Three Pillars and Arch-patriarchs of the Popish Synagogues, Treatise 1 · Book 2 · Part 55
The fiue and fiftieth Chapter tarieth in the exposition of the same wordes by Chrysostome and Sedulius.Hesk.
Chrysostome is cyted In 26. Math. Hom. 83.Fulk. Credamus vbique &c. Let vsus beleeue in eueryevery place, neither let vsus resist him, although it seemeth to be an absurde thing to our sense, and to our cogitation, which is saide. Let his word I beseech you ouercome both our sense and our reason, which thing let vsus do in all matters, and specially in mysteries, not looking vponupon those things only which lye before vsus, but also holding fast his wordes. For we can not be deceiued by his wordes, but our sense is most easie to be deceiued: they can not be false, but this our sense is often and often deceiued. Therefore bicause he hath saide: This is my body, let vsus be held with no doutfulnesse, but let vsus beleeue, and throughly see it with the eyes of vnderstanding. Here M. Heskins noteth that it passeth not reason, to make present a figure of his body, as though the mysterie of the sacrament were nothing, but a figure of his body. Secondly, that Chrysostome willeth Christes wordes to be vnderstanded as they be spoken. No doubt, but he would hauehave them to be vnderstoode as they were meant by Christe, and that is spiritually, for which cause he willeth vsus to beholde the matter with the eyes of our vnderstanding and by faith. And whereas M. Heskins doth further alledge this Doctours wordes In Marc. 14. Hom. 51. Qui dixis &c. He that saide, This is my body, did bring to passe the thing also with his worde. We confesse he did so, but thereof it doth not followe, that al figure is wiped away, as he saith: neither is there any plaine place for the proclamer, or in any thing that followeth in the same Homely. Quando igitur &c. When then thou seest the Priest giuegive the body, thinke not the hand of the Priest, but the hand of Christe is put foorth vntounto thee. Surely in these wordes, we must either say that the Priestes hande is transubstantiated into the hande of Christ, or else we must acknowledge a figuratiue speach. It followeth in Chrysostome, for more persuasion. Qui enim maius &c. For he that hath giuen a greater thing for thee, that is to say, his life, why will he disdaine to deliuer his body to thee? Let vsus therefore heare both Priestes and other, howe great and how woonderfull a thing is graunted to vsus. Let vsus heare I pray you, and let vsus tremble, he hath deliuered his flesh vntounto vsus, him selfe offered hath he set before vsus. What satisfaction therefore shall we offer, when after we are nourished with such a foode, we doe offend? When eating a lambe, we are turned into woolues? when beeing satisfied with sheepes flesh, we rauine as lyons? M. H. noteth, yt here be termes to plaine for figuratiue speaches, & yet in spite of his nose, he must cōfesse al this speach to be figuratiue, or else he must make Chrysost. Authour of grosse absurdities. I will only speak of one, which is most apparant. Chrysost. saith, it is a greater matter that Christ gaue his life, then yt he giueth his body. Let me aske him this question. Doth hee giuegive a dead body in the sacrament, or a liuing? If hee giuegive a liuing body, hee giueth his life in the sacrament, and then howe is it lesse, when hee giueth both his life and his body? But Chrysostome meaneth, that he suffered death, which is a greater matter, then that he giueth vsus his body in the sacrament, for that is a memoriall of his death, and receiueth all the vertue from his death, & so the giuing of his life is a greater matter, then the giuing of his body in the sacrament, for ye was in acte, this in mysterie. But let vsus followe M. Hes. The sacrament is a wonderful thing, therefore no figure, nor spiritual receit only, which are not wonderfull. This argument is false, for sacramentall figures and spirituall things are great wonders, thought not sensible myracles. As for eating the Lamb, the Sheepe, and such other, are so plaine figures, that impudencie her selfe would not deny them to be figures. Finally he noteth, that sinners receiue the bodye of Christe in the sacrament, which hee saith, the Protestantes denye, which is as grossely, for except sinners should receiue Christe in the sacrament, no men should receiue him. But the Protestantes say, that wicked men or reprobate men, vngodly men, vnpenitent sinners, receiue not the body of Christe, which though it hauehave bene sufficiently proued before, yet I will adde one more testimony out of Saint Augustine De ciuitate Dei. Lib. 21. Cap. 25. Nec isti ergo dicendi sunt manducare corpus Christi, quoniam nec in membris computandi sunt Christi. Denique ipse dicens: Qui manducat carnem meam, & bibit sanguinem meum, in me manet & ego in eo, ostendit quid sit, non sacramento tenus, sed reuera corpus Christi manducare, & eius sanguinem bibere. Neyther is it to be saide, that these men (meaning heretiques & other wicked men) doe eate the bodie of Christ, bicause they are not to bee accounted among the members of Christ. Finally he himself saying: He yt eateth my flesh & drinketh my blud, abideth in me & I in him: sheweth what it is, not touching ye sacramēt only, but indeed to eat ye body of Christ, & drink his bloud. But now let vsus returne to Chrys. who Hom. 83. in 26. Math. hath these words, Praecipuā &. He dissolueth their chiefe solemnitie, and calleth thē to another table ful of horror saying: Take ye and eat ye, this is my body. How then wer they not troubled hearing this? bicause they had heard many & great things of these before. Here M. Hes. troubleth him self very much & his readers more, to proue yt by the doctrin which they heard before, vttered in the sixt of Iohn, they were so instructed as they were not troubled, which we confes to be true, although that doctrine doth none otherwise pertaine vntounto the sacrament, then as the sacrament is a seale of the doctrine. But Chrysostome saith further in the same Homely. Hac de causa &c. For this cause with desire I hauehave desired to eate this passeouer with you, that I might make you spirituall. He him self also dranke thereof, least when they had heard his wordes, they should say: what then do we drinke bloud and eate flesh? and so should hauehave bene troubled. For when he spake before of those things, many were offended only for his wordes. Therefore least the same thing should happen nowe also, he him selfe did it first, that he might induce them with quiet minde, to the communication of the mysteries. Here M. Heskins falleth into a sound sleepe, and then dreameth a long dreame of the reall presence, and the trouble of the Apostles, and lothsomnesse of bloud, the contradiction of Chrysostomes wordes, and I wote not what beside▪ But to a man that is awake, Chrysostom speaketh plaine ynough. He saith, this was ye cause, why Christ desired to eate the Passeouer with them, which he taketh to be, that hee did first drinke before them &c. that hee might make thē spirituall, that is, yt they might not hauehave carnall imaginations of eating his body and his bloud as the Capernaites had, but vnderstande those thinges spiritually, the rather when they sawe him eate and drinke of them, which if he had eaten his owne naturall body, and drunk his owne natural bloud, would hauehave troubled them more, then if he had not tasted of them. And how so euer M. Heskins drumbleth and dreameth of this matter, Cranmer saith truely, that if Christ had turned the breade into his body, as the Papistes affirme, so great and woonderfull a chaunge, should hauehave bene more plainely setfoorth in the scripture, by some of the Euangelistes.
Sedulius for varietie of names is cyted In 11. pri. ad Cor. Accipite hoc est corpus meum &c. Take ye, this my body, as though Paule had saide, take heede ye eate not the body vnworthily, seeing it is the body of Christ. What is there here that the proclamer will not confesse? and yet is there nothing to binde him to subscribe, for the proclamer would neuer denye, that the sacrament is the body and bloud of Christ, though after an other sort, then it is affirmed by the Papistes.