churche, tyll
Antichriste began to sytte and reigne in
the temple of God.
Cyprianus
ad Cecilium.
Besydes that Cypriane sayeth, that the
people is ānexed in the sacramēt through
// File: 099.png
.pn 50
the myxture of water. Therfor I mervell
moche that they are so cōtēcyous ād wyll
not see, that as the water is the people, so
the wyne ys Christes bloode, that is to
saye: in a mysterye, because yt represēteth
Christes bloode, as the water doth the people.
Furthermore Eusebius sayth.
Eusebius.
Dū in
sacramētis uino aqua miscetur, Christo fidelis
populus incorporatur & iūgitur & quadā ei
copula perfecta charitatis unitur. That is
to saye: whyles in the sacrament water is
admyxte with the wyne, the faythfull people
is incorporate ād Ioyned with Christ,
ād is made one with him, with a certayne
knotte of perfecte charyte. Now where
he sayeth, that we are Ioyned ād incorporated
with Christe, what fondnes were it
to cōtēde, syth we are there onelye in a mysterye,
ād not naturallye. To cōtēde I say
with suche pertynacyte that his naturall
bodye must be there: ād not rather that he
is Ioyned with vs, as we are Ioyned with
hym, ād both in a mysterye, by the knotte
of perfecte charyte.
More.
❧ The yōge man
perceyueth well ynough that an allegory
vsed in some place is not a cause suffycyēt
to leaue the proper sygnyfycacyōs of Godes
worde in euery other place ād seke an
allegorye, ād forsake the playne cōmō sence.
For he cōfesseth that he wold not so do
saue for necessyte: because (as he sayeth)
that the cōmon lytterall sence is impossyble.
// File: 100.png
For the thynge he sayeth that is
mente therbye can not be true. That is to
saye: that the verye bodye of Christe can
be in the sacrament, because the sacrament
ys in many dyuerse places at ones, and
was at the maundye: that is to wete, in
the handes of Christe ād in everye of hys
Apostles mouthes. And at that tyme yt
was not gloryfyed. And thē he sayeth
that Christes bodye not beynge gloryfyed,
could no more be in two places at ones
than hys owne cā. And yet he goth after
furder, ād sayeth, no more yt can whan yt
is gloryfyed also. And that he proueth by
the sayenge of S. Austen whose wordes
be, that the body with the which Christ arose
muste be in one place. &c.
Fryth.
¶ Hetherto hath master More reasoned
reasonablye: but now he begynneth to declyne
from the dygnyte of dyuynyte into
the dyrty dregges of vayne sophystry.
For where I saye that I muste of necessyte
seake an allegorye, because the lytterall
sence is impossyble and can not be true,
meanynge that it can not stonde with the
processe of holy scrypture, but that other
textes do of necessyte constrayne me to cōstrue
yt spyrytuallye. There catcheth
he thys worde, can, and thys worde
impossyble, and wolde make men beleue
that I mente, yt coulde not be true because
reason can not reache yt, but thynketh
// File: 101.png
.pn 51
it impossyble. And there he triūpheth
before the vyctorye, and wolde knowe
what artycle of our fayth I coulde assygne,
in which reason shall not dryue awaye
the strengthe of my proue, and make me
leaue the lytterall sence wherin my profe
shulde stonde, and sende me to seake an allegorye
that myght stonde wyth reason,
and dryue awaye the fayth. But now deare
bretherne, seynge I speake not of the
impossybylyte of reason, but of the impossybylyte
to stōde with other textes of scripture,
ye maye see that this royall reasō is
not worth a ryshe. Then wolde he fayne
knowe the place where S. Austen so sayeth,
which thyng although, yt were harde
for me to tell, syth I haue not hys bokes
to loke for it, yet I thanke God my memorye
is not so bad, but I can shewe hym
where he shall fynde yt. And because I
thynke that he is more accustomed to the
Popes lawes then to S. Austens workes,
syth he is become the prelates proctoure
and patrone: I saye he shall not fayle but
fynde it in his lawes de consecracione.
And where as he wolde wreste the wordes
of S. Austē, which sayeth that the bodye
in which Christ arose muste neades be
in one place: sayēge, that he myght meane
not that hys body myght not be in dyuerse
places at ones, but that yt muste be in
one place, that is to saye: in some one place
// File: 102.png
or other. He speaketh (sayth master More)
nothynge of the sacrament, nor sayeth
not that his bodye with which he rose muste
nedes be in one place, & that it cā by no
possybylyte be in any mo. Thys seameth
to some a goodly glose, ād yet yt shall proue
but a vayne evasyon. For yf a mā wolde
saye that the Kynges graces body muste
be in one place, and then a nother wolde
expounde that (notwithstondynge hys
wordes) hys graces bodye myght be in
two places at ones, I thynke men myght
soone Iudge that he delyted to delaye, ād
myght saye, what neade he to determyne,
that he muste be in one place excepte he
thought in dede, that he myght be in no
mo but onely one; And though mē myght
so argue vpō other mens wordes, yet of
saynte Austēs wordes thys must neades
folowe, for he bryngeth them in (as God
wolde) by a contrarye antithesis sayenge.
Ad Hieronimū.
Corpus in quo resurrexit in uno loco esse oportet,
ueritas autem eius ubique diffusa est.
That is to saye: hys bodye wherin he rose
must be in one place, but hys truth ys dyspersed
in all places. Where he playnelye
concludeth by the contrarye antithesis,
that as hys truth ys dyspersed in all places,
so muste hys bodye neades be in one
place onelye. As by example, yf a mā shulde
saye. The Kynges graces bodye muste
neades be in one place, but hys power
// File: 103.png
.pn 52
is through out hys Realme. Where no
man doubteth, but that in sayenge one place,
he meaneth one place onelye: And therfore
though in some place that worde, muste,
doth not sygnyfye suche a necessyte as
excludeth all possybylyte, yet in this place
yt doth so sygnyfye, as the contrarye antithesis
doth evydently expresse.
And where ye saye, that he speaketh no
thynge of the sacrament, I wolde ye shulde
stycke styll to that sayenge. For this is
playne, that he speaketh of hys naturall
bodye. And therfore yf he speake not of
the sacrament, then haue you cōcluded
that the sacramēte is not hys naturall bodye:
the contrarye wherof you wolde haue
men beleue. Thus haue I shewed evydence,
bothe where he shall fynde the
wordes of S. Austen and also that I haue
ryght alleaged them.
Notwytstondynge syth he maketh so
moche of hys paynted sheth, I shall alleage
hym more auctorytes that Christes naturall
bodye is in one place onely. Which
thynge proued doth vtterly conclude that
the sacrament ys not hys naturall bodye,
but onelye a memoryall representynge
the same. And fyrste let vs see S. Austēs
mynde.
August.
ad Dardanium.
S. Austen wrytynge vnto Dardanius
doth playnly proue that the naturall body
of Christe muste neades be in one place
// File: 104.png
onelye, and also that hys soule can be but
in one place at ones. The occasyon of hys
Epystle is this: Dardanius ded wryte
vnto S. Austen for the exposycyon of those
wordes that Christe spake vnto the thefe
sayenge: This daye shalt thou be with
me in paradyse: & wyste not how he shulde
vnderstonde yt, whether Christe mēte
that the thefe shulde be in paradyse with
Christes soule, or with hys bodye, or with
hys Godhed. Thervpon S. Austen wryteth
that as towchynge Christes bodye,
that daye it was in the sepulchre. And sayeth
that it was not paradyse, although it
were in a gardē that he was buryed. For
Christe (he sayeth) mēt of a place of Ioye.
And that was not (sayeth S. Austen) in
hys sepulchre. And as for Christes soule,
yt was that daye in hell. And no mā wyll
saye, that paradyse was there. Wherfore
(sayeth Austen) the texte muste neades be
vnderstonde, that Christ spake yt of hys
godhed. Now marke thys argumēt of S.
Austen, and ye shall see my purpose playnelye
proued. For seynge he expoundeth
thys texte vpō Christes Godhed, because
hys māhod as towchynge the body was
in the graue, and as towchynge hys soule
was in hell: you may soone perceyue that
Austē thought, that whyls hys body was
in the graue, yt was not in paradyse also: &
because hys soule was in hell, yt coulde
// File: 105.png
.pn 53
not be in paradyse also. And therfor he verefyeth
the texte vpon hys dyuynyte. For
yf he had thought that Christes bodye or
soule myght haue bene in dyuerse places
at ones, he wolde not haue sayde, that the
texte must neades be vnderstōde of his dyuynyte,
but it myght full well, yea and
moche better haue bene vnderstōde of hys
manhode. Marke well thys texte whiche
doth determyne the doubt of this matter.
Notwithstondynge the faythfull Father
leaueth not the matter on thys fashyō, but
also taketh a waye soche fonde ymagynacyons
as wolde cause mē to surmyse, that
Christes bodye shulde be in mo places at
ones then one. For he sayeth. Cauendum est
ne ita diuinitatem astruamus hominis ut ueritatem
auferamus corporis. Non est autem consequens
ut quod in deo est, ita sit ubiq;. Nam
& de nobis ueracißime scriptura dicit, quod
in illo uiuimus, mouemur & sumus. Nec tamē
sicut ille, ubiq; sumus, sed aliter homo ille in
Deo, quam & aliter deus in illo homine, proprio
quodam & singulari modo. Vna enim
persona deus & homo est, et utrumq; est unus
Christus Iesus, ubiq; per id quod deus est, in celo
aūt per id quod homo. That is to saye:
we muste beware that we do not so affyrme
the dyuynyte of the man, that we take
awaye the truth of hys bodye. For it foloweth
not that the thynge whiche is in
// File: 106.png
God, shulde be in euery place as God is.
For the scrypture doth trulye testyfye vnto
vs, that we lyue, moue, and be in hym.
And yet are we not in everye place as he
is. Howbeit, that man is otherwyse in
God, and God otherwyse in that man by
a certayne peculyer and synguler waye.
For God and man is one parson, and bothe
of them one Christe Iesu, whiche is in
euery place in that he is God, and in heauen,
in that he is man. Here Austen doth
saye, that yf we shulde graunte Christe to
be in all places as towchynge hys manhode,
we shulde take a waye the truth of
hys bodye. For though hys manhode be
in God and God in hys manhode, yet it
foloweth not, that it shulde be in everye
place, as God is. And after he concludeth,
that as towchynge hys Godhed he is in
euery place, and as towchynge hys manhode,
he is in heauē. What neade he to make
these wordes and antithesis, but because
he thought verelye that though hys
Godhed were in euery place, yet his māhode
was in heauen onelye.
Augustinus
ibidē.
But yet thys holye doctoure goth furder
(so that they maye be ashamed of their
parte) and sayeth. Secundū hominē namq; in
terra erat, non in cœlo (ubi nunc est) quādo dicebat,
nemo ascendet in cœlum nisi qui descendit
de cœlo, filius hominis qui est in cœlo.
That is to saye; as towchynge hys manhod
// File: 107.png
.pn 54
he was in the earth and not in heauen
(where he now is) when he sayde, no man
ascendeth into heauē but he that descended
from heauen, the sone of man whiche is in
heaven. Now I truste ye wyll be content
and let the truth spreade. For I am sure it
is not possyble for you to avoyde it, for he
sayeth, that as towchynge hys manhod
he was in the earth and not in heauē, whē
he spake those wordes: and so proueth that
he was not in mo places at ones then onelye
one place. For els yf S. Austen had
thought that he coulde haue bene in mo
places at ones then one wyth hys bodye,
then myght he not haue sayde, that he was
in earth and not in heauen. For then a mā
myght soone haue deinded hym and haue
sayde. Austen you can not tell, for he maye
be in euery place. But they that so thynke
after Austens mynde, do take awaye the
truthe of hys naturall bodye, and make it
a very fantastycall bodye: from the which
heresye God delyuer hys faythfull. Besydes
thys S. Austen doth saye. Christum
Dominum nostrum unigenitum DEI suium
equalem patri, eundemq; hominis filium quo
maior est pater, & ubiq; totum presentem esse
non dubites tanquam DEVM, & in eodem
templo DEI esse uerum DEVM, & in aliena
parte cœli propter corporis modum. That
is to saye: Doubt not but that Christe
// File: 108.png
our Lorde the onlye begottē sonne of God
equall to the Father, and the same beynge
the sonne of mā wherin the father is greater,
is whole present in all places as to towchynge
hys Godhed, and dwelleth in the
same temple of God as God, ād in some
place of heauen, for the condycyon of hys
very bodye. Here is it euydent by .S. Austēs
wordes, that as towchynge hys Godhed
he is in all places. And as towchynge
hys manhod, he is onelye in heauen: yea
and not that onelye, but that he beynge
in heauen as towchynge the measure, nature,
condycyon, and qualyte of hys naturall
bodye, is onelye in one certayne place
in heauen, and not in many places at ones.
Thus moche is proued out of Saynte
Austen.
This truth is not onelye proued by S
Austens auctoryte, but also by the noble
clarke Fulgentius, which wryteth on this
maner. Vnus idemq; homo localis ex homine,
qui est Deus immensus ex patre, unus idemq;
secundum humanam substantiam absens cœlo
cum esset in terra, et derelinquens terram cū
ascendisset in cœlum. Secundum diuinam uero
immensamq; substantiam, nec cœlum dimittens
cum de cœlo descendit, nec terram deserens,
cum ad cœlum ascendit. Quod ipsius Domini
certisisimo sermone potest cognosci, qui ut localem
ostenderet suam humanitatem, dicit discipulis
// File: 109.png
.pn 55
suis: Ascendo ad patrem meum & patrem
uestrum, Deum meun & Deum uestrum.
De Lazaro quoq; cum dixisset, Lazarus mortuus
est, adiunxit dicens, & gaudeo propter
uos (ut credatis) quoniam non eram ibi immensitatem
uero suæ diuinitatis ostendens discipulis
dicit: Ecce ego uobiscum sum usq; ad consummationen
sæculi. Quomodo autem ascendit
in cœlum nisi quia localis & uerus est homo,
aut quomode adest fidelibus suis, nisi quia
idem inmensus & uerus Deus est. That is
to saye. The same one man is locall (that
is to saye: conteyned in one place) as towchynge
hys manhod, whiche is also God
vnmesurable from the Father. The same
one man as towchynge the substaunce of
hys manhod, was absent frō heauen, whē
he was in earth, and forsakynge the earth,
when he ascended in to heauē, but as towchynge
hys Godly ād vnmeasurable substaunce
he neyther forsoke heauen whē he
descēded frō heauen, nor forsoke the earth,
whē he ascēded vnto heauē, which may be
knowē by the moste sure worde of the Lorde,
whiche to shewe hys humanyte to be
locall (that is to saye: contayned in one place
onelye) ded saye vnto hys dyscyples. I
ascēde vnto my Father and your Father,
my God and your God. Of Lazarus also
when he sayde, Lazarus is ded, he sayde
further. I am gladde for your sake (that
you may beleue) for that I was not there.
// File: 110.png
And agayne, shewynge the vnmeasurablenes
of hys Godhed, he sayde vnto hys discyples.
Beholde, I am with you vnto the
worldes ende, how ded he ascende in to heauen,
but because he is locall and a verye
mā? Or howe is he present vnto hys faythfull,
but because he is vnmeasurable and
verye God? Here maye you conclude by
the auctoryte of thys doctoure also, that
Christes bodye is onelye in one place at
ones. For he sayeth, that Christ as towchynge
hys manhod is locall: that is to
saye: contayned in one place onelye. And
that he proueth by the scrypture euen of
Christes owne wordes. Now yf thys be
true (as my conscyence doth testyfye, how
so euer other men shall Iudge) then muste
it neades folowe that this naturall bodye
can not be in the sacrament. And the auctorite,
I am sure no man can avoyde, yt is so
playne.
More.
❧ Now as for hys naturall reasons
be not worthye the reasonynge. For fyrste
that the bodye of Christe vngloryfyed
coulde no more be in two places at ones
then hys owne can, because he is a naturall
bodye, as he is. I wyll not examyne
no comparyson betwene their two bodyes:
but yf Christe wolde tell me that
he wolde eche of both their bodyes to be
in fyftene places at ones, I wolde beleue
hym, and wolde neuer aske hym whether
// File: 111.png
.pn 56
he wolde fyrste gloryfye them or not. But
I am sure gloryfyed or vngloryfyed, yf he
sayde it, he is able to do it. For the matter
is not impossyble to God.
Fryth.
¶ Truthe it is that yf Christe so sayde
and in so sayenge so mente, there is no
doubte, but he were able so to do. But that
he in dede so grosselye mēt, ye shall neuer
proue. And in dede yf he had so mēte that
hys owne naturall bodye shulde haue contynued
in the sacrament which is the meate
of the soule through faythe, and not of
the bodye by eatynge it, and maye as well
be eaten through fayth, although it remayne
in heauen, as yf it were here present to
our mouthes: yf (I saye) he had so mente,
then wolde he neuer haue geuen vs
suche scriptures as he ded. For I saye that
thys grosse ymagynacyon may not stonde
with the processe of the scrypture which
is receyued, as it shall appeare by certayne
textes.
Fyrste where our sauyoure sayeth: the
fleshe profyteth nothynge. The wayght
of those wordes doth compell vs to vnderstonde
our matter spyrytuallye. For
by thys shorte sentence we are no lesse
plucked from the carnall eatynge, then
was Nichodemus that he shulde not ones
dreame of the carnall regeneracyon, whē
Christe sayde vnto hym: that whatsoeuer
thynge was of the fleshe was fleshe.
// File: 112.png
For this is a playne conclusyon, that whē
Christe sayde the fleshe profyteth nothynge,
he ment it euē of hys owne fleshe, that
it coulde not profyte (as they vnderstode
hym) to be eaten with the teth. Albeyt it
doth moche profyte to be slayne for our redemptyon, &
eaten through fayth. Which
thyng we may do although hys naturall
fleshe be not in the sacrament. For I maye
as well beleue in hym though he be in heauen,
as yf he were in earth and in the sacrament,
and before myne eyes. And that
Christe spake these wordes of hys owne
bodye, it is playne by S. Austens wordes
wrytynge vpon the same place.
Augustitract.
su.
6. Joan.
And therfore
he sayeth, that they muste be vnderstonde
spyrytuallye, and addeth: yf thou
vnderstonde them spyrytuallye, they are
spyryte and lyfe. And though thou vnderstonde
them carnallye, yet neuerthelesse
they are spyryte and lyfe: But vnto thē,
they are not spyryte and lyfe, which vnderstondest
not spyrytuallye those thynges
that I haue spoken.
Athanasius.
3. li.
qui dix.
verb.
Also Athanasius sayeth. Spiritus est qui
uiuificat, caro non prodest quicquà: uerba que
ego locutus sum, spiritus sunt & uita. Nam
& hoc loco utrumque de seipso dicit carnem
& spiritum, & spiritum ab eo quod est secundum
carnem distinxit, ut non solum uisibile,
sed etiam inuisibile quod in ipso erat credentes
discant, quod & ea que dicit non sunt carnalia
// File: 113.png
.pn 57
sed spiritualia. Quod enim comedentibus
suffecisset corpus, ut totius mundi alimonia
fiat? Sed ea propter meminit ascensus filii
hominis in cœlum ut illos a corporali cogitacione
auelleret, & post hac discant carnem
dictā cibum cœlestem superne uenientem &
spiritualem alimoniam quam ipse det, nā quæ
locutus sum (inquit) uobis spiritus sunt
& uita. That is to saye: it is the spyryte
that quyckeneth, the fleshe profyteth nothynge.
The wordes which I speake vnto
you, are spiryte and lyfe. For in this
place also he meaneth both of hys owne
fleshe and his owne spyryte, and he deuyded
the spiryte from the fleshe: that they
myght knowe through faythe not onelye
the vysyble parte, but also the invysyble
parte that was in hym, and also that the
wordes which he spake were not carnall,
but spirytuall. For what bodye shulde haue
suffysed to haue bene the meate of all
the worlde? And euen therfore ded he make
mencyon of the ascensyon of the sonne
of man in to heauen, that he myght wythdrawe
them from the bodelye ymagynacyon,
that they myght hereafter learne,
that the fleshe was called heauēly meate
which cōmeth frō a boue, & spirytuall meate
which he wolde geue. For (sayeth Christe)
the wordes that I haue spokē vnto
you, are spiryte & lyfe. Here you maye see
that Christe spake yt of his owne fleshe, &
// File: 114.png
playnely that yt ded nothynge profyte
as infideles ded vnderstonde hym: For
els yt geueth lyfe, as yt is receyued of the
faythfull in a mystery.
Bartrame.
For as Bartrame
sayeth, in this mysterye of the bodye and
bloode, is a spirytuall operacyon which
geueth lyfe. Without the which operacyon
those mysteryes do no thynge profytte,
for surelye (sayth he) they may feade the
bodye, but the soule they can not feade.
Besydes that the scrypture sayeth, that
that entreth in by the mouth doth not defyle
a man, for as Christe sayeth, it is caste
forthe in to the drawght. And by the same
reason it foloweth that it doth not sāctyfye
or make a man holye. But the sacrament
entreth in by the mouth: therfore yt
doth folowe that (of it selfe) it doth not sāctyfye
or make holye any mā. And of this
texte shulde folowe two incōueniences, yf
the sacramēte were the naturall bodye of
Christ. Fyrste it shulde folowe that the body
of Christ shulde not sāctyfye the faythfull
because it ētreth in by the mouth. And
agayne yt shulde folowe, that the bodye
of Christe shulde be caste out in to the
drawght, whych thynge is abhominable.
Wherfore yt muste neades folowe, that
the sacramēt cā not be his naturall bodye.
Furthermore Christ wolde not suffer
that devoute womā which of loue sought
hym at hys sepulchre, to touche his naturall
// File: 115.png
.pn 58
bodye, because she lacked a poynte of
faythe, & ded not counte hym to be equall
with hys father. And moche more yt shall
folowe that the wycked which haue no
faythe nor loue towardes hym, shall
not be suffered to eate hys fleshe
with their teth, & swallowe yt in to their
vncleane bodyes: for that were moche more
then to touche hym. And yet notwithstandynge
they receyue and eate the sacrament.
Whervpon yt shulde folowe yf
the sacrament were hys naturall bodye,
that they shulde in dede eate hys bodye.
Which thynge may be recoūted a blasphemye
agaynste God. Moreouer Christe
sayeth, he that eateth my fleshe ād drynketh
my blood dwelleth in me & I in hym:
Now we knowe ryght well that the wycked
do eate the sacrament, ād yet neyther
dwell in Christe, nor Christ in thē. Wherfore
yt muste folowe that the sacramēt is
not the very fleshe of Christe. And surelye
I can not excuse thē of blasphemye which
so dyrectlye do cōtrary Christes wordes.
Howe can you avoyde these textes which
Christ speaketh vnto hys dyscyples sayēge.
Yet a lytel whyle am I with you. And
then I departe to hym that sente me.
Ioan. 6.
And
agayne it is expedyent for you that I departe.
For excepte that I departe, that
counforter shall not come vnto you.
Ioan. 6.
And
agayne he sayeth. I forsake the worlde
// File: 116.png
Ioan. 6.
and go to my Father. And to be shorte, he
sayeth,
Mat. 25.
poore mē ye shall euer haue with
you,
Mar. 14.
but me shall you not euer haue. Now
we knowe ryght well that hys Godhed
is in all places,
Ioan. 12.
and that as towchynge
hys Godhed he forsoke not the worlde,
when he ascended vnto hys Father.
Wherfore it muste neades folowe that he
fors oke yt as towchynge hys fleshe and
manhode. And therto agreeth the exposycyons
of Saynte Austen, and Fulgentius
before alleaged, yea and all other olde
faythfull Fathers. Now yf he haue forsaken
the worlde as towchynge the presence
of hys naturall fleshe and māhode (as
all doctours defyne) then mente he not
that hys naturall fleshe shulde be presente
in the sacrament, to be eaten with our
tethe. And therfore though Christe so tell
you, yet muste you take hym as he meaneth,
or els you be begyled. For yf ye
thynke that GOD both maye and wyll
fulfyll and veryfye all thynges accordynge
to the letter as he speaketh them, I maye
call you an obedyent man, as Saynte
BARNARD doth hys Monke Adam.
And maye saye (as he doth) that yf
that be the ryght waye, so symplye to receyue
all thynge, we maye put out the
texte of scrypture which warneth vs to be
wyse as serpētes. For the texte folowynge
is suffycyent, which byddeth vs to be
// File: 117.png
.pn 59
symple as doves.
Why doth your mastershyppe graunte
a necessarye allegorye, whē Paule sayeth,
CHRISTE is a stone, or when
Christ sayeth, that he is a dore? The scrypture
sayeth he is both twayne. And syth
God so sayth, he is able so to make it. And
therfore by your reason we shall neade none
allegorye in all scrypture, & thē he that
is moste symple ād folyshe, may be counted
moste faythfull. And so shall we neade
no faythfull Fathers to expounde the
texte, but it shalbe moste meryte, to beleue
the letter. This I denye not, but that God
coulde haue done yt, yf he had so entēded,
when he spake the wordes: But nowe the
scrypture stondynge as it doth, I thynke
he can not do it. As by exāple. I thynke
that God by the bloode of hys sone Christe
myght haue saued all men, both faythfull
and vnfaythfull, yf he had so intēded,
ād that yt had so pleased hym. But nowe
the scrypture stōdynge as it doth, I saye
he can not do yt, and that it is impossyble
for hym. For then he myght make hys
sone a lyer which sayeth,
Ioan. 3.
he that beleueth
not is dampned. And agayne, he that beleueth
not shall not see lyfe, but the wrathe
of God abydeth vpon hym. And euen
as it is impossyble to stonde with the processe
of scriptures (wherin God hath declared
hys wyll) that the vnfaythfull
// File: 118.png
shulde be saued, although God myght haue
done it at the fyrst yf he had so wolde.
Lykewyse it is impossyble the scryptures
stondynge as they do, that the naturall
bodye of Christ shulde be presente to our
teth in the sacrament. And as for our faythe,
yt neadeth not to haue hym presente
in the breade. For I maye as well eate
hym ād drynke hym through faythe, that
is to saye: beleue in hym, as though he were
as presente in the sacramēte, as he was
hangynge vpon the crosse.
And because you saye, that my naturall
reasons be not worth the reasonynge,
I wyll alleage you some mo, to see what
you can saye to them. Fyrste euery sacrament
is the sygne of an holye thynge: but
the sacramente of the aulter is a sacramēt
(as all faythfull men confesse) ergo it muste
folowe that the sacrament of the aulter
is the sygne of an holye thynge. Nowe
yf it be the sygne of an holye thynge,
then it is not the holye thynge yt selfe
which yt doth sygnyfye & represent. Why
shulde we then feare, to call that breade
a fygure, that is to saye: a sacrament
of that holye bodye of our Lorde and Sauyoure.
Besydes that I wolde knowe of what
necessyte or profyte hys fleshe muste be
present in the sacrament. For the presence
of hys fleshe can no more profyte vs, thē
// File: 119.png
.pn 60
doth the remembraunce of hys bodye, but
this remembraunce maye as well be done
by the sacrament, as though hys bodye
were present. And therfore syth God and
nature make nought in vayne, it foloweth
consequentlye, that his naturall fleshe is
not there, but onelye a memoryall therof.
Furthermore, the ende and fynall cause
of a thynge is euer better then those thynges
which are prouyded for the ende (as
the house is better than the lyme, stone, &
tymber, which are prouyded for the howse)
but the ende and fynall cause of the sacramente
is the remembraunce of Christes
bodye: and thervpō yt muste folowe
that yf the sacramente be hys naturall bodye,
that the remembraunce of Christes
bodye shulde be better then hys bodye it
selfe. Whiche thynge is to be abhorred of
all faythfull men.
It were fondnes to fayne that the soule
ded otherwyse eate then do the Angelles
in heauē, and their meate is onelye the
Ioye and delectacyon that they haue of
God and of hys glorye; And euen so doth
the soule which is here vpon the earth eate
through faythe the bodye of Christe
which is in heauen. For it delyteth & reioyseth
whyles yt vnderstōdeth through faythe,
that Christ hath takē our synnes vpō
hym and pacyfyed the Fathers wrath.
// File: 120.png
Neyther yt is necessarye, that for that or
for thys cause, that his fleshe shulde be present.
For a man maye as well loue ād reioyse
in the thynge which is from hym
and not present, as though yt were presēt
by hym of that maner.
More ouer, the breade is Christes bodye,
euen as the breakynge of the breade
is the death of hys bodye. Nowe the breakynge
of breade at the maundye is not the
verye death of Christes bodye, but onelye
a representacyon of the same (albeit the
mynde through faythe doeth spirytuallye
beholde hys verye death) and euen lyke
wyse that naturall breade is not the verye
bodye of our Lorde, but onely a sacramēt,
sygne, memoryall, or representacyō of the
same, albeit through the admonycyō therof,
the mynde through fayth, doth spirytually
beholde the verye body. And surely
yf a man be faythfull, the spirite of God
worketh in his harte very swetelye at his
communyon.
Fynallye, it was not laufull to eate or
drynke the bloode not onelye of man, but
also of a brute beaste, and the Apostles
them selues moued by the rule of charyte,
ded instytute that men shulde abstayne
from bloode, somewhat fauourynge
the infyrmyte of the Iewes. Now yf
the Apostles had taught (as ye do) that
in the sacrament hys verye fleshe and
// File: 121.png
.pn 61
bloode is eaten and dronken with the teth
and mouthe of faythfull and vnfaythfull,
what coulde haue bene a greater occasyō
to haue excluded the Iewes frō Christes
fayth euen at ones? Thynke you that the
Apostles wolde not haue bene to srupulous
to haue dronken hys very bloode, seynge
it was so playne agaynst Moses lawe,
yf they had vnderstonde hym so grosselye
as ye do?
Act .10.
Peter had a clothe sente
downe from heauen, in whiche were all
maner of beastes forbydden by the lawe,
and was commaunded to fle and eate thē.
And he answered, God forbyd, for I neuer
eate any vncleane thynge, meanynge
therbye that he neuer eate any thynge forbyddē
by the lawe. Wherof it muste neades
folowe, that eyther he neuer receyued
the sacrament (whiche is playne false) or
els that he more spyrytuallye vnderstode
the wordes of Christes maundye then ye
falselye fayne. For it was playnelye forbydden
by the lawe, to eate or drynke any
maner of bloode.
obiectyō.
And I knowe but one reason,
that they haue which they counte as
insoluble: how be it by Goddes grace
we shall soone avoyde it. Their reason is
this. Paule sayeth, he that eateth and drynketh
this sacrament vnworthelye, shalbe
gyltye of the bodye and bloode of the Lorde.
Now saye they, how shulde they be gyltye
of the Lordes bodye ād bloode whiche
// File: 122.png
receyue it vnworthelye, excepte it were the
verye bodye and bloode of the Lorde.
Solutiō.
This argument I saye, is verye weake
and slender. For I can shewe manye examples
by the whiche it may be dyssolued.
For he that dyspyseth the Kynges seale
or Letters offendeth agaynste hys owne
parson, and yet the Letters or Seale is not
hys owne parson. He that vyolentlye
plucketh downe hys graces Armes, or breaketh
hys brode Seale wyth a furyouse
mynde or wyth vyolence, commytteth treason
agaynste hys owne parson. And yet
hys Armes and brode Seale are not hys
owne parsō. He that clyppyth the Kynges
coyne, commytteth treason agaynste the
Kynges parson and the common wealth:
and yet the money is neyther hys graces
parson nor the common wealth. And therfore
your argument is but weake and slēder.
For euē as a man doth offende agaynste
the Prynces parson by dyspysinge his
Armes, Seale, or Letters, so doth a mā offende
agaynste Christes bodye and bloode,
by abvsynge the sacrament of hys bodye
and bloode, although he be not there
present, as the Kynges parsō is not presente
in hys Armes, Seale, or Letters.
Besydes that S. Paule sayeth, that euerye
man whiche prayeth or preacheth
with covered heade shameth hys heade, &
hys head is Christe; shall we therfore Imagen
// File: 123.png
.pn 62
that Christe is naturallye in euerye
mās heade, as your argument cōcludeth?
Forsoth that were a preatye fantasye. Fynally
S. Austen sayeth, that he doth no lesse
synne whiche neglygētlye heareth the
wordes of God, thē doth the other which
vnworthelye receyueth the sacrament of
Christes bodye and bloode. Nowe yf this
be true, then is your reason not worth a ry
she, for Christes naturall bodye is not in
the worde whiche is preached, as all men
knowe. And yet he synneth no lesse that
neglygentlye heareth it, then doth he that
vnworthelye receyueth the sacramēt. And
thus you see their insoluble argument easelye
dyssolued.
More.
❧ But now muste thys yonge man
consyder agayne that he hym selfe confesseth,
that the cause for which hym selfe sayeth,
that Christe in so sayenge ded so meane,
is because that yf he shulde haue mēt
so, yt was impossyble to God to brynge
hys meanynge a bought: that is to saye,
that Christes bodye myght be in two places
at ones. And therfore but yf he proue
that thynge impossyble for God to do, els
he confesseth that God not onelye sayde
it but also mente it in dede. And yet ouer
thys, yf Christ had neuer sayde it, yet doubt
I nothynge, but he is able to do it, or els
were there somwhat that he coulde not
do; And then were God not almyghtye.
// File: 124.png
Fryth.
¶ Here Master More wolde myre me
with his sophystrye, ād wyth wyles wolde
wynne hys spores. For as he before ded
discant on these wordes, can, and impossyble,
and wolde haue made mē beleue that
I mente it coulde not be, because it coulde
not be by reason, and that I mente it was
impossyble, because reason coulde not reache
it: So now he dysputeth with lyke maner
of sophystycacyon, concludynge that
I confesse that it is impossyble and cā not
be, because that yf God shulde so haue
mente, it was impossyble for God to brynge
hys meanynge a bought. Deare bretherne,
thys bablynge is suffycyentlye discussed
alreadye. For I mente not that it
was impossyble for God to brynge it aboute,
yf he had so mēte, but I mente that
it is impossyble to stonde with the processe
of the scrypture whiche we haue receyued.
And I saye more ouer, that though it
was possyble for God to haue done it (yf
it had pleased hym) yet now, the scrypture
thus stondynge, it is impossyble for hym
to do it. For then he muste make hys sone
a lyer. And I saye, that yf he had so ment
as the letter stondeth, that he wolde then
haue geuen vs other scrypture, and wolde
not haue sayde that he muste departe to
hym that sente hym, with other textes as
are before rehearsed.
And where master More sayeth, that
// File: 125.png
.pn 63
yf there were somwhat that he coulde not
do, than were God not almyghtye. I saye
it is ashame for our Prelates that they haue
gottō suche an ignoraunte proctoure to
defende them. And I am sure that they thēselues
coulde haue sayde moche better. For
els how shulde they enstructe other and leade
them in the ryght waye, yf they themselues
were so rude and vnlearned? Shulde
they not knowe what thys meaneth,
that God is almyghtye, whych is a peace
of the fyrste artycle of our Crede? Then
how shulde their shepe haue any sure syght?
More thynketh that God is called almyghtye,
because he can do all thynges.
And then in dede it shulde folowe that he
were not almyghtye. For all thynges he
can not do, he cā not saue the vnfaythfull,
he can not restore vyrgynyte ones vyolated,
sayeth S. Thomas and also (as I remember)
S. Hierome wrytynge of vyrgynyte
vnto Paula and Eustochium: he can
not synne sayeth Dunce: he can not denye
hym selfe sayeth .S. Paule.
2. Tim.
Now yf thys
mans learnynge were alowed, thē myght
not God be almyghtye, because there is
sumwhat that he cā not do. But they that
are a customed with scrypture, do knowe
that he is called almyghtye, not because
he can do all thynge: but because there is
no superyour power aboue hym, but that
he maye do all that he wyll: and all that
// File: 126.png
hys pleasure is to do that maye he brynge
to passe. And no power is able to resyste
hym. But he hath no pleasure nor wyll to
make hys sone alyer nor to make hys scripture
false, and in dede he maye not do it.
And yet notwithstondynge he abydeth almyghtye.
For he may do all thynge that
he wyll.
More.
❧ Then master More as towchynge
the reason of repungnaunce sayeth, that
many thynges may seame repungnaunte
both to hym and me, which thynges God
seeth how to make them stonde together
well ynough, and addeth such blynde reasons
of repungnaunce as induceth manye
men in to a greate erroure: some ascrybynge
all thynge vnto destenye without any
power of mans fre wyll at all. And some
genynge all to mans owne wyll. And haue
no fore syght at all to the provydēce of
God, and all because the poore blynde reason
of man can not see so farre, as to perceyue
how Goddes prescyence and mans
fre wyll can stonde together, but seame clerelye
to be repungnaunte.
Fryth.
¶ As for hys dygressyon of mans fre
wyll, I wyll not greatlye wrestle with
hym. But thys one thynge I maye saye,
Ioan. 8.
that yf the sone of God delyuer vs, then
are we verye free.
2. Cor. 3.
And where the spyryte
of God is, there is fredome. I meane not
fredome to do what you wyll; but fredome
// File: 127.png
.pn 64
Rom. 6.
frō synne, that we maye be the saruaūtes
of ryghtuousnes. But yf we haue not
the spyryte of Christe, then wyll I saye
with S. Austen,
Augustinus
de
spiritu &
litera.
that our fre wyll is wretched,
and can do nought but synne. And as
towchynge suche textes of repugnaunce,
yf they be so dyffuse that mans reason
(which is the lyght of hys vnderstōdyng)
can not attayne to set them together, then
were you beste to make thē none artycles
of our faythe. For I thynke as manye as
are necessarye vnto our salvacyon, are conteyned
in the Crede, which I thynke euery
mā beleueth: I beseche you laye no bygger
burthen vpon vs then those faythfull
Fathers ded, which thought that suffycyent.
And then I am sure, we shulde haue fewer
heretykes. For I neuer harde of heretycke
that euer helde agaynste any artycle
of our Crede, but all that ye dyffame
by thys name, are onelye put to death, because
they saye that we are not bounde to
beleue euerye poynte that the lawes and
tyrannye of the cleargye alowe and maynteyne,
which thynge how true it is (blessed
be God) is meatelye well knowen alreadye.
For els had I and many mo bene deade
before thys daye.
More.
❧ I wote well that many good folke
haue vsed in thys matter manye frutefull
examples. As of one face beholden in
dyuerse glasses, and in euerye peace of one
// File: 128.png
glasse broken in to twentye, ād of one worde
comynge whole to an hundreth eares
at ones: and the syght of one lytle eye presently
beholdynge an whole greate contrye
at ones, with a thousande suche meruelles
mo: suche as those that see thē daylye
done (and therfore meruell not at thē)
shall yet neuer be able, no not this yonge
man hym selfe, to geue suche a reason by
what meane they maye be done, but that
he maye haue suche repugnaunce layde agaynste
it, that he shalbe fayne in conclusyon
(for the chefe and moste euydent reason)
to saye, that the cause of all those thynges,
is because God that hath so caused
them to be done, is almyghtye of hym selfe,
and maye do what hym lyste.
Fryth.
¶ As towchynge the examples that
master More doth here alleage, I maye
soone make answere vnto them. For they
that are lyke our matter, make cleane agaynste
hym, and the other can not make
for hym. The glasse I graunte is a good
example. For euen as the glasse dothe represent
the verye face of man, so doth this
sacrament represent the verye bodye and
bloode of Christe. And lyke as euery peace
of the glasse doth represent that one face,
so doth euery peace of that sacrament
represent that one bodye of Christe. But
euerye mā knoweth ryght well, that thoughe
the glasse represent my face, yet the
// File: 129.png
.pn 65
substaunce of the glasse is not my verye
face, neyther is my very face in the glasse.
And euen so though the sacrament do represent
the bodye of Christe, yet the substaunce
of the sacrament is not hys verye
bodye (no more then the glasse is my face)
neyther is hys verye bodye in the sacrament,
no more thē my verye face is in the
glasse. And thus this example maketh
well for vs. And for that one worde commynge
whole to an hūdreth eares, I saye
that worde is but a sounde ād a qualyte &
not a substaunce, and therfore yt is nothynge
to our purpose, and can not be lykened
to Christes bodye which is a substaunce.
And as concernynge the syght of
the lytle eye, I say that though the eye dyscrye
and see an whole contrye, yet is not
that whole contrye in the eye: but as the
contrye is knowen by the syght of the eye
(though the contrye be not in it) so is the
death of Christe and his bodye breakynge
and bloode sheadynge knowen by the
sacrament, though hys naturall bodye be
not in it. And thus hys exāples make nothyng
with hym, but rather moche agaynste
hym. And where he sayeth that the yonge
mā hym selfe cā geue no reasō, by what
meane they may be done: I maye saye vnto
hys mastershyppe, that whan I was
seauen yeare yonger then I am thys day,
I wolde haue bene ashamed yf I coulde
// File: 130.png
not haue geuen an evydent reason at the
Austēs in Oxforde before the whole vnyuersyte.
And albeit I now wochesaue not
to spende laboure and paper abought Aristotles
doctryne, yet haue I so moche
towched hys examples, that he may be
werye of them.
More.
❧ Also I cā not see why it shulde be more
repugnaunt that one bodye maye be by
the power of God in two places at ones,
then that two bodyes maye be together in
one place at ones. And that poynte I thynke
thys yonge man denyeth not.
Fryth.
¶ The beynge of our bodye in two places
at ones is agaynste nature, and scrypture
cā not allow it. But that two bodyes
shulde be in one place seameth more reasonable.
For I haue good experyence that
though my bodye can not be in two places
at ones (both in the tower and where
I wolde haue it besyde) yet blessed be god
in this one place, I am not without cōpanye.
But yf master More meane that in
one proper & severall place, maye be two
bodyes at ones, that I wyll denye, tyll
he haue laysure to proue it. And yet at
the length I am sure, hys proue shall not
be worth a podynge prycke. For I am sure
it muste be, Ratione porositatis ut in igne
& ferro: nam penetracionem dimensionum
nunquam probabit. And then he is as nyghe
as he was before.
// File: 131.png
.pn 66
More.
❧ Now hys laste reason wyth which
he proueth yt impossyble for the bodye of
christe to be in two places at ones, is this:
You can (sayeth he) shewe no reason whye
he shulde be in many places at ones & not
in all. But in all places he can not be:
Wherfore we muste cōclude that he can
not be in many places at ones. This is
a mervelous cōcluded argumente. I am
sure that euery chylde may soone see that
this consequent can neuer folowe vpō these
two premysses of thys antecedent.
Fryth.
¶ When I made thys reason & compyled
my tretyse I had no regarde to the
cavyllacyons of sotle sophysters. For I
thought no sophysters shulde haue medled
wyth that meate. But neuerthelesse
syth now I perceyue that they pryncipallye
are porynge vpon yt, seakynge some
praye to sette their teth a warke, in this boke
I haue samwhat prouyded for thē, and
haue brought suche harde bones, that yf
they be to busye, maye chaunce to choke
thē. And yet is not the argumēt so feable
as he fayneth. For the fyrst part (if he lyst
to cōsyder the sēce & mynde, & be not to curyous)
where I say that they cā shewe no
reasō why he shulde be in many places &
not in all, is thus to be vnderstōd of wyse
mē, that the very reasō & cause that he shulde
be in many places must be, because the
body is so ānexed with the godhed, that yt
// File: 132.png
is in euery place as the Godhed is. Thys
I saye, muste be the cause and reason of
hys beynge in many places. And neyther
you nor no man els cā iustely asygne any
other. Now of this maior or fyrste proposycyon
thus vnderstonde doth the conclusyon
folowe dyrectlye. For yf this shulde
be the cause (as they muste neades graūte)
and thys cause proued false by scrypture:
then muste they neades graunte that
the thynge whiche so foloweth of this cause,
muste neades be false. And so is my
purpose proued, and they concluded. As
by example. The Astronomers saye: that
the naturall course of the sonne is from
the Weste to the Easte. Nowe yf a man
shulde aske them what ys then the cause
that we see hym daylye take the contrary
course, from the East to the Weste agaynste
hys nature: they answere. Because the
heyghest spere (whose course is from the
Easte to the Weste) wyth hys swyfte
movynge doth vyolently drawe the inferyoure
speres with hym. This is the cause
that they alleage, and no man can asygne
any other. And now syth I can proue
thys sense false by scrypture (for scrypture
sayth that the spere is fastened Heb. viij
and S. Austen expoundynge that texte
improueth the Astronomers which affyrme
that it moueth) they muste neades
graunte that the thynge which foloweth
// File: 133.png
.pn 67
of this cause muste neades be false. And
so we maye conclude agaynste them all,
that the naturall course of the sonne is not
from the Weste to the East (as the Astronomers
saye) but contrarye from the
Easte to the Weste. And lykewyse syth
the cause that Christes bodye shulde be
in many places, is asygned of learned
men to be, because hys bodye is so annexed
with the Godhed (which is in euerye
place) that it is also in all places with it,
and no man can asygne any other. And
this cause is proued false by scrypture.
For when the women sought Christ at
hys graue, an Angell gaue the answere
that he was not there.
Mar. 14.
But yf hys bodye
had bene in euery place, then had the Angell
lyed.
Luc. 16.
Also Christ sayde vnto hys dyscyples
of Lazarus which dyed at Bathania.
Ioan. 11.
Lazarus ys deade. And I am gladde
for your sakes (that you maye beleue) because
I was not there. Now yf hys body
were in euery place as is the Godhed,
then Christ sayde not trulye, when he sayde
he was not there. Therfore syth (as I
sayde) this is the cause asygned, and yet
proued false by scrypture, they muste neades
graunte, that the thynge which foloweth
of this cause, muste also neades be
false. And so we maye conclude agaynste
them all, that Christes bodye is in one place
onely. And now you maye see how my
// File: 134.png
consequent folowe the premysses.
More.
❧ For he can no further cōclude, but
that we can shewe no reason whye he shulde
be in many places at ones. What had
he wone by that: Myght he thā conclude
thervpon, that he coulde not be in manye
places at ones? As though yt were not
possyble for God to make hys bodye in
two places at ones, but yf we were able
to tell how, and why, and wherbye, and
shewe the reason.
Fryth.
¶ How farre I cā conclude is shewed immedyatly
before. For though of the bare
wordes as ye toke them, it was harde to
conclude any thynge, yet haue I nowe declared
them, and so farre concluded, that
you can not avoyde them. And where he
sayeth that though they can shewe no reason,
yet I had wonne nought by it, I thynke
he wolde be angrye yf I shulde so answere.
But surely they are in good case,
for yt is ynough for them to saye, thus it
is, and neade neuer to shewe any cause or
reason whye they so saye. For they are
the churche and can not erre: so that yf
they teache contrarye thynges, yet all is
good ynough. And when they see that
no man can make the scryptures to agre
wyth their doctryne, then they saye, that
their doctryne is true ynough, but no mā
can vnderstōnde the scrypture. And though
the scrypture seame neuer so repugnaunte
// File: 135.png
.pn 68
both to them ād vs, yet God seeth well
ynough (saye they) how to sette thē together,
and it is possyble for God to make it
agree, though they can not tell how. But
thys doctryne hath longe ynough deceyued
vs. For mē haue seane to lōge wyth
your spectacles, yet now (thankes be to
God) they begynne to see with their owne
eyes. And as towchyng how thys matter
was possyble to God and how it is
not possyble, is suffycyently declared before
to all them that lyste to loke.
More.
❧ Howbeit as for me (though I be not
bounde to yt) I am cōtēt yet to proue, that
God maye make the body of Christ to be
in all places at ones. And because thys yōge
mā coupleth that proposycyō with the
other: so wyll I do also. And I wyll proue
therfore that God cā make hys bodye be
bothe in many places at ones, & in all places
at ones, by that he is almyghtye,
and therfore can do all thynge.
Fryth.
¶ Now ys the good man in hys olde
dreame agayne, and thynketh that God
is called almyghtye, because he can do all
thynges. And then in dede yt shulde folowe
that he were not almyghtye. For all
thynges he can not do, he can not saue
the vnfaythfull, he can not restore virgynyte
ones vyolated, he cā not synne, he cā
not denye hym selfe. Yf thys mās lernynge
were alowed, thā myght not god be called
// File: 136.png
almyghty, because there is somwhat
that he can not do. But they that are accustomed
with scrypture, do knowe that he
is called almyghtye, not because he can
not do all thynges, but because there is no
superyour power aboue hym, but that he
may do all that he wyll, and all that hys
pleasure is, maye he brynge to passe. But
he hath no wyll nor pleasure, to make his
sone a lyer, & to make hys scrypture false
and yet notwitstondynge he abydeth almyghtye
and may do what he wyll. And
euē as it is impossyble to stonde with the
processe of the scryptures (wherin God
hath declaeed hys wyll) that the unfaythfull
shulde be saued (although at the fyrst
god myght haue done it, yf he had so wolde)
lykewyse it is impossyble the scryptures
stōdynge as they do, that the naturall
bodye of Christ, shulde be present to our
teth in the sacramēt. And as for our fayth,
yt neadeth not to haue hym present in the
breade. For I may as well eate hym and
drynke hym through fayth (that is to say,
beleue in hym) though he contynue styll
in heauen, as though he were as present in
the sacramēt, as he was hangynge on the
crosse. But yet hys mastershype hath lefte
one thynge vnproued, and that is euen
the pyth of hys purpose. For though he
had proued (as he hath not) that God by
hys almyghtynes myght make Christes
// File: 137.png
.pn 69
bodye in many places, and in all places, &
in the sacrament, yet he forgotte to proue
that God hath so done. And therfore albeyt
I dyd graūte hym (as I wyll not) that
he myght so do, yet therof it doth not folow,
that he hath so done in dede. For god
maye do manye thynges whiche he doth
not. And therfore hys argument doth not
proue hys purpose. Now yf he do but
thynke that God hath so done, I am well
pleased ād wyll not put hym to the payne
to proue it. For anone ye shall see hym so
intaungled in bryars, that he shall not wete
where to be come.
More.
❧ But yet this yonge man goeth aboute
to proue thys poynte by scrypture.
For excepte we graunte hym that poynte
to be true, he sayeth that els we make the
Angell a lyer that sayde, he is not here, ād
also that els we make as though Christes
bodye in hys assensyon ded not go vp in
the cloude in to heauē from earth, but onelye
hyd hym selfe in the cloude, and playeth
boo pyppe and taryed beneth styll. Here
in the ende he forgetteth hym selfe so
fowle, that whan he was a yonge sophyster
he wolde I dare say, haue bene full sore
ashamed so to haue oversene hym selfe
at Oxforde at a pervyse. For ye wote well
that thynge whiche he sayeth, and whiche
he muste therfore proue, is that the bodye
of Christ cā not be in euerye place at ones
// File: 138.png
by no meane that God coulde make. And
the textes that he bryngeth in for the proue,
saye no further but that he was not in
all places at ones.
Fryth.
¶ There are two thynges dysputed
betwene master More and me: the one is
whether God cā make the bodye of Christe
in manye places, and in the sacramente.
And therto hys mastershyppe sayeth
yea. For God is almyghtye and maye do
all thynges. And I saye naye, and affyrme
that God is not called almyghtye because
he maye do all thynges, but because he
maye do all that he wyll. And I saye that
he wyll not make hys sonne a lyer, nor
hys scrypture false, and that he can not do
it, and yet abydeth almyghtye. The other
thynge is thys, whether he haue done
it or not. For albeyt I ded graunte hym
that it were possyble, yet is he neuer the
nere excepte he eyther can proue that he
hath done it in dede, or els thynke that
God hath so done. For as I sayde God
can do manye thynges which he doth not.
And the controversye of thys doubte is
dyssolued by the Aungell and scrypture
whiche (as master More graunteth hym
selfe) proueth that he was not in all places
at ones, And therof it foloweth, that God
hath not done it, although it be possyble.
And so is hys mastershyppe at a poynte.
For yf I shulde graunte it neuer so possyble,
// File: 139.png
.pn 70
yet yf scrypture proue that it be not so
in dede, then is he neuer the nere hys purpose,
but moche the further from it. And
thys is euen it that I sayde before: that it
was not possyble to stonde with the processe
of the scrypture which we haue receyued.
And now hys mastershyppe hath
graunted it hym selfe, which you maye be
sure he wolde not do yf he coulde otherwyse
avoyde it. And here you maye see
howe sore I haue overseane my selfe.
More.
❧ God forbyd that any man shulde
be the more prone and readye to beleue
thys yonge man in thys greate matter, because
he sayeth in the begynnynge that he
wyll brynge all men to a concorde and a
quyetnes of conscyence. For he bryngeth
men to the worste kynde of quyetnes that
maye be deuysed, when he telleth vs as he
doth, that euery man in thys matter, maye
with out parell beleue which waye he lyste.
Euery man maye in euerye matter
without any counsell, soone set hym selfe
at reste, yf he lyste to take that waye and
to beleue as he lyste hym selfe, ād care not
how. But ād yf that waye had bene sure,
Saynte Paule wolde neuer haue shewed
that manye were in parell of sycknes
and death also, for lacke of dyscernynge
reuerentlye the bodye of our Lorde in that
Sacramente, when they came to receyue
hym.
// File: 140.png
Fryth.
¶ When Christe shulde departe thys
worlde and go to hys Father,
Ioan. 15.
he gaue hys
dyscyples a commaundement that they
shulde loue eche other, sayenge by thys
shall all men knowe, that ye are my dyscyples,
yf ye loue eche other, as I haue loued
you. Thys rule of charyte wolde I not
haue broken, which notwithstondynge is
often in Ieopardye a monge faythfull folke.
This thynge consydered, I thought it
necessarye to advertyse both partyes to saue
thys rule of charyte, and proued in the
fyrste chapter of my treatyse, that it was
none artycle of the fayth necessarye to be
beleued vnder payne of dampnacyon, and
therfore that they were to blame that wolde
be contencyous for the matter. For syth
it is none artycle of the fayth, they may
lawfullye dyssente without all Ieoperdye:
and neade not to breake the rule of
charyte, but rather to receyue eche other
lyke weake bretherne.
This I saye I proued in the fyrste chapter
agaynste which master More maketh
no busynes, and improueth it not. Wherbye
you maye soone gather that it is very
true. For els syth hys mastershyppe so laboureth
in these other poyntes, he wolde
not haue lefte that vntowched you maye
be sure. Thys is the concorde that I wolde
brynge them vnto. And as towchynge
quyetnes of conscyence, I haue knowen
// File: 141.png
.pn 71
manye that haue sore bene combrede wyth
it. And amōge all, a certayne master of arte
which dyed in Oxforth, confessed vpon
hys death bedde, that he had wepte lyenge
in hys bedde an hundreth nyghtes
wythin one yeare space, because he coulde
not beleue it. Now yf he had knowen that
it had bene no necessarye artycle, what cōforte
and quyetnes shulde it haue bene vnto
hym. Furthermore, euerye man can not
so quyet hymselfe, as master More Imageneth.
For there are manye that thynke
them selfes no smalle foles, which whan
they haue receyued some folyshe superstycyon,
eyther by their owne Imagynacyon,
or by belevynge their gossepes gospell ād
olde wyfes tales, by and bye thynke the cōtrarye
to be deadly synne, and vtterly forbydden
by Chrystes gospell. As by example,
I knowe an house of relygyon, wherin
is a parson that thynketh it deadly synne
to go ouer astrawe yf it lye acrosse.
And yf there be vpon the pauemente any
paynted pycture, or any Image grauen
vpon a deade mans graue, he wyll not treade
vpon it, although he shulde go a forelonge
a bowte. What is thys but vayne
superstycyon wherewith the conscyence
is combred and corrupted? May not thys
be weded out wyth the worde of God, shewynge
hym that it is none artycle of the
fayth so to thynke, & then to tell hym that
// File: 142.png
it is not forboden by the scrypture, ād that
it is no synne? Now albeyt hys conscyence
be so cankered that the ruste wyll not
be rubbed out: yet wyth Godes grace, some
other whome he hath infected with the
same, maye come agayne to Godes worde
and be cured full well, whiche shulde
neuer haue bene able to quyete them selfes.
And lykewyse there are some whiche beleue
as your superstycyous hartes haue informed
them, and these can not quyete thēselues,
because they beleue that you haue
featched your doctryne out of scrypture.
But when it is proued to them, and they
themselues perceyue that scrypture sayeth
not so, then can they be contente to thynke
the contrarye, ād Iudge it no synne at all.
And as towchynge S. Paule, surelye ye
take hym wronge. For I wyll shewe you
what processe he taketh, and how he is to
be vnderstonde. But because it is not possyble
to fynyshe it in fewe wordes, I shall
deferre it vnto the bokes ende, and then I
shall declare hym at large.
More.
❧ And what a fashyon is thys, to saye
that we maye beleue yf we lyste, that
there is the verye bodye of our Lorde in
dede, and then to tell vs for a trouth, that
suche a faythe is impossyble to be true:
for GOD hym selfe can neuer brynge
it abought, to make hys bodye to be
there.
// File: 143.png
.pn 72
Fryth.
¶ Yf a man take the bare wordes of
Christe, and of symplycyte be deceyued,
and thynke that hys verye bodye be in the
sacramente present to their teth that eate
it, I dare not saye that he synneth therin,
but wyll referre the matter vnto Godes
Iudgement, and yet without doubt, I dare
saye he is deceyued. As by example, yf
a man deceyued by the litterall sence, wolde
thynke that men shulde preache to fysshes
(as S. Fraunces ded) because Christe
badde hys dyscyples go preache to all creatures,
yet wolde not I thynke that he synned
therin. But wyll referre hym vnto
Goddes Iudgement. But yet I wene euerye
woman that hath anye wytte, wyll saye
that he was deceyued.
More.
❧ I am verye sure that the olde holye
Doctours which beleued Christes bodye
and bloode to be there, and so taught other
to beleue, as by their bokes playnelye
doth apere, yf they had thought eyther
that it coulde not be there or that it
was not there in dede, they wolde not for
all the good in thys worlde haue wryten
as they haue done. For wolde those
holye men (wene you) haue taught that
men be bounde to beleue, that the verye
bodye and bloode of CHRISTE
is there, yf they them selfes thought that
they were not bounde thervnto? Wolde
// File: 144.png
they make men honoure and worshyppe
that thynge as the very bodye and bloode
of Christe whiche they thē selues thought
were not it? Thys gere is to chyldyshe to
speake of.
Fryth.
¶ That the olde doctours and faythfull
Fathers so taught or thought as ye
fayne of them, is verye false. For S. Austen
as I haue shewed, maketh whollye
for vs. Besydes that, there is none of the
olde Fathers but they call it a sacramēte,
a mysterye, and mystycall meate, which is
not eaten with toth or belye: but with eares
and faythe. And as towchynge the honoure
and worshyppe done vnto it, I saye
it is playne Idolatrye. And I saye, that he
falselye reporteth vpon the olde holy Doctours.
For they neuer taught men to worshyppe
it, neyther can he alleage one place
in any of them all whiche wolde haue
men to worshyppe the sacramente. Peraduenture
he maye alleage me certayne new
felowes for hys purpose, as Dunce, Dorbell,
Durande, and suche draffe, whiche by
their doctryne haue deceyued the worlde
wyth dampnable Idolatrye. But I speake
of the olde holye Fathers ād doctours,
S. Austen, Ambrose, Hierome, Cypriane,
Cirille, Chrisostome, Fulgentius, and suche
other: These I saye, do not teache men
to worshyppe it, and by that I dare abyde.
Of thys poynte I am so sure, that I
// File: 145.png
.pn 73
wyll vse it for a contrarye argument, that
hys naturall bodye is not there presente.
For yf the holye Fathers before named
had taken thys texte after the letter and
not onelye spyrytuallye, thē in their workes
they wolde haue taught men to worshyppe
it, but they neuer taught mē to worshyppe
thys sacrament, therfore it foloweth
they toke not the texte after the letter,
but onelye spyrytuallye. Now do I
prouoke you to seake a proue of your purpose.
Neuer the lesse I wyll not denye, but
that these holye Doctours in dyuerse places,
do call it hys bodye, as Christe and
Paule do, and so do we lykewyse: and saye
also that this verye bodye is there eatē.
But yet we meane, that it is eaten with
fayth (that is to saye by beleuynge that
hys bodye was broken for vs) ād haue his
bodye more in memorye at thys maundye
thē the meate that we there eate.
Note.
And
therfore it hathe the name of hys bodye:
because the name it selfe shulde put vs in
remēbraunce of hys bodye. And that hys
bodye is there chefelye eaten, euen more
(through fayth) then the meate wyth the
mouth. And so are they also to be vnderstonde.
More.
❧ Yet one greate pleasure he doth vs,
in that he putteth vs all at lyberte, that
we maye with out parell of dampnacyon
beleue as we ded before: that is to wete,
// File: 146.png
that in the blessed sacramēt the whole substaunce
of the breade ād the wyne is transmuted
ād chaunged in to the verye bodye
and bloode of Christe. For yf we maye
wythout parell of dampnacyon beleue
thus, as hym selfe graunteth that we maye,
then graunteth he that we maye also
without parell of dampnacyō beleue that
he hym selfe lyeth, where he sayeth, the
trouth of that beleue is impossyble.
Fryth.
¶ The beleuynge of thys poynte, is
of it selfe not dampnable, as it is not dāpnable
to thynke that Christe is a very stone
or a vyne, because the litterall sence so
sayeth: or yf you beleue that you ought to
preache to fyshes and go Christen them another
whyle, as ye do belles. And I insure
you, if there were no worse myschefe
that ensued of thys beleue, then it is in itselfe,
I wolde neuer haue spoken agaynste
it. But now there foloweth vpon it dampnable
Idolatrye. For through the beleue
that thys bodye is there, men fall downe
and worshyppe yt. And thynkynge to please
God, do dampnable synne agaynste
hym. Thys I saye, is the cause that I so
earnestlye wryte agaynste it, to avoyde
the Idolatrye that is cōmytted through it.
Parte of the germanes do thynke that hys
naturall bodye is present in the sacramēt,
ād take the wordes fleshelye, as Martyn
taught them. But none of them worshyppe
// File: 147.png
.pn 74
it, for that Martyn forbyddeth both in
hys wordes ād workes, and so (blessed be
God) they auoyde that Ieoperdye, which
thynge yf you wyll also graunte, and publyshe
but this one proposycyon, that it
ought not to be worshypped, I promyse
you I wyll neuer wryte agaynste it. For
then is the Ieoperdye taken awaye, and
then I am contēt that your mastershyppe
thynke I lye. But in the meane season I
muste thynke that ye fulfyll the worlde
with dāpnable Idolatrye. And thus haue
you also answere vnto the conclusyon,
which you alleage out of the kynges graces
boke. For I saye in your waye is no
hurte, as longe as you do but onelye beleue
the bare wordes of the texte, as S. Fraunces
ded, when he preached to fyshes.
But yf through the occasyon of those wordes,
ye fall in to the worshyppynge of it,
then I saye that in your waye is vndoubted
dampnacyon. And so is there greate
Ieoperdye in your waye, and none at all
in ours. For though he were there in dede,
yet do not we synne yf we worshyppe it
not. For we are not commaunded to
worshyppe the sacrament. But
yf he be not there, then
do you dampnable
Idolatrye.
// File: 148.png
.sp 4
.h2
¶ The consecracyon of the Sacrament.
.sp 2
More.
Now as for a nother
quyetnes of euery mans conscyencethys
yonge man byddeth
euerye man be bolde,
whether the blessed sacramēt
be consecrate or vnconsecrate (for though
he moste specyallye speaketh of the wyne,
yet he speaketh it of both) and byddeth not
care, but to take it for all that vnblessed as it
is, because the Preste (he sayeth) can not deceyue
vs nor take from vs the profyte of
Christes instytucyon, whether he alter the
wordes or leaue them all vnsayde. Is not
thys a wonderfull doctryne of thys yonge
man. We knowe well all, that the Preste
can not hurte vs by hys oversyght or
malyce, yf there be no faulte vpō our owne
partye, for that perfectyon that lacketh
vpon the Prestes parte, the great mercye
of God as we truste of hys owne goodnes
supplyeth it. And therfore as holye
Chrisostome sayeth, no man can take harme
but of hymselfe. But now yf we see
the thynge dysordered our owne selfe, by
// File: 149.png
.pn 75
the Preste, and Christes instytucyon broken,
yf we than wetynglye receyue it vnblessed
and vnconsecrated, and care not
whether Christes instytucyon be kepte
and observed or no, but reaken it is as
good wythout it as with it, then make
we our selfes partakers of the faulte and
lose the profyte of the sacrament, and receyue
it with dampnacyon: not for the Prestes
faulte, but for our owne.
Fryth.
¶ I had thought that no Turke wolde
haue wrested a mannes wordes so vnfaythfullye.
For he leaueth out all the pythe
of my matter, for my wordes are these.
I wyll shewe you a meanes how ye shall
euer receyue it accordynge to Christes instytucyon,
although the Prest wolde withdrawe
it from you. Fyrste ye neade to haue
no respecte vnto the Prestes wordes
whiche mynystreth it. For yf ye remember
for what entent Christe ded instytute
thys sacramente, and knowe that it was
to put vs in remembraunce of hys bodye
breakynge and bloode sheadynge, that we
myght geue hym thankes for it, and be as
sure of it through fayth accordynge to his
promyses, as we are sure of the breade by
eatynge of it: yf as I saye, ye remember
thys thynge (for whiche intēte onelye the
Preste speaketh those wordes) then yf the Prest
leaue out those wordes or parte therof,
he can not hurte you. For you haue already
// File: 150.png
the effecte and fynall purpose for
the whiche he shulde speake them. And agayne
yf he shulde whollye altre thē, yet
he can not deceyue you. For then ye be sure
that he is a lyer, and though you se the
Preste brynge you the wyne vnconsecrated,
yet neuer stycke at that. For as surelye
shall it certyfye your conscyence and outwarde
sences though he consecrate it not
(so thou consecrate it thy selfe: that is to
saye, so thou knowe what is ment therbye
and geue hym thankes) as though he made
a thousande blessynges ouer it. And so
I saye that it is euer consecrated in hys
harte that beleueth, though the Preste consecrate
it not. And contrarye wyse yf they
consecrate it neuer so moche, and thy consecracyon
be not bye, it helpeth the not a
ryshe. For excepte thou knowe what is
ment therby, and beleue, geuynge thākes
for hys bodye breakynge and blood sheadynge,
it can not profytte them.
More.
❧ Nowe where you saye, that yf we
see the thynge dysordered by the Preste, &
Christes instytucyon broken, and wetynglye
receyue it, we make our selfes partakers
of the cryme.
Fryth.
¶ I answere that yf the reformacyon
therof laye in our handes, then sayde you
trouth, but syth thys is wryten to pryuate
parsones whiche maye not reforme this
matter, and that the reformacyon therof
// File: 151.png
.pn 76
resteth onelye in the hande of your Prynce
and Parlyamente (for the erroure consysteth
not in the mysorderynge of the
matter by one Preste onely, but rather of
the doctryne of them all, sauynge suche as
God hath lyghtened) to these pryuate persons
I saye that your doctryne shulde soner
be the occasyon of an insurreccyon
(whiche we laboure to eschewe) then anye
quyetynge of them by Christes doctryne.
And therfore syth there is an other waye
to the woode, sauynge all vpryght, we
wyll auoyde that parellous pathe. But
when ye see Christes instytucyon broken
and the one kynde lefte out vnto the laye
people, why are ye partaker therof?
More.
❧ How be it as for hys beleue that
taketh it no better but for bare breade and
wyne it maketh hym lytell matter consecrated
or not, sauynge that the better it is
consecrated the more it is ever noyous to
hym that receyueth it, hauynge hys conscyence
combred with suche an execrable
heresy, by which well apeareth that he putteth
no dyfferēce betwene the bodye of our
lorde in the blessed sacramēt and the comō
breade that he eateth at his dyner. But rather
he esteameth it lesse. For the one yet I
thynke or he begynne, yf he lacke a Prest,
he wyll blesse it hym selfe, as for the other
he careth not, whether it be blessed or not.
Fryth.
¶ What I reaken it more then breade
// File: 152.png
and wyne I wyll shewe you herafter in
declarynge the mynde of S. Paule vpon
thys sacrament, and that in the conclusyō
of thys boke. And in the meane season I
wyll saye no more but that he belyeth me.
And as for their blessynges and consecracyon
profyte not me, excepte I consecrate
it my selfe with fayth in Christes bloode,
and wyth geuynge hym prayse and thankes
for hys inestymable goodnes, whiche
whē I was hys enemye recōcyled me vnto
hys Father by hys owne death. This
consecracyon muste I sette by, yf I wyl
haue anye profyte of hys death which the
sacrament representeth vnto me. And yf I
my selfe do thus consecrate it, then shall I
be sure of the frute of hys death. And I saye
agayne, that as the Prestes do now vse
to consecrate it, it helpeth not the poore comons
of a ryshe. For their consecracyon
shulde stonde in preachynge vnto them the
deathe of Christe whyche hath delyuered
them out of the Egypte of synne, and
from the fyerye fornace of Pharao the devell.
And as for their waggynge of their
fyngers over it, and sayenge syxe or seauē
wordes in Latyn, helpeth them nothynge
at all. For how can they beleue by the
meanes of hys wordes, when they knowe
not what he sayeth? And as towchynge
the daylye and commō breade that
// File: 153.png
.pn 77
I eate at my dynner, whether I haue a
Preste or not, I blesse it with my harte (ād
not with my fyngers) and hartely geue
God thankes for it. For yf I haue an hundreth
Prestes to blesse it, yet am not I excused
therbye. For excepte I blesse yt my
selfe, yt profyteth me no more then yf it
were vnblessed. And I blesse yt my selfe,
thā I care not what the Preste prate. For
as longe as I vnderstonde hym not, yt
profyteth me nothyng. But in good fayth
I wene the Byshoppes and their proctoure
wote not what a blessynge meaneth.
Therfore deare bretherne harken to me.
To blesse God, is to geue hym prayse ād
thankes for hys benefyttes:
To blesse.
To blesse
a Kynge or a Prynce, is to thanke hym
for hys kyndenes, and to praye to God
for hym, that he maye longe reygne to
the laude of God and wealth of hys commons.
To blesse a mās neyghboure, is to
praye for hym and to do hym good. To
blesse my breade or meate, is to geue God
thankes for it. To blesse my selfe, is to
geue God thākes for the greate benefyttes
that I haue receyued of hym, and to
praye God that of hys infynyte goodes
he wyll increase those gyftes that he hath
geuen me, and fynyshe hys worke which
he hath begonne in me, vnto hys laude
and prayse. And as towchynge thys fleshe,
to fulfyll hys wyll in it, and not to spare
// File: 154.png
yt, but scourge cutte ād burne it, onelye
that it maye be to hys honoure & glorye.
Thys is the forme of blessynge, and not
to wagge two fyngers ouer them. But alacke,
of this blessynge our Byshoppes be
ignoraunte.
More.
❧ But as for those that are good & faythfull
folke, and haue any grace or any sparcle
of reason in their heades, wyll (I verely
thynke) neuer be so farre overseane, as
in thys artycle (the trouthe wherof God
hath hym selfe testyfyed by as many opē
myracles as euer he testyfyed any one) to
beleue thys yonge man vpon hys baren
reasons agaynste the faythe ād reasō both
of all olde holy wryters ād all good Christen
people thys xv.C. yeares.
Fryth.
¶ As for the myracles, I mervell not at
them, neyther may they make me the sooner
to beleue it. For Christe tolde vs before
Mat. 24.
that suche delusyons shulde come, that
yf it were possyble, the very electe shulde
be deceyued by them.
2. Tes, 2.
And S. Paule exorteth
vs to be ware of such sygnes ād wōders.
And therfore I do as Moses teacheth
me
Deu. 13.
when I here of suche a wonder,
then strayght I loke vpon the doctryne
that is annexed wyth it. Yf it teache me to
referre all the honoure to God and not to
creatures, and teache me nothynge but
that wyll stonde with Goddes worde,
then wyll I saye, that it is of God. But
// File: 155.png
.pn 78
yf it teache me suche thynges as wyll not
stonde with hys worde, then wyll I determyne
that it is done by the deuell, to delude
the people with dampnable Idolatrye.
When Paule and Barnabas preached at
Lystra
Acte. 24.
and had done a myracle amonge
them, the people ranne and wolde haue
done sacryfyce vnto them. But the Apostles
ranne amonge them and tare their
clothes, cryenge vnto them, syrs what do
you? We are euen corruptyble men as ye
are, and preache vnto you, that you shulde
leaue thys vayne superstycyon, ād worshyppe
the leuynge God, which made heauē,
earth, the see, and all that is in thē et c.
Here the Apostles refused suche honour &
worshyppe. And therfore I am sure they
wolde not suffer their Images to haue it.
Now when I see a myracle done at any
Image, and perceyue that it bryngeth mē
to the worshyppynge of it selfe, cōtrarye
to the facte and doctryne of the Apostles,
whiche wolde not receyue it them selues,
I must neades conclude, that it is but a delusyon
done by the deuell to deceyue vs,
ād to brynge the wrath of God vpon vs.
Euē so I saye of the sacramēt, syth the myracles
that are don by it, do make mē thynke
otherwyse thē scripture wyll, ād cause
mē to worshyppe it: I doubte not but they
are done by the deuell, to delude the peple.
Thou wylt perauēture say, that god wyll
// File: 156.png
hym to abuse the sacrament of hys bodye
and bloode. Yes verelye, god wyll suffer
yt, and doth suffer yt, to see whether we
wyll be faythfull and abyde by hys worde
or not. And mervell not therof,
Matt. 4.
for God
suffered hym to take vppe the verye naturall
bodye of his sonne Christ and set
hym vpon a pynnacle of the temple. And
after he toke hym vppe agayne, and ledde
hym to ā exceadynge moūtayne. And therfore
thynke not but that he hath more power
over the sacramēt thē he had ouer christes
owne bodye. And therfore when they
tell me, lo here is Christ: lo there is Christ
(as Christ prophecyed) lo, he is at thys
aultre, lo, he is at that, I wyll not beleue
them.
Neuerthelesse yf I shulde graunte
that all the myracles whiche were done
and ascrybed vnto the sacramente, were
very true myracles and done of God
hym selfe (as I doubt not but some of thē
be true) yet there vpon yt doth not folowe
that the Sacrament shulde be the verye
naturall bodye of Christe. For we haue
evydent storyes that certayne persones
haue bene delyvered from bodelye dyseases
through the sacrament of Baptyme.
And yet the water is not the holye Gost
nor the very thynge yt selfe wherof it is
a sacramente.
Actes. 5.
The shadowe of Peter
healed many. And yet was not that shadowe
// File: 157.png
.pn 79
Peters owne parson.
Actu. 19.
We reade also
that napkyns and hande kerchers were
caryed from Paule vnto them that were
sycke and possessed with vncleane spiretes
and they receyued their health. And yet it
were neuerthelesse madnes, to thynke that
Paules bodye had bene actuallye or naturallye
in those thynges. And therfore
thys is but a verye weake reason, to Iudge
by the myracles the presence of Christes
bodye. And surelye you myght be ashamed
to make so slender reasons. For
God maye worke myracles through manye
thynges which are not hys naturall
bodye. And as towchynge the olde doctoures
whome you fayne to make wyth
you, & the trouth of your opynyon which
you saye hath bene beleued of all good
Christen people this xv. C. yeares, is suffycyently
declared before, and proued to
be but a poynte of your olde poetrye.
¶ Doctoure
Barnes ded gracyouslye escape
Master Mores handes.
// File: 158.png
.sp 2
More.
And also Fryre
Barnes, albeit that as
ye wote well he is in
many other thynges a
brother of thys yonge
mās secte: yet in this
heresye he sore abhorreth
hys heresye, or els
he lyeth hym selfe. For at hys laste beynge
here he wrote a letter to me. Wherin
he wryteth that I laye that heresye wrōgfullye
to hys charge. And sheweth hym
selfe so sore greved therwith that he sayeth,
he wyll in my reproche make a boke a
gaynst me. Wherin he wyll professe and
proteste hys faythe concernynge this blessed
sacramente. But in the meane season it
well contenteth me, that fryre Barnes beynge
a man of more age, and more rype
dyscrecyon, and a doctoure of dyuynyte,
and in those thynges better learned then
thys yonge man is, abhorreth thys yōge
mannes heresye in thys poynte, as well
as he lyketh hym in many other.
Fryth.
¶ The more your mastershyppe prayseth
Doctoure Barnes, the worse men
maye lyke your matter. For in many
poyntes he doth condempne your dampnable
doctryne, as in hys boke appeareth.
And therfore yf suche credence must be geuē
to hym, then moche the lesse wyll be geuen
to you. But peraduenture you wyll
// File: 159.png
.pn 80
saye, that he is to be beleued in this poynte,
although he erre in other. Wherevnto
I answere, that yf you wyll consent vnto
hym, I wolde be well apayed and wyll
promyse you to wryte no more in that matter.
For in this we both agre, that it ought
not to be worshypped, yea and (blessed be
God) all the other whome you call heretyckes.
And so both of vs do avoyde the
Idolatrye which you with so greate daunger
do daylye cōmytte. And therfor yf you
folowe hys learnynge, then am I content
that you dyssent from me. For lette it not
be worshypped, ād thynke as yow wyll,
for then is the parell paste. And syth we
agre in thys poynte, doubte not but we
shall soone agre in the resydue, ād admytte
eche other for faythfull brothers. And
where your mastershyppe sayeth, that he
wrote you a letter protestynge that you
laye that heresye wrongfully to hys charge,
I thynke it was more wysdome for
hym twyse to haue wryten to you, then ones
to haue come hym selfe ād tell you of
it. For it was playnelye tolde hym, that
you had conspyred hys death, ād that notwithstondynge
hys saue conduyte, you
were mynded to haue murthered hym.
And for that cause he was compelled
both beynge here, to kepe hym selfe secretelye,
and also preuylye to departe
the realme.
// File: 160.png
¶ And blessed be God you haue suffycyentlye
publyshed your purpose in
your answere agaynste Wyllyan Tyndall,
where you saye, that you myght laufullye
haue burnte hym. Here men maye
see how percyallye you are addycte to
our prelates. And how prone ye were to
fulfyll their pleasures contrarye to our
Prynces prerogatyue royall. And thākes
be to God which gaue you suche grace
in the syght of our soveraygne, that he
shortelye withdrewe your power. For els
it is to be feared that you wolde further
haue proceded agaynste hys graces prerogatyue,
which thynge whether yt be treason
or not, let other men defyne. But thys
I dare saye, that it is prynted and publyshed
to our Prynces greate dyshonoure.
For what learned man maye in tyme to
come truste to hys graces saue conduyte
or come at hys graces instaunce or requeste,
syth not onelye the spirytualte (which
of their professyon resyste hys prerogatiue)
but also a laye man promoted to suche
preemynence by hys graces goodnes, dare
presume so to depresse hys prerogatyue
and not onelye to saye, but also to publyshe
it in prente: that notwithstondynge hys
graces saue conduyte, they myght laufullye
haue burnte hym.
But here he wolde saye vnto me as he
dothe in hys boke, that he had forfayted
// File: 161.png
.pn 81
hys salue conduyte, ād therbye was fallē
in to hys enemyes handes. Where vnto I
answere, that thys your sayenge is but a
vayne glose. For I my selfe ded reade the
salue conduyte that came vnto him, which
had but onelye thys one condycyon annexed
vnto it, that if he came before the feaste
of Christmas then nexte ensuynge, he
shulde haue free lyberte to departe at hys
pleasure. And thys condycyon I knowe
was fulfylled. How shulde he than forfayte
hys salue cōduyte? But master More
hath learned of hys masters our Prelates
(whose proctoure he is) to depresse our
Prynces prerogatyue, that mē ought not
to keape any promyse with heretyckes.
And so hys salue cōduyte coulde not saue
hym. As though the Kynges grace myght
not admytte any man to go and come frelye
into hys graces realme, but that he
muste haue leaue of our prelates. For els
they myght laye heresye agaynst the parson,
and so sleye hym cōtrarye to the Kynges
salue cōduyte, which thynge all wyse
men do knowe to be preiudycyall to hys
graces prerogatyue royall. And yet I am
sure that of all the tyme of hys beynge here,
you can not accuse hym of one cryme,
albeit (vnto your shame) you saye that he
had forfayted hys salue conduyte. These
wordes had be verye extreame and worthy
to haue bene loked vpon, although
// File: 162.png
they had bene wryten by some presumptuous
Prelate. But that a laye man so
hyghlye promoted by hys Prynce, shulde
speake them and also cause them openlye
to be publyshed amonge hys graces comons,
to deyecte the estymacyon of hys
royall power, doth in my mynde, deserue
correccyon. Notwithstondynge I leaue
the iudgement and determynacyon, vnto
the dyscrecyō of hys graces honourable
counsell.
More.
❧ And as for that holy prayer that
this devoute yōge man (as a newe Christe
teacheth all hys congregacyon to make
at the receyuynge of thys blessed sacrament)
I wyll not geue the parynge of a peare,
though it were moche better thē it is,
pullynge away the true fayth (as he doth)
frō the Sacrament. Howbeit hys prayer
there is so devysed, penned, and paynted
with laysure and studye, that I truste
euery good Christen woman maketh a
moche better prayer, at the tyme of her
howsell, by faythfull affectyō & by Gods
good inspyracyō sodēlye. Fryth is an vnmete
master to teache vs what we shulde
praye at the receyuynge of the blessed sacrament,
whē he wyll not knowlege it as
it is, but take Christes blessed body for no
thynge but bare breade, & so lytle esteame
the receyuyng of the blessed sacramēt, that
he forsyth lytle whether it be blessed or not.
// File: 163.png
.pn 82
Fryth.
¶ Where he dyscommendeth my prayer
& sayeth, that I am an vnmete master to
teache men to praye, seynge I take away
the true fayth from it, and sayeth that euery
woman can make a better when she receyueth
the sacramente, I wolde to God
that euery woman were so well learned
that they coulde teache vs both. And surely
I intended not to prescrybe to all men
that prayer onely, but hoped to healpe the
ygnoraunt, that they myght eyther speake
those wordes, or els (takynge occasyon of
them) to saye some other, to the laude and
prayse of God. And as for your fayth
(which you call the true fayth) must I neades
improue. For it wyll not stōde with
the true texte of scrypture, as it playnelye
appeareth. But to the fayth in Christes
bloode I exhorte all men, and teach them
to eate hys bodye with fayth (& not with
teeth) which is by hauynge hys death in cōtynuall
remembraunce, and digestynge it
in to the bowels of the soule. And because
you so sore improue my prayer, to cōclude
my answere agaynst you, I wyll rehearse
yt agayne. And lette all mē Iudge betwene
vs. Blessed be thou most deare and
mercyfull Father, which of thy tender fauoure
& benygnyte, notwithstōdynge our
greuous enormytees cōmytted agaynste
thee, vouchsauedst to sēde thyne owne deare
sone, to suffre moste vyle death for our
redempcyon.
// File: 164.png
Blessed be thou Chryst Iesu our Lorde &
sauyour, which of thyne haboundāt pytye
consyderynge our myserable estate, wyllyngly
tokest vpon the to haue thy moste
innocent bodye broken & bloode shedde to
pourge vs and washe vs which are loadē
with inyquyte. And to certyfye vs therof,
hast lefte vs not onely thy worde which
maye enstructe our hartes; But also a vysyble
token to certyfye euen our outwarde
sences of this greate benefytte, that we
shulde not doubte, but that the bodye and
frute of thy passyon are ours (through
fayth) as surelye as the breade, which by
our sentes we knowe that we haue within
vs. Blessed be also that spiryte of veryte
which is sente from God our father
through our sauyour Christ Iesu, to lyghten
our darcke ignoraunce, and leade vs
through fayth in to the knoweleage of
hym which is all veryte. Strength we
beseche the our frayle nature, and
encreace our faythe: that we
maye prayse God our
moste mercyfull
Father, and
Christe
hys
sonne
our Sauyoure and redeamer.
AMEN.
// File: 165.png
.pn 83
.h2
A comparyson betwene the Paschall Lambe, & our Sacrament.
.sp 2
Now we shall shortely
expresse the pyth of our
matter and borowe the fygure
of the paschall Lambe,
which is in all poyntes lyke
vnto it. That the offerynge of the Paschall
Lambe ded sygnyfye the offerynge
of Christes bodye, is playne by Paule
which sayeth,
1. Cor. 5.
Christe our Paschall Lambe
is offered vp for vs. When the chylderne
of Israell were very sadde and heauy for
their sore oppressyon vnder the power of
Pharao (for the more myracles were shewed,
the worse were they handeled) God
sente vnto them by Moyses, that euerye
housholde shulde kyll a Lambe to be a sacryfyce
vnto GOD, and that they shulde
eate hym with their staues in their handes,
theyr loynes gyrded, and showes vpon
their feete: euen as men that were goynge
an hastye Iorneye. This Lambe muste
they eate hastelye and make a merye
maundye. Now because they shulde not
saye, that they coulde not be merye for
their oppressyon, and what coulde the lābe
// File: 166.png
helpe them: he added gladde tydynges
vnto it and sayde, This is the passynge
bye of the Lorde. Whiche thys nyght
shall passe by you and slee all the fyrste begotten
within the Londe of Egypte, and
shall delyuer you out of your bondage, &
brynge you in to the Londe that he hath
promysed vnto your fathers. Marke the
processe and conveyaunce of thys matter,
for euen lykewyse it is in our sacrament.
The apostles were sadde & heauye, partelye
consyderynge the bondage of synne
wherwith they were oppressed, & partelye
because he tolde them that he muste departe
frō thē,
Ioan. 16.
in whō they ded put all their hope
of their delyueraunce. Whyles they
were in thys heauynes, Christ thought to
conforte them ād to geue them the seale of
theyr delyueraunce, and toke in hys hande
breade, blessed and brake it, and gaue it to
hys dyscyples sayēge: This is my bodye
which shalbe geuē for you. For this nyght
shall the power of Pharao the deuell be
dystroyed, and to morowe shall you be delyuered
from the Egypte of synne, and
shall take your Iourneye towardes that
heauenlye mansyon which is prepared of
God for all that loue hym. Now compare
them together.
1.
The Paschall Lambe was instytute ād
eaten the nyght before the chylderne of Israell
were in dede delyuered frō Egypte.
// File: 167.png
.pn 84
Lykewyse was the sacramēt instytute ād
eaten the nyght before we were delyuered
from our synnes.
2.
The Paschall Lābe was a verye Lābe
in dede. And so is the sacrament very breade
in dede.
3.
The Paschall Lābe was called the passynge
bye of the Lorde which dystroyed
the power of Pharao ād delyuered them.
The sacrament is called the bodye of the
Lorde which dystroyed the power of the
deuell and delyuered vs.
4.
As many as ded eate the Paschall Lābe
in fayth, were very merye and gaue
God greate thankes. For they were sure
the nexte day to be delyuered out of Egypte.
Lykewyse as many as ded eate thys
sacramēte in fayth, were merye and gaue
God greate thankes, for they were sure
the nexte daye to be delyuered from their
synne.
5.
They that ded not eate the Paschall
Lambe in fayth, coulde not be merye. For
they were not sure of delyueraunce from
the powre of Pharao. They that ded not
eate thys Sacramente in fayth, coulde
not be mery: For they were not sure
of delyueraunce from the power of the
deuell.
6.
They that beleued the worde of the
Lord ded more eate the passyng bye of the
Lorde which shulde delyuer thē, thē they
// File: 168.png
ded the Lambe. They that dede beleue the
worde of the Lorde ded more eate the bodye
of the Lorde which shulde be geuen
for their delyueraunce, then they ded the
breade. For that thynge doth a man moste
eate that he moste hath in memorye & moste
revolueth in mynde: as appeareth by
Christe Ioā. 4. I haue meate to eate that
ye knowe not.
7.
They that beleued not the nexte daye
to be delyuered from Egypte, ded not eate
the passynge bye of the Lord, although
they eate the Lambe. They that beleued
not the nexte daye to be delyuered from
synne, ded not eate the bodye of the Lorde,
although they eate the breade.
8.
The chylderne of Israell were but ones
delyuered from Egypte, notwithstōdynge
they ded euery yeare eate the Lambe,
to keape that facte in perpetuall remēbraunce:
Euen so Christ bought ād redeamed
vs but ones for all, and was offered
ād sacryfyced but ones for all, though the
sacramēt therof be daylye brokē amonge
vs, to keape the benefytte in contynuall
memorye.
9.
As manye as ded eate the Paschall Lābe
in faythe and beleued Godes worde as
towchynge theyr delyueraunce from Egypte,
were as sure of their delyueraunce
through faythe, as they were sure of the
Lābe by eatynge it. As many as do eate
// File: 169.png
.pn 85
this sacrament in fayth and beleue Goddes
worde as towchynge their delyueraunce
from synne, are as sure of their delyueraunce
through fayth, as they are sure
of the breade by eatynge it.
10.
As many as ded eate of that Paschall
Lambe ded magnyfye their God, testyfyenge
that he onely was the God almyghtye,
ād they hys people styckynge to hym,
to be delyuered by hys power from all daunger.
As manye as do eate of thys sacrament
do magnyfye their God, testyfyinge
that he onelye is the God almyghtye,
and they hys people styckynge by hym to
be delyuered by hys power frō all daunger.
11.
When the Israelytes were delyuered
from Egypte, they eate neuerthelesse the
Paschal Lambe whiche was styll called
the passynge bye (because it was the remēbraunce
of the passynge bye of the Lorde)
and hartelye reioysed, offerynge hym sacryfyce
and knowelegynge with infynite
thankes, that they were the felowshyppe
of them that had suche a mercyfull God.
Now Christes electe are delyuered from
synne, they eate neuerthelesse the sacramēt
which is styll called hys bodye that ones
dyed for their delyueraunce, and hartelye
reioyse, offerynge to hym the sacryfyce of
prayse and knoweledge with infynite thākes,
that they are of the felowshyppe of
// File: 170.png
them that haue suche a mercyfull God.
12.
The Paschall Lambe (after their delyueraunce
beynge yearlye eaten) brought as
moche myrthe and Ioye vnto them that
ded eate it in fayth, as it ded to their fathers
which felte Pharaoes furye, & were
not yet delyuered. For they knewe ryght
well that excepte God of hys mercye and
wōderfull power had so delyuered them,
they shulde also them selfes haue bene bounde
in the Londe of Egypte, and vnder
that wycked Prynce Pharao, of whiche
bōdage they greatelye reioysed to be rydde
alreadye, and thanked God hyghly because
they founde them selfes in that plentuouse
Londe whiche God prouyded for
them. The sacramēt which after our delyueraunce
is yearlye and daylye eatē, bryngeth
as moche myrth and Ioye vnto vs
that eate it in fayth, as it ded to the Apostles
which were not yet delyuered. For we
knowe ryght well that excepte God of
hys mercye and through the bloode of his
sonne had so delyuered vs, we shulde also
our selfes haue bene bounde in the Egypte
of synne vnder that wycked Prynce the
deuell, of which bondage we greatelye reioyse
to be rydde alredye, and thanke God
hyghlye because we fynde our selues in
the state of grace, and haue receyued throughe
fayth the fyrste frutes and taste of
the spyryte, which testyfyeth vnto vs that
// File: 171.png
.pn 86
we are the chylderne of God.
This maundye of remembraunce was
it that Paule receyued of the Lorde and
delyuered to the Corynthyans in the .xi.
chaptre. For though he borowe one propertye
and symylytude of the sacramente
in the .x. chapter, which in my mynde maketh
neyther with vs nor agaynste vs, albeit
some thynke that it maketh whole for
the exposycyon of Christes wordes,
1. Cor. 10.
thys
is my bodye. But in my mynde they are
deceyued. For the occasyon whye Paule
spake of it in the tenthe chapter, was
thys.
The Corynthyans had knoweleage
that all meates were indyfferent, and whether
it were offered to an Idoll or not, that
the meate was not the worse, ād that they
myght laufullye eate of it, whether it were
solde them in the shambles or sette before
them when they dyned or souped in
an vnfaythfull mannes house, askynge no
questyons: excepte some man ded tell thē
that it was offerred to an Idoll, and then
they shulde not eate of it for offendynge
hys conscyence that so tolde them (albeyt
they were els free and the thynge indyfferente)
thys knoweledge because it was
not annexed wyth charyte, was the occasyon
of greate offendynge.
For by reason therof they sate downe
amonge the Gentyles at their Feastes,
// File: 172.png
where they ded eate in the honoure of
their Idolles, and so ded not onelye wounde
the conscyēce of their weake bretherne,
but also cōmytted Idolatrye in dede. And
therfore S. Paule sayde vnto them. My
deare beloued flee from worshyppynge of
Idolles. I speake vnto them whiche haue
dyscrecyon. Iudge ye what I saye. Is not
the cuppe of blessynge which we blesse the
felowshyppe of the bloode of Christe? Is
not the breade which we breake the felowshyppe
of the bodye of Christe? For we
though we be manye are yet one breade
and one bodye, in as moche as we are partakers
of one breade. Christ ded call hym
selfe bread ād the breade hys bodye. And
there Paule calleth vs breade and the breade
our bodye. Now maye you not take
Paule that he in this place shulde dyrectelye
expounde Christes mynde. And that
the verye exposycyō of Christes wordes,
whē he sayde, thys is my bodye, shulde be
that it was the felowshyppe of his bodye,
as some saye, whiche seakynge the keye in
thys place of Paule, locke them selfes so
faste in, that they can fynde no waye out.
For Christe spake those wordes of hys
owne bodye which shulde be geuē for vs,
but the felowshyppe of Christes bodye (or
congregacyon) was not geuen for vs. And
so he mente not as Paule here sayeth,
but mēte hys owne bodye. For as Paule
// File: 173.png
.pn 87
calleth the breade our bodye for a certayne
propertye, euen so doth Christe call it
hys bodye for certayne other propertyes.
In that the breade was brokē, it was Christes
owne bodye, sygnyfyēge that as that
breade was broken, so shulde hys bodye
be brokē for vs. In that it was dystrybuted
vnto hys dyscyples, it was hys owne
bodye, sygnyfyēge that as verelye as that
breade was destrybuted vnto them, so verelye
shulde the death of hys bodye, and
frute of hys passyon be dystrybuted to
all faythfull folke. In that the breade
strengtheneth our bodyes, it is hys owne
bodye, sygnyfyenge that as our bodyes
are strengthened and conforted by breade,
so are our soules by the fayth in hys bodye
brekynge. And lykewyse of the wyne
in that it was so dystrybuted, conforteth
vs and maketh vs merye. Furthermore,
the breade and wyne haue a nother propertye,
for the whiche it is called our bodye.
For in that the breade is made one
breade of manye graynes or cornes, it is
our bodye, sygnyfyenge that we though
we be manye, are made one breade, that is
to saye: one bodye. And in that the wyne
is made one wyne of manye grapes, it is
our bodye, sygnyfyenge that though we
are manye yet in Christe & through Christe
we are made one bodye and membres
to eche other. But in thys thynge Paule
// File: 174.png
and Christe agre. For as Paule calleth the
breade our bodye and vs the breade, because
of thys propertye that it is made one of
manye: euen so doth Christe call it hys bodye,
because of the propertyes before rehearsed.
Furthermore in thys they agre,
that as Paules wordes muste be taken
spyrytuallye, for I thynke there is no man
so madde, as to Iudge that the breade is
our bodye in dede although in that propertye
it representeth our bodye: Euen so muste
Christes wordes be vnderstonde spyrytuallye,
that in those propertyes it representeth
hys verye bodye. Now when we come
together to receyue thys breade, then
by the receyuynge of it in the congregacyon,
we do openlye testyfye that we all
whiche receyue it, are one bodye, professynge
one God, one Fayth, & one Baptyme,
and that the bodye of Christe was brokē
and hys bloode shedde for remyssyon of
our synnes. Now syth we so do, we maye
not acompanye nor sytte in the congregacyon
or felowshyppe of thē that offer vnto
Idolles and eate before them. For as Paule
sayeth, ye cā not drynke the cuppe of the
Lorde and the cuppe of the deuels: ye can
not be partakers of the table of the Lorde
and of the table of the deuelles. I wolde
not that you shulde haue felowshyppe
with deuelles. The heythen which offerred
vnto Idolles were the felowshyppe of
// File: 175.png
.pn 88
deuelles, not because they eate the deuelles
bodye or drāke the deuelles bloode, but because
they beleued and put their confydence
in the Idoll or devyll as in their God,
and all that were of that fayth had their
ceremonyes, and gaue hartye thankes to
their God with that feaste which they kepte.
They came to one place and brought
their meate before the Idoll and offered it.
And with their offerynge gaue vnto the devyll
Godlye honoure. And then they sate
downe and eate the offerynge together, geuynge
prayse and thākes vnto their God,
and were one bodye and one felowshyppe
of the devell, which they testyfy by eatynge
of that offerynge before that Idoll.
Now dothe S. Paule reprehende the Corinthyans
for bearynge the gentyles companye
in eatynge before the Idoll. For
they knowe that the meate was lyke other
meate. And therfore thought them selues
fre to eate it or leue it. But they perceyued
not that that congregacyō was the felowshyppe
of develles whiche were there gathered
(not for the meate sake) but for to
thanke, and prayse the Idoll their God
in whome they had their confydence.
And all that there assembled and ded
there eate, and ded openlye testyfye, that
they all were one bodye, professynge one
fayth in their GOD that Idoll: So
S. Paule ded sharpelye rebuke them,
// File: 176.png
for because that by their eatynge (in that
place and felowshyppe) they testyfyed openlye,
that they were of the develes bodye,
and reioysed in the Idoll their God,
in whome they had fayth and confydence.
And therfor sayeth Paule, that they cā not
both drynke the cuppe of the Lorde, testyfyenge
hym to be their God in whome onelye
they haue truste and affyaunce, ād the
cuppe of the devell, testyfyenge the Idoll
to be their God and refuge.
Here you maye note that the meate and
the eatynge of it in thys place and felowshyppe,
is more then the common meate ād
eatynge in other places. For els they
myght lawfullye haue dronken the deuelles
cuppe with them the one daye, and the
cuppe of the Lorde the nexte daye with his
dyscyples. What was it more? Merelye it
was meate, whiche by the eatynge of it in
that place and felowshyppe, ded testyfye
openlye vnto all men, that he was their
God whose cuppe they dranke, and before
whome they eate in that felowshyppe; and
so in their eatynge they praysed and honoured
the Idoll. And therfore they that
had their truste in the leuynge God and
in the bloode of hys sonne Christ, myght
not eate with them. And lykewyse it is in
the sacrament, the breade and the eatynge
of it in the place and felowshyppe where
it is receyued, is more then commō breade.
// File: 177.png
.pn 89
What is it more? Verelye it is breade
which by the eatynge of it in that place &
felowshyppe, doth testyfye openlye vnto
all men, that he is our verye God whose
cuppe we drynke, and before whome we
eate in that felowshyppe, and that we put
all our affyaunce in hym and in the bloode
of hys sonne Christe Iesu, geuynge
God all honoure ād infynyte thankes for
hys greate loue wherwith he loued vs, as
it is testyfyed in the bloode of hys sonne,
which was shedde for our synnes. So that
in this place and felowshyppe maye no
man eate nor drynke with vs, but he that
is of our fayth and knowleageth the same
God that we do. As by example, If a mā
were well beloued amonge hys neyghboures
(albeyt he haue some enemyes) &
were longe absent from hys fryndes in a
straunge contrye: when he were come home,
hys neyghboures that loued hym wolde
greatelye reioyse, and peraduēture wolde
bye a copon or a nother peace of meate
to geue hym hys welcome home, ād gette
the to some honeste mans house or to a taverne,
and make good chere together, to
testyfye opēlye that he is welcome home,
and that they all whiche are at that banket
reioyse of hys commyge home. Nowe
I saye, that this banket is more then another
meate, for at thys banket hys enemyes
maye be loth to come, because they can
// File: 178.png
not reioyse at hys comynge home, ād therfore
can not make good chere amonge thē,
testyfyenge that he is welcome home; but
rather abhorreth the meate and drynke
that is there eatē, because their harte doth
not fauoure the parson for whose sake it
is prepared. Notwithstondynge yf a capons
legge were reserued for one of hys
enemyes and afterwarde geuen hym whā
the banket were done, he myght laufullye
eate it. For then it were but bare meate,
suche as he eateth at home. And lykewyse
the enemyes of Christe which beleue not
that they haue remyssyō of synnes throughe
hys bloode sheadynge, can not reioyse
of hys bodye breakynge. And therfore
can not make good chere amonge them,
but yf any be reserued after the maundye,
he maye laufullye eate it, for it is but breade.
And hys louers that are there present
do rather come thy der to geuehym hys
welcome home then for the meate, ād they
more eate hys welcome home, then the
meate.
But yf anye of hys enemyes fortune to
be there, they eate onelye the meate, ād not
hys welcome home. For they reioyse not
at hys commynge home. Lykewyse the
faythfull that are there present, do rather
come thyther to reioyse in the fayth of hys
bodye breakynge, then in breakynge or eatynge
of the breade or meate. But yf anye
// File: 179.png
.pn 90
of the vnfaythfull fortune to be there, they
eate onelye the breade, and not hys bodye
breakynge. For they reioyse not at hys bodye
breakynge. Here peraduenture some
wolde suppose that I were contrarye to
my selfe. For before I sayde, that it was
more thē meate that was eaten at the gentyles
feastes, ād more thē meate that was
eaten at my neyghbours welcome home,
and more then breade that is eaten at the
receyuynge of the sacrament of the bodye
and bloode of Christe. And nowe I saye,
that yf a mans enemye be there, he eateth
onelye the meate and not the welcome home.
And lykewyse the vnfaythfull eateth
onelye breade and not the bodye and bloode
of Christe. How maye these wordes
stonde together? I answere, that they eate
but onelye breade or meate that profyteth
them, but in dede they eate more to their
hynderaunce, and euen theyr owne dāpnacyon.
For they that ded eate in the fellowshyppe
of Gentyles, ded but onelye eate
the meate to their profytte, but in eatynge
their meate their facte ded opēlye testyfye,
that they honoured that Idoll for their
GOD (although their harte were other-wyse)
wherin they comytted Idolatrye.
1. Cor. 8.
And besydes that they wounded the conscyences
of their weake bretherne, and so
synned agaynste God.
Besydes that, he that ēvyeth hys neyghboure
// File: 180.png
and commeth to that banket, eateth
but onely the meate that profyteth hym:
not withstondynge in hys owne harte, he
eateth the rancoure & malyce of hys mynde,
to hys greate greavaunce, whē he seeth
them so reioyse. And of hys owne companyons
whiche are also these mannes enemyes,
he doth purchace hym selfe hatred,
because with hys facte he testyfyeth that
he loueth hym, although hys harte be otherwyse,
ād of God shalbe condempned.
1. Joā. 3.
For he that hateth hys brother, is a murtherer.
Furthermore he that is vnfaythfull
and commeth to the maundye, eateth
but onelye the breade that profyteth hym,
notwithstondynge he eateth besyde that
hys owne dampnacyon, because he beleueth
not that the bodye of our sauyoure
which the sacrament representeth, is broken
for hys synnes, and hys bloode shedde,
to washe them awaye. This I am compelled
to do, to stoppe the chaterynge mouthes
of sophysters, albeit to them that be
sober it had bene ynough to haue sayde,
they eate onelye breade, and not the bodye
breakynge & ce. For they ryght well vnderstonde
it by the contrarye antithesis,
and knowe that I ment not by that (onelye)
that he shulde eate the breade and nothynge
els but onelye breade: but that I
ment by this worde (onelye) that he shulde
eate the breade without the bodye. And so
// File: 181.png
.pn 91
lykewyse in other examples. Thus haue
we suffycyentlye declared Paules mynde
in the .x. Chapter.
1. Cor. 11.
In the .xi. chapter Paule maketh moche
mencyon of the maundye and dyscrybeth
it to the vttermoste. Fyrste (he sayeth) whē
ye come together in one place, a man can
not eate the Lordes souper. For euerye mā
begynneth afore to eate hys owne souper,
and one is houngrye and an other is drōken.
Haue ye not howses to eate and drynke
in? Or els dyspyce ye the congregacyō
of God and shame them that haue not?
What shall I saye vnto you? Shall I prayse
you? In thys I prayse you not. Paule
ded instructe accordynge to Christes mynde,
that the Corinthyans shulde come together
to eate the Lordes souper. Whiche
lyeth not so moche in the carnall eatynge
as in the spyrytuall: and is greately desyred
to be eaten, not by the hounger of the
bodye, but by the hounger of the faythfull
harte. Whiche is greadye to publyshe the
prayse of the Lorde and geue hym hartye
thankes, and moue other to the same, that
of many, prayse myght be geuen vnto our
moste mercyfull Father, for the loue whiche
he shewed vs in the bloode of hys owne
moste deare sonne Christe Iesu. Wherwith
we are washed from our synnes, ād
surelye sealed vnto euerlastynge lyfe.
With suche hounger ded Christe eate the
// File: 182.png
Paschall Lambe, sayēge to hys dyscyples:
I haue inwardelye desyred to eate this Easter
Lambe with you before that I suffer.
Luc. 22.
Christes inwarde desyre was not to fyll
hys belye with hys dyscyples, but he had
a spyrytuall honger: bothe to prayse hys
Father with thē, for their bodely delyueraunce
out of the lande of Egypte: and specyallye
to altre the Paschall Lambe & memorye
of the carnall delyueraunce, in to a
maundye of myrth and thankes geuynge
for our spyrytuall delyueraunce out of the
bondage of synne. In so moche that when
Christe knewe that it was hys Fathers
wyll and pleasure, that he shulde suffer for
our synnes (wherin his honoure, glorye, &
prayse, shulde be publyshed) then was it a
pleasure vnto hym to declare vnto hys
dyscyples that greate benefytte, vnto hys
Fathers prayse and glorye: and so ded instytute
that we shulde come together and
breake the breade in the remembraunce of
his bodye breakynge & bloode sheadynge:
& that we shulde eate it together reioysynge
with eche other & declaryng his bēfytes.
Now were the Corynthyās fallē from
this honger, & can not together to thētent
that Goddes prayse shulde be publyshed
by thē in the myddes of the cōgregacyon,
but can to feade their fleshe & to make carnall
chere. In so moche that the ryche wolde
haue meate ād drynke ynough, ād take
// File: 183.png
.pn 92
suche habundance that they wolde be drōke,
ād so made it their owne souper ād not
the Lordes, as Paule sayeth, ād ded eate onelye
the breade & meate, ād not the bodye
breakynge as I sayde before, ād the poore
which had not, (that is to saye that had no
meate to eate) were shamed ād hōgrye, and
so coulde not reioyse ād prayse the Lorde:
by the reason that the delycate fare of the
ryche was an occasyō for the poore to lament
their pouertye, ād thus the ryche ded
neyther prayse God themselfes, nor suffered
the poore to do it, but were an occasyō
to hynder them.
They shulde haue brought their meate
and drynke ād haue deuyded it with their
poore bretherne, that they myght haue bene
mery together, and so to haue geuē thē
occasyō to be merye and reioyse in the Lorde
with thankes geuynge. But they had
neyther luste to prayse God, nor to confyrte
their neyghboure. Their fayth was feable,
ād their charyte colde, ād had no regarde
but to fyll their bodye ād feade their fleshe:
And so dyspysed the poore cōgregacyō
of God, whome they shulde haue honoured
for the spyryte that was in thē and fauoure
that God had shewed indyfferētlye
vnto thē in the bloode of hys sonne Christe.
When Paule perceyued that they were
thus fleshlye mynded and had no mynde
vnto that spyrytuall maundye whiche
// File: 184.png
chefelye shulde there be aduertysed, he reproueth
thē sore, rehersynge the wordes of
Christe. That which I gaue vnto you I receyued
of the lorde. For the lorde Iesus the
same nyght in the which he was betrayed
toke breade and thanked and brake it and
sayde: take ye and eate ye, this is my bodye
which is broken for you, this do ye in
the remembraunce of me. After the same
maner he toke the cuppe whē souper was
done sayenge: this cuppe is the newe testament
in my bloode, this do ye as ofte as
ye drynke it in the remembraunce of me.
For as ofte as ye shall eate thys breade
and drynke thys cuppe, ye shall shewe the
Lordes death, tyll he come. As though he
shulde saye, ye Corynthyans are moche to
blame which at this souper seake the foode
of your fleshe. For it was instytute of
Christe, not for the intent to nouryshe the
belye, but to strenght the harte and soule
in God. And by this you maye knowe
that Christe so mente: For he calleth it his
bodye whiche is geuen for you, so that the
name it selfe myght testyfye vnto you,
that in this souper you shulde more eate
his bodye which is geuē for you (by digestynge
that in to the bowelles of your soule)
then the breade, which by the breakynge
and the dystrybutynge of it, doth represent
his bodye breakynge ād the dystrybutynge
therof vnto all that are faythfull.
// File: 185.png
.pn 93
And that he so meaneth is evydēte by the
wordes folowynge, which saye, thys do
in the remembraunce of me: and lykewyse
of the cuppe. And fynallye concludynge
of both, Paule sayeth, as often as ye
shall eate thys breade and drynke thys
cuppe (in thys place and felowshyppe) ye
shall shewe the Lordes death vntyll he come,
praysynge the Lorde for the deathe of
hys sonne, and exhortynge other to do the
same, reioysynge in hym with infynyte
thākes. And therfore ye are to blame which
seake onelye to feade the bellye with that
thynge, which was onelye instytute to feade
the soule. And thervpon yt foloweth.
Wherfore whosoeuer doth eate of this
breade or drynke of thys cuppe vnworthelye,
is gyltye of the bodye and bloode of
the Lorde. He eateth thys breade vnworthelye,
which regardeth not the purpose
for the which Christe ded instytute it:
which commeth not to it with spyrytuall
honger, to eate through fayth hys verye
bodye, which the breade representeth by
the breakynge and dystrybutynge of yt:
whiche commeth not with a merye harte
geuynge God hartye thankes for their
delyueraunce from synne: whiche do not
moche more eate in their harte the death
of hys bodye, thē they do the breade with
their mouth. Now syth the Corynthyans
ded onelye seake their bealy and fleshe, ād
// File: 186.png
forgatte Goddes honoure and prayse (for
which it was instytute, that thankes shulde
be geuen by the remembraunce of hys
bodye breakynge for vs) they eate it to
Goddes dyshonoure and to their neyghbours
hynderaunce, and to their owne cōdempnacyon,
and so for lacke of fayth were
gyltye of Christes bodye which (by
fayth) they shulde there chefelye haue eaten
to their soules health. And therfore it
foloweth.
.sp 2
¶ Lette a man therfore examyne hym
selfe, & so lette hym eate of the breade,
and drynke of the cuppe.
.sp 2
Thys provynge or examynynge of
a mans selue, is fyrste to thynke
with hym selfe with what luste
ād desyre he commeth vnto the maundye
ād wyll eate that breade: whether he be
sure that he is the chylde of God and in
the fayth of Christe: and whether hys cōscyence
do beare hym wytnes that Christes
bodye was broken for hym: and whether
the luste that he hath to prayse God
ād thāke hym with a faythfull harte in the
myddes of the bretherne, do dryue hym
thytherwarde. Or els whether he do it
for the meates sake or to keape the custome:
For then were it better that he were
awaye. For he that eateth or drynketh
vnworthely, eateth ād drynketh hys owne
// File: 187.png
.pn 94
dampnacyon, because he maketh no dyfference
of the Lordes bodye. That is, as is
sayde before, he that regardeth not the purpose
for which it was instytute, and putteth
no dyfference betwene thys eatynge
and other eatynge, for other eatynge doth
onelye serue the bellye, but thys eatynge
was instytute and ordeyned, to serue the
soule and inwarde man. And therfore he
that abvseth it to the fleshe, eateth ād drynketh
hys owne dampnacyon. And he commeth
vnworthelye to the maundye where
the sacrament of Christes bodye is eaten:
yea, where the bodye of the Lorde is eatē,
not carnallye with the teth and bellye,
but spyrytually with the harte ād faythe.
Upon thys foloweth the texte that master
More alleageth and wresteth for hys purpose.
For thys cause manye are weake and
sycke amonge you, and manye sleape. Yf
we had trulye Iudged our selues, we shulde
not haue bene Iudged. When we are
Iudged of the Lorde, we are chastened because
we shulde not be dampned with the
worlde. Wherfore my bretherne, whē ye
come together to eate, tarye one for another.
Yf any man hunger, lette hym eate
at home, that ye come not together vnto
condempnacyon.
For thys cause (that is) for lacke of
good examenynge of our selues (as is
// File: 188.png
before towched) manye are weake and speke
in the fayth, and manye sleape, and haue
loste their fayth in Christes bloode, for
lacke of remembraunce of thys bodye breakynge
and bloode sheadynge: Yea and
not that onelye, but manye were weake
and sycke euen stryken with bodely dyseases
for abvsynge the sacrament of hys bodye,
eatynge the breade with their teth ād
not hys bodye with their mynde, and peraduenture
some slayne for it by the stroke
of God, which yf they had trulye iudged
and examyned them selues for what intēt
they came thyther, and why it was instytuted,
shulde not haue bene so Iudged ād
chastened of the Lorde. For the Lorde doth
chasten, to brynge vs vnto repentaunce, &
to mortyfye the rebellyous membres, that
we maye remember hym. Here ye maye
shortely perceyue the mynde of Paule.
.sp 2
FINIS.
.sp 2
¶ An Epytome and shorte rehearsall
of all thys boke, shewynge in what
poyntes Fryth dyssenteth from our
Prelates.
.sp 2
Now to be shorte, in these iij. poyntes
Fryth dyssenteth from oure
Prelates ād from master More,
which taketh vpon hym to be their proctoure.
Our Prelates beleue that in the sacrament
remayneth no breade, but that it
is tourned in to the naturall bodye of
// File: 189.png
.pn 95
Christ both fleshe bloode & bones. Fryth
sayeth, that it is none artycle of our Crede:
and therfore lette them beleue yt that
wyll. And he thynketh that there remayneth
breade styll. And that he proueth. iii.
maner of wayes. Fyrste by the scripture
of Paule,
1. Cor. 10.
which calleth it breade sayenge:
the breade which we breake, is it not the
felowshyppe of the bodye of Christe?
For we though we be manye, are yet one
bodye and one breade, as manye as are
partakers of one breade. And agayne he
sayeth,
1. Cor. 11.
as often as ye eate of thys breade
or drynke of this cuppe, you shall shewe
the Lordes death vntyll he come. And Luke
calleth it breade sayenge.
Actes. 2.
They contynued
in the felowshyppe of the Apostles,
and in the breakynge of the breade and
prayer.
Mat. 26.
Also Christe called the cuppe the
frute of the vyne, sayenge.
Mar. 14. Luc. 22.
I shall not frō
hence forwarde drynke of the frute of the
vyne vntyll I drynke that newe in the
Kyngdome of my Father.
Furthermore nature doth teache you
that both the breade and wyne contynue
in their nature. For the breade mouldeth
yf it be kepte lōge, yea and wormes breade
in it. And the poore mouse wyll ronne
awaye with it and eate it, which are evydence
ynough that there remayneth breade.
Also the wyne yf it were reserued, wolde
waxe sower, as they confesse them selues.
// File: 190.png
And therfore they howfell the laye
people but with one kynde onelye: because
the wyne can not contynue nor be reserued
to haue readye at hande, when neade
were. And surelye as yf there remayned
no breade, it coulde not moulde nor waxe
full of wormes: euē so yf there remayned
no wyne, it coulde not waxe sower. And
therfore it is but false doctryne that our
Prelates so lōge haue taught & publyshed.
Fynallye that there remayneth breade,
myght be proued by auctoryte of manye
doctoures which call yt breade ād wyne,
euen as Christe and hys Apostles ded.
And though some sophysters wolde wreste
their sayenge, and expounde thē after
their owne fantasye, yet shall I alleage
thē one doctoure which was Pope, that
maketh so playne with vs that they shall
neuer be able to avoyde hym.
Gelasius
in concilio
Ro.
For Pope Gelasius wryteth on thys
maner. Certe sacramenta que sumimus corporis
et sanguinis Christi, diuinæ res sunt, propter
quod et per eadem diuine efficimur cōsortes
naturæ. Et tamen nō desinit esse substantia
uel natura panis et uini, sed permanet in suæ
proprietate nature. Et certe imago et similitudo
corporis et sāguinis Christi in actione misteriorum
celebrantur. That is to saye: surelye
the sacrament of the bodye and bloode
of Christe which we receyue, are a Godly
thynge, and therfore through thē are we
// File: 191.png
.pn 96
made partakers of the godly nature. And
yet doth it not cease to be the substance or
nature of breade and wyne, but they cōtynue
in the properte of their owne nature.
And surelye the Image and symylytude
of the bodye and bloode are celebrated in
the acte of the mysteryes. Thys I am sure,
that no man cā avoyde it, nor so wreste
it, but that all men shall soone espye hys
folye, and therfore I maye conclude that
there remayneth the substaunce and nature
of breade and wyne.
.sp 2
The seconde poynte wherin Fryth dyssenteth
from our Prelates and their
proctoure.
.sp 2
The Prelates beleue that hys very
fleshe is present to the teth of them
that eate the Sacramēte, and that
the wycked eate hys verye bodye. Fryth
sayeth that it is none artycle of our Crede,
and therfore he reakeneth that he is in
no Ieoperdye though he beleue it not.
And he thynketh that hys fleshe is not presente
vnto the teth of thē that receyue the
Sacramente. For hys fleshe is onelye
in one place at ones. And that he proueth
both by the auctoryte of Saynte Austen
ad Dardanum, and also by the auctoryte
of Fulgentius ad Thrasauandum libro.
20. as before appeareth in the boke.
And Fryth sayeth that the wycked eate
// File: 192.png
not hys verye fleshe, although they receyue
the Sacramente. And that he proueth
by the scrypture, doctours, and good reason,
grounded vpon the scryptures.
Ioan. 6.
The scrypture is thys, he that eateth
Christes bodye hath euerlastynge lyfe,
ergo then the wycked eate not hys bodye.
Agayne the scrypture sayeth, he that eateth
Christes fleshe ād drynketh hys bloode
abydeth in Christe and Christ in him:
but the wycked abyde not in Christe nor
Christe in them, ergo the wycked eate not
hys fleshe nor drynke hys bloode.
Augustin
ser. desacra
fe.
Pasche.
This maye also be cōfyrmed by good
auctoryte. For saynte Austen sayeth, he
that abydeth not in Christe ād in whome
Christe abydeth not, without doubte he
eateth not hys fleshe nor drynketh hys
bloode, although he eate and drynke the
Sacramente of so greate a thynge vnto
hys dampnacyon.
Beda.
And euē the same wordes hathe Bede
vpon the tenth chapter of the fyrste Epystle
to the Corynthyans.
Augusti
de ciuitate
Dei in
libro. 21.
cap. 25.
Agayne S. Austen sayeth, he that abydeth
not in me ād in whome I abyde not,
let hym not saye nor thynke, that he eateth
my bodye or drynketh my bloode. And
euen the same wordes hath Bede vpon
the syxte Chapter of the fyrste Epystle to
the Corynthyans. And euen the same sentence
hath Ambrose, and Prosper, & Bede
// File: 193.png
.pn 97
vpon the xi. chapter of the fyrste Epystle
to the Corynthyans.
Fynallye thys may be proued by good
reasō grounded vpō the scrypture. Christ
wolde not suffer marye (though she loued
hym well) to towche hym, because she lacked
one poynte of faythe, and ded not beleue
that he was equall with hys Father.
And therfore by reason yt muste folowe,
that he wyll not suffer the wycked (which
neyther haue good fayth nor loue towardes
hym) both to towche hym and eate
hym in to their vncleane bodyes.
Now syth thys is proued true that the
wycked eate not hys bodye, it must also
therof neades folowe, that the sacramente
is not hys naturall bodye. For they do
eate the sacramēte as all men knowe. Besydes
that the faythfull do not eate Christes
bodye with their teth. And therfore
it muste folowe that the wycked do not
eate it with their teth. The antecedēt or
fyrst parte of the reason is proued by the
wordes of Christe which sayeth,
Ioan. 6.
that the
fleshe profyteth nothynge at all, meanynge
that it doth not profyte as they vnderstode
hym: that is to saye: yt profyteth nothynge
to be eaten carnallye with their
teth and bellye, as they vnderstode hym.
For els it profyteth moche to be eaten spyrytuallye,
that is to saye: to beleue that
through hys bodye breakynge ād bloode
// File: 194.png
sheadynge our synnes are pourged. And
thus doth Origene, S. Austē, Bede, Chrisostome,
ād Athanasius expounde it, as appeareth
in the boke before. And therfore
Fryth sayeth, that onelye faythfull men
eate hys bodye: not with their teth and
mouth, but with their fayth ād harte, they
dygeste it in to the bowelles of their soules
through beleuynge that it was broken
on the crosse, to washe awaye their synnes.
And the wycked eate not hys bodye
but onelye the breade and their dampnacyon,
because they eate him not spirytually,
that is: because they beleue not in hys bodye
breakynge and bloode sheadynge.
.sp 2
¶ The thyrde poynte wherin Fryth dyssēteth
frō your Prelates & their proctoure.
.sp 2
The Prelates beleue that mē ought
to worshyppe the Sacramēte, but
Fryth sayeth naye, and affyrmeth
that it is Idolatrye to worshyppe it. And
he sayeth that Christ and hys Apostles
taught vs not so to do: neyther ded the holy
fathers so teache vs. And Fryth sayth,
that the autours of thys worshyppynge
are the chylderne of perdycyō which haue
ouerwhelmed thys worlde with synne.
Neuerthelesse we muste receyue it reuerētlye,
because of the doctryne that it bryngeth
vs. For it preacheth Christes death
vnto vs, & descrybeth it before our eyes,
euē as a faythfull preacher by the worde
// File: 195.png
.pn 98
doth instyll yt in to vs by our eares and
hearynge. And that yt supplyeth the rowme
of a preacher, is evydēt by the wordes
of S. Austen which sayeth. Paulus quamuis
portaret sarcinā corporis quod aggrauat animā,
potuit tamen significando predicare Dominū
Iesum Christum, aliter per linguā suam,
aliter per epistolā, aliter per sacramētū corporis
Christi. That is to saye: though Paule
ded beare the burthen of the bodye which
doth honorate the soule, yet was he able
in sygnyfyenge to preache the Lorde Iesus
Christe, one waye by hys tonge, and another
waye by a Ēpystle, & a nother waye
by the Sacrament of Christes bodye .&c.
For as the people by vnderstondynge the
sygnyfycacyō of the wordes which he spake
ded heare the gloryous gospell of God,
& as by the readynge of hys Epystle they
vnderstode hys mynd, & receyued the wordes
of the soules health, so by the mynystracyon
of the sacrament they myght see
with their eyes the thynge which they harde
& red, & so haue their sēces occupyed a
boute the mystery, that they myght the more
earnestlye prynte it in their mynde. As
by exāple:
Hier. 27.
The prophete Ieremye beynge
in Ierusalē in the tyme of Sedechias Kynge
of the Iewes, prophesyed ād preached
vnto thē, that they shuld be takē presoners
of Nabugodonosar the Kyng of Babylō.
And the Iewes were angrye with hym &
// File: 196.png
wolde not beleue hys wordes. And therfore
he made a chayne or fetter of woode ād
put thē a boute hys necke, ād prophecyed
agayne, ād preached that they shulde be taken
presoners ād ledde captyue in to Babylon.
And as hys wordes ded certyfye
their eares that they shulde be subdued, so
the chayn ded represēt their captyuite euē
before their eyes, which thynge ded more
vehementlye worke in them then the bare
wordes coulde do, ād euen so it is in the sacrament.
For lykewyse as the wordes ded
instyll it in to our eares, that hys bodye
was geuen for vs, ād hys bloode shedde
for the remyssyon of our synnes, euen so
ded the mynystracyon of the Sacrament
expresse the same thynge vnto our syght
and dothe more effectuouslye moue vs, thē
the bare wordes myght do, and make vs
more attentyue vnto the thynge, that we
maye whollye geue thankes vnto God ād
prayse hym for hys boūteous benefyttes.
And therfor seynge it is as a preacher, expressynge
vnto our syght the same thynge
that the wordes do to our eares, you muste
receyue yt with reverence ād sober behavyoure,
aduertysynge the thynge that
it representeth vnto you. And euen the same
honoure is due vnto it which is geuē
vnto the scrypture that is the worde of
God. For vnto that must a man devoutlye
geue eare, ād reverentlye take the boke
// File: 197.png
.pn 99
in hys hande: yea, & yf he kysse the boke
for the doctrynes sake that he learneth thereout,
he is to be commended. Neuerthelesse
yf he shulde go sense hys boke, men
myght well thynke that he were verye
chyldyshe. But yf he shulde knele downe
and praye to hys boke, then he ded cōmytte
playne Idolatrye.
Consyder deare bretherne what I say,
and avoyde thys Ieoperdye. Which
thynge avoyded, I care not as towchynge
the presence of hys bodye, though you beleue
that hys naturall fleshe be there in dede,
and not onelye in a mystery, as I haue
taught. For when the Ieoperdye is paste,
he were a foole that wolde be cōtencyous
for a thynge, as longe as there commeth
no hurte therbye.
The Germaynes which beleue the
presence of hys bodye, do not worshyppe
it, but playnly teache the contrarye,
and in that poynte (thankes be
to God) all they whome
you call heretyckes
do agre full well.
Onelye avoyde
thys Idolatrye,
and I
desyre
no more.
// File: 198.png
.sp 4
.h2
The cōclusyon of thys Treatyse.
.sp 2
Nowe deare bretherne
I beseche you for the mercye
that ye loke for in Christ
Iesu, that you accepte thys
worke with a syngle eye ād
no contencyous harte. For necessyte hath
compelled me to wryte it, because I was
informed both of my Lorde of Wynchester
ād other credyble parsons, that I had
by the meanes of my fyrst treatyse offended
many mē. Which thynge maye well
be true: For it was to slender to enstructe
all them which haue sens seane it, albeit it
were suffycyent for their vse to whome it
was fyrst delyuered. And therfore I
thought it not onelye expedyent but also
necessarye, to enstructe them further in the
truth, that they myght see playne euydence
of that thynge, wherin they were offended.
By thys worke you shall espye their
blasphemyes ād venemous tonges wherwith
they slaunder not one ly thē that publyshe
the truthe, but euen the truth yt selfe.
They shame not to saye, that we affyrme
yt to be onelye breade, and nothynge
els. And we saye not so: but we saye
// File: 199.png
.pn 100
that besyde the substaunce of breade, it is
the Sacrament of Christes bodye ād bloode.
As the yvye hangynge before the taverne
doore is more then bare yvye. For
besyde the substaunce of yvye, it is a sygne,
and sygnyfyeth that there is wyne to
be solde. And thys sacrament sygnyfyeth
vnto vs, and poynteth out before our
eyes, that as verely as that breade is broken,
so verelye was Christes bodye brokē
for our synnes: And as that breade is dystrybuted
vnto vs, so is hys bodye and
frute of hys passyon dystrybuted vnto all
hys faythfull. And as the breade comforteth
the bodye, so doth the fayth in Christes
death comforte our soules. And as surelye
as we haue that breade and eate it
with our mouth and teth, and knowe by
our sences that we haue it within vs, and
are partakers therof; no more neade we to
doubte of hys bodye and bloode, but that
through fayth, we are as sure of thē, as
we are sure of that breade. As it is suffycyentlye
declared in my boke.
Agayne you maye perceyue how wyckedly
they reporte vs which affyrme that
we dyshonour it which geue yt the ryght
honoure that it ought to haue. And you
do playnlye dyshonoure it, which geue vnto
it the honoure that is onelye due vnto
God. We geue yt the same honoure
that we geue vnto the holye scrypture ād
// File: 200.png
worde of God, because it expresseth vnto
our sences the death of our sauyoure, and
doth more depely prynte it within vs. And
therfore we call it an holye sacrament, as
we call Goddes worde, holye scrypture.
And we receyue thys sacrament with greate
reuerence, euen as we reuerentlye reade
or heare preached the holye worde of
God, which conteyneth the healthe of our
soules. And we graunte that hys bodye is
presente with the breade as it is with the
worde, and wyth both it is verelye receyued
and eaten through faythe. But if we
shulde knele downe and praye vnto the
holye scrypture, men myght cownte vs foles,
and myght lawfullye saye, that we do
not honoure the scrypture by that meanes
but rather dyshonoure yt. For the ryght
honoure of a thynge is, to vse it for that
intent that was instytute of God. And
he that abvseth it to any other purpose,
doth in dede dyshonoure it. And lykewyse
it is in the sacrament which was instytute
to keape in memorye the death of
Christe, which yf we do any other wyse
honoure, then we do the holye scrypture
(vnto the which we maye in no wyse make
our prayers). I saye that then we
shulde vtterlye dyshonoure it. Avoyde
therfore thys poynte of Idolatrye, and all
ys safe.
Fynallye we saye that they speake
// File: 201.png
.pn 101
well and faythfullye, which saye that they
go to the bodye and receyue the bodye of
Christ, and that they speake vyllenouslye
and wyckedlye which saye that they onelye
receyue breade or the sygne of hys bodye.
For in so sayenge they declare their
infydelyte. For the faythfull wyll reaken
that he is euell reported of and reputed for
a traytoure and a nother Iudas, yf men
shulde saye of hym that he ded onelye receyue
the sacrament, and not also the thynge
whiche the sacrament doth sygnyfye.
For albeit he onelye eateth the breade ād
sacrament with hys mouth and teth: yet
with hys harte and fayth inwardlye, he
eateth the verye thynge it selfe whiche the
sacrament outwardlye dothe represente.
And of thys sprynge the maner of speakynges
that the olde fathers do somtyme
vse, which at the fyrste syght mought seame
contrarye to our sentence. But yf they
be well pondered, it maye soone be seane,
how they shulde be taken. For manye tymes
when they speake of the sacramente
and outwarde eatynge, they applye vnto
the sacrament and outwarde eatynge, the
frute and condycyons of the inwarde eatynge
and thynge it selfe, because that in a
faythfull man they are so Ioyntlye Ioyned,
that the one is neuer without the other.
As by example. Marye is named
the mother of God, and yet she is not the
// File: 202.png
mother of hys Godhed, by the which parte
onelye he is called God, but because she
is hys mother, as towchynge hys manhode,
and the Godhed is so annexed with
the manhode that they both make but one
parson, therfore is she called the mother
of God, whiche in dede yf it be wyselye
weyed, shalbe founde to be abvsed speache.
And yet neuerthelesse it maye verye
well be vsed, yf men vnderstonde what is
ment therbye, but yf through the vse of
thys speache, men shulde fall in to suche
an erroure that they wolde affyrme our
lady to be in dede the mother of hys Godhed,
then necessyte shulde compell vs to
make a dystynccyon betwene the nature
of hys Godhed and the nature of hys
manhod, and so to expounde the matter
vnto them, and brynge them home agayne
in to the ryght vnderstondynge. As we
are now constrayned to do in thys sacrament,
because you mysconstrue the sayenges
of the scrypture ād Doctours. Which
notwythstondynge (yf a man vnderstōde
them) saye verye well.
And manye soche maner of speaches
are contayned in the scrypture: As where
Christ sayeth in, Iohā in the .iii. chap. There
shall no man ascende in to heauen, but
he that dyscendeth from heauen, the sone
of man whiche is in heauen.
// File: 203.png
.pn 102
Thys texte doth saye that the sonne of
man was then in heauen, when he spake
these wordes vnto Nicodemus here vpon
earth, whiche thynge all wyse men consente
to be vnderstonde, propter unitatem
personæ: That is to saye: for the vnite of
the parson. For albeit hys Godhed was
in euerye place at that tyme, yet was not
hys manhod (by the whiche he was called
the sonne of man) in heauen at that tyme.
And yet Christe sayde that it was in heaven
for the vnite of hys parson. For hys
Godhed was in heauen, and because the
Godhed and manhode made one parson,
therfore it was ascrybed vnto the manhod
which was onelye verefyed vpō the Godhed,
as
August.
S. Austen ad Dardanum doth delygentlye
declare.
And lykewyse in the sacrament of baptyme,
because the inwarde workynge of
the holye Goste is euer ānexed in the faythfull
vnto the outwarde ceremonye: therfore
somtyme the frute of the inwarde
baptyme is ascrybed vnto the outwarde
worke. And so the scrypture vseth to speake
of the outwarde baptyme as though it
were the inwarde: that is to saye: the spyryte
of GOD. And therfore Saynte
Paule sayeth that we are buryed wyth
Christe through baptyme.
And yet as Saynte Austen expoundeth
it, the outwarde baptyme dothe but
// File: 204.png
Augustinus
ad
Bonifacium.
sygnyfye thys buryall. And agayne Paule
sayeth, as manye as are baptysed haue
put Christe vpon them. And yet in dede
our outwarde baptyme doth but sygnyfye,
that we haue put Christe vpon vs.
But by the inwarde baptyme (whiche is
the water of lyfe and spiryte of God) we
haue in dede put hym vpon vs and lyue
in hym and he in vs. Whiche not withstondynge
is verye false for all the outwarde
baptyme, in them that receyue it
not in fayth. And vnto them it is but abare
sygne, wherof they gette no profytte,
but dampnacyon.
And here you maye evydentlye perceyue,
howe it is sometyme in scrypture ascrybed
vnto the outwarde worke and ceremonye,
whiche is onelye true in the inwarde
veryte. And this place shall expounde
all the olde doctours whiche seame
contrarye to our sentence. And therfore
marke it well.
Thus haue you my mynde further vpon
the sacrament of the bodye and bloode
of Christe. Wherin yf you reaken that
I haue bene to lōge in repetynge one thynge
so often, I shall praye you of pardone.
But surelye me thought I coulde not be
shorter. For the worlde is suche now adayes,
that some wolde heare and can not:
and some do heare and wyll not. And
therfore I am compelled so often to repete
// File: 205.png
.pn 103
that thynge whyche a wyse man
wolde vnderstonde wyth halue
the wordes.
.sp 2
❧ Praye Christen reader that the
wordes of GOD maye increace,
and that GOD
maye be gloryfyed
through my
bondes.
AMEN.
// File: 206.png
.sp 4
.h2
The Artycles wherfore Iohan Fryth dyed, whiche he wrote in Newgate the .23. daye of Iune, the yeare of our Lorde .1533.
.sp 2
I doubt not deare
bretherne, but that it doth
some deale vexe you, to see
the one parte haue all the
wordes, and frely to speake
what they lyste, and the other to be put to
sylence, and not to be harde indyfferently.
But referre your matters to God, whiche
shortelye shall Iudge after a nother fashyon.
But in the meane seasō, I shall rehearse
vnto you the artycles for which I am condempned.
.sp 2
❧ They examyned me but of two
artycles whiche are these.
.sp 2
1. Article.
Fyrste whyther I thought there were
any Purgatorye to pourge the soule after
thys present lyfe. And I sayde, that I
thought there was none. For man is made
but of two partes, the bodye and the
soule. And the bodye is pourged by the
// File: 207.png
.pn 104
crosse of Christe, whiche he layeth vpon
euery chylde that he receyueth: as afflyctyon,
worldlye opressyon, persecucyon, emprysonment
& cet. and deathe fynysheth
synne. And the soule is pourged by the
worde of God, which we receyue through
fayth, vnto the healthe and saluacyon bothe
of bodye and soule.
Now and yf I ded knowe any thyrde
parte wherof we are made, I wolde also
gladly graunt the .3. purgatory, but seynge
I knowe none suche, I must denye the
Popes purgatorye. Neuertheles I cownte
neyther parte a necessarye artycle of
our faythe, necessaryly to be beleued vnder
payne of dampnacyon, whyther there
be soche a purgatory or not.
2. article.
The seconde artycle was thys, whyther
that I thought, that the sacrament of
the aulter was the bodye of Christe. And
I sayde yea, that I thought that it was
bothe Christes bodye and also our bodye,
as Saynt Paule sayeth to the Corynthyans.
i. Cori. 10.
In that it is made one breade of manye
graynes it is our bodye, sygnyfyenge
that we though we be manye, are yet one
bodye: lykewyse of the wyne in that it is
made one wyne of manye grapes.
And agayne in that it is broken, it
is Christes bodye, sygnyfyenge that hys
bodye shulde be broken, that is to saye:
// File: 208.png
suffer deathe, to redeame vs from our iniquitees.
In that it was dystrybuted, it was Christes
bodye, sygnyfyenge that as verelye
as that sacramēt is dystrybuted vnto vs,
so verelye is Christes bodye and the frute
of hys passyō dystrybuted vnto all faythfull
men.
In that it is receyued, it is Christes bodye,
sygnyfyenge that as verelye as the
outwarde man receyueth the sacramente
with hys tethe and mouthe, so verelye dothe
the inwarde mā, through faythe receyue
Christes bodye and frute of hys passyon,
ād is as sure of it, as of the breade that
he eateth.
Another
questyō.
Well sayde they, do you not thynke
that hys verye naturall bodye, bothe fleshe
and bloode is reallye contayned vnder
the sacrament, and there actuallye present,
besyde all symylytudes?
¶ An answere.
No sayde I, I
do not so thynke. Notwithstondynge I
wolde not that anye shulde counte that I
make my sayenge (whiche is the negatyue)
anye artycle of the faythe. For euen
as I saye that you oughte not to make anye
necessarye artycle of the faythe of
your parte (whiche is the affyrmatyue).
So I saye agayne, that we make none
necessarye artycle of the faythe of oure
parte, but leaue it indyfferent for all men
to Iudge therin, as GOD shall open
// File: 209.png
.pn 105
hys harte, and no syde to condempne or
dyspyse the other, but to nouryshe in all
thynges brotherlye loue, and to beare others
infyrmytees.
S. Austens
texte.
The texte of Saynt Austē which they
there aleaged agaynste me, was thys: that
in the sacrament Christe was borne in his
owne handes. Whervnto I sayde: that S.
Austen dothe full well expounde hym selfe.
For in a nother place he sayeth. Ferebatur
tanquā in manibus suis. That is, he was
borne after a certayne maner, in hys owne
handes. And by that he sayeth after a certayne
maner, ye maye soone perceyue
what he meaneth.
How be it yf. S. Austen had not thus
expounded hym selfe, yet he sayeth ad Bonifacium,
that the sacrament of a thynge,
hath a symylytude or propertye of the
thynge which it sygnyfyeth. And for that
cause it hath manye tymes the name of
the verye thynge whiche it sygnyfyeth.
And so he sayeth that he bare hym selfe,
because he bare the sacrament of hys bodye
and bloode, whiche ded so earnestlye
expresse hym selfe, that nothynge myght
more do it. If you reade the place of S.
Austen ad Bonifacium, whiche I alleage
in my laste boke, ye shall soone see them
answered.
Chrisostomus.
A nother place they alleaged out of
Chrisostome, which at the fyrste blushe seameth
// File: 210.png
to make well for them. But yf it be
well wayed, it maketh moche lesse for thē
then they wene. The wordes are these.
Chrisostomes
wordes.
Doste thou see breade and wyne: Do
they departe from thē into the draughte
as other meates do? God forbydde. For
as in waxe when it cōmeth to the fyer, nothynge
of the substaunce remayneth nor
aboundeth: so lykewyse thynke that the
mysteryes are consumed by the substaunce
of the body.
These wordes I expounded, by the
wordes of the same doctoure Saynt Chrisostome,
which in a nother homelye sayeth
on thys maner. The inwarde eyes as soone
as they see the breade, they flye over all
creatures ād thynke not of the breade that
is baken of the baker, but of the breade of
euerlastynge lyfe, which is sygnyfyed by
the mystycall breade.
Now conferre these places together ād
you shall perceyue, that the laste expoundeth
the fyrste clerely. Fyrste he sayeth,
dost thou see breade and wyne? I answere
by the seconde, nay. For the inwarde eyes
as soone as they see the breade, thynke
not of it, but of the thynge it selfe that is
sygnyfyed therby. And so he seeth it and
seeth it not. He seeth it with hys outwarde
and carnall eyes, but hys inwarde eyes
seeth it not. That is to saye: regarde not
the breade or thynke not vpon it. Euen as
// File: 211.png
.pn 106
we commonlye saye, when we playe a game
necglygentlye (by my truthe I see not
what I do) meanynge that our myndes is
not vpon that thynge whiche we see with
our outwarde eyes. And lykewyse we
maye answere the nexte parte, where he
sayeth.
The exposycyō
of S.
Chrisosto,
texte.
Do they departe from thē in to the
draughte, as other meates do? Nay for sothe
sayde I. For other meates do onelye
come to nouryshe the bodye, and to departe
in to the draught: But thys meate that
I here receyue, is spyrytuall meate, receyued
with faythe, and nourysheth vs euerlastynglye
bothe bodye and soule, and neuer
entereth into the draughte. And euen
as before the outwarde eyes do see the breade,
and yet the inwarde eyes do not regarde
that or thynke vpon it: So lykewyse
the outwarde man dygesteth the breade,
and casteth it in to the draughte. And
yet the inwarde mā doth not regarde that
nor thynke vpō it: But thynketh vpon the
thynge it selfe that is sygnyfyed by that
breade.
The true
meanynge
of
Chrisostomes
wordes.
And therfore sayde Chrysostome euen
a lytle before the wordes whiche they here
alleaged. Lyfte vp your mynde and hartes
(sayde he) whereby he monysheth vs,
to loke vpon and consyder those heauenly
thynges, whiche are represented and sygnyfyed
by the breade and wyne, and not
// File: 212.png
to marke the breade and wyne in it selfe.
Here they wyll saye vnto me, that that
is not Chrisostomes mynde. For by hys
example he playnlye sheweth that there
remayneth no breade nor wyne. That I
denye. For the example in thys place proueth
no more but that ye shall not thynke
vpon the breade and wyne, no more then
yf they were not there, but onelye vpon
that thynge whiche is sygnyfyed by thē.
And that ye maye euydently perceyue by
the wordes folowynge where he sayeth,
thynke that the mysteryes are consumed
by the substaunce of the bodye.
Soluciō
Now whyther Chrisostome thought
that there remayned breade or none, bothe
wayes shall our purpose be proued. Fyrst
yf he thought there remayned styll breade
and wyne, thē we haue our purpose. Now
yf he thought that the breade and wyne
remayned not, but were chaunged, thē are
the breade and wyne neyther mysteryes
nor sacramentes of the bodye and bloode
of Christe. For that that is not, cā neyther
be mysterye nor sacrament.
Conclusyon.
Fynalle yf he spake of the outwarde
apperaunce of breade: then we knowe that
that remayneth styll and is not consumed
by the substaunce of the bodye. And therfore
he muste neades be vnderstonde as I
take hym.
I thynke many men wonder how I can
// File: 213.png
.pn 107
dye in thys artycle, seynge that it is no necessary
artycle of our faythe, for I graunte
that neyther parte is an artycle necessary
to be beleued vnder payne of dampnacyon,
but leaue it as a thynge indyfferent,
to thynke therin as God shall instyll in
euery mans mynde, and that neyther parte
condempne other for thys matter, but
receyue eche other in brotherly loue, reseruynge
eche others infyrmyte to God.
Beholde
the
cause
of my
death.
The cause of my deathe is thys, because
I can not in conscyence abiure and swere,
that our Prelates opynyon of the Sacramente
(that is) that the substaunce of
breade ād wyne is verely chaunged into
the fleshe and bloode of our sauyoure Iesus
Christ is an vndoubted artycle of
the faythe, necessarye to be beleued vnder
payne of dampnacyon.
Note.
Now thoughe thys opynyon were in
dede true (whiche thynge they cā neyther
proue true by scrypture nor doctours) yet
coulde I not in conscyence graunte that it
shulde be an artycle of the faythe necessarye
to be beleued, etc. For there are many
verytees, whiche yet may be no soche artycles
of our faythe. It is true that I laye
in Irons whan I wrote thys, howbeit I
wolde not receyue thys truthe, for an artycle
of our fayth. For you may thynke the
contrary without all Ieoperdy of dampnacyon.
// File: 214.png
.sp 2
¶ The cause why I cā not beleue their
opynyon of transmutacyon or transubstanciacyon
whether ye wyll, is thys.
.sp 2
1.
❧ Fyrste because I thynke verely that
it is false and can neyther be proued by
scrypture nor faythfull doctours, yf they
be well pondered.
2.
The second cause is thys, because I
wyll not bynde the congregacyon of Christe
by myne example to admytte any necessary
artycle bysyde our Crede, and specyally
nonesuche as can not be proued
true by scrypture. And I say that the churche,
as they call yt, can not compell vs
to receyue any soche artycles to be of necessyte
vnder payne of dampnacyon.
3.
The thyrde cause is, because I dare not
be so presumptuous in enterynge in to
Goddes Iudgement, as to make the Prelates
in thys poynte a necessarye artycle
of our faythe. For then I shulde dampnably
condempne all the Germaynes and
Almaynes, with infynyte moo, whiche in
deade do not beleue nor thynke that the
substaunce of breade and wyne is chaunged
in to the substaunce of Christes naturall
bodye. And surelye I can not be so folyshe
hardy as to condempne soche an infynyte
nombre for our Prelates pleasures.
Thus all the Germaynes and Almaynes,
bothe of Luthers syde and also
// File: 215.png
.pn 108
of Decolampadius, do wholye approue
my matter. And surelye I thynke there is
no man that hathe a pure conscyence,
but he wyll thynke that I dye ryghtuouslye.
For that thys transubstanciacion
shulde be a necessary
artycle of the
faythe, I thynke
no man can
saye yt
with
a
good conscyence, although
yt were true in
dede.
∴
Per me Iohan Frythe.
❧ Be wyse as Serpentes, and innocent
as Dooues.
.sp 4
.dv class='tnotes’
.ul
.it Transcriber’s Notes:
.ul indent=1
.it The original book's archaic spelling, abbreviations, and punctuation have been retained.
.if t
.it Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (italics).
.if-
.ul-
.ul-
.dv-