A Christmas Banket, Part 1
¶ The fyrst dysshe.
G…ne. iii.CUrsed is ye erth in theyr worke. It shall brynge forth vntounto the thornes & brābles.
THEO.
This is a disshe lytle pleasūt for the begynnynge of our bancket.
PHIL.
Content youre selues. it is necessary that this dysshe hath y• fyrste place, yt the other that follow may sauour y• more deliciously to your mouthes. The acrimony and tartenes o… this dysshe shall so pearce youre stomackes that it shall minister to you an appetyte & lust to deuour y• other y• more gredely. For I do not ī this behalfe followe the maner of Satā, which promised fyrste to Eue swete & delectable thynges, & afterwarde payed her wt thynges moost sower & displeasaunt,Esay. i. Mat. iii. but rather of the Prophet Esay & of Iohn̄ Baptist, which fyrst of all greuously rebuked y• wicked in theyr sermons, & afterwarde cōforted thē agayne moost swetelye. Neyther differed Christ and his Apostles from this maner of preaching. Tak… therfore thys dysshe in good worth, & heare me now paciently. Whan thorowe y• suggestion of the olde wyly serpēt Adā & Eue had trā gressed Gods cōmaūdement, God accordynge to theyr desertes e…pulsed them out of Paradyse, & sente them into this vale of misery, sayeng vntounto Adam amonge all other thynges this aforesayd text: Cursed is ye erth in thy worke.Gen. … It shall brynge for the vntounto thornes & brymbles. Here do we learne yt for the synne of Adā all the earth, that is to say, all the creatures are cursed & made subiecte to vanite. They nowe brynge forth no more goodly & pleasaūt fruytes, but thornes & brēbles, that is, synne, wickednes, vice, & all other abhominac… on. This one synne of our fyrst father Adā hath condēned vsus all that euer hauehave ben borne syns, or shall be here after.
EVSE.
Me thynketh that thoughe he offended, yet his offence should not turne to our dānacion, seynge we were not then borne.
PHIL.
Yies in good fayth brother Eusebius. For his synne was oure synne. His dānacion was our damnacion. His death was our deth. I wyl read vntounto you the mynde of the famous Doctour Origen,In epi…le. ad Rom. lib. …. …apit. v. concernyng this matter: If Leuy, sayeth he, whiche was borne the fourth generacion after Abraham, was than counted to be in the loynes of Abraham, muche more all men that are borne or hauehave ben borne in this world, were in the loynes of Ad…m, when he was yet in Paradise. And all men wt hym & in him were expulsed out of Paradise, when he was put out from thēce, & by him death, which came vntounto him by the enterpretacion, came also consequētly vponupon thē, whom he had in his loynes.
PHIL.
I praye you lette vsus heare what the holye scriptures say in this behalfe.
THEO.
We reade in the fourth boke of Es…ras y• third chap. on this wyse. The fyrst Adam bearyng a wicked herte dyd synne, & was ouercome, & not onelyonly be, but al that were borne of hym.…se…. … Also Ose the Prophete sayeth: They euen as Adam hauehave trāsgressed the couenāt & therin hauehave they synned agaynste me,T…m. …. that is, sayth S. Ierome, vponupon this texte, in Paradyse all hauehave synned agaynste me, euē lyke vntounto the synne of Adā For it is no meruayle, sayeth he, yf that which went before in the father, be also condemned in y• chyldren.…. …x…. But I wyl reherse to you more scriptures: Of a woman came the begynnynge of synne,…oan. iii. Mat. xii. sayeth the wyse man, & by her all w… dy. Christ also sayeth, y• whych is borne of flesh is …leshe. Agayne, how can ye speake good thynges,…oan. …iii. …hen ye youre selues are euell? Also in an other place, eueryevery one that doth synne,Rom. v. i. Lor. vi. Rom. iii. …s…l. …. is ye seruaūt of synne. S. Paule also sayeth: By one mā synne entred īto this world & by synne death, & so went deth tho rowe all men, in as muche as all we hauehave synned. Agayne, in Adā all are dead. In another place also he sayth all hauehave synned, & want the glory o… God. Therfore Dauid cōfesseth that he was begottē in synne, & borne in synne. And saynte Paule affyrmeth playnelye, yt we are borne by nature the chyldren of wrath. What saye ye nowe my frendes, do ye not now at the laste perceyue that the synne of Adā hath condemned vsus all, so y• his synne is oure synne.
CHRI.
We perceyue it well & beleue it also.
PHIL.
I wyll reherse vntounto you a sayeng of S. Bernarde.Sermo. in …ena Domini. In the faull of ye fyrst man, sayeth he, dyd we all faull. We fell vponupon an heape of stones & in the myer, so that we are not only inquinated, spotted and defyled, but also woūded & greuously shaken, brused & broken.Ibidem. Agayne he sayeth: Verely we are begotten in synful pleasure, therfore although it be agaynst our wyll, yet do we fele certayne vnlawfull & beastlyke mociōs of concupiscences in our selues. Hereto agreeth S. Austen sayenge,De ver…i… apost. S…. iiii. marke brothers behold that mankynde came forthe from the fyrst death of the fyrst mā. For sinne from the fyrst man entred into the worlde, & by synne death, & so went death thorowe all men. Marke this word went thorow.Roma. v. Cō sither that ye hauehave herde, loke what this is, went thorowe. It went thorow. Hereby is ye yong chylde gilty. Syn he hath not done, but drawne. For yt syn dyd not remayne in ye foū taine, but went thorow, not hī or hī but went thorow al mē. The fyrst siner, yt fyrst preuaricatour begat synners bonde to death. Thus se you yt both the holy scriptures & also y• aū cient Doctours do conclude that all we are dāned righteouslye for Adās offence.…o. xxxvi. …e ad…en. Domini. Ephe. ii. G…n…. iii. So that eueryevery mā naturally, as S. Iohn & Chrisostome sayth, is not only a synner, but also eueryevery whytte synne, as the Apostle sayeth: we were by nature ye sōnes of wrath And this is it, that God the father sayde to Adā: Cursed is the earth in thy worke, as I rehersed to you before.
THEO.
Than hauehave we learned here, that all we are cursed & dāned in Adams worke, that is, for ye synne which he he cōmytted in breakynge Gods moost holy cōmaūdementes.
PHIL.
Ye saye trueth.
EVSE.
This is a thynge necessary to be knowen.M…r…r this thynge well,
PHIL.
Withoute y• knowledge of our selues, we cā neuer truly know god nor vnderstand his holy scriptures. Therfore wyl I go fo…th to minister vntounto you the residue of youre fyrste dysshe. It followeth: It shall brynge forth vntounto the thornes & brābles, I praye you what other thynge dothe your corrupte nature brynge forth vntounto vsus than thornes & brambles, yt is to saye, synne, wickednes, vngodlynes, & all that euer is contrary to the wyll of God?Synne cō … red lyke to … thorne. And in dede synne may well be compared to a thorne or bramble. For as the thorne & brēble prycketh the body & woūdeth it greuouslye, yea and bryngeth many tymes destruccion vpō it, except other wyse it be holpen, so lykewyse synne moost greuously prycketh, woūdeth and vtterly destroyeth the soule, excepte it be redemed by Gods mercye thorow Iesus Christ.
THEO.
I thīke this to be true.
PHIL.
It therfore foloweth yt ī asmuch as all we are dead in Adam, we are not able of oure selues to ryse agayne from death vntounto lyfe. And seyng that we are synners all that euer we do, muste nedes be synne, yea it is synne in dede, & deserueth euerlastynge death. For as the scripture sayth.…ene. viii. …sa…: lvii. The disposiciō and thought of mānes herte is prone to euel from his yonge age.…api. xii. Psa. xiviii Roma. vii Luke. xvii …saie. liii. …saie. i…. Psal. cxv. …sai…. liii. We are wicked chyldren, & a wicked seed. We are that seed, whiche was cursed frō the begynnyng. We are lyke bruyte beastes. We are carnall & flesshely, sould vnderunder synne. We are vnprofitable seruaūtes. We all hauehave gone astray lyke shepe. We all are Hypocrites & wycked. We are all lyers. We all are vncleane, & all our ryghteousnesses as a cloth polluted with mensture. All hauehave synned.Rom. i…i. Psa. xiii. …o…. xxv. P…o. xx. Hie. xv i.ii.… or. iii. Gen. iii. There is not one y• dothe good, no not one. There is no man cleane from fylthynes, no not the yonge chylde. Ther is no man able to say, my hert is cleane, & I am pure from sinne. For our hartes are wicked and in…crutable. We are not able to thynke a good thoughte. All that euer we bryng forth is thornes & brābles, that is to saye, synne, vngodlines, & all abhominacion.Note. What are we nowe of oure selues I praye you tell me.
CHRI.
Very synners.
EVSE.
Yea and al that euer we do in Adā, & of our own strēgth, is plaine synne and wickedness.
PHIL.
I am glad that we hauehave learned what ye are of your selues by Adam. I pray you what are ye able nowe to do for to saue your selues from this perel, wherunto ye are fallen by Adam?
THEO.
Verely I can not tell.
EVSE.
Forsoth I thynke very lytle.The capti…ite of man thorow sy….
PHIL.
Ye might right well hauehave sayde, nothinge at all. For I ensure you that ye beyng lefte vntounto your selues can do none otherwise but synne, & faull headlyng into all kynde of mischefe Your wytte strength, polecy, imaginacion, reason, & free wyll auayleth here nothynge, to delyuer you from the captiuite of Satan, He leadeth you as the mayster dothe his bonde slaue,Ioan. viii. whyther soeuer it pleseth him as Christ witnesseth: eueryevery one that doth synne, is the seruaūt of synne. Ye remember, I am sure, the storye of the wounded man, in the Gospell of Luke,Luke. x. which beyng dispoyled and robbed of all his clothes & greuously woūded,…rk here laye styll halfe dead.
THEO.
I remēber it very well.
PHIL.
This woūded mā signi…ieth euerye chylde of Adam. The clothes signify fayth charïte, iustice, mercy, & such other vertues. The theues are Satā and his aungels. The woundes are synnes. Haulfe deade is to be alyue in the flesshe, & slayne in the soule thorowe synne. All this are we by Adā. And as this woūded man could not be holpen of the Preste nor Leuyte, vntyll the Samarytane came, no more can we be holpen by ony creature or worke, tyll christ cōmeth the true Samaritane. We can not certes, we can not helpe our seues, but euen lye styll the stynkynge puddle of synne. Loke in what case Satan leaueth vsus, in the verye same do we remayne, excepte God of his mercy thorowe Christe helpeth vsus. Neyther canfre e wyll nor all the wytte & polecye that we hauehave, profyte here any thynge,Epist. c…i. ad Paul. tyll God indueth vsus wt strēgth from aboue. For as S. Austen sayeth: The nature of man all though it dyd remayne & cōtinue in that integryte & purenes, wherin it was made, yet could it kepe it selfe by no meanes, if the creator & maker of it dyd not helpe. Therfore seynge that wtout the grace of god it could not kepe the health that it receiued, howe is it able to repare and get agayne that which it hath lost, without ye grace of God?…ib. …e vocāt. … a. viii …. …e cor… g…a… ii. Phil. ii. Ioan. xv. Againe he saith free wyll sufficethe vntounto euell, but vntounto good it auayleth lytle, excepte it be holpen of that almyghty God. Therfore is it well sayde of the Apostle, God worketh in vsus …oth the wil & the dede. Hereto agreeth the sayēg of …hrist. As the vyne braunche can not beare fruyte, excepte it abyde in the vine, no more can ye except ye abyde in me. I am the vyne & ye are y• braunches. He that abideth in me, & I in him, the same bryngethe for the much fruyte. For without me ye cā do no…hyng. If any mā abydeth not in me, he is cast out as a braunche, & is wythered, & men gather thē & cast thē into y• fyre, & there burne. Thus se ye what …e are of youre selues by Adam, & that no strengthe ye hauehave ones to aspyre or breath towarde ony goodnes, much lesse to do or work any good thynge, excepte ye be holpen of God. Ye se also howe full of sinnes, diseases, woundes, sores, botches, canckers, & al y• euer nought is ye are. Ye se agayne, how ye are not able of your selues to recouer youre innocēcy, that ye lost by Adā.
CHRI.
Alas what is now to be done?
THEO
The rehersyng of these thynges maketh me very sadde.
PHIL.
It shoulde rather make you very glad.In di…l. … For as S. Hierome sayeth: This is y• true wysdome of a man to knowe hym selfe to be inperfecte, & as I maye so speake, the perfecciō of all righteous men in the flesshe is imperfecte. Agayne he sayeth:… …ag. li…. …. Than are ye righteous, when we confesse oure selues synners, & our righteousnesse consisteth not of our owne merite, but of the mercye of God, as the holy scripture sayth,Pr…u. … the righteous mā is the accuser of himselfe in y• begynnynge of his spech. Therfore must ye cōfesse your selues to be that in dede, which ye are, y• is, very synners, yf ye wyll be set free from this miserable captiuite, wher wt ye are nowe to muche wrapped and ouerwhemled.
EVSE.
We confesse ye same.
THEO.
We nowe knowledge yt of oureselues by Adā, we are nothynge but synners, & all that euer we do without the spiryt… of god is playne sinne,Rom. xiiii. as S. Paule sayeth: What soeuer is not of fayth is synne.
PHIL.
Well seynge that ye hauehave so fruytfully digested the fyrst dysshe of your Banket, nowe hauehave I a fyt place, a conuenient tyme, & a good occasion to brynge vntounto you the seconde dysshe, as it followeth in order.
CHRI.
I praye you let vsus tast of it.
THEO.
That thynge also do I desyre.