The Sacrament of the Lords Supper, Text (3 of 4)

The Sacrament of the Lords Supper · Text (3 of 4)

Further, the plaine, and rude and ignoraunt people hauehave no suche learnynge nor knoweledge that they can iudge nor discerne, or put anye difference betwene the schole termes of Accidentes, and Substaunce. And these men that feygne theim selues to be moued wyth suche greate and hole zeale in thys matter for auoydinge thys Idolatrie, should hauehave done very well to hauehave made a transubstantiation of the cuppe selfe too, leste peraduenture the cuppe myght chaunce to be worshypped, and prayed vntounto, whan it is lifted vp aboue the priestes heade, & shewed. And truly thys argumente hath euer semed vntounto me, a veray slender & a vayn argumēt, though in dede it be obiected of schole doctours, yea, and such schoole doctours as be of no small name.

The fift reason auoided that was made for trā substāciatiōIt was further argued agaynste vsus, that except we graunte and put a traunsubstantiation, there shal in thys sacramente two natures or substaūces of bodilye quantitye be putte togyther, at one tyme, and in one place. Who woulde not maruaile to see these men to be of suche holines, and confidence towardes ladye Nature, and of such hygh reuerence, as though they woulde not by theyr wylles in anye poynt breake or violate hyr lawes. Where as yet they wilnedes hauehave certayne accidentes to hange by them selues, and to be without anye subiecte of materiall substaunce, which thinge is most of all others contrarye to the course, & p. lviilawes, and ordre of nature, and yet neuertheles they do not by this their folishe deuise and imagination escape or auoyde the inconuenience whiche they mooste feare.

For whan they leaue the accidentes remaynynge there is of necessitie a bodye emiddes the same accidentes, whyche body vndoubtedlye perteyneth to quantitie, and can not be withoute a quantitie and bignes, and doeth without doubte, fill a rowme and a place.

And where they will neades hauehave that the fleshe of Christe is bodily there presente wythal, whych bodye of Christe hath also a quantitie and bygnesse and that the sayde bodie of Christe muste lye there, as a thinge hydden vnderunder the accidentes, they can not chose but remediles consounde and mengle togither sondry thynges of quantitye, and do mengle togither two bodies, hauynge their seuerell quantities

But folowynge oure sentence and determi…ation that we shall putte in thys matter, there is no daunger nor perill of anye suche folyshe and vnreasonable inconuenience.The auoydinge of the seuenth reason brought in to confi…me & establishe transubstantiation. They sayde further, that it was not semynge nor fitte for the dignitie of Christe, that hys body should be ioygned and annexed to the substaūce of breade, whiche is a verye fonde, and a folyshe try flynge opinion.

For wee dooe not saye, that there is made one essensuall thynge of the bodye of Christe, and of nature of the bread (in such sort as of the diuine nature, & the humayne nature in Christ ther is made one person nor we can not perceiue, what greater dignitie, or hygher prerogatiue there should be in the accidentes, thē ther is in the bread. So that if the body of Christ shoulde be put to be in the sacramentes wyth the accidentes (as they would hauehave it) we see no cause or reason whye the same bodye of Christe may not euen as wel stand togyther and remayne with the substaunce and nature of breade.

And for as muche as the diuine nature of Christe, is sayed and affirmed to be euen in hell by hys power, without any losse or derogation of hys dignitye, and for as muche as thys same bodye of Christ (as them selues thyncke and holde) is geuen trulye, and substā ciallye to the wicked sorte also to be receiued and eaten of theym, beinge men mooste corrupte and moste vnworthy to receyue it.

Whye dooe they so greatelye feare the dymynishynge of hys dignytye in case it so were, that the bodye and bloude of Christe shoulde be ioygned to the breade and wyne, speciallye seynge that the ioygninge and knittynge togyther for a signification or betokenynge of the thinge, ought to be putte, and appoynted therein.

An a…swere to the eight …eason that the trāsubstātiatours alledge for their purpose.They made also an other reason or argument cō cernynge oblation and sacrifiynge, of it. For the bodye and bloude of Christe (saye they) are offered vp in the masse, that if there shoulde be no suche mutation nor transubstanciation… than shal we offer vp nought but the signification and shadow of the body.

What sacrficeis in th… supper of the LordeBut here shall Ciprian make answere for vsus, and shall satisfye them at large: who in the seconde booke and thyrde Epistle to Cecilius… sayeth: that it is the passion of Christe that wee offer vppe at the Lordes Supper.

p. lviiiAnd who is so rude, so grosse, or so ignoraunt, that he doeth not knowe the passion of Christe, not to be nowe presente in the handes of the minister, for as muche, as it was a thynge done and paste long sence. Wherof there is at this supper a memoriall celebrabrated and kepte, and thanckes are geuen to God for the same.

But all that euer they laye for theym selues as a cloke in thys argument, is but a thyng feigned and a veraye lye, by the whyche they deuise and imagine the very sonne of God trulye, and substanciallye, and veraylye to be sacrificed and offered vp to the father by the priest and minister.

In whyche matter howe wyde they are, & howe farre they swerue from the trueth, there is no place at thys presente tyme to shewe.

Nowe hauehave wee to declare & to shewe that all y^t they dyd after thys brynge in and obiecte agaynst vsus out of the sayinges and testimonies of the fathers as cō trarye to oure purpose and opinion,An answere to the argument that the schoolemen aledge for their t…ā su…stanciation oute of the doctors doth in very dede make nothynge at all agaynste vsus.

But before I come to the expoundynge of them: I intende to speake diuerse thynges in the waye of a preaumble vntounto the mattyer, whyche maye stande in stede of certayne preceptes and rules for the better vnderstandynge of the fathers and aunciente writers in thys behalfe.

Whan soeuer they traict of this sacramētal matter,The fyfte rule how to vnde…s…and the doctors. and speake somewhat hyghly & vehemently thereof. Firste it is to be considered, that the holye scripture dothe with a certayne mutual relation, and interchaū geablenesse, sometimes attribute to the things selues, suche termes as are propre to the Sacramentes and signes on…lye, and those thynges whych… are propre to the thinges selues, they do contrariwyse attribute and assygne vntounto the sacramentes and signes, which dooe but represente the thynges.

An enterchaung…inge of names betwene the sacramētes and thinges of the sacramentes.And the same selfe waye and fashion do the aunciente fathers manye tymes vse, so that a manne shall oftentymes se and reade them, so to speake of the thinges s…lues, as thoughe they spake but of the Sacramentes and signes: and oftentimes contrarywise so to write and talke of the sacramentes and signes, as if it were of the thinges selues, whych the same represente and signifie. And so maye it be very well, bicause of the greate likenes and similitude whiche is betwene the sayde thinges, and the sygnes, by reason of Gods institution or ordinaunce in them.

The second rule for the vnderstanding of the doctours.And Austen hathe geuen a plaine aduertisemente and lesson or rule, as concerni…ge this matter, written to Bonifatius: that in the sacramentes the names are chaunged and confounded as we hauehave sayd before.

The fathers do alwayes call this a spirituall foode, & not a bodilye foode.An other rule is, that if ye diligently marke what wente before, and what comm…th after: ye shall alwayes perceiue… that the fathers do witnes and testifye, the foode of this sacramēt to be a spiritual foode and not the foode of the gutte, or of the bealye, or of the teethe.

The thirde rule how to vnderstand the doctors.The thyrd rule is, that if at any tyme thei do write that we do communicate carnally and fleashlye with Christe, so that our verai bodyes also are fed with the hoste and sacramente of Eucharistia: all this is in this p. lixwyse to be vnderstanded, that we must cōceyue in our myndes, that the sonne of God whan he was conceiued of the virgyn Marie, and didde take the nature of man vponupon him: did euen than f…eash…ly and naturally communicate with vsus.

And ferthermore we dooe than abyde in hym, and he againe abydeth in vsus, whan we beleue the woordes that he hath spoken, and whan with a true feythe we receyue the sacramentes. For in communicatyng and receyuyng his bodye after this sorte, there is geuen and wrought in vsus a new spiritie, and our f…eashe and bodyes whiche before were of lyke nature with Christe, and now made partakers all of lyke propretees and qualitees with him, & become apte to receiue his immortalitie, and his resurreccion. And whā they obey & serue y^• spirite: than are thei truly & verely nourished vntounto life euerlastyng. And thus our bodyes by receyuyng of this sacramente are fed two mannier of wayes: the one, with the outwarde signe and figure: and the other, by this restoryng of vsus to euerlastynge lyfe: and so is Christe sayed to remayne and abyde in vsus by meanes of this sacramente. And as touchynge the fyrste kynde, of communicatynge whiche we hauehave with Christ by his natiuitee and incarnatiō we hauehave a testimonie therof out of the Epistle of Paule to the Hebrewes, in the seconde chapitur, in these woordes: For asmuche than as the childrē are partakers of fleashe and bloud, he also hath lykewyse been partaker with the same.

Now that to this presente purpose, it is ferther to bee considered, that the word of consecrating doeth signifie nothing els with the fathers and old writers, but to dedicate & appoint y^t thing now to some holy vse and offyce, whiche before was prophan and common of his owne nature. And therfore we must not as often as we reade in the fathers this woorde or terme of consecration by an by imagyn in our braynes a transubstanciacion:How the auncient fathers dooe take and vse the word or terme of cō sec…ating or consecraciō And yet y^• there is a certain chaung & a mutation in the consecration, we dooe not denye, that is to wete, suche a chaunge, for whiche these same thynges are now made sacramentes, to signifie vntounto vsus effectually, that (as concerning our mynde, or solle and oure feith,) the veray body and bloude of Christe is geuen and offred by the power of the holy ghoste.

It is ferther to bee knowen, that as touchyng the thynges selues, there is no difference betwene vsus and the Caper…aites. For they thought that they shoulde hauehave eaten the veraye bodye and the veraye fleashe of Christe: and we dooe graunte no lesse to bee dooen in the sacrament of the Lordes supper.

The differēce betwen vsus and the Capernaites in receyuyng the sacramentes.But the difference betwene the Capernaites and vsus, resteth in the mannier and fashion of eatynge it. For the same that they thoughte shoulde be carnallye and fleashly dooen: we teache to bee doen spiritually. And the veray true body of Christ and his veray true bloud it is that is geuen. For feith doeth not embrace nor receiue feigned thinges, but thinges y^• are true in dede. Also whan it is red in y^e writynges of y^e fathers the body of Christ to be cōprehēded & cōteined in these misteries: there is nothing els to be takē or vnderstād by these wordes, but that it is limited, noted, shewed, represented, or signified by them.

And whan thou hearest any of the fathers saying p. lxthat there is nowe no breade nor wine anye longer remayning in the sacrament,The sixth rule. y^u must not vnderstād this so to be without any farther addition or circūstaunce but in respecte of thy selfe whan thou doest deuoutlye and godlye receyue it. For thou for thy parte, at that time muste not thinke any longer on the breade, or on the wine, but thy minde & …ence must wholy and onelyonly clea…e and sticke to the thynges whyche are there represented and signified by the sacrament. And therefore it is saide by the prieste or ministe Lyfte vp your hertes, to the entente that thou shouldest lifte vp thy minde and thy herte from these visible thinges vntounto the thinges inuisible whiche are there offred and geuen vntounto the. Yea, and the holy scriptures dooe not abhorre frome this kinde of figuratiue speakinge neither, but do admit…e and vse the same. For Paul saith We hauehave no strife nor wrastlinge against fleshe and bloude. Who neuertheles would not hauehave denied, but that the bodye and fleashe doth noye & burden, & encumber the soule, & that the same body & fleshe oughte to be bridled and kepte vnderunder. For the same Paule in an other place writeth in thys maner. The fleashe desyereth contrarye to the spirite.

Neither was Paule ignoraunt that there be many ill folke, which in the scripture be called fleshe & bloud, of whom neuertheles we be molested and vered, & hauehave a continual conflicte or wresting with the same. But Paules menyng was of that same chiefe and especiall cont…cion or striuyng, from the which all these other striuinges take their begynnyng. Paule sayed also in another place, that there is in Christe neither he nor she neither bondeman nor free man. &c. Yet neuerthelesse these offices and these sortes of people are not reiected or put awaye from Christe, or from the congregacion of Christians, yea and commaundementes and rules of ordre wrytten in scripture seuerally of the sayde sortes of people. But Paule ment that these thynges be not in Christe as touchyng regeneracion in Christ, as touching forgeuenesse of synnes, and as touchyng the obteynynge of euerlastyng lyfe, which thynges are the highest and chiefest pointes in the profession of Christe. And in distributing of y^e sayd thinges. Christ hath not any parciall respecte to these states & to these degrees of men. The same Apostle wryteth these woordes: The kyngdome of God is not in woordes: and yet he would not for that cause bannyshe out of the congrega…ion or put awaye exhortacions, admonicions, and readynges, whiche bee dooen with woordes: but he had o…elye a respecte to that chiefe strength & efficace of the holy ghost… whereby al thinges ought to bee ruled or gouerned in the congregacion. And euen after thissame manier dooe the fathers and olde wryters speake, whan they denye that the same nature or substaunce of the signes dooe styll remayne in the sacrament which thing as we hauehave said) is not to bee vnderstanded as the plain wordes …oune without any ferther addicion, circumstaunce, or consideracion: but as touching our feith, and as touching our thynkyng whiche our feith and thoughtes ought not ouer muche to leane or cleaue to the sayed signes or p. lxitokens.

Aman may ferther saye,The seuēth rule or vnderstanding of the D… tours. that feith is of suche vertue strength, and efficacie, that it can make thynges to be presente: yet not onelyonly really or in substaunce, but spiritually. For feyth doeth veraily comprehend suche thynges.

And in this sence or meanyng the Apostle sayd that Christe was crucified euen before the eyes of the Galathians.The presence that feith causeth. And after the same manier was Abraham sayed to hauehave sene the daye of the Lorde. And after thesame manier the olde aunciente fathers of the olde testament had the same Christe in theyr sacramentes, that we hauehave nowe in ours. And thus ye see that to this presence it is not requisite that thynges dooen in their naturall constitu…ion and beyng shoulde chaūge their place, and come from place to place, or that they should be present before our yies with all their materiall and naturall qualitees, states, condicions, and all other appurtenaunces.

It is also to be obserued and marked,The eighte reason how to vnderstād the writinges of the fathers. that thinges maie bee so spoken by alternacion, that is to saye, for the respect of a certayne enterchaungeablenesse of the propretee, (whiche is after suche sorte, that such thinges as do properly belong to his godhead, are some tyme applyed to the humanitie, and contrarye wyse, those thynges that belong to his humanitie are sometymes applyed and referred to his godhead: and this I call alternacion, and communicating of propretees and by this alternacion because the deitee or godhead of Christe is moste truely present with vsus: thesame self thyng maye be made commune to his humanitie also. As when Christe, beyng vponupon earthe, saide that the sonne of manne was in heauen, and in so saying he applyed that thinge to his humanitie or manhoode, which belonged to his deitie or godhead. And after this fashion of speache: I wold graunte that Christes manhode is present to vsus when we receyue his body. Albeit I wold than expoune it, that it wer by the fore sayde communication of alternation of propretees. Finally,why the fathers dooe somtymes speak more then the truth is, vsy…g the fygure Hiperbole. yf you demaund, why old wryters vsed suche maners of speche as some vnpossible: it was for these causes: partly, that they wold folow the phrase or maner of speche read in scripture, and partlye, that they might moue mennes myndes, with a greater zeale, and also, that they might declare that this signification of sacramentes was not like to thynges signifyed in a comedi… or tragedie. For in suche enterludes, any of the players beyng disguised in his players apparell maye represente the persone of … or Priamus, but than getteth he thereby … or nothynge els to speake of, but whan he hathe placed his parte he is thesame man that he was before But in the recei…yng of Christes body the thyng beynge represented with the strength of the holy ghost, is both geuē and emprinted in our hertes and our solles through faith and many giftes & graces do folow and specially a secrete and an vnspeakeable knittinge and vnion of vsus with Christe doeth folowe, so that we are made one thing with Christ.

The reasōs auoyded y^• was broght for transu… …anciacion… …ut of the doctours.Nowe the fyrste obiection was broughte out of Ireneus, whiche sayeth that yearthly breade (when it hath receiued another name is not common bread but it is made Eucharistia that is to saye, a sacrament of thā kes geuyng.

p. lxiiWe gladli graunt this to be true for we do not hold y^• it is prophan and cōmon bread suche as we vse daily to eate: but that it is an holy breade, and a breade appointed to an holy vse and purpose, whiche at the receiuing of Chrystes bodye is made (as Irenens saied) Eucharistia, but all the wordes y^t folow in Ireneus do muche make for our part. For he wryteth, y^t Eucharistia doeth consist of twoo partes, that is to wete of an heauenly thyng, and of an yearthely thyng. And he did nat saie, that it is made of the accidētes of an yearthely thynge, and after wardes he wryteth our bodyes receyuyng the sacramente of Eucharistia, to bee on thys condicion not corruptible, if the same hauehave hope of resurrection. And in case that so great a chaunge bee graunted and putte of hym to bee in oure bodyes, that he made it equal with the chaunge of the breade: (for as that breade (sayeth he) is no longer Cōmon bread so our bodies be no longer corruptible) what nede shall it be, to sette vp thys transubstanciatyon, seyng he maketh the twoo chaungeynges on bothe sydes equall. And a playne mattier it is that the substaunces of oure bodyes bee notte tratysubstancyated.

Secondartyly Tertullian was alleged.Tertullian aunswer vntounto. And he also bryngeth a declara…ion wyth hym to shew what he meneth for Tertullyan dooeth not onelyonly speake in thys manyer: Oure lorde tooke breade and made it hys bodye, whan he sayed: thys is my bodye: but also Tertullyan putteth thus muche more to it to declare it, and sayeth: id est figura corporis m…i: that is to wete sayeth Tertullyan the signe of my bodye.

The obiection out of Origen aunswered vntounto.They brought in agaynst vsus Origen also, because he wrote that Christe graunted the breade to bee his bodye. And that dooe not we denye: but all oure controuersie dooeth consiste in the manier how it is Christes bodye. And as touchyng this poynte, Origen hymself sheweth playnly in other places of his weorkes, that there be figures here, and that this bread is called the word nutritiue of the solle, and geueth a ferther lesson concernyng thesame, that we muste not set our myndes to cleue and sticke, to the bloude of the fleashe, but to the bloud of the worde.

Cyprian answered vntounto.Ciprian semeth to speake more hardelye, when he sayed that this breade is chaunged, not in his shape, or outwarde apparaunce, but in his nature. But we muste hauehave a regard and consideracion what he wrote to Caecisius. Whiche was, that the Lordes bloude was shewed foorth with the wyne, and that if wine ceassed to bee in the cuppe, it coulde not seme that Christes bloud was in the cup. And as touchyng that he writeth in this place of chaungeyng the wyne into bloud, we graunted also that a chaunge there is, but we affirme it to bee a sacramentall mutacion or chaunging & none other. And thus takyng it we graunt that it is not y^e shape of y^e bread, or y^e fourme, or y^e accidentes of the breade that hauehave suche office here as to be Sacramentes: but we saye that the nature, and the veraye substaunce of the breade and of the wyne is chaunged into the sacramētes of Christes body and bloud. And And as the veray substaunce of the bread and not the shape of the breade dooeth nourishe: so Christes body dooeth bothe nourishe our soule and bringeth coū forte and strengthe to our bodye.

p. lxiiiAnd as the very substaunce of the breade is made of many graynes: so the mystical bodye whiche it representeth, hath many members or partes ioyned and vnited together. Wherfore as well we as oure aduersaries, dooe graunte that it is not the shape, that is to saye, the outwarde apparence and sight of the bread and the outwarde fashion of it, that is chaunged: but that it is the veray substaunce therof, whiche is chaū ged. Now our aduersaries will hauehave, that the chan̄ge is made by the castyng awaye of the breades nature but we doe holde, that there is but onelyonly a sacramentall chaunge.

And Cyprian himselfe maketh playnly agaynste our aduersaries. For they dooe not saie, that the substaunce of the breade is chaunged: but they saye, that the substaunce of the breade is vtterly gone, so that they take the bread cleane awaye. We saye, that the substaunce of the breade is chaunged, and so chaunged, that it becometh Christes bodye: that is to saye, the sacrament of Christes body: which it was not before. A man maye also besides all this, saye, that this latine woorde natura is not euermore in the good auctoures of the latine tongue taken for substancia that is to saye, substaunce: but sometymes it is taken for one of these woordes, vis the strength or vertue, ingenium the nature or disposicion, or propri…tas, the propretee. &c. Whereof Cicero saieth in his booke entitled Desomnio scipionis: The propre nature and strength of the solle is (sayeth he,) that it is moued of it selfe. And in an epistle to one Lentulus he writeth thus: The nature & the religion of thy prouince to be suche &c. In whyche place the worde nature is taken for the fasshion, and the disposicion or inclinacyon. &c. And euen in lyke manier is it to bee taken whan it is saied: the nature of herbes, or the nature of stones, and so others like. And thys sygnification of the worde nature, dooeth veraie well agree with the saieyng of Ciprian afore cited.

The ob… on. oute of Ambrose answered …nto.They bring foorth Ambrose agaynste vsus also, and specyallye in his Bookes entitled de sacramentis. Whyche bookes Ambrose dyd not make, as som men thynke. Fysher late bishoppe of Rochester dooeth inueighe & in maner rage agaynst al suche as so thinke. And he sayeth, that we ought in any wyse to geue credite vntounto Austen, who auoucheth that Ambrose wrote the sayed bookes, and was Auctour of theim, and he testyfyeth in plaine woordes, that Ambrose wrote these said bookes of the sacramentes. And for proufe of the mattyer, he allegeth the prologue of Austē vponupon hys bookes entitled de doctrina Christiana which prologue of Austen. I hauehave often tymes reade. But yet cold I neuer ther fynd that, that fysher wrytteth: vnlesse paraduenture he meane of that that Austen wroote in his boke of Retractacyons, whan he maketh mencion of his bookes de doctrina Christiana and ther in dede, he saith suche a thyng, but not in y^e prologe of hys work de doctrine Christiana, as fysher citeth it. Morouer thys pointe I doe verai wel know, that Austen wrytynge agaynste one. Iulianus a pelagion dooeth allege Ambrose concernyng the Sacramente of rege neracyon or of philosophye: But he mencyoneth not any woorde of these bookes of the misteries or of the sacramētes. And y^e wordes y^t Austē al…egeth in y^t place p. lxiiiiare not in these bookes of the sacramentes. But I passe not for thys. Suppose that Ambrose were the autour and wryter of them: they dooe not vtterly dissente or disagree from oure myndes in this mattier.

For many thynges he speaketh of sygnyfyeng, and that these sacramentes bee called, or sayd to bee Christes bodye: whyche thynges we dooe not denye. And in case he dooe at any tyme speake or make mencion of chaūging or turnyng: thā is it all together to be vnderstāded of a sacramental chaungeyng. Morouer he himselfe must be wel loked vponupon & weyghed, what he writeth in other places. Fyrst de officiis in the fourth booke and fowertie eight chapitur, he hath these wordes here ensuyng: In the one, that is to saye, in the old lawe, is the shadowe: and in the one is the ymage: but in the other, that is to saye, in the newe lawe, is the veritee, in the law is the shadowe: in the ghospell is the trueth, and trueth there is in heauenly thynges. In the olde lawe, there was offred a lambe, there was offred a calfe: nowe in the newe lawe is Christe offered, but he is offered as a man, and as one that receiueth his passion, but he himselfe offrethe himself as a priest, that he maye putte awaye our synnes: here as if wer in an Image or similitude, there in veritee, where he maketh intercessyon as an Aduocate for vsus before hys father. And vponupon the fyrste epistle to the Corynthyens, (as we hauehave before alleged) the same Ambrose thus sayeth: In eatynge and drinkynge we dooe represente or sygnyfye the fleashe and bloude of Chryste, whyche thynges bee offred. And whan he speaketh of the bloud, he saieth, that we receiue the misticall cuppe, in tipum …ius, that is to saye, for a sygne of he same bloud.

Also the same ambrose in his fourth boke of the sacramentes, and the fourth chapytur, putteth plainly our chaungeynge into Christe: whyche selfe same pointe we hauehave noted & marked oftentimes in others of the olde fathers, and wryters.

Now remayneth that we see concerning Chrisostome, what is to bee saied:Chrisostom aunswered v…to. They brought in for their purpose hys similitude of waxe, whyche waxe beeyng put to the fyer, is distroyed as touchyng his substaunce, so that nothyng of the waxe remayneth or eskapeth: So thynke thou (saieth Chrysostome) that the mysteryes are cōsumed of the substaunce of Christes bodye. Our aduersaryes saye: What thing can be spoken more plainly to declare that the substaunce of y^e bread is gon? but here I thinke it no labour loste but a profytable excercyse to examin dyligently some places o… Chrysostomes weorkes, that ye maye vnderstande plainly, how wel the thynges be marked which we spake of before: as touchyng such phrases founde in olde wryters. In the .lxxxiii. homelye vponupon Matth. he wrytteth thus: Many men say, that they wisshe and wolde fayn see the fourme, and shape and likenes of Christ: yea and that they would veraye fayne beholde his garmentes and shooes: but he deliuereth himselfe to thee, not onelyonly that thou mayest see hym, but also that thou maist touche hym Doe not we here vnderstande, how he appli…th that to the thyng of the sacrament, which belongeth or pertayneth to the sygnes, as for example Chrystes p. lxvbodye maye bee touched, and maye bee seen? whiche thing to bee true of the signes onelye: what it is that doeth not receiue and see. Again, in the same homelie or exhortaciō: Christ reduceth and bringeth vsus with him selfe into one masse or lumpe, and that not onelyonly by fayth: but also he maketh vsus in veray dede his bodye. Whiche same selfe thinge also he wrote in the sixtieth and sixtieth one Homelie, vntounto the people of Antioche: affyrmyng that we, not onelye by faithe and charitee: but in veray dede: are made and are ioyned and anexed to Christes body. And if it so be, that our substaūce is not turned into Christes substaunce, and yet that we bee so nyghe to Christe: why muste the substaunce of the breade bee chaunged whan it muste bee made Christes body. But a doubt mighte here arise, as though Chrisostome made against vsus, in that we holde that this receyuynge is by feythe, where he sayeth, that we be ioyned and turned or chaunged in to Christe, not onelyonly through feyth, but also in veraye dede. But here is to bee marked, that althoughe we holde Christes bodye to be eaten, and his bloud to be drounke through feith in receyuing of this sacrament yet vponupon this receyuyng by feyth there doeth foorthe with folowe not a feyned ioygning but a true and an effectuall couplyng betwene vsus and Christe, through the whiche ioygning of vsus to Christe not onelye oure mynde and solle is vnited and knitte vntounto Christe and made one with hym: but also oure body and our flesh hath therby a certayne restoryng and renewyng, so that we are therby truly and verayly made the members of the Lorde, and we receyue Christe whiche is our head, of whom we draw and take our spirite a…d our life continually. And this it is that Chrisostome ment whan he said that we be truely and veraily ioigned to Christ. And thus muche more maie yet be said herein, that Chrisostome in the selfe same homelie and sermon vponupon Mathew saieth, that th…se be the signes or tok…ns of Iesu Christ, with the whiche signes we stoppe the heretikes mouthes, whan they demaunde of vsus after what sort or facion Christ did suffer. For if he had not had veraie true fleshe in deede, and also if he had not truly and v…rily suffred passion in dede thā were these signes or tokens but vayne thynges. He sayeth also in thesame homelye, that our tongue is made blouddye in the receyuing of the Sacramentes And leste one myghte make some cauillacion, and saie that this bloude muste bee vnderstande to bee inuisible bloud, (that is to sa…e, suche bloud as cannot bee sene with our… yies:) with the which bloude beyng conteyned in the wyne or in the accidentes of the wyne (as themselues doe terme it) oure toungue is made blouddie: the same fath…r Chrisostome in the sixtieth homelie to the menne of Antioche, sayeth, that oure toungue is made redde with this bloud of the sacrament. In the which wordes who doth not se y^t he speaketh by y^e figure Hiper bo…e, which is: whan a man for y^e more vehemēt and more earnest expressing of a thing will speake more then the trueth is, or maye withoute playne myracle as for exaumple if one shoulde saye, that al the world heard a thyng spokē, whan his meaning is, that a veray great noumber heard it: this manier of speakyng is called hiper bole, and in his homelye made in Eucherius, he sayeth that in the cuppe there is p. lxvibloud taken out euen from the lordes syde.

Whiche thyng can not be beleued in the verai same fourme that it is spoken,Chrisostome himselfe declareth his owne hyperblicall speakynges. forasmuche as Christes side is not nowe at this daye open, neither any bloud takē out therefrom.

He wrytethe morouer in thesame Homelie after this manier: Doest thou see any bread or wyne? And hymselfe in this wyse maketh the au…swere to the question: Nay, god forbyd. Surely yf he should aske the sences of a manne suche a question, they woulde aunswere (yf thei could speake,) that it wer not true that Chrisostome sayeth. For after the iudgemente of oure senses, there is present bothe bread and wyne too. But he speaketh truly whan he sayeth afterwardes, non ita cogites, that is, thinke no suche thinge in thy mynde, that there is breade there. For as touchyng our mynde or thynkynge, all suche thinges must awaye.

Thesame Chrisostome wryteth in this mannier: Ne putes te ex homine accipere corpus Christi sed a seraphin, qui astet et forcipe tradat tibi Carbonem ignitum. That is to saye, think not thy self to receyue the bodye of Christ at a mortall mannes hand: but of an Aungel of the ordre of Seraphin who standeth by, and deliuereth thee an hoate fierye coale with a payre of tongues… &c. here in this place I dooe not suppose that these men wolde hauehave that the minister or the pastour whiche ministreth the Sacramentes vntounto vsus, is transubstanciated into an Aungell. And thesame Chrisostome writeth afterwardes. Accurramus ad exugendum sanguinem, qui ex latere domini prof…uit. That is to saye, leat vsus renne to sucke out the bloude whiche floweth oute of the Lordes syde. The veray schoolemenne themselues dare not speake so large as this. For they wryte y^t the bread and the wyne are turned into the substaunce of the bodye and bloude of Christe: but yet not so that anye thynge is added to the veraye true substaunce of Christes body or abated from the substaunce of the same. And in the lx. and one homelie to the people of Antioche, he saith that Christe did not geue hymselfe to vsus to bee seen, but also to bee touched, and to bee felte, & to hauehave his fleashe fastened vponupon with our teeth. In whiche place also, ye see that that is applyed to the thing signified by the sacramentes,That that properly belo…geth to y^• sig…es as attributed to the thynges. whiche properlye and peculierlye belongeth but to the sygnes onelyonly. For our teeth doe not reache so fer, as to touche y^e substaunce of Christes bodye, but onelyonly to the breade, and the signes, and the Sacramentes,

The same manne in the sixtieth Homelye to the people of Antioche sayeth that we oughte not to thynke y^t the ministers hande doeth holde foorthe the Sacramente vntounto vsus: but that we shoulde thynke Christes owne hande to bee stretched foorthe vntounto vsus and to dooe it. And likewyse in Baptisme that it is Christe himselfe that executeth the office of baptising. And in the three skore & one Homelie he exhortethe vsus to thynke that we dooe in this Sacramente taste Christe sittinge in heauen… whiche is wurshipped of the Aungels. In all whiche whiche places here nowe alleged it is manifest and playne enough that this our olde aunciente father trauayled by all meanes possible to call foorthe the myndes of suche as receyue the Sacramentes from these yearthly and grosse and outward signes, to the contemplacion p. lxviiand meditacion of the godly and heauenlye thynges by them represented. And a thing it is much to be meruayled at, that these men whiche bee so diligent in serching and discussynng the sayinges of the fathers and olde wryters: Dooe not emong all others, bring forthe the place of Chrisostome whiche is wryten in the sixtieth and one Homely to the people of Antioche where he sayeth, that those men are bothe lighte and malaperte and frowarde whiche vse to stande present by, at the ministryng of the sacramentes, and doe not receue the communion themselues to. Wherin Chrysostome affirmeth y^t they doe vntounto Christ a manifest iniurye and wrong. But to tarye a lytle longer vponupon that that was set foorth in the argumente of weaxe whyche melteth altogether whan it is sette to y^e fyer (as aforesayd) we aunswere, that Chrisostome hath often tymes in that place thys woorde Puta, that is, thinke thou, to thentente we shoule vnderstād that thys and suche other mattyers muste not bee taken but onelyonly in respecte of our feyth and our thinking, with the whiche feith or thynkyng whan we receiue the breade and the wyne, we dooe not comprehē or consider the bare thinges alone by themselfes: But we lyfte vp our myndes, & seke the heauenlye thynges whyche by waye of betokeninge are annexed to those yearthely thynges,Cirillus answered vntounto and declared. and by the same effectually signified. Morouer we bryng forth a lyke symilitude out of Cyrilus in the tenth boke and the .xiii. chapitur vponupon the gospel of Ihon where he saith y^t waxe being melted & so mingled with other waxe y^t bothe be made vtterly one thīg doeth represente y^e verai same thīg y^t is doē ī y^e receiuīg of y^e sacramēt: which is, y^t we be made verayly one thyng with Christ.

And the same selfe thynge he hath agayne in the fowerth booke a…d seuenteenth chapytur of the same woorke.

Nowe than if it so bee that thys symilytude of weaxe hath place as touchinge that we bee made one wyth Christe, and yet no transubstanciatynge of oure bodye thereunto required: than maye the same thynge also bee putte and holden of Chrysostomes similitude whyche he putteth betwene the weaxe and the sygnes or mysteryes of thys sacramente. Besydes the premisses, it is to bee demaunded of oure aduersaryes whether they wyll hauehave these and suche other similitudes to agree in all poyntes.

Whyche thynge if they graunte to bee true, than shoulde they take awaye also the whytnesse, the roundenesse, y^e taste, and the other accidentes of the breade from this sacramente. For the weaxe that is put to the fyer is not onelyonly destroyed as touchynge the substaunce of it but also as touchynge the accidentes. If they wyll not the simylitude to hauehave place in thys behalfe, than shal it belefull and free for vsus also, to vnderstande all thys whole mattier, and to applye it to the thynkynge and conceiuynge of oure mindes, and to that that is comprehended and enbraced by feith: and there wyl we graunte as touchynge the conceyuynge or comprehensyon of oure feyth that the nature bothe of bread and wyne departeth awaie, and that oure mynde and solle is onelye fyxed vponupon the thynges that are thereby sygnyfyed, and vponupon the thynges whyche are offred vntounto vsus by meane of that outewarde sygnes, that is to saie, vponupon the p. lxviiibodye and bloud of Chryste.

And as touchynge Chrysostome, thus muche suffiseth to bee sayde: wherin we maye well see howe trulye those thynges whiche we hauehave spoken before of vnderstandinge and takynge the olde fathers and auncient wryters of the churche dooe take place.Austen aunswred vntounto.

Then was Austens sayinge brought in and obiected agaynste vsus, for that he wrote vponupon the three and thirtieth Psalme, that Christe dyd beare himselfe in his owne handes:Christ howe he bare hym self in his own handes yea euen at his last supper whan he distributed and deliuered the sacrament aboute to his Apostles: and as for this, dooe not we denye. For what impediment or lette should there bee, but that Christe might beare his owne body in his owne handes yf by his bodye a man vnderstande the Sacrament of his bodye. And this it meneth that Austen did adde in the ende of this place, this worde Quodammodo that is to saye after a certayne fashion, as though he shoulde hauehave sayed, he bare not himselfe after a playne and absolute manier of speakynge or vnderderdandyng, but aliquo modo that is, after a certayne fashion, and that is the same veraye waye or fasshion whyche we hauehave here aboue alreadye declared.

They laye agaynste vsus also thesame Austens sayinge written in the thyrd booke De Trinitate, that is to saye of Trinitie where he sayeth that the breade is broughte to his visible lykenesse of fashion by the handye woorke of manne, but that it could bee made so greate a Sacramente withoute the inuisible operacion and woorkynge of the holy ghoste.

But it is a matier not alitle to be wondered at, howe these mē cā not cal to remēbraūce nor receiue no other worke of the holy ghoste in this sacramente, but transubstaunciation onelyonly. For as soone as they heare the name and mencion of operatyon of the holy ghoste in thys sacramente they can streight waie bring in transubstanciacyon whereas yet neuerthelesse these outwarde signes can not possybly be so chaunged, y^t they can bee brought to suche an high state and degree as to bee sacramentes,It is the operation of the holye ghoste that these helementes are made sac…amentes. nor cannot bee chaunged. But by the power and might of God, y^t is to wete, through the lordes institutyon and ordinaunce by pronouncyng of certain holy wordes out of the sciptures, and by the strength and efficacye of the holy ghostes workyng: For these godly thynges dooe not nowe any more come hurlyng or stumblyng into oure myndes after the vulgare or commen sorte: But wyth an effectuall and a veray earneste enforcemente of the holy ghoste. And by the strength and vertue of the same holy ghost, our hartes & myndes be persuaded and moued to the conceauyng and enbracyng of the thinges of the sacramentes throughe feith.

Nowe as touchynge Austens saying who in the nyntie eighte psalme vponupon the texte Adorate scabellum pedem eius that is, wurshyp ye the foote stoole of hys feete, seketh about what footestole the same should bee, and at lengthe fyndeth that it is sayed in the scriptures Terra est scabellum pedum eius that is to say the yearthe is hys foote stoole butte howe (sayeth he (shall we wurshyp the yearthe: It is not wryten in the scryptures, Thou shalt wurshyp the lorde thy god, & him alone shalt thou serue, and is it not commaunded (sayeth Austen) that we shall not wurshyp any of the thynges whiche are in y^e heauens p. lxixaboue, or vponupon the yearth beneath, or in the waters, or vnderneathe the yearth. But after al thys he bryngeth in, that a certain yearth there is, whyche bothe maie and oughte of good right to bee wurshypped, For (saieth he) the soonne of god tooke vponupon hym mannes nature, that is to saie, …leashe of a virgyn, and fleashe is called yearth in the holy scryptures, because oure bodye was taken of the yearth. And that the fleashe of Christe is to bee wurshypped, dooeth of thys mattyer plainly appere, because that whan he geueth the same to bee eaten, no man dooeth eate it before he hath first wurshipped it.

These woordes of Austen can make no thynge againste vsus. For we make no denyall at all but that the fleashe of Chryste is to be wurshipped, because of the ioygninge and couplyng that it hath wyth hys other nature of hys Godhed. But nowe at thys present our contencion is, whether the said fleshe of Christ lyeth hidden in the sacramente vnderunder the accydentes of the breade, and not whether the fleashe of Chryste bee to bee wurshipped or no. But they saie. If Christes fleashe were not there in the sacramente, and breade still remayninge or conteyned in the sacramente: than shoulde there bee Idolatrie comitted. But we thus aunswer agayn, that they also renne into as greate a daungier of Idolatrie, as we. For they also on there parte shoulde remoue and take awaye the accidentes, leste the same accidentes might happen to be wurshipped: and they shoulde chaunge the substaunce of the veraye cuppe or chalice too, and make a transubstanciacion of it for feare leste it woulde bee wurshypped of some ignoraunte persones, and Idolatrie cōmyted therunto.

But in a sacramente we putte a dyfference betwene the outwarde signes and the thynges that are sygnyfied by theim: and to these sygnes we geue and shewe honour and reuerence that is to wete, that thei bee reuerently handled and after a comely facion, and that they bee not cast away. For they bee holy thinges and deputed and appointed ones to god. But as touching the thinges signifyed and represented by the out warde sygnes, (that is to wete, the bodye and bloud of Christe, we dooe quickely and without any sticking graunte that they shoulde bee wurshipped. For Austen sayeth in thys place. There is none offence dooen in wurshyppyng of Chrystes fleashe: But there is an offense committed in not wurshyppinge of it. But yet dooeth Austen foorth with warne vsus that we shulde nottary or fixe our mindes vponupon the fleashe of Christ: but that we should lyft vp oure myndes to hys godly nature and to hys deitee, to the whyche deyte Christes fleashe is ioygned and knitte wyth suche a knotte as can not bee vnlooced for els (sayeth he) Caro non prodest quicquam sed spiritus est qui viuificat. that is the fleshe dooeth nothynge proffyt nor auaile. But it is the spyryte that quickneth and geueth lyfe. where marke, that thys saynge of Christe whyche is wrytten in the sixth chapytur of Iohns ghospell, is vnderstanded and taken of Austen concernynge Chrystes fleashe, and not after a carnall and fleashely vnderstandynge of the same, as some men wolde ha…e it. But nowe for wurshyppynge of it I wyl here bryefly touche and in fewe wordes repeate the same.

p. lxxWhyche before thys time I spake whan I declared this epistle: whyche was that adoracion or wurshypping, consisteth in Inuocatyon or callyng vponupon, (as whan we praie to God) and in confessyng or acknowelaygeyng, (whyche confessing is of two sortes the one with the hert, and the other with the mouth,) and in thankes geuing. Al these thīges bee dewe both to god and to Chryste where and whan soeuer he declareth hymselfe vntounto vsus. And this is doone three manier of wayes: fyrst by reason of goddes woorde inwardly considered when some vehement thynkynge vponupon God and Christe cometh into oure myndes, by the strength and power of the holy ghoste. And than dooeth wurshyppynge folowe streygth waye. For eyther we confesse and knoweledge his maiestie to bee moste excellent. &c. or els we call vponupon him to helpe vsus, or els we thanke hym for hys goodenesse shewed vntounto mankynde. And these thynges dooe sometymes, declare themselfes vntounto vsus by externall and outward woordes, that is to wete, as often as we ourselues reade the holie scryptures, or els whan we heare godly sermōs. For in this case we be many times prouoked to calle vponupon God or to dooe other thynges whiche perteyne to the nature of godly wurshyppīg. To bee shorte, Chryste and god sometymes dooeth declare hymselfe by outewarde sygnes as he dyd in y^e Mounte of Synai vntounto Moses, and to the prophet Isai in lykenesse of a kinge sitting in his regall throne.Exod. xix.Exod 19 In the arke of promyse, and in the Sacramentes.Isay. vi.Isa 6 And here also is adoracion or wurshipping vsed. But like as Austen gaue warnynge or exhorted vsus, that we shoulde notte sette oure myndes and stayghe onelye vponupon the fleashe, but that we shoulde goe for warde lifting vponupon our myndes to his deite or godhead: So doe I now here geue warnyng, that whan we receiue the sacramente we should not stoppe or tarie in the outward signes w^t our wurshipping, but that we shuld in spirite and in truth wurship Christe that sitteth in heauen at the right hande of the father. Which thing because some vnlearned people dooe not vnderstande by reason of this false opinion of transubstanciacion beeing now confirmed and rooted in mens myndes: therfore I would thynke it not vnprofitable, if we did refreine our selues from outwarde wurshipping of it, as frō prostration or kneelyng, vntyl suche tyme, as the rude sorte and ignoraunt people were better enstructed & taught therin. Inward wurshippyng maye bee vsed without daungier: nether were the outwarde worshyppyng ill in his owne true naturall vse. For many menne dooe godlye and reuerentlye bowe theyr knee whan they heare those wordes of the ghospell et ver…um caro factum est that it is to saye. And that word became fleashe. &c. And yet is it not to bee sayed of them, that they wurship the veray wordes, but the thynges that is sygnyfyed by the woordes.

Whyche same selfe thynge what stop or lette is there but that it may bee dooen in thys matyer of the sacramente, so that the outewarde sygnes bee no… wurshypped, but the thynge that is sygnyfyed by the sygnes. But in these present dayes peraduenture outewarde wurshyppynge is not expedyent to bee vsed for the foresayde cause, vnlesse often mention shoulde bee made of suche matyers in the sermons to the people.

p. lxxiAnd yet leat not any man take occasion of these my woordes, to saye, or thinke that it is lawfull to worshyp Images or pictures, because that god and Christe dooe seme some times in them to declare him selfe effectually vntounto vsus. For we hauehave plain wordes of scripture y^t we shal not make vntounto vsus any Images to worshyp them. But as touchynge the wordes of holy scrypture, and as touchyng the sacramentes here is nothyng to the contrarye but that in hearynge or receyuyng them we maye worship them, because they bee thynges instituted and ordeyned by the woord, the wyll, and the commaundemente of god, too the entente that we might therby bee prouoked to the due seruynge of good, whiche seruynge of god, consisteth much in adoracion and humble wurshipping of hym. Neyther can ye also of thys matyer, or of any my wordes gather that any parte that remayneth after the receyuynge of the sacramente should be wurshiped. For what so euer strength the outewarde sygnes in the sacramentes hauehave, they hauehave it of the holy ghoste, of the lordes woordes, and of hys institucyon, and ordinaunce. Whyche thynges dooe no longer remain, then whyle the vse and receyuynge of the sacramente dooeth continue. And the promisse of God, is applied to thys sacramente whiles we eate and drink the sacramente. Wherfore y^t opinion and doctrine of reseruing the sacrament was not Catholike, nor vniuersalli vsed or receyueth in y^e Christyā cōgregaciōs. For in y^e time of Hesythius (as hym self testifieth wrytyng vpō the booke of Moses that is entitled leuiticus) that y^t was least of y^e sacramēt, was burnt which selfsame thing y^u haste also in Orygyen vponupon the same booke entitled Leuiticus (though it bee but al one booke a scribed to know men. And clement bysshop of Rome did ordein or make, that the leauynges of this sacrament should be eaten of the clerkes, as it plainelye appereth in his decree which is writtē in the title de consecratione, that is of consecration, and in the second distinction. We doe not denie but y^t the leauinges of y^e sacramēt wer sōetimes reserued & kept: but it was doen w^tout any wurshipping of it, & without any supersticious pointes of reuerence. The leauynges of this sacramente wer deliuered to children and to women to bee caryed to sicke folk, as it is plain in y^e historie of Eusebius & in Hierome one of the doctours of the Churche. And I wolde sū what stagger to saye y^e receyuinge of suche leauinges beyng doen privatly out of y^e holy compaignie, & with out the ordier and manier of receyuing the communiō instituted of Christe, was a right, a full, and a perfect receiuing of y^e cōmunion or of y^e sacramēt which receiuing of y^e sacrament emōg the sicke folkes, I could yet neuerthelesse graūt vntounto, so y^t thesame do repeate y^• holy wordes of Christ & so y^• some honest Christiās doe there emōg thēselues put in vse y^e ordinance of Christ in this behalf. For except mo persons thē one alone do receiue y^e cōmunion together: the due ordre & course of receyuing this sacramēt is not obserued & kept. Christes wordes wer to me thē one, in this sort: Accipe, edite et bi…ite: y^t is to say, take ye, eate ye, & drinke ye. There is breade broken into sondrye pieces, whiche thinge meneth, that it should be dealed about and disstributed to mo then one. And thei speake many thinges in theyr canon of the olde Masse, whiche vnlesse a nomber dooe receyue it together, are sterke false and veray lyes. And besides this, it is called of learned men. Coena a supper, Communio, a communiō, and sinaxis a gathering or cōming together: which names do nothīg agre w^t a priuate acciō or doyng of one persō alone by himselfe. Neither do we in any place reade in olde writers of any priuate masses where one alone might receiue the sacrament without the companie of others Honorius byshop of Rome was y^e fyrst y^t made a decree y^t the sacrament of Eucharistia should be reserued & kepte and decreed ferther that honour and reuerence should bee dooen to it.Honorius bishoppe of Rome. Whan it was caryed abrode any whither. That if this thyng had been dooen of others before his dayes. It had not belōged vntounto hym to make a decree of any suche thyng. And to speake in a briefe summe, we affirme & hold (as we hauehave before saide) y^t this Sacramente hath not his ful strengthe & vert…e & efficacie but whiles it is in doyng & in executing, & whiles it is in receiuing: which thing y^u seest also to be doen in al the other Sacramētes. Hilarius is brought against vsus,Hilarius aū swered vntounto. but he had veray great controuersies and disputacions with the Arrians against whō he wryteth. Whiche Arrians thought that the father and the soonne wer none other wise knitte or ioyned together, but by a concord and agrement of wyll, and by suche vnitie of minde, that whatsoeuer the father would the sōne wolde thesame. Agaynst these Arrians.

Hilarius thus sayth: I demaund of you this questiō, whether the cōioynyng & vnitie that is betwene vsus & Christe bee of the propretee of nature, or els of the cō corde and vnitie of mynde and wyll. For the Arrians woulde for their purpose hauehave caught holde on that that place, in whiche Christe prayed that we mighte be made one with hym, as he and his father bee one betwene themselues. The text or sentence is in the seuenth chapitur of Iohns ghospel, whece it is sayd: Neuerthelesse I pray not for them alone but for thē also which shal beleue on thē through theyr preachinge, that they all maye bee one as thou father arte in me, and I in thee: that they also maye be one in vsus, that the worlde maye beleue that thou haste sente me. &c.

The Heretiques did putte this glose to it that we and Christe wer none otherwyse ioygned and knitte together, but by consente and vnitie of wille: and ther of they gatheredde and concludedde, that ther was in like mannier none other couplynge and knittinge together of the sonne of god with the father, but only thissame knittynge together and vnion of mynde and wyll. It was Hilarius parte therefore to decclare that we are knitte and made one with Christe naturallye, that he might conclude, that the sonne of God also is naturally ioyned to y^e father in very substaunce. The prouing therfore of Hilarius cōclusiō renneth thus: If the sonne of God did truly & verily take the nature or substaunce of man vpō hym he agreeth with vsus naturally in his fleshe, & we bee sayed to abide in him be cause he hath oure nature in hym. And agayn for the other side when we receyue the meate which was instituted of Christe, yf we dooe truely and veraily receyue his fleshe, we are partakers with hym naturally, and he doeth trulye and veraily abide in vsus. And p. lxxiiithus doeth Hilarius take and frame his argumente of the veritee and trueth of the sacramentes, whiche veritee or to bee in the sacramentes we dooe not denye. And this was a common custome emong the auncient wryters, to fetche the grounde of theyr argumentes out of the Sacramentes as thinges most perfitly knowē to al Christē mē. And of al these thinges there is not one iote that is contrary to our sentence and determinacion. For it is no part of Hilarius entente to proue that Christes fleashe lieth hidden vnderunder the accidentes of bread, or in this sacrament: but he maketh proufe onelyonly and so concludeth, that we bee truely and verayly ioyned vntounto Christes fleshe whan we receyue the sacrament, which thing we do not deny nor say agaynst. But ye that make so muche a do for transubstanciacion, marke me this poinct, y^t the same self Hilarius a litle before these wordes whiche he writeth of Eucharistia, doeth say the very same thinge of baptisme, y^t through baptisme we be ioyned vntounto Christ, & eueryevery on… of vsus to other not only by an vnion of consent & agreyng to gether in minde & will, but also in an vnitie of nature & substaunce. Wherfore it y^e same thinge so be, than are ye cōpelled & driuen of force to putte a trā substanciacion in Baptisme too, yf ye beeyng a transubstanciacion into the sacrament of Eucharistia for y^e respect aboue mencioned. Chrisostome doeth not muche varie from this custome of framing his argumentes out of the sacramentes. For in his eightie eighte Homelie vponupon the ghospell of Mathew he sayeth (as we alledged before) that these bee the signes or Sacramentes of oure Lorde Iesus, with the whiche wee do both brydle and stop the mouthes of Heretiques.

For they oftentimes saie: howe did Christe suffer? And we on oure side obiecte agaynst them again. If Christ had not verai true & natural fleash in dede, thā are these signes but vain thinges, whych thing foloweth veray well. For els the sacramentes shoulde signifye and represente vntounto vsus, feigned thynges. And thus the mouthes of the Manichees of the Marcionites, and of suche other pernicious heretiques, wer stopped of Chrisostome and suche others as he was. As touchyng Leo byshope of Rome,An aūswere to Leo Bysshoppe of Rome. there is no cause why to take muche ca…e or peine to aunswer him. For he in the sentence and determinacion of the sacramentes y^t is layd vntounto vsus, doth both graūt a mystycal dystribucyon of it to mo then one, and also dooeth putte a spirytuall nourishyng, and an heauenly vertue, and affyrmeth that we bee transfourmed and chaunged into Chrystes fleashe, as he tooke our fleashe and nature vponupon him.

They bryng, Emisenus againste vsus, whose woordes bee reade in the tytle De consecratione that is to saye,Emisenus aunswered vntounto. of consecration and in the second distinction. But ther, (if thou looke well) thou shalt finde these woordes. Mente attingas, et manu cordis accipias corpus Christi… that is to saye, touche thou Chrystes bodye wyth thy mynde, and take thou his bodye wyth the hande of thy herte. In the whyche woordes it is plain, that he dooeth affyrme and holde, that we dooe eate Chrystes bodye spirytually when we receue the sacrament.

And he moreouer byndeth earnestly (as the other olde wryters dooe) vponupon the chaungeyng of vsus into Chryst, whych chaūgeinge neuerthelesse is doen (as we see) without any transubstancyatynge of vsus.

p. lxxiiiiI knowe that many men maye meruaile, why we so often times dooe matche that same chaungeing whyche the olde wryters seme to speake of in the sygnes or sacramentes, wyth the chaungyng of vsus into Chryst, whyche they all dooe graunte and constauntly affyrme. And some men dooe imagin, that there is another manier of ioygnynge betwene Chrystes bodye and the sacramente, then there is betwene vsus and Chrystes bodye: and that therefore thys proporcion and comparisō hath no place in this matier, although y^e old wryters affirme & avouche both chaunginges.

To suche persones we aunswer and saye, that oure argumente is moste pithie and strong. For the reason dooeth argue (as the Logicyans termes be) a maiore ad minus, that is to saye, from the more necessarye requisyte to the lesse, and that regatiuely, that is to saye, in the waye of denyinge a thing to bee so or so. For ther is a greater coniunction and couplyng together of Chryste vntounto vsus and to suche as dooe receyue the communion, then there is of Chryste wyth these outwarde signes of the sacramente. For somuche therfore as in vsus to bee knitte vntounto Christ and to bee made one wyth hym, there is no transubstanciacion required: muche lesse is there any suche transubstanciacion requyred in the sayd outward sygnes of the sacramē te. And that we be more nere ioygned and knitte vntounto Chryste, then the outeward signes of the sacramente,we are more nere ioyned …o Chris… thē the signes. it is manifestli proued by this reason, that y^e ioynyng of Christe with the sayde sygnes was first inuented, deuised, and wrought to none other ende, but the we might be ioigned to Christ & made one with hym, as aforsaid.

Morouer y^• wordes of holi scripture pronoūce before the receyuyng of the Sacrament… & the holy spirite (by which two thinges the signes be cōsecrated) do much lesse appertaine & belong to the sayde said signes, then they do appertaine & be long to man that receyueth y^• signes. And as touchyng Theophylactus, we saie y^t he is but a newe wryter and a man that wrote but of late dayes,Theophilactus aunswered vntounto. and paraduenture, that chaunced to lyue in those daies whan many doubtes and disputacions be gonne to bee moued aboute thys transubstanciacyon, that is to wete Nycolas the byshop of Rome, at what tyme Ranfrancke and Berengarius were alyue. Morouer Theophylactus was a man of no great iudgemente, as it maie full well appere by hys declaracyon and exposicyon of the thyrde chapytur of the ghospell of Iohn towardes the later ende of the chapytur, where he ch…cketh expressely by name the latin Churche concernynge the procedynge of the holy Ghoste, because the latin Churche hade determined, that the procedinge of the holy Ghoste is from the father and the soonne. Therfore we wyll not thinke nor repute his aucthoritye to be of so greate weight, that it ought to bee preiudicyall to the trueth. Yet neuerthelesse, leat vsus ponder & weighe his woordes he saieth y^t the bread is not a signe of Christes body: & this he sayeth vponupon Mathewes Ghospell, which thyng is well spoken, if he mene that y^• bread is not an emptye figure, or a vain figure & void of al strēgth & efficacy. Neither do we saie y^t y^e bred is suche a signe or figure. And we do nothīg doubt, but y^• this was his interpretaciō & mening in dede for because y^t vpō Markes gospel he saith that the bread is not a figure not onelyonly.

p. lxxvFor els, if he shoulde vtterly denye that the bread is a signe or a figure of Christes bodi, he should be contrary to the rest of the fathers and olde writers whom we hauehave alredy plainly declared to graunte and putte bothe a sygne and a fygure to bee heere in this sacramente. He saieth also y^t the bread is transformed conuerted and chaunged from the elemente and matier that it was afore, into an other. Whiche maniers of speaking if he vnderstande and mene Sacramentally, we dooe not abhorre from them. For the breade and wyne become sacramentes, & they passe & bee chaunged into elementes, that is to saye, matyers of heauenly thynges and they putte on as it were a newe garmente and shape to bee nowe the sygnes and tokens of an higher matier.

But (saye they) thys Theophylactus wryteth that the fleashe and the bloude for thys cause bee not seen, leste oure stomackes shoulde stande agaynste the receyuynge of it. But if thou (what soeuer thou bee) wilt so eagrely and so sore bynde vponupon these woordes: we for oure parte laye agaynst the agayne, the wordes that the same Theophylactus wryteth vponupon Markes ghospell: whyche are, that the kyndes or symylitudes of breade and wyne bee turned into the vertue or strength of the lordes bodye and bloud.

That if thou wilt allege that the sayd Theophylactus dooeth in all other places not saye, into the vertue. &c. But, into Christes boddye and bloud:The kindes and similitudes of breade and wine cōuerted into the vertue of Christes body & bloude we aunswere, that the interpretacion of these wordes is, y^t these sygnes take vntounto them the vertue of the thynges whyche they signyfye, by reason of the whyche vertue, the sacramentes bee of no lesse effecte, then if the v…raithyng self wer there present. And (as I hauehave sayed) the yrkesomnes and abhorrynge of it is taken away, yf we putte that the chaunge is made not into the thinge, but in to the vertue of the thing. Hys other sentence semeth to bee somewhat more violēte and of some more force & vehemencye… whych he wroote vponupon the sixth chapytur of Ihons ghospell, where he thus sayeth: As the breade that Chryste did eate whyles he lyued here in yearthe, was chaunged into his fleashe by a naturall transubstanciation or chaungeyng after the common rate of foode and nourishement in mannes bodye: so is this breade chaunged into Christes body here in the Sacramente. Yet this similitude and comparison we graunte also to bee true yf it bee generally taken. For in this sacrament also, we dooe not denye but there is a chaunge Sacramentall, that is to saye, suche as in a Sacrament is required.

That if thou saye thou wylte nedes take this similitude euen plainly as it is made, and as it souneth, whiche is that the breade bee as verayly chaunged in the Sacramente of Eucharistia, as breade was turned into Christes fleshe at suche tymes as he eate it whiles he here lyued: than wyll there folowe an inconuenience cleane contrary to thyne owne sentence and determination.

For it wyll folowe, that the accidentes of the signes cannot remayne or be reserued still in the Sacramente of Eucharistia. For in thee foode and sustenaunce that Christe tooke frome time to tyme whiles he liued, the ac…identes did not remayne.

p. lxxviBesydes the premisses, I wyll here allege for our purpose the woordes of the same selfe expositour vponupon the sixth chapitur of Iohns gospell, vponupon these woordes: he that eateth my fleashe, and drynketh my bloude, abideth in me, and I in hym. &c. Upon whiche woordes Theophylactus expounyng them in the persone of Christ, saith that this thyng is dooen, whiles the partie is quodammodo, that is to saye, in a manier mingled and ioygned vntounto me, and is chaunged ouer into me.

Where thou seest agayne, that Theophilactus holdeth (as the reste of the fathers and wryters dooe holde) that there is so great a chaungeyng of vsus into Christe, that he wryteth vsus to bee chaunged ouer and dooe passe into Christe.

And thus muche I saye at this present for aunswere of that that was broughte in and allegedde agaynste vsus out of Theophylactus. Of the later wryters they bryng Anselmus, and Hugo,Anselmus and Hugo aunswered vntounto. and Rycharde whiche were in the tyme of Uictor.

But fora…muche as in the tyme of these menne the doctrine of transubstanciacion was now already perforce thrust into the lappe of the churche, and the people compelled to receyue it: the sayde wryters in suche woorkes as they made, didde accordyng to the tyme, so that the newe inuencion of suche oug…te not to hauehave place to the preiudice of the mooste aunciente opynyon of the churche, and of the determinacion of the olde auncient fathers.

Iohn Damascene aū swered vntounto.But one mā emong all others they seme to hauehave most highe in price, and this is Iohn Damascene, who in the fourthe booke and fowerteenthe chapitur of his worke, of the right feith. Hath verai largely wrytē of this matier. But I fynd that this Damascene liueth vnderunder the Greke Emperour Leo Isanricus, so that betwene the tyme of Gregorius Magnus bishop of Rome, and thissame Ihon Damascene it was a full nye hundred and twentie yeares space at the leaste.The time of Damascene whan he li…ed. And wheras now alreadye in the tyme of Gregorie many poinctes of supersticion, and manye thynges of mānes inuenciō wer come by heapes into the Churche the matier did eueryevery daye from that tyme forward renue still headlong to wurse & wurse. By reason wherof it is no meruaile at al if this Damascene stumbled vponupon many pointes that wer both vntru, and also ful of supersticion.

The iugemēt of Damascene in diuerse Articles of doc…trine.And as for his iudgement how good and how great it was as well in arcticles and pointes of doctrine, as also in expounyng of the holy scriptures, we hauehave a sample good enough. For he is a wonderous great fauourer of Images, and susteyned both great and sore daungiers mo then one for vpholdynge and maynteining of them: yea and in this selfsame fourth booke he wrote a seuerall chapitur of a sette purpose concernyng the same matier of Images: where his mynde & sentence is, y^t Images not onelye are to bee made, but also to be honoured and wurshypped. Besides this, he so highly estemed the reliques of sainctes and holy men whiche are now in rest, that he appointed vntounto them also a certayne chapitur for the nonce in whiche he feared not to call the sayed reliques, the p. lxxviifountaynes and welles of the giftes of God. And he is so bold there as to saye that we are bound to worshyp the Sainctes with feith, whiche is a pointe vntollerable, forsomuche as feyth is due onelye to God and to his wordes. He hath also a sermon concerninge purgatorie, in which his opinion is, that Traianus the Emperour of Rome (who had liued bothe an Idolater & also a persecutour of Martyrs,) was deliu…red from the punishment of hell at the prayers and intercession of Gregorie. And that one Falconilla a woman beyng in hir lyfe tyme altogether geuen to the wurshipping of Idolles, was at the praiers of an other certayne man deliuered from damnacion after that she was now allreadye deade, and had lyen faste holden and kept in the peynes of hell. He ferth…r bryngeth in a fable of one Macarius, howe that he talked with a dead mannes skulle, of whome he heard that duryng the tyme whyle Masse was in saying the solles of the deade whiche endure tormentes are eased & released of theyr peynes: that same whole Sermon dooeth he poudre with suche lyke feygned tales as these. Now as touching the exposition of scriptures, the self same Damascen whan he wryteth of the resurreccion, he laboureth to proue it by a place in the booke of Genesis,Gen. ix.Gen 9 where it is red that the lord saied to Noe. Fleashe with the bloude shalte thou not eate, for I shall requyre your solles at the handes of the beastes. He wyll require them (saieth Damascene) at the resurrectiō. For the beastes dooe not dye for mannes sake. Wherein he appereth to be ignoraunt of the law that was made of god in the boke of Exodus, and in the boke of Deuteronomye, where it is commaunded that the Oxe whiche renneth at menne with his hornes, and sleagheth anye bodye, shall bee stoned to death.

The same Damascene also in his booke De Virginitate, that is saye, of virginitie, writeth in this manier. If Adam had not synned, man and woman…e should not hauehave been coupled to gether in Matrimonie to bry…g foorth issue. And because he seeth the sentence and determinacion of God to bee agaynste hym, in these woordes, Grow ye, and be ye multiplyed: he sayeth that it was perhaps possible that menne shoulde hauehave multiplyed and gotten issue oute of some other parte of the bodye. There is not one of the schoole diuines that would thus hauehave sayd. Thesame Damascene also wresteth and raketh Basilius.Damascene wres…eth basilius. For because he seeth Basilius to affirme that the breade & the wyne are as it wer the countrepaynes, or paternes of Christes body he expouneth Basilius to mene that same before the consecratyon: Whiche is a pointe without all ryme or reason

For the breade and the wyne before consecracyon hauehave nothynge at all in them, more then other common meates hauehave. And in case the bread and wyne shoulde in suche wyse sygnyfye the bodye and bloude of Chryste, than shoulde they bee nowe alreadye Sacramentes before the pronouncing of the Lordes woordes.

Besydes this, in the Masse of the Greke Churche they dooe after the consecracion in moste open and playne woordes praye that the breade maye be made the bodye and bloude of Christe.

p. lxxviiiAnd namely in the masse of Basilius, the matyer so renneth, that the sayd woordes are sette after the consecracyon.

Yea and in our Canon also that was vsed in the olde masse yf it bee well loked vponupon, it is named bread after the consecracion. But now are hys argumentes to be consydered and examined. The fyrste of them is grounded vponupon the power of god, for seeynge that god was of power to create bothe heauen and yearth by hys woorde, and by the same woorde to brynge foorthe plantes and trees, beastes, foules and fysshes: why shoulde he not bee of power to make hys owne bodye of breade: But thys kynde of argumente is of the weakeste and febleste sorte that can be….

Neyther dooe we now traicte or despute of the power of god For we dooe not denye that god is hable to turne breade into fleashe: But all oure varyaunce is, whether he wyll so dooe or not. Another argumen…e of hys is taken & framed out of Chrystes manier of speaking. For saieth Damascene, it was not sayed of the lorde: Thys is the fygure or sygnes of my bodye, but is called the veray bodye of the lorde. But vntounto thys argumente we hauehave alreadye made aunswere afore.

And in case thys man whan he denyeth the sacramente to bee a fygure of the lordes bodye, dooeth vnderstande it absolutelye, and euen as the woordes soune wythout any ferther addycyon, or interpretacion: he hath in manier all the auncyente fathers and olde wryters agaynste hym, who euerye one of them dooe heere in thys matyer acknowlege a fygure.

But in case he vnderstande it to bee not a figure onelyonly, that is to saie, a vaine & a voyd signe, We our selfes also dooe wyllingly graunte so muche vntounto him Albeit he dooeth here & there in hys wrytynges entre lace certain wordes in whiche he maie appere not to hauehave been of so grosse an opiniō concernyng the sacramente, as he maketh for. For in one place he hath these wordes.

The bread of the cōmuniō is not simple & bare breade onelyonly: but it hath a godly vertu ioygned vntounto it. Whiche poynte we shal wythout any great stickyng admitte, forasmuche as we saye not that the breade is in thys case common breade or mere breade, but that it is now a breade halowed, and turned into the nature of a sacramente. And godly vertue maye for thys cause bee sayed to bee ioygned vntounto it, because that y^e holy ghoste dooeth vse thesame as an instrumente towardes our saluation. Besides the premisses, he maketh a comparison betwene thys sacramente and baptisme, in whyche cō parison he sayeth that god hath customably vsed to cō descende vntounto our vsage, and to our familiar facions that we are acquainted withall, and because that men are woont to bee washed wyth water, and to bee enoyn…ted wyth oyle: therefore god hath ioygned and geuen hys grace vntounto these thynges, and hys spirite vntounto baptisme. And in lyke manier forasmuche as it is the custome and vsage of men to eate breade and to drynke wyne: he gaue and ioygned hys godhed vntounto these thynges.

But now after the transubstātiacyons, god should p. lxxixnot hauehave ioygned hys godly power or hys godhed vntounto these thynges: but he shuld clene hauehave put away these other natures of breade and wyne.

And the reason and circumstaunce of the sayed com…parison dooeth require, that lyke as the ioygnyng of baptesme wyth grace and wyth the holy ghoste doeth not put awaye nor destruye the nature, of the water: euen so the thynges of thys sacramentes should not destruye or cast awaye the beeyng and the true nature of the signes. Damascene sayeth morouer that god did so condescende vntounto our custome & vsage, that by meane of suche thynges as are familiarly vsed emōg vsus, and are within the ordre and course of nature, we shoulde bee placed and sette in those thynges whiche are aboue nature. In whyche place he toucheth also of our chaungeyng into Christe. But it is here to bee noted, that he affirmeth the outward signes and matier of the sacramentes to bee thynges accordynge to nature, that is to saye, naturall thynges, and thynges of their own natures.

That yf ye putte thesame to bee accidentes onelye and withoute a subiecte, or accidentes that hauehave the bodye of Christe hidden vnderunder them: than are thei not any longer to bee taken for thynges of theyr owne nature, or for thynges within the ordre and course of nature.

And Damascen vseth suche playne termes in y^e matier that he affirmeth the nature of bread to be chaunged ouer, to bee taken to another thynge and to be made Christes body: which wordes chaunge yf they bee taken and vnderstanded of a Sacramentall chaunge, they make nothynge at all agaynste vsus.

And where he also sayeth that these chaunges happen aboue nature, we admitte and graunte that too. For it is not of any naturall propretee belongynge vntounto common breade, that a sacrament shoulde bee made thereof, no more then the fountayne of oure regeneracion or newe birth to bee made naturallye of water.

That yf ye demaunde of Damascene the manier howe this chaungeynge of the breade into Christes body commeth to passe: he aunswereth that it is not a lyghte mattier euen for vsus to expresse the mannier howe breade in oure naturall foode and susteinaunce is chaunged into oure fleashe.

But as touchynge this similitude and comparison howe it maye bee taken, we hauehave sayed sufficiently afore whan we spake of Theophylactus. If ye take this similitude generallye, and applye it to a Sacramentall chaunge, it is veraye well, but if ye will hauehave the comparison specially made of suche a mutacion or chaungeynge, as there is of the foode that we take in oure bodyes, whan it is turned into our fleashe: than shall ye make not onelye the nature of breade to geue place and to departe awaye, but also the accidentes therof to dooe thesame.

Damascene after all this affirmeth the breade so to bee made Christes bodye, and the wyne and water in suche wyse to bee made his bloude, that the p. lxxxsame are nowe not twoo thynges, but one. If he referre this terme, to bee one thynge, and not twayne, to the cuppe and the breade, as though he should saye that these twoo are one Sacramente: We wyll make no greate a dooe in the mattier, (for in this accion or dooyng, as in one Sacramente, Christe is offred vntounto vsus, for a foode.

And yet in takynge bothe partes of this Sacramente, the Churche is not a fearde to speake of theym as thoughe they were twoo, and to saye, that there bee Sacramentes here. And in the collectes whiche they were woont to saye in theyr olde Masse they did after the communion manye tymes saye these woordes.

The Sacramentes whiche we hauehave receyued. &c.

But an yf they affirme them in suche wyse to bee one, that after the consecracion the breade and Christes bodye bee nowe one thyng, and notte twayne, for the transubstanciation that is incedente vntounto it: than wyll we sette agaynste this the sentence and determinacion of Ireneus, in whiche he wryteth the Sacramente of Eucharistia to consiste of twoo thynges, the one yearthelye, and the other heauenlye: We also sette agaynste theym Gelasius sometyme Byshop of Rome who speakyng of y^e vniō of the humayne nature and diuine nature in Christe, bothe the sayde natures remayning wholle and vndefyled, argueth and proueth it to bee true by the conioning and couplyng of the bread with Christes bodye in this sacramente, bothe natures remaynynge whole and perfect. He affirmeth moreouer that this Sacrament is not cast downe in the draught. Neyther can it in veray dede otherwyse bee spoken of the transubstanciatours. For wheras they put and holde that in this sacrament of Eucharistia there is nothynge but the accidentes of breade and of wyne, and the nature of Christes bodye: there doeth no parte of these thynges belong to any draught. But against the premisses I wyll now bryng in and obiecte a most manifest place of Origen vponupon Mathew in y^e fiftenth chaptur, wher he expouneth and declareth these woordes of the Euāgelist: That that entreth īto the mouth, defileth not a man. And there dooeth Origen saye thus:Origens mynde of the sacramente whether it goe into the draughte or not. If it dooe not defyle a man, than dooeth it not sanctifie hym and make hym holy neither. But what shall we saye of the Lordes breade? Is it true that it neyther maketh a man holye, nor defileth hym? he aunswereth: that lyke as if any thing seme vnpure, it nothynge at all defyleth vsus except through a corrupt conscience in vsus: Euen so also that that appereth and is called holy, dooeth not sanctifye vsus nor make vsus holy, vnlesse there bee righteousnesse wythin vsus, and perfectenesse of life. For if of it owne nature it had the propretee to sanctifie & to make holy: than should there not hauehave been many sicke emōg the Corinthians, and many hauehave died. Where fore that that is materiall or grosse and corruptible in the lordes breade, dooeth passe down into the bealie, and is cast o…t into the draught: and that that is by humble prayer & by the lordes woorde, is profitable vntounto the solle accordyng to the porcion of euerie mannes feyth. It is not than the materiall parte of the lordes breade that p. lxxxiis profitable: but the woord that is put thereto is the thynge that auayleth. And to the entente that one shoulde not thynke hym to speake of any other meate: he repeateth it agayne in a briefe summe, and sayeth: Thus muche hauehave we spoken of the mystycall and Sacramentall bodye of Christe.

Nowe leate not anye manne to impougne this that we hauehave sayed, cauill and saye, that Origen did nowe and than erre in diuerse opinions and articles. For Hierome, Epiphanius, and the olde aunciente fathers, whiche didde with all possible diligence searche and bryng foorth his erroures to lyghte, dooe not in anye place make mencion that he was in anye wronge opinion of the Sacramente, whiche thynge they woulde neuer hauehave leafte vnspoken, yf he hadde in so greate a mattier gonne neuer so lytle oute of square.

And Origen in the place afore alleged moste manifestly and plainly addeth these woordes also, that the wycked sorte dooe not eate Christes bodie, because that Christes bodye is a thyng that geueth life, and he that eateth it, abydeth in Christe. Wherfore agaynst thys Ihon Damascene beeyng but a newe wryter of late yeres, & a man not of so great a name to speake of, leat Origene bee sette, who is bothe a veray auncient wryter and also estemed of al men for a ryght famous Clerke.

After this there was obiected against vsus out of the Counsayle of Ephesus that whiche Cyrillus wrote in the behalfe of the same counsayle to Nestarius byshop of Constantinople.The counsell of Ephesus and ver.

For all the matyer of the Consaill was than againste the said N…storius, because that he did constitute & set the persone & nature of man in Christ vtterly soondred and deuyded aparte from the persone of the soonne of God: so that after hys mynde, there was none other coniunctyon or copulaty…n betwene them but of a dignitee and woorthynesse in Chryste. And Cyryllus argueth agaynste the sayde Nestoryus takynge hys argumente of the nature of the sacramentes. If the fleashe of Chryste sayeth Cyrylus bee after that sorte seperated from the persone of the deitee and Godhed: than it foloweth that the same is not of power to geue life and whan we eate in the sacramentes the fleash of Chryste, we shoulde eate the fleashe of some holy and excelente man and no better. But thereby shoulde we not obteyne eternall lyfe accordynge to the promyses.

Thys is the marcke and ende of all those dysputacyons. Those fathers dooe not contende, neither goo they aboute to enforce or affyrme that the fleashe of Chryst lyeth hydden in the bread: but theyr mynde is, that we …ooe eate the sayde fleashe of Chryste in the …acramentes, and that verayly, yea and suche fleashe as geueth vsus eternall lyfe: whyche thy…ges we denye not, so that the eatynge bee taken to perteyne vntounto the solle and to feyth. For we graunte that in the sacramente the fleashe of Chryste is eaten spiritually, but yet truely.

Neyther dooe we at any tyme feygne or imagyn suche a persone of the soonne of God, as is seperated and deuided frome the personne of the Godhead.

p. lxxxiiThey obiecte agaynste vsus the Councell of Rome or Uercelles, where Berengarius was cōdemned and compelled to recante hys opynion of the Sacramente.

To the whyche Councelles, for asmuche as the actes & determinacions of them are not abrode nor sette foorth in wrytinge, we hauehave not muche to aunswere. Wherfore it shall not be vnprofytable to examyne & weygh the sayd retractacyon or recantaciō prescrybed & wryten word by word in the sayd councell vntounto Berengarius, by the sayd Nicolas than byshope of Rome as is afore sayed, and than by that we shalle perceyue what grauitee there was in that same Coū cell, and what greate wyse men and wel aduysed thei were that were the presidentes and reulers therof.

In the decrees and in the lytle de consecratione, that is, of consecracyon and in the secound dystynccyon, in the chapitur begynynge Ego Berengarius. &c. the sayde recantacyon of Berengaryus is wryten,An aunswer to the counsaile of Rome and Uercels of Berengarius. wherin he was compelled to graunte and confesse that the bodye of Chryste is wyth the pryestes fyngers handeled, and wyth the pryestes handes is broken, and wyth theyr teethe is chewed sensybly, that is to saye, soperfyctelye and veraylye, that the bodylye senses of felynge and tastynge maye iudge it.

Whyche thynges howe conuenientlye they accorde wyth the bodye of Chryste beynge nowe gloryfyed,The re…a… taciō of Berengarius. 0and howe well it agreeth wyth that sacramente leat any wyse man iudge.

The gloser of the decres,The glose of y^• decres. a man otherwise but of a grosse vnderstandyng, yet coulde not choose but espie thys greate inconuenience. Wherfore he sayeth in the glose, that these thynges muste bee taken veray warely and handsomely, or fynelye, For els (saieth he) thou shalt falle into a greater errour then that was, wherwyth Berengarius hymselfe was infected.

For thys gloser sawe well ynough, that it was not conuenyent nor decent to saye, that the bodye of Chryste shoulde bee sensybly handeled, broken, or brused wyth the mynysters teeth in the sacramente.