The Confutation of the Misshapen Answer to a Wicked Ballad, Part 41 – Part 43
☞The confutacion
Yet once agayne you wyll not beware of the proclamaciō. ye wil alwaies hauehave one kn…ck of your owne inuencion Christ consecrateth his bodie fleshe and fell nowe, before it was bodie … soule, but nowe it is fleshe and fel. It aueyleth not to laye the proclamacion any more to your charge for you are at a poynt alredy which way you wyll auoyde all the dayngers thereof. It was tolde me that the same daye that you were sent for to the counsayl for your misshapen anwer: you were at diner in graciouse strete wyth a man of no smalle reputaciō, a frende of your… (I wyl not saye a mayntayner of you in your founde fleshly fayth and th…r you d…d not a litle glorye in your greate conquest as you though… ▪ in so much y• by your bold braggs, you brought a man of the contreye whoe was ther presente, so far in louelove wyth your boke, that he bought one of them of you, thynking hys money well … he sawe the messengre that came to …etch you to the counsa… le, but then he beganne to repent hym of his bargen, and belyke wished his monye in his pursse agayne Howe nowe maister Hogherd, quoth he. …ushe man quoth you. Al shalbe wel inoughe. For once I am sure of this. Before Maye daye, they can take no vantage at any thing that I hauehave written. And then if the worste fall, I can denye it agayne. If this bee true (as I am …redibly enfourmed that it is) in consience I would wishe that you woulde do that you saye you can do, If you wil not: I would wyshe that you were compelled to do it, that men myght se all your …unnynge both in cantinge and recanting.
But nowe to our purpose. In your answere you ēdeuour to proue, that these wordes (Hoc est corpus meum) pronoūced by the prieste, are of strength to …ourne the breade into the bodie of Christe. Howe wel you perfourme that purpose, shalbe easie inoughe to be perceyued of them that lust to scanne your wordes to the worthynesse. Fyrst you woulde seme to make answere to the obiection whiche the authour maketh agaynst this argument, Christe dyd it …go the priest maye do it. Graūt (sayth he) that ther were in scripture anye one lyne written wherwyth Christe made hys bodye of b…ade should, it folowe that thou canst with the same wordes do the same? yea forsoth (say you) for Christ made hys Apostles preistes for the same purpose, geuinge euerie of them power to consecrate his bodye after his departeinge. And thys you grounde vponupon thys texte of scriptur. Do thys in remembraunce of me. The godlye learned, nede not to hauehave your wordes made … playne then they be of them selues. But for their sakes that be yet weake, and to confounde the obstinate and hard herted I will open them to the vttermoste, that if you hauehave any shame in you, it maye driue you to acknowledge your lacke of knowledge and misbeleue. Or if you be vtterly without grace: it maye cause your counsalours (not beinge altogether desperate) to take better aduise ere they encourage you to the lyke follie as you hauehave herein declared. Firste therfore I note, that you saye Christe made his apostles priestes to the intent they shoulde consecrate his bodie. And herein I might doute whether Christ made them pristes at all or not, yea I am certayne that you hauehave no scripture to beare you in this assertiō that thei shoulde be made consecrateinge priestes to consecrate and offer sacrifise, more then euerie christian mā is to offer vp his owne bodie a liuely sacrifice to God by beareinge the crosse of Christe and crucifiynge the fleshe to the worlde. And after this sorte. I rede that he made all them that he washed in his bloude priestes.Apoca. l. That is to saye all the faythfull beleuers of his death and resurrection. Other priestehode I reade of none in the newe testament nor of any other prieste then onelyonly Christ who is the eternall and euerlastinge prieste, and other priest or priesthode, is there one named in the newe testament. I reade in Paules Epistle to the Corhinth. that God hath apoynted certaine membres in his congregacion, to whō he hath geuen certayne singular gyftes. Fyrste he hath ordeyned some Apostles, some prophetes or preachers, some doctours or teachers, some prowres or maiestates, some curares of dseases, some succurers of the nedie or kepers of hospitalitie, some gouernours or …, some haueinge diuers kyndes of tonges, and some interpreters of lāguages: but amongst al … I fynde no mencion of these cons…rat… inge priestes. And the same Paule, writteynge vntounto Timothe conserninge the choseinge of ministers: calleth them byshops and deacons, that is to saye wachmen and ministers, and not sacrificers. But here perchaunce you wyll saye, that by thys deacon or minister: is mente your priest, your consecrater, & sacrificer. Not so syr. For Paul described him not to be such a felow as your sacrifier is discribed to be in y• cautils of your Masse, The first cautile (saith your Masse boke) is that the priest which wyll celebrate Masse, do after the beast maner prepare his cōscience through pure confessiō, that he do vehemently desire the sacrament, and intende to worke his feate, that is to consecrate or make Christes bodie and bloude. That he knowe by herte howe to be hauehave him selfe in all his doinges. And that he hauehave than…rlie and deuoute gesturs. Thys is your sacrificer. But saynete Paules man is an other maner felow He must be chaste, not double tonged, not geuen to muche wyne, not foloweinge filthy lucre, hauyng the misterie of fayth in a pure conscience. Yea he saieth not he wyl hauehave his mā confessed before he minister, but he wyll hauehave him proued and tried and so to minister, haueing no faute whereof he maye iustely be rebuked. Thus se you frind Hogarde, that in scripture you hauehave no testimonie for your sacricer… and consecrateinge priestes. But yet I knowe wel you cā not as yet perswade your selfe to be confuted in thys behalfe, for you hauehave placed apiece of scripture to the contraie do thys in the remēbraūce of me (say you) was a plaine cōmaūdemēt to the apostles to cōsecrat christs bodye, and by thys cōmaundement, hath euerie of them power to do it, as well Iudas as Peter, And then I am sure if a man shoulde aske you the questian, you would saye that the most vilanouse creature in the worlde beinge a priste (as you cal them) hath ful power to do y• same by breathynge out a fewe wordes out of a couetouse herte and blasphemouse mouth, wyth a mynde full of all abhominable and wicke… thoughtes. Tushe tush you saye he is but a minister. It is god y• doeth the dede. But I praye you syr by your leaue. Whose membre is he? Paule sayeth that who so toupleth hym self… wyth an harlot, is the mēbre of an harlot, and he that worketh vice is the seruante of synne then tell me, I praye you, whose minister he is, The mēbre of an whore, the seruaunt of sinne and the minister of Christe? Non coherent.
The…e thinges agre not. It is necessarie, that they be fyrst mēbres of Christ and afterward… ministers. But here your counsailours wil say (for I take them to be more subtile then you bi reasō y• they are trained in a more subtile kind of liuinge then you are) that the wycked ministers in the church are the ministers of God as well as the godlye For Iudas whoe was by the testimonie of Christ, a dyuel: was notwithstandeynge Christes minister and Apostle. Ye… he cured diseases and wrought other miracles as well as the othere Apostles dyd. Cracke me thys nut saye you. Forsoeth syr you shall son… hauehave it cracked, and I beseche God the kernell maye do you good. I graunte that as Iudas was the minister of Christe and wrought miracles: so are all priestes that do resemble Iudas the ministers of Christ as Iudas was and maye do all that Christe hath comaunded them euen as he dyd. Iudas was a dyuell but not … (Iudas beynge presente) that one of them whiche put his hande into the dishe with hym shoulde betraye him: the disciples beganne to …ske him one after an other, whiche of them it was. Is it I sayde one, is it I saide an other. They sawe nothing in Iudas his conuer…acion, wherfore they shoulde suspecte hym more then them selues. But your sacrificeinge priestes are so far gone that their conuersacion declareth them to be the membres of the diuel, and the ministers of ba…e. They are of those priestes to whom God sayth by hys prophet. You offer defyled bread on my aultare, and yet you saye. Wherin hauehave we poluted the? Euen in that (sayth the Lorde) you saye the table of the Lord is but a vyle thynge. What other thing I praye you do your sacrificeing priestes? They …an not a byde the Lordes table, nor the Lordes supper, they muste hauehave an aultare and sacrifice, Thei can not be content with communion …t the Lordes table accordeinge to the fyrst institucion in honeste apparayle: but they muste hauehave a priuate Masse in masking cot…s bashed full of turnes & halte turnes, be…keinges duckinges, crosseyng…s, kysseynges, tosseynges and tumblinges, besydes the irreuerent breathynge out of wordes vponupon breade and wyne, and thē holdeynge them vp to be worshiped as goddes,
Yet once agayne marke the wordes of the prophete. Which of you (sayeth the Lord) shetteth the dores and setteth fyre on mine aultars …thout hyr? I hauehave no delite in you sayth the Lorde of hostes, and wyll receyue no gyfte at your hāde Nowe tel me whether these wordes agree not wyth your priestes prouerbe. No penye no pater noste…. Let me se if your … will do this heauēly worke of theirs without hire. Yea will they not compel men to giuegive thē wages for doinge it? Howe saye you by the Masses at burialles, are not men constrayned to hauehave them and to paye for them? It shal not nede to reherse their dirige grotes, mariages monie, christeninge crisomes, beadrolle bribes, and suche other pillage. If the kynge shoulde take of euerie hoseling person (as they cal thē) yerely .ii. pēce. as they do at easter: what would be sayed trowe you? If he shoulde suffer none to be maried without a tribute: what gurdgeinge woulde ther be amonge the people? Well I saye no more but the plage of God shall fall vponupon th…se hir…lings, and make them dispised of al nacions, because they hauehave not kepte the wayes of the Lorde.
But nowe for your text of scripture (do this in the remēbraūce of me) whervpon you grounded your folishe faith of consecratinge and sacrifi…eing priestes: we must first consider what it was that Christ bade them do in his remembraunce. Consecrat his bodie and bloude say… you, for that was the thinge that he hym selfe dyd. But they that vnderstande the thynge aright, say that he commaunded them to deuide breade and wyne amonge them as he had done immediatly before. For Paul, speakyng of the same thinge sayeth. So often as you eate this breade and drincke thys cup: you shall declare the death of the Lorde till the come. The eateinge of the breade therfore and dryackeing of the cup: are the thinges that Christ commaunded his Apostles to do in hys remembraunce, and not the consecrateinge of his bodie and blonde as you saye. So oft as ye shall do these thinges (saith Christ) ye shall do it in the remē braunce of me. As though he should hauehave saied So ofte as you shal come together and be partakers al of one breade and cup to thentente to declare your selues therby, to be al members of one bodie through the fayth you hauehave cōceiued in me: you shall do it in the remēbraunce of me: the onelyonly head of the bodie wherof you be mē bres, callinge to your remēbraunce this thinge that I hauehave here done to certifie you of your redemption by my death & bloud shed…ing and that eueryevery one of you, is as well pertaker therof, as you are of this breade & wine, whiche I hauehave deuided amōgest you. This is y• true meneing of, do this in the remēbraūce of me, & not as you phanta…ie geueing powre to priestes to consecrate Christes bodie and bloude.
Wel now you procede & thinke to wine your spores by vanquisheing a mā of armes of your own appointing. For I neuer knewe any that was so folishe (o…lesse it wer one of your teachinge) y• would say y• this sacramēt was noght els but a signe of christs passiō. For we (aga…st whō you fight so manfulli) do beleue & confesse that it is in significacion the veri bodi & bloud of Christ, y• is (the natural proprites therof cō sidred) spiritually applied, & do declare vntounto vsus the efficacie & strēgth of y• bodie and bloude of Christ in geueing life to our soules: & the couplinge of vsus together into one bodie by faieth. These a… things of great importaūce & valure in y• cies of y• spiritual mēbres of christ, though in your fleshely eies whiche cannot dicerne the thing of y• spirit, thei be vile and of no valure. Well, you go forward with the triall of your mastries with your owne manne and laye sor… to his charge with certayne exampls. The pascall lambe you saye whiche was offered in the old law, was an onelyonly figure of christs offring wherin you help… the scripture, for it was als… a remembraunce of the deliueraunce out of Egipt. But to our purpose, another exemple you b…inge of the rocke of stone out of the whiche flowed water, and that stone you saye figured Christe, and that is true But I thynke it a mā should aske you how the stone figureth Christ you woulde shape him bu… a slender answere, Well I wyll answere for you thys once, and saye, that in that the water ishued out of the Rocke t…elye wythout any labour of mannes hande by dygeinge or heweinge therin: it signified Christ, the rocke and fountayne of liuing water, who geueth y• water of lyte for nought wythout any of oure merites or deserueinges. And ryghte so doeth the pascall lambe beynge without spot and offered vp by the whole multitude of the children of Israell, eaten gredely wyth wylde … and vnleuened brcade: declare that Christe oure pascall lambe should be without spot of sin, offered vp by y• who… multitude of the house of Israell, …at is for and through theyr …innes. For the sinnes of the people were the cruci…iers of Christe. The gredie eateinge of it, wyth wilde lettise (an herbe nothynge pleasante but bytter) and vnlcuended breade (a thinge vnsauourie) declareth the …aruent sayeth wherby the fa…ethfull do …te thys lambe …hriste, and beare the betternesse of his crosse, nothyng… regardeynge the werishnesse and the vnsauiourie tast of the … which lemed to be vtterlye destroyed on the crosse.
Now applie these .ii. …xamples of yours to the …, & tel me what inconu…nience th…ugh in … they be accommpted as good as the …acr…mēt. For euen as it was saide of the sacramente, thys is my bodie: so was it sayde of the pascall lambe. Thys is the passeouer of the Lord, and of the rocke, y• rocke was …. So that it this worde is … to chaunce substaūcent hath chaunged the substaunce of the lambe and rocke also.
But to be bri…fe in thys … your fonde al…ercion that the sacrament is boeth the signe and thinge signified: I thinke it scarte worthy to be spoken of. But yet cō …id…ring that it hath ben a commune errour, and certayne men of godly zeale and knowledge hauehave gone aboute to defende it: I wil somewhat laye in i…, to the con…entacion of the consciences of the weake.
The signe and the thinge signified, are as the father and the sōne, or the mai…ter & the …eruaūt are. That is to laye contrary, after …uch sorte that the one can by no meanes be th. same that the other is, in one and the same respect. As the mayster, in the respecte of the seruante, by whome he b…areth the name of a maister, can not be truelye called a seruaunte, nor contrariwise: right to the signe of any thinge cā not (in the respecte o… y• thinge) be a thinge …, Wherfore I conclude, that the breade being y• …ign o… y• natural bodi of christ: cānot be y• sai… natural & real bodie. I am not ignoraunt what fond cauillacions som mē vse about this matti…, referringe the signe to the accidentes of breade and the thinge signified to the sustaūce of the breade turned into Christes bodie. But to make accidē …es the signes of substaunces, when they be not visible nor otherwise sensible, and a signe muste necessarily be sensible: I thinke it not worth the speak…inge of. Some hau… gone about …o proue by a similitude, that one thy…ge myght b… both …igne and the thyng signified also. The breade (saye they that the baker setteth forth for a sygne, is … b…ead and yet signifieth vntounto vsus that there is bread… to sell, so that that breade beinge the signe of breade: is boeth the signe and thinge signified. This reasone is apparant, and hath some similitude of the truth, But if a man weygh it well, he shall perceyue that the breade whiche standeth in the windowe for a sygne of breade within to be solde: is not that bread which is wythin to be solde. And otherwyse is it not a signe. For as it standeth in the windome to be sold…it is bread to be sold, & not y• signe of bred to be sold. And wher you charge vsus with incredulitie of the Iewes: we charge you with no lesse For as they could not beleue that Christs fleshe myght be eaten by fayeth: so can not you but loke to hauehave him grossely and (euen as thei dyd) that he coulde no other wise perfourme his words, thē if he should conueigh his body into such creatures as mē do vse to fede vpō. But we beleue, and are by our fayeth assured, that he is able and hath geuen vsus his fleshe to eate bi fayth accordinge to the fathfull wordes of Augustine Beleue and thou hast eaten. And so eatyng hym we shal neuer dye, Wheras you fleshemongers y• do daielie (as you thinke) deuour him fleshe bloude & bones, are not like …o escape the death euerlastinge (vnlesse ye repēt) because ye hauehave hādled the most worthi sacramēts of y• bodi & bloud of Christ so vnworthilie. Is makeing it a sacrifice for y• quick & dead for all diseases of men and beastes, for al pla…es the (euident tokens and sygnes of goddes iust wrath towardes vsus) Yea makeinge it vtterly a mattier of marchandise, togather mony together and the ministracion therof a kind of occupacion and worke for moneye to mayntayne Idel bellies, y• nether can nor will learne to be profitable to the publike weale.
¶The ballad.
Thou hast the word, wherwyth god wrought
Man beast fish burd, And all of nought
Canst thou good bloud, Therwith makeought
That vnmade is.
The answere.
We hauehave the same word I do playne confesse
And for al your gay talke so do not ye
The word whiche as saint Iohn doth expresse
Was the second person in trinitie
Without whō ther was nothing mad saith he
By no wordes writen it was that he ment
But by his sonne, one with him in deitie
Which is with vsus nowe in the sacrament
Yet happly here ye will to me obiect
And wil aske me if Moyses did not write
The veri wordes which by god toke effect
In createinge of man as he did resite
Yesse say I, wel then say you gone is quite
Al your hole matter which ye do defend
Excepte y• your priestes wil stoutly stande byte
That they by y• word cā worke to y• same end
Wel hit forsoth and spoken lyke a clarke
Ye make as though ye walke in the light
But like one through blind ye walke in y• dark
For whom that in scripture hath any syght
Maye sone se that ye take not scripture righte
God made al this world we se of nothing
Doth it folowe y• man can not by gods myght turn thinges frō ther nature, god being wiling
Now what gods wil is in the Sacrament
I hauehave tolde you before by his wordes playne
In the which the priest is but an instrument
For y• wordes y• christ spake he spakes againe
As christ him self bad, which was not in vaine
For after the wordes our Lord by hys power
Creates nothyng newe there that is cer…ayne
But brynge ther the presence of oure ….