est ad eum c. Tu es sacerdos Hebr. 5. in aeternum secundùm ordinem Melchisedech Euen so Chryste also glorified not him self to be made the high pteist but he that said vnto him c. Thowe arte a preist for euer after the order of Melchisedech And declaring the great benefitte that came by him being the high preist to all beleuers he saieth again Et consummatus factus est omnibus obtemperantibus sibi causa salutis aeternae appellatus à Deo Pontifex iuxta ordinem Melchisedech And Ibid. he being perfight was the cause of eternall saluacion vnto all them that obeied him and ys called of God an high preist after the ordre of Melchisedech Likewise he calleth him in the VI. chapiter And the wholl VII chap. he occupieth in applieng Melchisedech to Chryst prouing by this prophecie the abrogacion of the preisthead of the lawe and so consequētlie of the lawe yt self Wherfore he saied Yf nowe therfore perfection came by the preistheade Hebr. 7. of the Leuites for vnder that preisthead the people receaued the lawe what neadeth further that an other preist shoulde rise to be called after the ordre of Melchisedech and not after the order of Aaron For yf the preisthead be translated then of necessitie must the lawe be translated also c. For after this maner dothe he testifie Thowe arte a preist for euer after the order of Melchisedech Then the commaundement that went before ys disanulled bycause of weakenesse and vnprofitablenesse And further declaring the excellencie of Chrystes preisthead aboue the preisthead of Aaron he saieth For these preistes were made withoute an othe but this preist with an othe by him that saied to him The Lorde sware and will not repent him Thowe art a preist for euer after the order of Melchisedech Thus as the lawe of nature hath in Melchisedech figured Chryste And the lawe of Moyses by prophecie forespoken yt So hath the lawe of the Gospell as ye haue nowe learned by sainct Paule fullfilled the same and most plainlie and euidentlie proued yt so to be Yf then Chryste be a preist after the order of Melchisedech we must seke what the order of the preistheade of Melchisedech ys and wherin yt consisteth And therbie shall we knowe the preistheade of Chryste wherin yt consisteth Sainct Paule generallie declareth the order of a preist when he saieth Omnis namque Pontifex ex hominibus assumptus pro hominibus constituitur in ijs Hebr. 5. quae sunt ad Deum vt offerat dona sacrificia pro peccatis Euery high preist that ys taken from amonge men ys ordeined for men in thinges perteining to God to offer giftes and Sacrifices for sinne By whiche description of saincte Paule yt dothe appeare that the order of preisthead standeth in two partes The first he teacheth when he saieth Ordre of preisthead standeth in two partes Pro hominibus constituitur in ijs quae sunt ad Deum He ys ordeined for men in thinges perteining to God Wherby ys ment the preaching to the people and teaching them the lawes of God and ministring the Sacramentes to them as yt was saied vnto Moyses Esto tu populo in ijs quae ad Exod. 18. Deum pertinent vt referas quae dicuntur ad eum ostendasue populo ceremonias ritum colendi viam per quam ingredi debeant opus facere Be thowe vnto the people to Godward that thowe maist bringe the causes vnto God And thowe shalt teache them ordinaunces and lawes and shewe them the waie wherin they must walke and the worke that they must doo The seconde parte of the order of preistheade standeth in offring giftes and sacrifices for the sinnes of the people Then they that be called of God as was Aaron and doo preach and teache one faith of God vnto the people and offer vnto God one maner of sacrifice they be one order of preistheade So that these two must concurre or ells yt ys not a perfight order For Elias the prophet of God and the 3. Reg. 18. preistes of Baall did offer one maner of thinge in sacrifice for they both offred oxen yet they differed in preisthead For Helias was the preist of God the other the preistes of Baall And why was this difference bycause they taught not one faithe in one God Melchisedech and Aaron taught one God and were bothe preistes of Gen. 14. Leuit. 8. Heb 5. God For Melchisedech was the preist of the most high God as the booke of Genesis wittnesseth and Aaron was called of God as the booke of Leuiticus and saincte Paule to the Hebrues testifie And yet they were not of one order of preisthead bycause their sacrifices were not of one maner By this then yt maie be taken for a trueth that Chryst not being a preist after the order of Aaron but after the order of Melchidech whiche two orders differed not in faith but in maner of sacrifice ys so called a preist after the order of Melchisedech for the maner of the sacrifice For he must agree with Melchisedech in that thing that maketh the difference betwixt the order of Aaron and the order of Melchisedech and that was and ys in the maner of sacrifice For Aaron offred in blood the other in bread and wine But here the Aduersarie will saie that Chryst ys not likened to Melchisedech for anie sacrifice by all the processe of saincte Paule But for Obiection that Melchisedech was Rex Salem kinge of Salem and withall the preist of God and for that he was with oute Father withoute Mother hauing neither beginning of daies nor ending in these pointes he ys the figure of Chryste who ys both king and preist hauing no Father in earth nor mother in heauen neither as concerning his Godhead anie beginning and as touching his Godhead and Manhead no endinge And so ys he a preist for euer To this I saie that the thing that saincte Paule principallie intended ys to be considered And then yt shall easilie be perceaued why he did not Principall entent of S. Paule in his epist to the Hebrues make rehersall of the maner of the sacrifice of Melchisedech nor mencion of the doing of the same in Chryste The principall entent of saincte Paule in this place was to proue and make manifest the excellencie of Chryst and his preisthead aboue Aaron and his preisthead Whiche excellencie in nothing more appeared then in that that Chryst was an euerlasting preist and his preisthead euerlasting and not in the maner of sacrifice For yf he had alleaged that Melchisedech did sacrifice in bread and wine The Hebrues wolde quickly haue saied that their sacrifices in that respecte moche excelled and had a moche more gloriouse shewe and cowntenance then the sacrifice of Melchisedech being but bread and wine And therfor saincte Paule omitted to make mencion VVhie S. Paule spake nothing of she sacrifice of Melchisedech in his epist
admonished of your wicked errours and heresies hertofore by doctour Harding and other and nowe by me Yowe knowe who saieth Haereticum hominem c. after one or two admonicions flie the companie of an heretique knowing that soche one ys subuerted forsomoche as he ys euen by his owne iudgement condemned In dede being as I saied thus admonished and seing with all your wicked doctrine by the whol multitude here alleaged so plainlie and cleerly condemned yt can not be but by your owne iudgemēt yowe must be condēned For this ys so euidētlie true that yowe or any man can not denie yt that no doctrine nowe holdē of the catholique Churche for a trueth and impugned by the Sacramentaries was euer yet at anie time by the churche or by any catholique writer reputed as heresie or errour Again this ys as true that euerie doctrine holden of the Sacramentaries and nowe impugned by the catholiques hath ben before time of the catholique Church and wtiters reputed and adiudged erour and heresie a fewe late inuencions onelie excepted which also are now by catholikes impugned and by plain testimonies of the auncient Church proued to be erours and heresies and so condemned To make good the first saing I will reherse certain catholique propositions Chrysts bodie ys verilie in the blessed Sacrament Chrysts bodie ys ossred in sacrifice in the Masse The holie Sacrament ys to be reserued for the cōmunion of the sicke The blessed Sacrament maie be receaued vnder one kinde The bodie of Chryste in the Sacrament ys to be adored Saincts in glorie praie for vs and are to be praied vnto by vs. The dead receaue great benefitte by the sacrisice of the Masse Praier and almose dedes doen for the dead doe auaill them These and soche like the catholiques doe holde the heretiques denie I will not here proclame against yowe but I will ioine this issue with yowe that if yowe can bring anie catholique Coūcell or catholique doctour impugning these or anie of thē as hereticall or erroneous I will subscribe vnto yowe and saie as yowe saie yf yowe can not as I am sure yowe can not thē will I saie as I maie well that your doctrine ys erroneous hereticall and deuelish Nowe to saue your doctrine frō this fowle reproache proue by soche testimonie as I haue saied that our doctrine ys erroneous or ells the shame will be on your side that teach the contrarie To make good my second assertion I will also reherse certain propositions of your doctrine Chrysts bodie ys not reallie in the Sacrament The Sacrament ys onelie a figure of Chryste and not his bodie The substance of bread ys not by due consecracion chaunged turned transmuted nor transelementated into the substance of the bodie of Chryste Ther ys no sacrifice of Chrystes bodie offred in the Masse Praier and almose dedes nothing auaile the dead neither the sacrifice of the Masse These and soche like do yowe and your likes teache and defend for the whiche I will ioin this issue with yowe that if I haue not in this booke sufficientlie proued or can not hereafter if I be required more fullie proue euerie of these to be erroneous and hereticall and long agon for soche to haue ben condemned I will subscribe to them and consesse thē to be good Yf I haue or can euidentlie proue thē so to be then confesse yowe thē to be naught and deuelish Yf yowe refuse thus to doo yet for the defence of your doctrine yf yt maie be defended doo that to vs that I haue doen to yowe I haue doen to yowe in this booke three things First I haue shewed yowe the beginning of the doctrine of the bless Sacramēt the progresse and cōtinuance of yt and the defence of yt Secōdlie of the Masse which ys the solēne sacrifice of Chrysts Church I haue shewed yowe good presidents certē and assured practises and these right auncient Thirdlie for the Sacramētaries doctrine I haue shewed whē yt began by whō yt was inuēted whē and wher yt was condēned and so ce assed and by whom yt was raised again in these our daies in the whiche yt ys also laufullie again condēned Nowe doo yowe the like for your doctrine and against ours Shew the beginning progresse cōtinuance and defence of your Sacramentaries doctrine Shewe the originalls and aunciēt presidents of your Cōmunion which ys the kaie and note of your religion and cōferre thē as we haue done the Masse with the aunciēt presidents of the primitiue Churche Shew howe all your innouacions whiche within these feweyears were in no place of the christian world vsed were put down howe and by whō that was compased in what Popes time and Emperours reign they were suffred to be doen yf anie suffred persecuciō or exile for thē who stoode against these that ouerthrewe them who wrote against thē that banished your religiō and wher be the bookes Yf your doctrine be so notablie good and ours so notablie wicked as yowe teache and preache yt to be so great an alteraciō and decaie of religion frō so great a good to so grete an euell coulde not be doē in the world withoute great note without large testimonies of histores and cronicles of so lamentable a chaūge Bring furth therfor yf yowe can the monimētes and testimonies of this chaunge Yf yowe can not wise mā will thinke and beleue that ther was neuer none soche Yf ther was none thē be your procedings but nouelties inuēted in these later daies and neuer before in vse and therfor well tearmed the newe religiō newe doctrine newe faith newe churche newe Communion Two things M Iuell I doubt not but yowe knowe Thone that in the primitiue and auncient church ther arose no notable heresie but yt was spedelie impugned Thother that of the originall and progresse of euerie soch ther were notes made and moniments for memorie left As concerning the first yt ys certē that euē in the beginning of Chrystes Church Ebion and Cerinthus sowing their heresie were streight impugded by S. Iohn against whō he was moued to write his gospell and epistles Against the same also with other as Valentinus Marcion Cerdon Symon Samarites Basilides Carpocrates and soch like wrote the holie Father Irenaeus not long after who as in his workes yt maie be seen in diuerse places vsed for an argument against those heretiques the presence of Chrysts bodie in the Sacramēt and yet the same Irenaeus was neuer noted of errour for his so affirming and teaching Origen his works being fownde inspersed with diuerse errours was noted for them but wher he testifieth the presence of Chrystes bodie in the bless Sacrament he was neuer blamed Ciprian the holie martir was verie vehemēt against Nouatus the heretique and his sect he diligentlie laboured to cut of soche weedes This holie mā in the matter of the presence wrote so plainlie as no mā more plainlie he wrote also of baptisme In the matter of the presence the church hath
soche as heys himself Soche true mē they be nowe also that this mā wil creditte in this matter euē soche as he ys himself yf he doe refuse all these kindes of mē aboue produced But howesoeuer he shall take this and the rest of my booke in outwarde countenance I trust yt shal touche his conscience And then as Chrysostom Smalle conforte wher conscience ys consounded saieth Leuis erit consolatio vbi conscientiae sentiunt se esse confusas Yt ys but a light or small comfort when the consciences of men perceaue them selues confownded God of his mercie reduce him and all that be gone astraie home to hys folde again that they be not in his terrible iudgement confownded before him and all his Angells Nowe Reader that the order of this my rude worke maye be knowen vnto Ordre of the Booke thee vnderstād that wher the enemie of Gods trueth hath in his saied sermō made his boast that he ys sure that not one sentēce cā be brought by the catholiq̄s to proue the Articles ther by him rehersed amōge the which beside the reall and substāciall presence of Christ in the Sacramēt he addeth manie other thinges apperteininge to the same which he ioineth together vnder one predicamēt that ys that we haue no proof for them that he maye be perceaued to be a vain and false man I will proue yt by scriptures doctours and Councells And incidentlie diuerse other of his rehersed matters to this principal apperteining Whiche allthough I ouerpasse them not in soche maner as he doth onelie to saie and nothing to proue or improue thē as they be of him vttered yet ye shall finde thē answered wher occasion ys ministred to speake of soche matter And although manie profownde and excellent learned men whose latchettes of their shoes I am not woorthie to loose haue woorthlie written in this matter yet for that none of them to my knowledge hathe after this maner proceaded orderlie to expownde the scriptures that treact of the Sacrament whiche methinke to the confutacion of this man ys necessarie I will by the helpe of God that waie proceade and not by mine owne phantasie but by the verie mindes of the doctours truely seke oute the true vnderstanding of them And for that these scriptures be in three sundrie bookes of the Bible that ys in the olde Testament in the Gospells and in the epistles ther The contens and ordre of this work for the matter beinge lōg I haue diuided this rude worke into three bookes In the first booke are opened soche promisses figures and prophecies of the olde Testament as appertein to the Sacrament The seconde booke geueth yow vnderstanding of the scriptures apperteininge to the same conteined in the vj. of sainct Ihon his Gospell the xxvj of sainct Matthew and in the xxiiij of saincte Luke The thirde booke expowndeth so moche of the tenth and the eleuenth chapiter of the first epistle to the Corinthians as toucheth that matter and also one sentence of the epistle to the Ephesians and one other to the Hebrues In this exposition to the more confutacion of the Aduersaire and confirmacion of the catholique I for the most part bringinge sundrie and diuerse doctours vpon euerie text doe ioin a greke doctour and a latine together that the concord and agreement of bothe churches maye well appeare and fullie be seen So haue I also ioined the doctours that haue written within the compasse of these nine hondreth yeares to them that haue written before that yt maie be iudged whether that these of the later time doo differ or dissent from them of the auncient time in the substanciall poinctes of our faith as the aduersarie saieth they doo By which processe gētle Reader thow shalt I trust perceaue that where the arrogante Philistine both blasphemouslie and vntruelie hathe said of the Catholique Church of the liuing God that yt hathe not one scripture one doctour nor one Councell yt hathe vndoubredly as touching the blessed Sacramēt and other articles apperteining to the same not onelie al the holie Scriptures that treact of that holie mysteric but also the holie Fathers and Councells that speake of the same both Grekes and latines and them aswel of the auncient time before a thousand yeares as thē that were of the later time within the cōpasse of a thousand yeares So that the scriptures being thus explained by the common consent of so manie doctours and all the same also conspiring vpon this one trueth as yt shall be perceaued not by a vain bragge withoute proofe but by euident and plain testimonie we maic as truelie as boldlie returning his bragge into his owne lappe saie that this philistine and his cōplices for the maintenance of their heresie against the presence of Christ in the blessed Sacramēt haue not one scripture one doctour nor one Catholiq̄ Coūcel to make for thē Which thīge I dare saie the indifferēt Reader whē he shal haue perused this booke wil not feare to auouche with me And wishinge that this my laboure might be profitable to the simple and Catholique Church Christes Parliamēt house vnlearned for whose helpe I haue most speciallie taken yt I haue framed my writing as neare as the matter will suffre to their capacities And wher in ciuill and politike regiment Lawes Actes and statutes haue their force by Councells and Parliamentes therfor wher the veritie of Christes reall presence in the Sacrament ys a trueth establissed enacted and receaued by Christes Parliament house I meen the catholique Churche yt liketh me oftentimes to allude to the name and therto agreablie to name this booke I haue Title of the booke not entēded to fall one heere breadth frō the faith of the catholiq̄ Churche Yf anie thing hath slipped from me I submitte yt to the correction of Christes catholique Churche and my self also Prainge thee god Reader to accept my labours in good part and remembre me in thy prayers Vale. THE FIRSTE BOOKE THE FIRST CHAPITER VPON OCCASION THAT THIS ADVERSARIE THIS PROCLAMER AND CHALENger wolde haue the scriptures red of all men presupposing the same to be easie to be vnderstanded entreth as by preamble to treact of the difficultie of the scriptures and to prooue that they aught not of all men to be red without an hable interpretour or teacher HAVING in pourpose to declare by the testimonie of the noble men of Christes Parliament house the enacted and receaued treuth or true meening of all or most of soche scriptures as treact of the blessd Sacrament of the bodie and bloode of our Sauioure Christe ther cometh to my minde the doctrine of Luther the great Progenitour of this Aduersarie who in his booke De seruo arbitrio Luther de seruo arbitr as other his ympes likewise in their bookes teacheth that the scriptures of them selues be easie of all men to be vnderstanded and nede no interpretour Wherunto also the more to infatuate the people he addeth
as I also wolde be ashamed to wryte theÌ„ yf they were not scripture He speaking of an harlotte writeth thus Like as one that goeth by the waie and ys Ecclesiast 62. thristie so shall she open her mouth and drynke of euerie next water that she maie gette By euerie hedge shall she sitte her downe and open her quoiuer to euerie arrowe What trifeling what iestyng what pastime I haue heard and seen vpon the reading and reherfall of this texte and what vnseemlie and vnchaist woordes haue fallen oute by occasioÌ„ of the same yt ys vnmeete in this place to be rehersed But this I will reporte for that as trulie as God liueth I knowe yt to be true This texte was spoken in the presence of a good vertueouse gentlewoman and one that feared God and she misliking the same yt was auouched to her to be scripture The booke was turned the place was red she exclamed and saied that yf the scripture had soche bawdie woordes she wolde no more beleue the scripture for yt was naught with mo soche like woordes which nowe memorie reteyneth not Maye not this grieue a christian heart that the scriptures Gods holie woorde shoulde be thus blasphemed And what ys the cause of yt verilie bicause they be made common to their handes that vnderstande them not That this place was not vnderstanded of them that handeled the same as ys afore saied yt ys more manifest then I nede reporte For the effecte well proueth yt Nowe to put a conclusion to this that ys here saied litle dothe yt awaill them to reade the scriptures that vnderstand not what they reade But raither as Origen saieth they maye as well take occasion of euell as of good by reading the scriptures and not in their true sense and meeming vnderstand them whose sentence for the better declaracion therof I haue here noted Opera carnis diuinorum voluminuÌ„ historia continet non valde eos iuuans qui sic eam intelligunt vt scripta est Quis enim non docebitur scruire luxuriae fornicationem habere Origen 10. li. Strom. pro nihilo cum Iudam ad meretricem legerit ingredientem Patriarchas multas pariter habuisse vxores Quomodo non ad idololatrian prouocabitur qui sanguinem taurorum caeteras Leuitici victimas non plus quà m in litera sonat putauerit indicare Gene. 38. Quod autem inimicitias in aperto positus scripturae sermo doceat ex hoc loco probatur Filia Babylonis misera beatus qui retribuet tibi retributionem quam retribuisti nobis Psal 136. Psal 100. Beatus qui tenebit allidet paruulos suos ad petram Et exillo In matutino interficiebam omnes peccatores terrae et ex ijs similibus de contentionibus videlicet aemulatione ira rixis dissentionibus Ad quae si non altius aliquid sentiamus prouocant nos magis historiae exempla quà m prohibent Haereses quoque magis de carnali scripturae intellectu quam de opera carnis nostrae vt plurimi aestimant substiterunt Nec non ebrietates et inuidiam per legis literam discimus Inebriatur Noë post Diluuium et Patriarchae apud fratrem Ioseph in AEgypto The histories of Gods books saieth Origen contein the workes of the flessh whiche historie dothe not moche helpe them whiche dooso vnderstande yt as yt ys written For who shall not be taught to serue voluptuouse pleasure and to accompte fornycation for nothinge when he shall reade Iudas to haue taken an harlotte and the Patriarkes to haue had manie wifes at once Howe shall he not be prouoked to Idolatrie who shall thinke the blood of Bulls and other Leuiticall sacrifices no more to shewe vnto him then the letter sowndeth That the plain sainge of the scripture teacheth enemities yt ys proued both by this place Daughter of Babilon thowe shalt come to myserie thy self yea happie shall he be that rewardeth thee as thowe hauest serued vs. Blessed shall he be that taketh thy children and throweth them against the stones And also by that place I shall soon destroie all the vngodlie that are in the lande And by soche other like vnto theise as of contencion enuie wrathe brawlinges dissentions vnto the whiche yf ye vnderstand not some higher thing the examples of the histories do more prouoke vs then forbidde vs. Heresies also Diuerse histories of Scripture literallie taken doe more prouoke sinne than forbidde yt haue ben more by the carnall vnderstanding of the scriptures then by the worke of our flesh as manie do thinke We learn also by the letter of the lawe dronkennes and enuie Noë after the flood was dronken And the Patriarkes also were droncken being with their Brother Ioseph in AEgypte Thus Origen Nowe then as in this chapiter ye haue heard a nombre of bookes and places of scripture recited whiche well proue the obscuritie and hardnesse of the same So yn the ende ye haue heard Origen declaring his minde that to vnderstand but the carnall sense of yt ys raither hurtfull to edificacion then profitable Peraduenture some will graunte that the olde Testament ys darke and hard but the newe Testament they will saie ys easie and plain But that this likwise ys not easie for euerie man to vnderstande the chapiter folowing shall declare THE THIRDE CHAPITER TO DECLARE the newe Testament not to be easie to be vnderstanded bringeth diuerse obscure places of the same THAT the newe Testament ys hard to be vnderstanded yt ys sufficientlie proued in the frist chapiter Neuerthelesse that the Reader maie haue some experieÌ„ce of that that by Authoritie ys saied I shall laie before hym certain places whiche shall enforce hym to confesse that by his owne iudgement to be true whiche by the scriptures he hath allreadie heard taught and affirmed And first let him beginne with the Genealogie of Chryste described vnto vs by two Euangelistes Matthew and Luke And let them be compared together and triall made whether yt be esaie to concile them or no. Matthewe beginneth at the elders as at Abraham and so descendeth to Chryste Luke beginneth at Chryste and ascendeth vppe to the elders euen vnto AdaÌ„ and so to God In the whiche Genealogie Luke saieth that Chryst The Euangeâ—istes Mathew and Luke seem to varte in the genealogie of Chryst was the supposed sonne of Ioseph and that Ioseph was the sonne of Heli Matthewe saieth that Iacob begatte Ioseph the husband of Mary of whoÌ„ was born Iesus whiche ys called Chryste So that Luke saieth that Iosep was the sonne of Heli and Matthew saieth he was the sonne of Iacob Which dysagrement Iulianus Augustus the Apostata as saincte HieroÌ„ saieth obiected vnto vs. Which obiection al though it be solued by saincte HieroÌ„ yet ther remaineth a great difficultie howe these Genealogies shoulde be true and both pertain to Chryste seing that from Ioseph to Dauid ther ys none agrement betwixt theÌ„ as by comparing of the EuaÌ„gelistes
example of godlie liuing that God bothe in his pastours and people maie be glorified As cōcerning the second that the scriptures haue doubtes and difficulties Scriptures ful of doubres Yt appeareth by the expresse woorde of God when he saieth Yf ther rise a matter to hard for thee in iudgemēt c. Thow shalt get thee vppe to the preistes the Leuites But forsomoch as this matter ys allready sufficiētlie treacted of and proued yt ys enough here nowe to haue touched yt and so to passe to the third Which ys that the people must be taught and learn the lawes of god of the preistes Which thīg ys so manifestlie declared ād in so plain woordes Doubtes in the lawe of God must be dissolued by the preistes opened in the scriptures alleaged that I shal not nede to make any further declaraciō therof forasmuche as yt ys plainlie ther saied that the doubtes of the people in the lawe of God must be dissolued bi the preistes to whose sentēce and iudgemēt they must in any wise stande and not decline frō yt neither on the right hand nor on the left and that on the pain of deathe In the which saing of God yt ys euidēt howe moche God wolde that the determinaciō of his church in the doubtes of his lawe should be estemed ād reuerēced and his preistes in that respecte obeid Which howe moche yt ys nowe disdained and contēned and gods ordre and cōmaūdemēt neclected his holie faith and religion infringed and violated yt ys more with Sithes and teares to be lamented then beinge so manifest as yt ys nedefull to be opened and declared Of whose mouthe the people should learn the lawe AlmightieGod by his prophete Malachie telleth Likewise that of the preistes the people should aske People must learn of the preistes the lawe God by the Prophete Aggaeus cōmaundeth Who shoulde teach the people the newe Testamēt he also prescribeth Appointing some Apostles some Prophetes some Doctours or teachers who to theise offices are appointed to rule and instruct the people In ijs quae ad Deū pertinēt in those thinges that appertein to God But nowe al this ordre ys inuerted in manie places The people teache the preistes and not the preistes the people The people dissolue the doubts of the lawe the preistes not being asked for The people God his ordre inuerted speake the preistes holde their peace The people make lawes in religion the preistes are cōpelled to obeie The people take in hande the thinges that appertain to God the preistes are put to scilence A moch like state we finde in the time of Moyses emōge the children of Israel in the time when Moyses was in the moūt with God For they perceiuing him to be lōg absent and thinking that he wolde no more come they began to take the rule vpō thēselues And wheras Aarō before cōmaūded and taught thē the religiō of the true God nowe they taking the rule and inuerting the ordre cōmaunded Aaron and taught him soche Religion as lyked them of a false God When the people sawe saieth the booke of Exodus that yt was long er Moyses came downe oute of the Mountain they gathered themselfes togeather Exod 32. vnto Aaron and saied vnto him Vppe make vs Gods to go before vs. For of this Moises the felowe that brought vs oute of the lande of Aegypte we wote not what ys become Hereby maie yt be perceiued what religion shall be when the ordre that God appointed being broken they will teache and commaunde which in matters to godwarde shoulde be taught and commaunded But with all yt ys to be remembred that for this wickednes the wrathe of God waxed hote against the people and notwithstanding that ther was immediatelie Plaguesfor breaking Gods appoincted ordre in religiō and mynisterie a greate slaughter of the people aboute the nōbre of three thousand and that Moyses made intercession to God for the people Yet allmightie God in the ende saied Neuer the latter in the daie when I viset I will viset their sinne vpon them and the Lorde plagued the people bicause of the calfe whiche Aaron made Wherfore seinge that the moche like trangression ys committed emonge the Chrystian people yt ys to be feared that the wrathe of God will waxe hote against vs. But God graūte vs a Moyses that by earnest intercessiō maie yet mittigate the plague of God that shall come for this wickednesse The plague I feare me will be sore vpon Corah Dathan and Abiron and vpon the capitanes of the multitude whiche be the great and famouse mē in the Num. 16. congregacion which haue gathered thē selues together against Moyses and Aaron and cā not contēt thē selues with soche ordre as God hath put in his Church and which by hys pleasure hath so long continued But yet they come to Moyses and Aaron and saie ye make muche to doo seing all the multitude are holie euery one of them and the Lorde ys emonge them Whieheaue ye your selues vppe aboue the Congregacion of the Lorde I must staie my hand I shall ells be to tediouse to the reader in this matter in the whiche I thought not to haue writtē the fourth parte of that that ys written and for expedicion leaue vnto him to reade the strory in the booke of Nombres and so further to consider yt And wher ther be manie stories declaring the displeasures of God to haue commed vppon the people bicause they wolde not submitte them selues to the ordeinaunce of him and his ministres but wolde vsurpe vpon them both Yet I will speake but of one in the first booke of the kinges which ys that where God appointed Samuel his beloued and holie Prophet to be the ruler of the people they being a stiffnecked and disobedient people to gods 1. Reg. 8. ordre so long before vsed al the elders gathered themselues together and came to Samuel and saied vnto him Beholde thowe arte olde and thy Sonnes walke not in thy waies Nowe therfore make vs a king to iudge vs as al other nacions haue See their phantasticall prouidence and therwith their disobediēce They take in hande to prouide for their common wealth as though God coulde not prouide them as good a ruler after Samuel as he did in prouiding of Samuel And therfore the ruler whiche God appointed reiected make vs saie they a kinge But what saied Almightie God to Samuel Heare the voice of the people for they haue not cast thee awaye but me that I shoulde not reign ouer them 1. Reg. 12. And after that they had a kinge Samuel to cause them to vnderstand that their offence was great saied I will call vnto the Lorde and he shall send thunder and rain that ye maie perceaue and see howe that yower wickednesse ys great which ye haue doen in thee seight of the Lorde in asking yowe a king And they saied Praye for vs thy seruauntes vnto the Lorde thy God that
In the whiche sentence two thinges maie emong other be noted the one ys that be ye neuer so wise yet ye maie be wiser Wherfore disdain not to learn either by hearing or by reading The other that all these which S. Hierom bringeth in for example contented them selues to heare and by hearinge came to more wisdoÌ„ Let not then the prowde or arrogant be singular in his owne conceat for the superiour maie heare and learn of the inseriour as here ye haue perceaued Moyses to doo of Ietro his wifes Father Yf theÌ„ we should hear aÌ„d learn of al meÌ„ moche more should we heare and learn of them whome God hath appointed in his Churche to be pastours aÌ„d teachers whom of deutie we aught to heare as being coÌ„mended vnto vs by God and his Church and preaching vnto vs nowe by their bookes as somtime they did by their mouthes whose holines and learning was soche that they maie verie wel be takeÌ„ for the elders that Iesus Sirach speaketh of saing Ne despicias narrationeÌ„ presbyteroruÌ„ sapientiuÌ„ in prouerbijs eoruÌ„ conuersare Ab ipsis enim disces sapientiaÌ„ doctrinaÌ„intellectus c. Despise not the sermons of soche Eccles 8. elders as haue vnderstaÌ„dinge but acqueint thy self with the wise senteÌ„ces of theÌ„ For of them shalt thow learn wisdom and the doctrine of vnderstaÌ„ding But for asmuche as men maie appoincte to theÌ„ selues soche elders as they 2. Tim. 4. phantasie as saincte Paule prophecieng both of soche masters and disciples saith The time shall come when they shall not suffer holsome doctrine but after their owne lustes shall they whose eares doo ytche gett them an heape of teachers and shall withdrawe their eares froÌ„ the trueth and shal be turned to fables yt ys expedieÌ„t that we learn of the wise what elders we shal folowe Iesus Syrach teacheth vs to learn of soche elders as had learned of their Fathers Ne te praetereat narratio seniorum ipsi enim didiceruÌ„t à patribus suis quoniaÌ„ ab ipsis disces intellectum in teÌ„pore necessitatis dare responsum Go not from the doctrine Ibid. â— of the elders for they haue learned yt of their fathers For of them thowe shalt learn vnderstaÌ„ding so that thow maist make auÌ„swer in the time of nede In this godlie counsel ye perceaue the cause geuen why ye shoulde learn of your elders bicause saieth he they haue learned of their Fathers As who Elders that are to be folowed might saie the learning that ys learned of the Fathers ys no new inueÌ„ted doctrine yt ys no straunge doctrine vnknoweÌ„ to the coÌ„gregacion of the which S. Paule geueth yow admonitioÌ„ saieng Doctrinis varijs et peregrinis nolite abduci OptimuÌ„ est enim gratia stabilire cor Be not caried awaie with diuerse and strauÌ„ge doctrines for yt ys a good thing that the heart be established with grace But StrauÌ„ge doctrines are not to be folowed yt ys a doctrine tried and continued froÌ„ successioÌ„ to sucessioÌ„ a doctrine that ys permanent through all ages Elders that are not to be folowed Therfor go not froÌ„ that doctrine neither chose yow anie other elders to learn of but soche as haue learned of their fathers Therfor chose not soche elders as be inueÌ„tours of their owne doctrine as the LutheraÌ„s chose Luther who teaching that womeÌ„ maie preache teacheth an inueÌ„ted doctrine against the scripture For S. Paule saieth Mulieres in ecclesiis taceant non enin permittitur eis loqui etc. 1. Cor. 14. Let your women kepe scilence in the congregacion for yt ys not permitted vnto them to speake but to be vnder obedience as saieth the law Yf they will learn anie thing let theÌ„ aske their husbandes at home For yt ys a shame for women to speake in the â—ongregacion Luthers straunge doctrine Luther taught that coÌ„tritioÌ„ maketh a man a more sinner In assert art 6. And that the righteouse man doth in euerie good worke that he dothe mortallie offende Luther also taught that euery christian man ys a preist for the coÌ„mon ministrie Ibid. ar 31 These be straunge doctrines bothe to the scriptures and to oure elders and therfore we maie not learn of him for he hath not learned of the Fathers Zuinglius straunge doctrine Zuinglius taught that original offeÌ„ce ys no sinne In libell de Baptismo Yet Dauid in the psalme huÌ„blie confesseth Psalm 50. Ecce in iniquitatibus conceptus sum et in peccatis concepit me mater mea Behold saieth he I was conceaued in iniquitie and in sinne hath my mother conceaued me And saincte Paule saieth Natura sumus filij irae of nature we be the children of wrathe or damnacion Zuinglius taught also In articulis in fine that the children of christen men nede not to be Baptised but yf they die withoute Baptisme they shall be saued yet Chryst saieth Ioan. 3. Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu sancto non potest introire in regnum Dei Except a man be born again of the water and the holie goste he can not entre into the kingdoÌ„ of God Luthers lucifero use pride Of this man therfore maie ye not learn neither doo ye heare him for whie he hath not learned of the fathers Whiche thinge most arrooantlie euen Luther like as yt becometh a Lucyferan folowing his master Lucifer prowdelie protesteth not a fewe times and saieth that he will not be taught of men but of God O deuelish and wicked saing This ys a second Paule The first Paule saieth speaking of the gospell Neque ab homine accepi illud neque didici sed per reuelationem Iesu Christi Nether haue I receaued yt of man nether learned yt but by the In lib. coÌ„â— Canon reuelation of Iesus Chryst The second Paule saieth that he will not learn of man but of God But as ther ys a first Adam and a seconde the one earthlie the other heauenlie And as in the first Adam all doo die and in the secoÌ„de 1. Cor. 15. all be reuiued So our first Paule ys heauenlie this second earthlie that first leadeth to saluation This seconde to damnacion Zuinglius wrote de claritate verbi Dei of the clerenesse of the woorde of God an whol booke to the entent to make you suppose hard thinges to be Zuinglius wrote a booke of the clerenesse of scripture easie and so to passe through theÌ„ not as the trueth woulde lead yowe which ys hard to finde but as yowre phantasie should moue you which ys at haÌ„de and that he might with like facilitie bringe yowe to errour scisme and heresie and so consequentlie to damnacion Wherof he being soche a secoÌ„d Paule ys the right ministre Howe falselie that booke ys compiled this that ys here saied dothe manifestlie declare and inuincible proue What shoulde I troble thee Reader with rehersall of the false doctrine of Heretiques disseÌ„t
ommbus quae habebā dubia sciscitarer I haue not frō my youth ceassed at any time either to read or ells to aske of learned men soche thinges as I knewe not Nether haue I had or vsed my self as manie do as master to my self But of late euē speciallie for this cause I wēt to Alexādria that I might se Didymus ād that I might aske of him soche doubtes as I had in all the scriptures Thus sainct Hierom. In the which reporte ye do heare howe cleresoeuer Luther and Zuinglius make the scriptures that saincte Hierō fownde doubtes therin and for dissolution of thē trauailed to Alexandria to Didymus In which facte also yt maie be learned that yf sainct Hierō so notable a mā sought a famouse mā to learn him yt maie well beseme other so to doo Did not Damasus being Bishoppe of Rome send to saincte Hierō to be aunswered in certain doubtes and disdeined Damasus learned of S. Hierom. S. Augustin of S. Amb. Many learned of S. Aug. not to learn of him Did not saincte Augustin go to Millen to saincte Ambrose to heare him and to learn of him Howe many that were learned worte to sainct Augustin to be taught of him in diuerse matters of scripture Yt wolde well fill an whollvolume to nōbre vppe those that haue trauailed cōtries to heare and learn of good holie learned men and that haue written to other for the like And therfore to conclude this matter I will no more but bringe in the saieng of sainct Clement the holie Martyr and disciple of saincte Peter the Apostle and then enter into the matter which principallie I haue in pourpose to treacte of Saincte Clement in his fiste epistle writeth thus Relatū est nobis quòd quidā in Clemens epist. 5. vestris partibus cōmorantes aduersantur sanis doctrinis prout eis videtur non secū dū traditiones patrū sed secundū suū sensum docere videntur Multas enim quidā vt audiuimus vestrarū partium secundum ingeniū hominū ex ijs quae legunt verisimilitudines capiunt Et ideò diligenter obseruandū est vt lex Dei cum legitur non secundum propriā intelli gentiālegatur vel doceatur Sunt enim multa verba in diuinis scripturis quae possunt trahi ad eum sensum quem sibi vnusquisque spontè praesumpsit Sed fieri non oportet Non enim sensū quē extrinsecus adulteretis alienū extraneū debetis quaerere aut quoquo modo it sū ex scripturarū autoritate consirmare sed ex ipsis scripturis sensum capere veritatis Et ideò oportet ab eo intelligentiā discere scripturarum qui à maioribus secundum veritatem sibi traditam seruauit vt ipse possit ea quae rectè suscepit competenter asserere Yt ys reported vnto vs that some duelling in your partes are aduersaires to wholsom doctrines and are perceaued to teache euē as yt liketh thēselues ād not according to the traditiōs of the Fathers but according to their own vnderstanding Some of your countries as we haue heard take many likelihoodes of those thinges that they do read according to the witte of men And therfore yt ys diligentlie to be looked vnto that the lawe of God whē yt ys red be not red or taught according to mens owne vnderstanding For ther be manie woordes in the scriptures of God which maie be drawen to that vnderstāding that euery mā at his own pleasure hath chosen But it maie not Scripture maie be drawen to diuerse senses so be doen. For ye ought not to seke an vnderstanding diuerse and straunge which ye maie adulterate or by any maner of means by autoritie of the scripturs in the outwarde face to confirme but of the scriptures themselues to take the true vnderstanding And therfore ye must learn the vnderstanding of the scriptures of him who kepeth yt according to the trueth deliuerid vnto him frō his elders that he maie also agreablie teache that he hath well receaued Thus farre Sainct Clement To take and embrace this ordre I meen to mistrust oure owne iudgemētes ād therfore to heare our Fathers ād vpō their iudgemētes not vpō our own phātasies to staie our selues in the true vnderstāding of the scriptures I haue yf my iudgement faill me not geuen thee gentle Reader god occasion For first to remoue and disproue the false saing of Luther and Zuinglius who haue taught that the scriptures be easie and plain to be vnderstanded wherun to this proclamer willing the scriptures to be common semeth to agree and consent I haue proued by diuerse and sondrie places yea and by whol bookes of the olde Testament that the same ys verie harde and full of difficulties not able to be dissolued but by a mā wel exercised in the reading and knowledge of the same And the like haue I doen of the gospells As for the epistles of saincte Paule yt ys proued by the inuincible testimonie of sainct Peter that they be harde ād be depraued of manie to their own damnaciō And that this might fullie appeare to thee I haue at large opened and proued the same not onelie by the saing and iudgementes of the best ād most auncient fathers of Chrystes Churche as of sancte Clement Hierom Chrysostome and other but also by their maner of atteigning to the vnderstanding of the scriptures for that they be hard Whiche their maner I haue also declared by their owne testimonie The difficultie of the scriptures thus proued cōtrarie to the sainges of Luther and Zuinlius I haue proceaded to declare by the scriptures first and after by the famouse learned Fathers howe we shall come to the vnderstāding therof Wher yt ys made manifest that we must atteign therunto by the teaching of the preistes which God hath appointed to be pastours ād teachers and Fathers of the people to feede thē to teache thē and to bring thē vppe in God And yet maie we not learn of euery one that taketh vpon him the Teachers meet to be folowed name of a pastour teacher or Father but of soche as teache the lawe of our heauēlie Father and ther withall forgetteth not the lawe of our mother the holie churche Theise two propreties he must haue iointlie for the one withoute the other sufficeth not in a teacher as by sainct Hierom yt ys declared Who also as saincte Clement teacheth must be soche one as teacheth the vnderstanding of the scriptures according to the trueth that he hath receaued and learned of his elders According to which counsell I minding to searche the vnderstanding of certain scriptures which be in controuersie I will repair to them that be the elders of Christes Churche whiche I terme his Parliament house and to learn of them the true vnderstanding of those scriptures I wish therfore the reader to submitte his iudgement vnto them as I will doo and all affection sett aparte to learn of them we ought to learn of
corruption and controuersie taught beleued and folowed I claime also creditte to be geuen to the holie aunciēt Fathers whom I haue alleaged who being in that pure time when faith was purely taught do cōmunicate to vs soche doctrine as the Churche of God then had whose doctrine howe moche yt ys different from the doctrine of this wicked teacher that hathe thus exclamed and howe repugnāte his doctrine ys to the teaching of these Fathers yt ys as easie to discerne as darknesse frō light or white frō blacke Wherfore gentle Reader nowe being by me aduertised after soche sorte as yt hath pleased my lorde God to imparte his grace vnto me yf thowe hauest not erred reioice in God and be confirmed Yf thowe hauest erred repent before God and be reduced And thus moche of the scriptures of the olde Testament THE SEVEN AND THIRTITH CHAP. MAKETH a breif Recapitulacion of thinges before written with thapplicacion of them to the Proclamacion of the aduersarie and so concludeth this first booke ALthough I am not ignorante gentle Reader that in the Psalmes be diuerse other prophecies whiche according to the minde of saincte Hierom do speake of this blessed Sacrament and sacrifice of Chrystes bodie and bloode that shoulde be offred in the Churche of Chryst and of the whiche the poour in spiritte shoulde eate and be satisfied as in the xxi xxij lxxj cx psalmes Yet for that the figures of this Sacrament be allreadie aunswered by prophecies to them aunswerable And these that be lefte maie by iust occasion be spoken of hereafter I shall for the Readers ease disauauntage my self of the allegacion of them to the setting furth of the matter here taken in hand by me to be defended and so cōclude this booke with a breif recapitulacion of some thinghes bfore saied to the entent they maie be applied to aunswere some one or mo mēbres of the Aduersaries proclamacion not yet spoken of I did of pourpose omitte to applie that ys saied as aunswer to that parte of his wicked proclamacion whiche yt doth fullie confute by cause I wolde not to moche trouble my processe but thought yt best to reserue yt to this place as in other matters I haue also doen the like in this booke Wherfor that yt maie well be perceaued that this that ys saied doth clean ouerthrowe this mans doctrine vnderstand first what ys his doctrine Thus in his proclamacion he crieth Yf any one of all our Aduersaries be able plainlie and clerely to proue by soch authoritie of the scriptures the old Doctours and Councells as ys before saied that the preist had then authoritie to offre vpp Chryst vnto his Father c. In which his proclamaciō he denieth the Sacrifice of the Churhe which ys the bodie and blood of our sauiour Chryst which he saieth the Churche hath none authoritie to offre to God in sacrifice Against this his false doctrine call to minde what ys in this booke saied speciallie in the setting furthe of the prophecies of the preisthood of Chryst The deuell hath bewitched the Proclamer after the ordre of Melchisedech of the prophecies of Daniel and Malachie wher but that the deuell hath bewitched this man and to his perdition hath cast a mist before his eies that he shoulde not see the trueth he coulde not ells but see that the bodie and blood of Chryste were of him self offred in his last supper and ther and then instituted and ordeined to be offred and continued in his Church as the memoriall of his passion and death S. Ciprian as yt ys alleaged saieth that our Lorde Iesus offred the same Cyprian that Melchisedech offred that ys bread and wine that ys to saie saieth he his bodie and blood Isychius saieth that we haue the sacrifice of Chryst the intelligible Melchisedech Isychius whiche sacrifice was perfectlie doen in bread and wine when Chryste saied This ys my bloode that shal be shedd for yowe S. Hierom saieth that as Melchisedech offred bread and wine so shall Chryste Hieron offred his bodie and blood the true bread and true wine S. Augustin saieth Chryst did institute the sacrifice of his bodie and blood according to the ordre of Melchisedech to succeade the sacrifice after Augustin the ordre of Aaron Wher note that he saieth Chryst did institute the sacrifice of his bodie and bloode after the ordre of Melchisedech Yf he did institute the sacrifice then ys ther authoritie by the same institution geuen to the Church to offre the same Whiche well appeareth by the saing of Origen whiche foloweth in this processe We saith Origen being obedient to the Creatour of thinges when we Origen haue geuen thankes we receaue the breades that were offred whiche be turned into a certain holier bodie whiche bodie trulie maketh them holier that with a sownde and pure minde vse yt Note then that our obedience standeth not onely to eate the bread but to eate the bread that ys offred and therforre we must both offre and eate The church must both offre and eate yf we will be obedient Yf yt be our obedience to offer then ther ys commaundement geuen to offre Yf commaundement be geuen then Authoritie also Theophilact saieth that the oblacion conteining Chryste our Lorde Bishoppe and Sacrifice ys continuallie offred by the ministres of God Seing that Chryste ys offred Theophila as Theophilact saieth by the ministres of God yt ys euident that yt ys doen with authoritie For withoute authoritie can none offre him Martialis one of the disciples of Chryste saieth that we for our health offre that vpon the holie Altar that the Iewes did offre vpon the Crosse for enuie And yf ye S. Martia We offre ou the altar that the Iewes offred on the crosse Irenaeus require by what authoritie we do it he saieth that our Lord cōmaunded vs so to doo in the remembrance of him And yf ye will vnderstande howe the authoritie cometh ordrely to vs to offre the bodie of Chryste to God the Father Irenaeus will teache you For he saieth that Chryste geuing instructions to his Apostles to offre sacrifice to God tooke the creature of bread and gaue thankes and saied this ys my body And the cuppe also he tooke and confessed yt to be his bloode and so of the newe Testament taught the newe oblacion whiche the Churche taking of the Apostles offreth yt yn all the worlde to God according to the prophecie of Malachie Can not nowe this Proclamer or raither Blasphemer see or perceaue what authoritie the preist hath to offre Chryst to God the Father Yt ys deriued from Chryst to the Apostles from the Apostles to the Church and so vsed through out all the worlde S. Augustine saieth that the pure and clean sacrifice that Malachie speaketh of that shall be offred in euery place ys the sacrifice after Augustin the ordre of Melchisedech What the sacrifice after the ordre of Melchisedech ys by the minde of S.
his eyes Whervpon belcuing the mysteries of the Chrystians to be merueillouse and wonderfull the next daie he came to S. Basill and desired to be baptised and made a chrystian Thus we maie perceaue that the workes of God be great and merueillouse who vnto this Iewe but suspecting the chrystians to eate flesh and drinke bloode in their mysteries made yt soch to him as he suspected yt to be and to appeare soche to his seight as yt was couertlie to other in verie dede But he sawe yt with his bodilie eye for his instruction that the true Chrystian seeth with his faithfull eye to his saluacion But to return to our first matter so great was the fame that the Chrystians did eate mānes flesh in their mysteries that to deliuer thē frō the enuie that was cōceaued against thē for the same Iustinus the holie martyr was enforced in his Apollogie made vnto Antonius Pius to reueil and declare vnto him all the wholl order of the mysteries of the chrystians and what was their faith therin whiche thing was not vsed in those daies to be declared to anie prophane man and infidel but allwaies kept secrette so moche as yt might be And yet vpon this enforcemēt this Iustinus declared the matter so plainlie as no man of his auncientie to soche men more plainlie as shortlie here after ye shall perceaue As these thinges then hitherto saied do proue by the same that Chryst ys present in the Sacrament and so consequentlie that the woordes of Chryst haue ben and so ought to be vnderstanded in their propre sense withoute trope or figure So wolde I wish them of all chrystians in these daies to be receaued And as by these thinges we maie be moued So by other reasons we maie from the contrarie vnderstanding be disswaded Among manie of whiche I wil bring but one or two that Rupertus doth make and the first ys this Nonne Ioannes Euangelista dicit in Apocalipsi Si quis apposuerit ad haec apponet super illū Rupert li. 6. in Joan. Apoca. 22. Deus plagas scriptas in libro isto Et si quis diminuerit de verbis prophetiae libri huius auferet Deus partem eius de ligno vitae de ciuitate sancta de ijs quae scripta sunt in libro isto Nunquid minùs timenda est hic illa maledictio vt non detrahamus vel apponamus quidquam verbis dicentis Hoc est corpus meum quod pro vobis tradetur Hic est sanguis meus noui testamenti qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum Cùm enim illo dicente Hoc est corpus meum nos subauditionem apposuerimus dicentes figuratiuum vel per similitudinem dictum Cùm inquam illo dicente Hoc est corpus meum nos dixerimus hoc signisicat corpus meum nonne multum est quod apponimus vel praua demutatione detrahimus sensum generamus quem tantus Author Deus homo nusquā est locutus nec ascendit vnquam in cor eius Dothe not the Euangelist Iohn saie in the Apocalipse Yf anie man shall adde vnto these thinges God shal adde vnto him the plagues that are written in this booke And yf anie man shall minishe of the woordes of the booke of this prophecie God shall take awaie his parte oute of the booke of life and oute of the holie To the woordes of God maie nothing be added nor diminished citte and the thinges whiche are written in this booke Ys this maledictiō or curse lesse to be feared here that we diminish not or putte any thing to the woordes of him that saied This ys my bodie whiche shall be deliuered for yow This ys my bloode of the newe testament whiche shall be shedde for manie in the remissiō of sinnes For when he saieth This ys my bodie we shall putto an vnderstanding saing a figuratiue bodie or that yt ys spoken by a similitude when I saie he saieth This ys my bodie we shall saie this signifieth my bodie ys yt not moche that we putto his woordes or by an euell chaunge take from them and make a sense whiche so great an Authour God and man in no place hath spoken neither at anie time did yt ascende in to his heart Thus Rupertus This ys the first reason of this Authour whiche yf yt be well weighed and the thing well considered howe moche we by figures tropes and significacions do alter and chaunge howe moche we putto in woordes and diminish in substance howe the exposition denieth that the text affirmeth we haue good cause to feare the malediction of God spoken by S. Iohn who beareth not soche expositions denieng what he hath saied nor soche gloses confownding his text Wherfore we maie well be dissuaded from soche expositions or rather deprauacions and the rather that their ys no warrant to beare vs so to expownde these woordes of Chryst as of the circumstance of the place maie be perceaued whiche this Authour vseth as an other reason to moue vs not so to vnderstande Chrystes woordes of his supper as the Aduersarie dothe expownde them And thus he saieth Cùm obijcit quis suisue scriptitat in sedulis quod itidem dixerit eadem veritas Ego sum vitis tam audacter quā imperitè in argumentum mendosum illud attrahit cum statim subsequentia verba dicentist Sicut palmes non potest ferre fructum à semetipso nisi manserit in vite sic nec vos nisi in me manseritis manifestè per similitudinem compellant intelligi praesertim cùm non signanter dixerit Ego sum haec vitis sicut signanter dixit Hoc est corpus meum hic est sanguis meus apposita protinus descriptione verae proprietatis de corpore inquiens quod pro vobis tradetur de san guine autem qui pro multis effundetur Igitur ne veniant super nos plagae nouissimae neque apponimus neque diminuimus quicquam diuinae definitioni vel descriptioni quam incarnatum Verbum ore proprio deproinpsit Imo quia perfecta charitas foras mittit timorem non tam plagarum timore qunm veritatis amore confitemur quia panis iste corporeus postquam signauerit eum Pater vinum hoc expressum acinis praesentibus mox vt eodem signo signatum est per manus ecclesiae dicentis vt nobis corpus sanguis fiat dilectissimi filij tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi etc. vsque in memoriā mei facietis corpus sanguis eius qui huius traditionis author est hoc sacrisicium ipse Christus est cuius passione vt sacrificium fieret à Deo Patre in veritate signatum est Whē one obiecteth and writeth yt also in his bookes euen as boldlie as vnlearned These woordes J am a vine Ioan. 15. are proued by the circūstance to be a similitudi lie that the same trueth mening Chryst saieth also I am a vine he draweth yt
them to the doctrines of the catholike Church that nowe ys and see yf they be not agreable Trie yf they be not all one Chryst saieth after Doctrine of the primitiue churche and the churche since and nowe compared he had blessed the bread and the wine This ys my bodie This ys my bloode This Authour saieth that they were taught in the primitiue Churche that the bread and wine with water after cōsecraciō be the flesh and bloode of Iesus incarnated The catholike Churche that hath ben and nowe ys teacheth that the bread and wine on the Altar after the consecracion be the bodie and bloode of Chryst Wolde ye desire anie more agreement wolde ye desire anie better concorde And wher the Proclamer requireth anie one auncient Authour that teacheth plainlie Chrystes verie reall presence wolde he haue anie plainer speache A plain place for M. Juell then that whiche he impugneth in vs This Authour saieth that that we saie and speaketh as plainlie as we speake as by the conference of both a childe maie perceaue Let the Proclaimer then be a shamed of his rash proclamacion and with mature and sobre beliberacion and iudgement let him agnise the doctrine of the primitiue Churche and so shall he confesse with vs the reall presence of Chrystes bodie in the Sacrament whiche nowe wickedlie he hathe impugned But here ys not be ouerpassed the exceading crafte and vntrueth of Cranmer one of the Fathers of this Proclamer in the corrupting falsieng and Cranmer falsifieth and abuseth Iustin abusing of this Authour Iustinus And that yt shall not be laied to my charge that I misreporte him I will faithfullie asscribe his woordes as they be written in his booke Thus he writeth Iustinus a great learned man and an holie Martyr the eldest Authour that this daie ys knowen to write anie treactice vpon the Sacramentes and wrote not moche after one hundreth yeares after Chrystes ascension He writeth in his Lib. 2. ca. 5 seconde Apologie that the bread water and wine in this Sacrament are not to be taken as other common meates and drinkes be but they be meates ordeined pourposely to geue thankes to God and therfore be called Eucharistia and be called also the bodie and bloode of Chryst and that yt ys laufull for none to eate or drinke of them but that professe Chryste and hue according to the same And yet the same meate and drinke saieth he ys chaunged into our flesh and bloode and nourisheth our bodies These be his verie woordes and in this maner dothe he report Iustinus Whiche reporte howe yt agreeth with Iustinus owne woordes the reader by conserence shall easilie perceaue And therfor omitting manie falsheades Two false sleights of Crāmer noted in thallegacion of Iustin. and other fawtes by him here admitted I wil nowe touche but two whiche be intollerable and doen with to moche impudencie The one ys that he reporteth this Authour as though he shoulde saie that the Sacrament ys but called the bodie of Chryst wher this Authour saieth no soche woordes But saieth plainly that the bread and wine after the consecracion be the flesh and blood of Iesus incarnate and that the people were in his daies so taught The other ys the misplacing of the sentences of the authour to make them serue his pourpose For wher Iustine saieth that the foode of bread wine and water werwith our bodies be nourished when they be consecrated by the praier of his woorde be the flesh and bloode of Iesus And so before the consecracion of them he teacheth that they be creatures meet to nourish our bodies and to that vnderstanding doth so place them Cranmer or the Authour of that booke pleaceth them as creatures meet to nourish vs after the consecracion therby signifieng that they be but creatures of bread wine and water after the consecracion as they were before But howe falsely that ys doen not onely this translacion but also the translaciō of Petrus Nannius declareth whiche for the better opening of the trueth I will here also ascribe Thus he translateth that parte of Iustinus Non enim vt quemuis panem neque vt quemuis potum ista omnia accipimus sed quemadmodum per Petrus Nannius verbum Dei incarnatus est Iesus Christus saluator noster carnem sanguinem pro nostra salute assumpsu ita quoque per preces verbi illius cibū ex quo caro nostra et sanguis per immutationē aluntur cū bedictus fuerit Iesu ipsius incarnati carnē et sangumēdicimus esse Neither do we take all these thinges as euery other bread neither as euery other drinke But euē as Iesus Chryst our sauiour by the woorde of God was incarnated ād for our health tooke flesh and bloode euē so haue we learned that foode of the whiche our flesh and bloode by immutaciō are nourished whē yt ys blessed by the praiers of his woordes to be fleshe and bloodo Iesus incarnate In whiche translacion as in the other ye see that the nourishmēt of the foode of breade wine and water ys put before the consecracion which Cranmer vntrulie wolde place after the consecracion for the pourpose before saied and therby also to denie transubstanciacion But Iustine to declare the great worke of God wrought in and by the consecracion saieth that yt ys soche foode before the consecracion as we be nourished with but when yt ys consecrated yt ys the flesh of Iesus incarnated The like maner of speache vseth both S. Ambrose and S. Augustine saing Amb. li. 4. de Sac. ca. 5 Plain samges for M. Juell Antequam consecretur panis est vbi autem verba Christi accesserint corpus est Christi Before yt be consecrated yt ys bread but when the woordes of Chryst haue comed to yt yt ys the bodie of Chryst S. Augustine thus Ante verba Christi quod offertur panis dicitur vbi Christi verba deprompta fuerint iam non panis dicitur sed corpus appellatur Before the woordes of Chryst that whiche ys offred ys Augu. de verbis Do. serm 8 called bread but when the woordes of Chryst are spoken yt ys not nowe called bread but yt ys called the bodie Thus Reader thowe maist see the sleight of Cranmer and his falsifieng of the holie doctours by him The like in diuerse places of this booke shalt thowe finde prooued in Oecolampadius whom Cranmer folowed and also in this Proclamer who foloweth Cranmer Soche and soo good ys the quarrell that they maintein that withoute falsifieng wresting or truncating of the holie Fathers their doctrine can haue no good shewe Wherof thowe nowe being aduertised and in them the matter being well prooued trusting that yt will geue thee occasion to looke er thowe leape I will leaue Iustine and call in Aleander an holy martyr who liued not long after Chryst euen in the time of Ignatius and Polycarpus Thus writeth Alexander In sacramentorum oblationibus quae inter missarum
damnacion but not to the hurte of the people if they knewe yt not And here also to saie I beleue that if any catholique preist had ben knowen to this man so to haue doen as he saieth he wolde without all dowbte to the helpe of his cause wher vnto he hath none haue named him But forasmoche as he speaketh yt of him self and his conspired complices which secretly Conuenerunt in vnum adnersus Dominum aduersus Christum eius haue conspired against our Lorde and against his annoincted when they durst not vtter what they had wickedly conceaued he ys a shamed to name him self to haue committed so heinouse a facte Yf yt be not so yt ys like to be a feigned matter to supplie when certen and true matter lacketh But to returne to the matter and to moue the same scruple to him that he moueth against the catholique Churche What if some that ministre the communion after the sorte that ys nowe receaued do neither speake the woordes of Chryst vpon the bread For Richerus a Caluinist reiecteth the woordes of consecracion as not nedefull to be spoken or munbled as his terme ys vpon insensible creatures neither entende to make anie sacramentall bread what then do your people receaue Yf they receaue no sacramēt as yt ys none if bothe woordes and intencion be lacking then they receaue no promisse they receaue no remission of sinnes nor soch other benefittes for the promisses be annexed to the sacramentes howe are they then deceaued Howe then ys the Sacrament of Chrystes bodie and bloode in due forme ministred Howe ys the death of Chryst shewed furthe according to Chrystes minde whiche must be shewed furth when we eate that bread and drinke that cuppe as S. Paule teacheth vs As often as ye shall eate of this breade and drinke of the cuppe he saieth not bread generallie but this breade mening the bread of the Sacrament Thus if men shall improue the great matters of religion withe why what and howe and inuented daungers and abuses your owne religion whiche yowe magnifie as most sure and good maie be proued vnsure and weake To be short all his argumentes grownded vpon if and and are to no pourpose For if maketh no certen argument Wherfore leauing them as sufficiently touched I shall reuert to matter of more substance and proceade in the allegacion of the fathers for the exposition of Chrystes woordes nowe in hande THE NINE AND FOVRTETH CHAP. PROCEAdeth in the vnderstanding of Chrystes woordes by Irenaeus and Tertullian ALlthough betwen Iustine and Irenaeus ther were some holy Fathers that haue left behinde them goodly testimonies for the proofe of Chrystes very presence in the Sacrament Yet I finde Irenaeus li. 4. cap. 32. cont heres none that doe alleage Chrystes woordes and therby geue vs light to vnderstand them vntill we come to Ireneus who writeth thus Sed Discipulis suis dans consilium primitias Deo offerre ex suis creaturis non quasi indigenti sed vt nec ipsi infructuosi nec ingrati sint eum qui ex creatura panis est accepit gratias egit dicens Hoc est corpus meum Et calicem similiter qui est ex ea creatura quae est secundum nos suum sanguinem confessus est noui testamenti nouam docuit oblationem quam Ecclesia ab Apostolis accipiens in vniuerso mundo offert Deo Geuing also instruction to his disciples the authour speakethe of Chryste Sacrifice of the new Testament instituted ād taught by Chryst in consecraciō of his bodie and blood to offre to God the first fruictes of his creatures not as to one hauing nede but that they shoulde be neither vnfruictfull neither vnthankfull he tooke that breade whiche ys a creature and gaue thankes saing This ys my bodie And the cuppe likewise whiche ys a creature as we be he confessed to be his bloode and of the newe Testament taught a newe oblacion whiche the Churche receauing of the Apostles offreth to God in all the worlde Thus Irenaeus who when he had declared howe allmightie God instituted and appoincted sacrifices and oblacions in the olde testament as thinges to be geuen to him not as to one that neaded soche thinges or giftes but for the exercising of their obedience and faithe in the whiche God ys delighted not yet that God had anie profitt or aduantage therbie but that they doing these thinges profitt and aduantaie might ensewe to them from God for whose commodities sake God did institute them So he declareth that in the newe Testament also the people of the same might exercise their faith and obedience New sacrifice of the new Testament what yt ys and therbie pourchase gain and profitte and for benefittes receaued be fownde thankfull Chryst also taught his Apostles to offre sacrifice And what the sacrifice ys he teacheth saing that yt ys his bodie made of the creature of bread and his bloode made of the creature of wine Howe this thinge ys brought to passe he sheweth when he saieth that Chryst tooke the bread whiche ys a creature and gaue thankes saing This ys my bodie And likewise the cuppe which also ys a creature and confessed yt to be his bloode In whiche woordes wher he hath expressedly saied that Chryst confessed yt to be his bloode and the like ys ment of the bread to be his bodie what more plain speache wolde we desire of anie authoure Yf Chryst confessed yt to be his bodie Li. 4. de Sacramēt c. 6 and his confession ys allwaies true howe then standeth the sainge of the Aduersarie that yt ys not his bodie Shall we doubte of the trueth of Chryste as S. Ambrose saieth Ipse Dominus Iesus testificatur nobis quod corpus suum accipiamus sanguinem Nunquid debemus de eius fide testificatione dubitare Owre Lorde Iesus testifieth vnto vs that we receaue his bodie and bloode ought we to doubte of his treuth and testimonie Seing then this authour saieth that Chryst confessed his bodie and bloode Jrenaeus auoucheth both reall presence ād sacrifice to be present and that by these woordes This ys my bodie This ys my bloode yt ys plain that he vnderstandeth them in their propre sense withoute figure or trope and so acknowledgeth the very reall presence of Chrystes bodie ād blood in the Sacramēt For farder proof wherof the woordes that immediately in the same authour doe folowe do make very moch wher he saieth Et noui Testamenti nouam docuit oblacionem And of the newe Testament he taught a newe oblacion This newe oblacion of the newe Testament ys the bodie and bloode of Chryste as before in the first booke ys declared and prooued And here to the pourpose farder to saie yf the sacrifice that Chryst instituted to be the newe oblacion of the newe testament were but a peice of Sacramentall breade yt were no newe oblacion For then yt were the same that Melchisedech offred who offred bread
Veritas odium parit trueth causeth hatred he gotte himself so moche hatred for this his plain treuth that had not the catholique Churche stande his good Mother he had ben cast oute of the doores by Oecolampadius as S. Iames epistle had ben by Luther for his plain speaking for god workes But God be praised as by her bothe these were approued so God aiding by her they are conserued A mong soche plentie therfor as I haue saied and as yt ys well knowen to them that be learned we will gather a flower or twoo for the mainteināce of the cōfortable sinell of the trueth of the which this shall be the first Ambr. li. 4 de Sacr. cap. 5. Antequam consecretur panis est vbi autem verba Christi accesserint corpus est Christi Denique audi dicentem Accipite edite ex eo omnes Hoc est corpus meum Et ante verba Christi calix est vini aquae plenus vbi verba Christi operata fuerint ibi sanguis efficicitur qui plebem redemit Before yt ys consecrate yt ys bread but when the woordes of Chryste haue comed to yt yt ys the bodie of Chryst Heare him sainge Plain saīgs of S. Amb. for the Procla Take and eate this ys my bodie And before the woordes of Chryst yt ys a cuppe full of wine and water but when the woordes of Chryste haue wrought ther ys made the bloode that redemed the people What can the Aduersaries saie to this place of S. Ambrose What can the Proclamer saie yf he folowe not his Father Oecolampadius and reiect S. Ambrose Can they for shame saie that the woordes of Chryst are spoken by a figure wher they be so plainlie expownded by this notable Father of the verie thing Doe ye not heare that after the woordes of Chryste be spoken vpon the bread yt ys the bodie of Chryst and again that after the woorking of the woordes of Chryste ther ys made in the cuppe the bloode that redemed the people Here ys no figure spoken of He saieth not that yt ys a figure of the bodie and a figure of the bloode but he saied they be the bodie and the bloode yea and that so verilie that he saieth yt ys the bloode that redemed the people As yt ys woonderfull so ys yt pittifull that men will still remain in blinde heresie when the trueth ys so simplie and plainlie vttered and that of so excellent a Father that they can not denie yt but maliciouslie to contein them selues in that miserable state will refuse the worke and saie yt ys not S. Ambrose worke and yet they knowe that S. Augustin himself wittnesseth that S. Ambrose wrote soche bookes of the Sacramentes and ther be none but these But yt ys but a bare shifte when they be ouercomed of the trueth to denie the authour and be not hable to prooue that they doe But lett vs returne to S. Ambrose and gather an other of his flowers Thus he saieth in an other place Tu fortè dicis meus panis est visitatus Sed panis Ambros ibid. li. 4. cap. 4. iste panis est ante verba sacramentorum vbi accesserit consecratio de pane fit caro Christi Thowe peraduenture saiest my bread ys vsuall or common bread But this bread before the woordes of consecracion ys bread but when the consecracion hath comed vnto yt of the bread ys made the flesh of Chryst And Amb. ibid again he saieth in the same chapiter Sed audi dicentem Ipse dixit facta sunt ipse mandauit creata sunt Ergo tibi vt respondeam Non erat corpus Christi ante consecrationem Sed post consecrationem dico tibï quòd iam est corpus Christi Ipse dixit factum est ipse mandauit creatum est But heare one saing He hath saied and they were made he hath cōmaunded and they were created Therfor that What plainer woords cā the Proclamer require I maie aunswer thee Yt was not the bodie of Chryst before the consecracion but after the consecracion I saie vnto thee that nowe yt ys the bodie of Chryst He hath saied and yt ys made he hath commaunded and yt ys created I nede not explane S. Ambrose in this place neither For as the parentes of the blinde born sonne saied of him Aetatem habet ipse pro se loquatur He hath age let him speake for himself so S. Ambrose hath soche grace soche learning and withall soche plain speache that he speaketh sufficently for him self and for Gods cause whiche he openeth and that ther ys nothing here to be desired but an humble reader And if ye will not beleue him yet beleue him to whom he referreth yowe that ys Chryst For he saieth Ipse Ambr. ibid. ca. 5. Dominus Iesus testificatur nobis quòd corpus suum accipiamus sanguinem Nunquid debemus de eius fide testificatione dubitare Owre Lorde Iesus him self testifieth vnto vs that we receaue his bodie and bloode shall we doubte of his trueth and testificacion Nowe let vs compare the doctrine of S. Ambrose with the doctrine of the Aduersaries S. Ambrose saieth that Chryst himself doeth testifie that we S. Ambr. doctrine and the Sacramentaries cōpared together receaue his bodie and bloode The Aduersaries saieth that we doe not receaue the bodie and bloode of Chryst But breade and wine the figures of the bodie and blood of Chryst whom shall we here beleue Chryst and S. Ambrose or the Aduersaries The choise aught soen to be made And therfor yt ys lamentable to see howe Sathan hath preuailed and caused the Aduersaries to call that in question and doubt which Chryst himself testifieth to be the verie trueth Yf yt were not the trueth S. Ambrose be ye well assured wolde not so haue reported yt But yf Chryst had testified to vs that we in the Sacrament receaue but a figure S. Ambrose wolde not haue reported that we receaue Chrystes bodie For as ther ys great difference betwen these two thinges so be the doctrines greatlie different And S. Ambrose who in these his bookes laboured to teache the thrueth and to deliuer men from doubte was not of soche grosse iudgement nor so rude in vtterance but he coulde well iudge betwene the thing and the figure and so vtter his iudgement that his speache shoulde not sownde one thing and hismening shoulde be an other for that were not the waie to deliuer from doubte but raither to bring into doubte not a waie of instruction but raither a waie of destruction But here to conclude this parte for as moch as S. Ambrose saieth that Figure of the Sacrmētaries excluded frō Chrystes woordes Chryst hath testified by these woordes This ys my bodie that we in the Sacramēt after the woords spokē receaue his verie bodie thei are not to be vnderstāded withe anie figure or trope but simplie ād plainlie in that sense that theie are spoken Wherfore yt
exclude all other bodies sensible or insensible after he had saied Take this yt a bodie he adioined this worde mine he gaue then his owne bodie to his Disciples and not the bodie of anie other Again least anie priuie thought shoulde come to anie man that he might haue created in his handes a bodie that shoulde be his in deed but not that shoulde be yt that he was himself he added Whiche shall be deliuered for yowe As who shoulde saie doubte yowe not feign yowe not this or that to yowr self thinke not an other thing and an other thinge For thisys the bodie not an other or of an other but mine not permuted or newlie created but that which shall be deliuered for yowe shall be crucified for yowe shall die for yowe So like wise also of the cuppe This ys saieth he bloode not of an oxe nor of a Ramme nor of a lambe or of anie man but mine not an other or produced by a newe creation but which shall be shedde for yowe prouoked by skoorges extorted with nailes thrust oute with a speer Thus moch this authour To this exposition to adde anie thing as therbie to make yt plain to the reader I thinke yt superfluouse Yt ys allreadie so plain as no man in my iudgement can make a more plain exposition Onelie I will open the cause why he wrote this Ther was afect of heretiquesbegonne by one Peter de Bruys ād one Hēricus whose disciples were called Petrobrusions and Hēricians These had inuented a newe phantasticall heresie as yt ys propre to all soche men to make Phansies of Heretiques called the woorde of the Lorde their phantasies matters of faith and cuerie of their phantasies ys the pure and sincere woorde of the lord These had I saie inuented this phantasie that Christ alone at his last supper did cōsecrate his bodie and blood ād gaue yt to ys disciples ād they al receaued his bodie ād blood But since that time was yt neuer nor yet ys receaued of anie man Against these men did thys holie father write against whome taking the sword of the Spiritte which ys the woorde of God he fought with them with yt and ouerthrew rhē by the the woorde of Chryst that saied that the blood which he gaue in the cuppe to his disciples was the bloode of the euerlasting Testament wherupon taking an argument he saieth in the beginninge Saie o Lord the restatour of the newe testament whether this testament be of one daie as these men saie thow woldest yt to be or whether thow hauest decreed yt to be an euerlasting testament An other argument he maketh also of the commaundement of Chryste who saied This doe ye in the remembrance of me Wherby Chryst geuing them commaundement to doe that that he had doen and he by their owne confession consecrated his bodie wherin theye are more gentle to Chryste thē the Aduersaries and the Proclamer The argument ys good that soche to whom the authoritie ys deriued doe that that Chryst did that ys doo consecrate his blessed bodie and bloode I write thus moche that ye maie perceaue into what varietie and diuersitie of phantasies men doe fall in that beginne to withstande Gods holie faith of which varietie I haue allreadie spoken in the xli chapiter of this booke wherunto yf ye add this phantasie then shal yowe perceauc howe manie contrarie phantasies Sathan can deuise vpon these foure woordes of Chryst This ys my bodie And can as ys saied vtter thē all to the people for the pure woorde of God But to return to this authour as by these argumentes he hath ouerthrowen the heresie of the Petrobrusians so with these and the plain exposition of Chrystes woordes he conuinceth all the other wicked phantasies and leaueth Chrystes woordes in their propre and natiue sense figures and tropes not remembred I shall not nede to conferre him with the auncient and elder Fathers the conference of other saing as he doeth maketh good that he hath saied as yt did theirs which were cōferred with him Wherfor omitting that cōference with his seniours I shall bring in his iuniour to be conferred with him who ys Bessarion Patriarch of Constantinople and Cardinall who liued the yeare of our Lorde 1471. Wherfore not fullie one hondreth yeares agon And yet as his disputacion in the Florentine Councell against the grekes and his booke against Marcus Ephesinus doe proue he was an excellent learned man in this matter thus he writeth Nemo est quem lateat quemadmodum panis vini in corpus sangumem Christin instanti facta transubstautialitas humanam Bessarion li. de Sacr. Euchar. omnem excedit facultatem ingensue opus est certè diuinum it a etiam huius Sacramenti efficientia verba instar ipsius Sacramenti eximiae cuiusdam virtutis esse debere Christs verò dtuints verbis nihil esse potentius nihil ess◠acius esse posse manfestum est Quamobrem fateri necesse est Dominicis illis verbis nullis aliis dtuinum hoc sacramentum confict posse Nec enim diuinissima per diuinam potentiam confict negauerit quispiam nec verbis Christi nihil effiacius esse cùm non modò homo verumetiam Deus sit creatorue omnium qui solo nutu cuncta produxit qui verbo aegros curauit mortuos suscitauit caeteraue miracula fecit quae in Euangelio recitantur Ther ys no man but knoweth how that the trāsubstanciacion of the bread and wine doen in an instant into the bodie and bloode of Chryst doeth excede all power of man and ys a great and verie worke of God Euen The Sacrament maie be consecrated by noother woords then with these Hoc est cor etc. so also the efficient woordes of this Sacrament shoulde be of some great power like as the Sacrament ys Nowe yt ys manifest that nothinge can be more mightie more effectuouse then the diuine woordes of Chryst Wherfor we must nedes cōfesse that this diuine Sacram. maie with no other woords be cōsecrated thē with those woords of our Lord Neither will anie man denie these most holie thinges to be cōsecrated by the diuine power neither that anie thing ys more mightie in woorke then the woordes of Chryste sithen he ys not onely man but also God the creatour of al things who at his onelie pleasure produced all thinges of nothing who with his woorde healed the sicke raised the dead and did other miracles whiche be written in the Gospell Not the merites of man but the power of God consecrateth the Sacr. And within a fewe woordes he saieth thus Panis vini in corpus sanguinem transmutatio non petentium meritis sed eius potentia qui ex nihilo cuncta produxit per sacerdotem tanquam per instrumentum quoddam efficitur The transmutacion of the bread and wine into the bodie and bloode ys doen not through the merittes of the peticioners but by the preist as by a certain instrument through
They are spoken in a sermon that he made of the supper of our lorde whiche sermon being made to setfurth that thing that yt was made for must and doth seth yt furthe as yt ys And so by the figure of the Paschall lambe and by the figure of Melchisedech he declareth the veritie A short solucion of the Sacramentaries of Chryst in the Sacrament of the whiche moche ys saied before both in the first booke and in the seconde whereinuinciblie by S. Cyprian ys proued the presence of Chryste in the Sacrament In the whiche matter S. Cyprian ys so plain in this sermon that the Aduersarie hath no better euasion then of his owne authoritie to saie that yt ys not S. Cyprians sermon as he doth for the like cause make a like solucion to the bookes of S. Ambrose of the sacramentes saing they be none of his And therfor weigh well the rest of the sermon and what ys saied of him in the other bookes here before and ye shall see what faith he professeth as concerning the Sacrament and howe he wolde be vnderstanded here But that the vnlearned reader maie not be referred to a place vnknowen Effectes of the blessed Sacr. and the means to atteing them to him or enforced to suspend his iudgement in this matter yt shall vpon this present sentence of S. Cyprian be manifested and declared vnto him This ys in this saing of S. Cyprian to be considered that he teacheth the effecte and comoditie of the Sacrament and by what mean we atteing to yt The effecte ys that we be made the bodie misticall of Chryste we be knitte and vnited to him as to our head we be made membres one of an other in this misticall bodie These effectes whiche happen vnto vs by the receipt of the Sacrament yf they be well considered and weighed they be verie excellent and great The mean to atteign to them S. Cyprian also here declareth when he saieth by the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament what the Sacrament ys and what the thing of the Sacrament ys and what ys the difference betwixt them both S. Augustin teacheth vs saing Hoc est quod dicimus quod modis omnibus approbare contendimus sacrificium Ecclesiae duobus modis confici duobus constare visibili elementorum specie Li. senten Prosper vide sup cap. 19. inuisibili Domini nostri Iesu Christi carne sanguine sacramēto re sacramēti id est corpore Christi c. This ys yt saieth S. Augustine that we saie that by all means we labour to proue the sacrifice of the Churche to be made two waies to be of two thinges of the visible forme of the elementes and the inuisible Aplain place for the Proclamer flesh and blood of our Lorde Iesus Chryst both the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament that ys to saie the bodie of Chryste Euen as the person of Chryst ys of God and man for as moch as he ys very God ād verie man For euery thing conteineth the nature and veritie of those thinges of whiche yt ys made The sacrifice of the Churche ys made of two thinges of the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament that ys to saie of the bodie of Chryst Yt ys therfor the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament the bodie of Chryst Thus moche S. Augustin Of whome ye haue heard except my iudgement faill me a verie plain declaracion of the sacrifice of the Churche and of the Sacrament and of the thinge of the Sacrament But leauing here to speake of the Sacrifice and referuing Sacrifice of the Church auouched yt to some other more mete place we will onelie speake of that that this place requireth that ys for so muche as S. Cyprian saieth that we be connected knitt and vnited to Chryste our head by the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacrament to marke and learn by S. Augustin what ys ment therby The sentence of S. Augustin ys plain therin that the Sacrament ys the visible forme of the elementes As for example Euen as the visible forme of the element of water when the woorde cometh to yt ys the sacrament of Baptisme So be the visible formes of bread and wine when the worde ys Sacrament and thing of the Sacr. what they be comed to them the Sacramentes of the bodie and blood of Chryste Beside this there ys also the thing of the Sacrament Whiche S. Augustine saieth ys the bodie and blood of Chryste Nowe when S. Cyprian saieth that we be knitte and vnited to Chryst our head by the Sacrament and the thing of the Sacramēt What ys yt ells but we are vnited as S. Cyrill saieth by the Sacrament and the bodie and bloode of Chryste and that as ye heard S. Cyrill saie before not onelie spirituallie but also corporallie receauing his very flesh Yf of S. Cyprian we aske howe we are knitte to Chryst our head by his bodie and bloode whiche ys the thing of the Sacrament He also aunswereth like vnto S. Cyrill sainge Edentes bibentes eundem cibum potum qui cibus potus est Dominus noster Iesus Christus Eating and drinking the same meat and drinke whiche meat and drinke ys our lorde Iesus Cryste Nowe then ye perceaue that S. Cyprian taketh the meat and drinke that S. Paule speaketh of not for the figures of the bodie and blood of Chryst of the whiche we haue the very presence in the Sacrament whiche as yt ys declared by him very plainly So I doubt not but Chrysostom will as plainlie declare yt so that there shall be no place for the enemie to lurke in Chrysostom Homil. in dictum Apost Nolo vos ignor making a speciall homelie vpon the woordes of S. Paule whiche be nowe in hande declareth both the figures and the thinges figured by expresse woordes saing thus Dixi enim quod oportet veritatem habere excellentiam quandā supra figuram Vidisti de baptismate quae figura quae veritas Age ostendam tibi mensas sacramentorum communionem ibi delineari si non iterum petis à me totum sed sic requiris quae facta sunt sicut par est in adumbratione figuris videre Igitur quia dixit de mari de nube de Moyse adiecit preterea Et omnes eundum spiritualem cibum comederunt Sicut tu inquit à lauachro aquarum ascendens ad mensam curris sic illi à mari ascendentes ad mensam venere nouam admirabilem de Manna loquor Et iterum The trueth must haue an excellencie aboue the figure sicut tu admirabilem habes potum salutarem sanguinem sic illi admirabilem habuerunt poculi naturam I haue saied saieth Chrisostom that the trueth must haue a certain excellencie aboue the figure Thowe hauest seē of Baptisme whiche ys the figure and whiche ys the veritie Go on I shall shewe thee
birth in her age shoulde conceaue and bring furth Iohn the Baptist but yt was more miraculouse that a maide withoute man shoulde conceaue and bring furth a childe And therfore this conception ys more excellent than the other but thys increaseth the excellēcie that here be mo miracles thā in the other For in this cōceptiō was cōceaued God ād mā in the other mā onelie But that this excellēcie maie appeare betwixt two figures I shall bring exāple of two figures of the Sacramēt As yt ys sufficiētly proued in the first book the Shew bread was a figure of the Sacramēt And as yt ys here proued Manna ys a figure of the same The Shew bread was but plain artificiall bread about the whiche was no speciall work of God but soch as ys aboute all other thinges formed and made to the conseruacion of man Aboute Manna ther was no artificial worke but a speciall worke of God and that beside the naturall custome and Cōparison of the B. Sacr. to the figure Manna ordre Wherfore Manna ys the more excellent figure in that respect For the one was made by man the other was wrought by God Aboute the one also was no miracle aboute the other were manie miracles and therfor in that respect yet more excellent In these three poincts yf cōparison be made betwixt our Sacramēt and Māna yf our Sacramēt haue not the presence of Chrystes bodie then Manna farre excelleth For first our Sacrament being a figure of Chryst and not conteining Chryst as the Aduersarie saieth nothing exceadeth Manna For Manna was a figure of Chryst also So that as touching the thing figured ther ys no excellencie For they be figures of one thing In the second poinct which ys the liuely significacion and ful figuracion of the thing signified and figured Manna moche excelleth the Sacrament For as Chryst was a bread frō heauen so was Manna a bread from heauen As Chryst descended frō heauen that his people might feed vpon him to euerlasting life so Manna descended frō heauen that the people might feed vpon yt to the mainteinance of their life As Chryst ys aboue naturall ordre sent vnto vs by God the Father so was Manna aboue naturall ordre sent to the Israelites from God as by Chrysostome yt ys before testified Now yt cōparison be made betwixt the Sacrament and Chryst the Sacrament ys nothing so liuely a figure so fullie figuring Chryst as Manna hath doen. For Chryst ys a bread frō heauen the Sacrament a bread frō the earth as Irenaeus saieth and as oure cōmon knowledge testifieth Chryst ys our food to euerlasting life the Sacrament in respect that yt ys a Sacrament feedeth vs not to the sufficiēt mainteinaunce of this life as Manna did the Israelites Chryst was sent to vs aboue naturall ordre as also Manna was the Sacramēt by natural and artificiall ordre Who then seith not that Māna in all respects more liuely and more fullie signifieth and figureth Chryst then our Sacrament doth Wherfor yt maie then well be saied that Manna ys the more excellent figure As touching the third poinct ther can be no controuersie but that Māna was alltogether miraculouse our Sacrament in no poincte miraculouse yf yt contein not the presence of Chrystes bodie and blood About Manna were manie miraculous woorkes of God aboute our Sacrament not one Manna was frō heauen our Sacramēt frō the earth Manna wrought by the especial worke of God our Sacrament by the cōmon work of man Manna besides naturall order our Sacrament by naturall and artificiall ordre Manna tasted in euery mans mouth as he listed our Sacrament but as bread and wine Māna although yt putrified being kept more then one daie in the weke daies yet yt remained vnputrified vpō the Sabboth daie And although being reserued after the Sabboth daie yt wolde putrifie yet of the same reserued in the goldē pott in the Arke ther remained manie years vnputrified swete ād good Owre bread and wine neither putrifieth sooner neither remaineth lōger thē other bread and wine after the comon ordre doth Yt ys then a most plain matter that yf our Sacramēt be robbed of the real presence of Chrystes bodie and blood that yt ys in nothing more excellent thē the figure of yt But contrariwise the figure in all respects ys moch more Yf our Sa. haue not the reall presence of Chrystes bodie and blood yt ys moche baser figure then Māna excellent then yt as by that that ys saied yt doth manifestly appeare Wherfore the Aduersarie must of necessitie graunt one of these two that either in the Sacrament ys the presence of Chrystes bodie and so ys yt more excellēt then the figure Manna or ells denieng the presence graunt that our Sacrament ys not equall but a baser and inferiour Sacrament to Manna But to graunt that a Sacrament of the newe lawe ys inferiour or baser then a Sacrament of the olde lawe ys a plain absurditie wherfore so ys that likewise that yt floweth oute of that ys that ther ys no presence of Chryst in the Sacrament Yt must then of very necessitie be concluded that Chrystes bodie ys verilie in the Sacrament THE THIRTENTH CHAP. PROVETH THE the same by scriptures and doctours SOche hath ben the malice of Sathan against God and hys Chryst and against his beloued church that to hinder the honoure of God to shadowe or abase the woorthinesse of the mediacion of Chryst and to drawe men from saluacion he ceasseth not hys laboure and industrie he sleapeth not frō his inuencions and deuises he spareth not hys engines and waies but bussier ys he to impair and destroie then we be to repair and saue Wherfore as before the coming of Chryst he drewe mē from the true honour of God to Idolatrie and therin deceaued the very Iewes whiche were speciallie called to the true knowledge of God So to abase the woorthinesse of his annointed after his coming he stirred vppe diuerse wicked membres as Cerinthus Ebion Sabellius Paulus Samosatenus Marcion Arrius Ne storius Eutiches and a great nombre mo of like rable By some of the which he impugned his Godhead and by other some he impugned his manhead and Luther allowed two sacramētes Melācthō three The Saxons foure Postellus six Suenckfeldiut neuer one withall miserablie tormented and diuided hys church to the losse of many a soule So nowe in these daies he hath inuented some other engins as wher Chryst had instituted sacramentes by the which as by certain instrumētes or conductes the merit of his passion in sondrie sortes shoulde come and be applied vnto his people and by the whiche the people should haue moch comforte he hath to sett furth his engins stirred vppe other disciples and wicked mēbres as Luther Oecolampadius Caluine Zuinglius Bucer Brentius Cranmer Radley Iuel and a filthy nōbre of soch like by the which he hath not onelie by some of thē laboured to take awaie three of thē by other some
also he affirmeth them to be more excellent and blessed then the prophetes and the righteouse men And why so for that they do not onely see those thinges whiche thother sawe not but also those thinges which they desiered to see these men sawe with their eies For they also by faith did beholde these thinges but these moche more clerely did see all thinges Thus Chrysost Yf then they that sawe Chryst in the flesh were moch more blessed and excellent then the prophetes which sawe him onely by faith howe then shoulde not the Sacramentes instituted by Chryst in the flesh and vsed of him in the flesh and signifieng him and his merites being presēt in the flesh be more excellent then the sacramentes of the olde lawe which in a darke maner and a farre of signified him onely to come And again if they that sawe Chryst in the flesh were more blessed by the sentence of Chryst then the prophetes and righteouse men whiche desiering to see him did not see him howe than standeth the saing of Oecalampadius who wickedly trauailed In expas verborum Caenae almost in all pointes to make the olde lawe and the Sacramentes therof nothing inferiour to the newe lawe and the sacramentes therof saing Absit vt spirituales qui sub lege erāt Messiamue expectabant fide pauperiores nobis fuerint quibus manifestatus est God for bidde that they which were spirituall vnder the lawe and did looke for Messias in faith shoulde be poorer then we vnto whom he ys manifested And howe again standeth this saieng of Oecolampadius whiche within a fewe lines foloweth with the saing of Chryst before mencioned Neque Patriarchis fideles nostri beatiores sunt quos aequauit fides non reddunt inferiores sacramenta Neither be our faithfull more blessed then the Patriarches for those whom faith maketh equall sacramentes can not make inferiour Chryste saieth they are more blessed Oecolampadius by expresse contrarie Oecolāp denieth that Chryst affirmeth woordes saieth naie What hereticall impudencie ys this to denie that that Chryst affirmeth That the holie Patriarches were excellent in faith and as constantly beleued that Messias shoulde come as they that sawe him in the flesh beleued that he was comed no man of sownd minde will denie And yet although in that part they might be equall yet yt ys no good argument that in other thinges and respectes the faithfull Chrystian shoulde not excell For as Chryst hath taught that they that beleued in him and bodilie sawe him were more blessed then they that onely beleued him to come so they that receaue the sacramētes in faith presentlie which Chryst hath instituted are in that respect more blessed then they which in faith onelie beleued that soche shoulde be instituted and neuer sawe them nor receaued But see howe this matter carieth me awaie by this yet yt maie be perceaued that though the sacramentes of the newe lawe did not conferre grace as the Aduersaries wolde haue yt but were bare signes and that the fathers of the olde lawe were equall in faith with the Chrystians in the newe lawe yet if Sathan the master of vntrueth and heresie had not with malice blinded the fight of this his scholer and other his likes he and they might well haue seen that both the sacramentes of the newe lawe excell the sacramentes of the olde lawe and that the faithfull of the newe lawe excell the faithfull of the olde lawe though not in all yet in diuerse respectes as yt ys saied THE FOVRTENTH CHAP. PROCEADETH IN the proof of the same by the scriptures and doctours ANd nowe that the sacramentes of the newe lawe do excell the sacramentes of the olde lawe yt shall by most manifest testimonie be proued And first for that our speciall disputacion ys of the blessed sacrament of Chrystes bodie and bloode we shall first deliuer that from the maliciouse blasphemie of the Aduersaries and proue the excellencie of yt aboue other of the olde lawe And so generalie proue the excellencie of all our sacramentes For the fundacion of the proof of the excellencie of the sacrament of Christes bodie and blood I will take the woord of him who ys the fundaciō of all Chrystians vpō whō they must all builde which ys Chryst who most plainly declareth the excellencie of this Sacrament in the sixt of S. Iohn And to the fortifieng of this matter for that the Aduersarie most arrogantly saieth but he proueth yt not that the sixt chap. of S. Iohn ys not to be vnderstanded of the Sacrament before I produce the authoritie of Chryst in that place vnderstand gentle Reader that I do not onely saie yt but in the seconde booke yt ys auouched and inuinciblie proued by the testimonie of a nombre namely by Origen Cyprian Eusebius Emiss Hierom Chrysostom Hilarie Ambrose Damascen Augustin Cyrille Euthimius Gregory Theophilact Petrus Cluniacen Guitmundus Dionisius Carthusian Lira and in fewe woordes to comprehende a greater nombre then all these by the Ephesine Councell in the whiche were two hondreth learned Fathers By the testimonie of these yt ys ther proued that in the sixt of S. Iohn Chryst speaketh of the Sacrament of his bodie and bloode To this also maie be added the cōmon and vniforme consent of the chrystian Church before this scissure was made in the time of Luther and Oecolampadius and the other like Angells of Sathan whiche with one mouthe as yt were taught that chapiter to be vnderstanded of the Sacrament This also maketh good proof of the same that when the heresie of the Comunion vnder both kindes was first raised in Bohemia they grownded the necessitie Joan. 6. of that matter vpon this text of that chapiter Except ye eate the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke his bloode ye shall haue no life in yowe For the repression of whiche heresie as the heritiques vnderstoode that chap. of the Sacrament so did no Catholique impugn the same but graunted and accepted yt as a true vnderstanding Whiche then they wolde not haue doen if yt had ben otherwise to be taken yf yt had as that heresie was condempned De consensu Eunngelist li. 3. c. 1 The vi of S. Iohn speaketh of the bodie and blood of Chryste by a generall Councell so shoulde that vnderstanding haue ben condemned likewise To ende this proof that the reader maie see some authoritie in this place presentlie and not to seke farre for yt we shall heare S. Augustin who speaking of the maundie of Chryst saieth Ioannes de corpore sanguine Domini hoc loco nihil dixit Sed planè alibi multo vberius de iis Dominū locutum fuisse testatur Iohn saied nothing in this place of the bodie and blood of our lorde But plainly in an other place he testifieth that our lorde hath spoken of yt very plentifullie Ye heare S. Augustin plainlie saing that though S. Iohn speaketh nothing in that place of the Sacrament yet in an other place saieth he he
an other place Considera nunc vtrum prestantior sit panis Angelorum an caro Christi quae vtique est corpus vitae Manna illud è coelo hoc supra coelum Ambrosius De initiand myst ca. 9. Illud coeli hoc Domini coelorum Illud corruptioni obnoxium si in diem alterum seruaretur hoc alienum ab omni corruptione Quod quicunque religiosè gustauerit corruptionem sentire non poterit Illos ad horam satiauit aqua te sanguis diluit in aeternum Iudaeus bibit sitit tu cùm biberis sitire non poteris Et illud in vmbra hoc in veritate Et post pauca Cognouisti praestātiora potior enim lux quà m vmbra veritas quà m figura corpus authoris quà m Manna de coelo Consider nowe whether the bread of Angells ys more excellent or the flesh of Chryst whiche ys also the bodie of life That Manna was from heauen this aboue heauen That of heauen this of the lorde of heauens That subiect to corruptiō yf yt were kept till the next daie this free from all corruption whiche whosoeuer shall tast deuoutely shall not be able to feele corruption Vnto them water did flowe oute of the rock Manna proued moche inferiour to the B. Sacr. by S. Amb. his cōparison vnto thee bloode oute of Chryst. Them did water satisfie for a litle time thee doth blood wash for euer The Iewe dranke and thirsteth thowe when thowe hauest dronke canst not thirst And that was in shadowe this in treuth And after a fewe wordes he saieth Hauest thowe knowen the more excellent The light ys more excellent thē the shadow The veritie then the figure The bodie of the authour then Manna from heauen Thus S. Ambrose Nede we anie plainer testimonie for the proof of this our matter in hande I thinke the holy Gost directed the penne of S. Ambrose to answere and confute the wicked assertion of Oecolampadius for this so ouerthroweth his heresie as though yt had ben nowe written in these daies to confute him But perchaunce the Aduersarie will saie that this maketh nothing against him for here S. Ambrose speaketh not of the Sacrament but of the bodie of Chryst as suffring for vs to woorke our redemption To this ther maie be manifolde answers made First that Manna ys not proprely a figure of Chryst as suffring but of Chryst as feeding vs. For Manna descended from heauen Obiection to feed the Israelites and not to suffer for them so Manna being the foode from heauen of the people of God ys a figure of owre heauenly foode Thanswer Chryst in the Sacrament Farder also yt ys well knowen that S. Ambrose in that booke treacteth of mysteries and sacramentes wherfore in this place yt ys most like that he treacteth of the Sacrament Finallie the plain woordes of S. Ambrose inuincible proue the same For immediatelie and iointlie to this sentence last alleadged he obiecteth to himself as nowe the Aduersarie doth in these daies vnto vs and saieth Fortè dicasialiud video quomodò tu mihi asseris quòd Christi corpus accipiam Et hoc nobis superest adhuc vt probemus quantis Ambr. ibid. vide sup li. 2. ca 51. igitur vtimur exemplis c. Perchaunce thowe maist saie I see an other thing howe doest thowe saie vnto me that I receaue the bodie of Chryst And this remaineth yet vnto vs to proue Howe manie examples maie we therfore vse Let vs prooue this not to be that thing whiche nature hath formed but that the blessing hath consecrated and the power of the blessing to be greater then of nature For by the blessing nature yt self ys chaunged Moyses did holde a rodde he cast yt down and yt was made a serpent Again he tooke the taill of the serpent and yt returned into the nature of the rodde Thowe seest therfore euen by the propheticall grace The B. Sa. ys not that that nature hath formed but that the blessing hath consecrated nature to be twice chaunged both of the serpent and of the rodde The riuers of Egypt did runne with a pure course and sodenly oute of the veines of the fountaines ther began blood to breake oute so that ther was no drinke in the riuers Again at the praiers of the Prophet the bloode of the floodes ceassed and the nature of the water returned The people of Israell were compased aboute on euerie side on this side with the Egyptians on the other side with the sea Moyses lift vppe the rodde the water deuided yt self and congealed in maner of walls and so betwen the waters ther appeared a foote path Iordan turned backward against hys nature he returned into his well spring Ys yt not clere then that the nature either of the waueis of the sea or of the course of the riuer hath ben chaunged The people of the fathers did thirst Moyses touched the stone and water flowed oute of yt Did not grace woorke besides nature that a stone shoulde powre oute water whiche nature had not and after other mo examples he concludeth thus we perceaue therfore grace to be of greater Consecracion of the B. Sacr. of what force yt ys power then nature And yf mans blessing was of soche force that yt might turne nature what shall we saie of the diuine consecracion wher the verie woordes of our Lord and sauiour do woorke For this Sacrament whiche thowe receauest ys made by the woorde of Chryst Yf then the woorde of Helias was of so great power that yt might putt down fire from heauen shall not the woorde of Chryst be able to chaunge the natures of the elementes Thowe hauest readde of the workes of all the worlde that he hath saied and they were made he hath commaunded and they were created The woorde of Chryst then which coulde of nothing make that that was not can yt not chaunge those thinges that be into that they were not Yt ys nolesse matter to geue vnto thinges newe natures then to chaunge natures Thus moch S. Ambrose In this answer as pithie and plain as yt ys long the Aduersary ys not one Three notes out of S. Ambr. ly fullie aunswered but we are also instructed in three thinges The first that concerneth this matter ys that in the applicacion of the veritie to the figure he vnderstandeth the veritie of the figure Manna to be the bodie of Chryst in the Sacrament by the which he taketh the Sacrament to be moche more excellent then the figure which although in euery parte of his sentēce he toucheth yet in this he most plainly declareth yt whē he saith The light ys more excellent then the shadowe the veritie then the figure And expownding which ys the light and veritie which ys the shadowe and figure he addeth The bodie of the authour than Manna from heauen The seconde thing that he teacheth ys howe and by what meanes the bodie of Chryst ys in the Sacrament which he
The finall marke that SathaÌ„ shooteth at maie be coniectured that where they beginue to diminish the memorie of Chryst they will afterwarde clean extingnish yt And so at the last alltogether wipe Chryst from all memorie But to returne to our cheif pourpose Although this sufficeth to prooue the name of Masse the vse of Masse and the vse of moo Masses then one in one daie and one place to be right auncient yet we shall ascende somwhat higher and come nearer to the Apostles time Before Telesphorus was Sixtus who commaunded that when the preist began the solemne action of the Masse wherby ys ment the praiers going before the consecracion the people shoulde singe Sanctus Sanctus c. Whiche we see to this daie obserued in the Masse where yt ys vsed Before Sixtus was Alexander the Martyr a Roman borne and aboute the yeare of our Lorde cxix Byshoppe of Sixtus in Decret Alexan. in epist. ad orthodox Rome Who made soche a decree as I finde yt in the summe of decrees In sacrificio missarum panis tantùm vinum aqua mixtum offeratur In the sacrifice of Masses let onely bread and wine mixed with water be offied This man being a Roman borne an auncient of the Churche and an holie Martyr withe his plain speach of Masse presseth the Aduersarie so sore that he ys fain to slie to his common solucion Whiche ys to denie the Authour In whiche his doing he doth not degenerate from his fore graunde Fathers Marcion for the maintenance of his heresie reiected the olde Testament and the Prophetes all the Euangelistes sauing Sainct Luke The Manicheis also reiected the olde Testament Martin Luther reiected the Epistle of Sainct Iames. The Sacramentaries reiecte Sainct Ambrose bookes of the Sacramentes And why haue all these denied these bookes Bycause they be directlie against their heresies and do confute them So I saie the Aduersary denied Alexander bicause he maketh so expresse and plain mencion of Masse whiche he wolde ouerthrowe But let vs see what proofe he hath to prooue that Alexander did not make this aboue mencioned constitucioÌ„ Bicause saieth he The charche in the time of Alexander did not knowe this woorde Masse And therfore yt ys like not to be his sainge This saing shall be diuided in to two partes and to aunswer the first parte of yt I saie yt ys a merueilouse thing that he will saie of him self withoute all authoritie yea eueÌ„ against plain authoritie that the Church did not knowe Alexan. his authortie approued and delinered froÌ„ the cauile of the Aduers this woorde Masse when by authoritie the contrarie ys prooued Yf he will refuse yt let him counteruaill yt withe like authoritie and then we shall geue him place But naked woordes without proofe in matters of controuersie are not of weight able to prooue any thinge For the second parte wher he saieth yt ys therfore like not to be his sainge I must saie that oute of a fainct antecedent commeth but a weake consequent Euerie likelihoode hath not the verie veritie no more hath his And therfore in case yt were like as he saieth yet yt proueth not But to prooue that this ys the saing of Alexander we will vse neither bare woordes neither fainct likelihoods But authoritie and probable matter For authoritie we haue a councell holdeÌ„ more then sex hoÌ„derth yearesagon Conc. Constantine 6. whiche testifieth this to be the saing of Alexander and neuer yet against saied by anie councell that since hath ben celebrated or by anie famouse learned catholique man Probable matter we haue that for asmoche as the name of Masse was in vse in the time of S. Gregorie as ys allreadie testified In the time also of Felix the fourth who was before S. Gregorie in whose time the vse of the thing yt self with the name was so moch in vse that he made a decree that no preist withoute a great necessitie shoulde saie masse but in places halowed and dedicated to God wher by yt ys clere that yt Felixquartus epistola ad Episc was vsed also before his time Nowe yf the name of Masse or the thing were so straung in that time as the Aduersarie wolde beare vs in hande ther shoulde no soch commaundement haue ben made to will the preistes to celebrate onely in churches For by this restraint yt maie be coniectured that yt was commonlic vsed in prophane places I meen in their houses no necessitie enforcing them therto but their owne priuate deuocion Nowe yf I were in the Aduersaries case and shoulde perceaue the vse and continuaunce of the Masse and the name of yt to haue continued but for so long time as from Felix hitherto which ys almost a thousand yeare I shoulde be ashamed to take vpon me to reprehende the doing of the wholl christian worlde so long vsed and the iudgement of so manie holie and learned men as in so moche time haue liued And contemning all them to setfurthe mine owne phantafie But pitie yt ys to beholde he doth not onely so but arcogancic so leading him he reproueth the wholl christian worlde and all the Church and learned men that haue ben these eleuen hondreth and three skore years and more For euen by his owne confession yt ys euident that the name of Masse hath ben in vse since foure hondreth years after Christ For these be his woordes towardes the ende of The Proclamer him self graunteth the name of Masse to haue ben vsed from four hundreth years after Christe his sermon I assure â—owe Bretheren in the time of Peter and Iames neither was ther anie man that euer heard the name of Masse For Missa was neuer named vntill foure hundreth yeares after Christ And yet then was yt no Priuate Masse neither By whiche woords yt ys euident that he acknowlegeth the name of Masse to haue ben vsed from foure hundreth years after Christ and yf yt hath continued but so long what arrogancie maie be thought in him Not onelie arrogancie but manifest vntrueth maic be perceaued in him For yt ys allready vse within one hundreth and a fewe yeares after Chryst For better declaracion wherof we haue shewed the vse of yt in the time of S. Gregorie and Felix But yet here ys not the beginning of the matter For as ye haue hearde Leo who was before this Eelix and S. Ambrose who was before do make expresse mencion of yt Thelesporus also and Sixtus that were verie nere the time of Alexander as yt ys before shewed made decrees for the Masse Seing then yt ys prooued that the name of Masse was in vse from owre time to Sixtus who was next Bishoppe of Rome to Alexander ys yt not a probable matter or raither dothe yt not prooue in dede that yt was in vse in the time of the same Alexander For when Sixtus made the addicion of Sauctus to the Masse yt presupposeth that the Masse was before his time Yf before his time then neades in the
two significacions of the Sonne and of the holie Gost and to the washing of the Soule from sinne by grace geuen in the ministracion of the same Sacrament yet the wholl ministracion and praiers aswell before batisme as after vsed in the same by a generall significacion ys called Baptisme So ys the consecracion and oblacion of the bodie of Chryst with all praiers and Ceremonies either going before or folowing the same by generall significacion called Masse This breif description of the Masse being made let vs examin the partes of yt whiche of them or howe manie of thē be against the woorde of God and the example or practise of the primatiue Church as yt ys pretended that yt maie be perceaued what iust cause the Proclamer hath so moche to exclame against the Masse The first parte ys consecracion This parte for that by yt ys taught the Parts of the Masse presence of Chrystes bodie and bloode whiche the Proclamer can not abide ys one cause why he reiecteth the Masse But howe iustly he doth it yt maie be perceaued through oute all this booke in which ys prooued the presence whiche the catholique Church teacheth and the figure ys improued whiche the Aduersary mainteineth An other parte ys oblacion or sacrifice wherin the Churche offreth Chryst to God the Father according to the commaundement of the same owne maister Chryst in the memoriall of his passion and deathe That this parte ys not against the scriptures and the holy Fathers yt ys allready proued in the declaracion of the prophecies of Melchisedech Daniel and Malachie in the first booke wherunto ys made an addicion whiche thowe shalt finde in the xxxvij chapiter of that same booke sufficient I trust to aunswere and satisfie anie reasonable man An other parte ys receauing of the Sacrament In the whiche twoo thinges do offend the Proclamer The one ys that the people do receaue vnder one kinde The other that the preist receaueth alone Whether the receauing vnder one kinde be against the Scriptures or the practise of the Primitiue Churche yt ys disputed and the trueth declared in the seconde booke from the lxiiij chap. to the. end of lxvijchap As for the receauing whiche the Proclamer termeth priuate yt shall be hereafter treacted of In doctrine which ys an other parte I knowe not what fault he can finde In praier the first and last parte of the Masse he findeth two faultes The one that praier ys made to sainctes The other that praier ys made for the dead for these two we shal haue recourse to the primitiue Churche and there make triall whether the Church doth well in so doing or the Aduersarie euell in denieng the same to be laufull and good Nowe for the first parte of the Masse whiche ys consecracion I will not moche otherwise here treact of yt but onelie laing furth the practise of the Apostolique and primitiue Churche therin compare the doinges of the catholique Churche nowe therwith that yt maie be perceaued howe iustlie yt foloweth the example therof As for the effect of consecracion whiche ys the presence of Chrystes bodie ther neadeth here no speciall treactice for that the woll booke treateth therof so fullie that yf the Proclamer will finde fault in the Masse forthat the presence ys taught ther to be he maie in other places of this worke finde sufficiēt matter for the proofe of the presence whiche yf yt will not satisfie him neither maie a fewe woordes here spoken moche helpe him As for the seconde parte whiche ys the oblacion or sacrifice of Chrystes bodie as before yt ys declared that yt ys offred according to the will and commaundement or Chryst himself and that by the testimonie of the Scripturs as they be vnderstāded of a nombre of the most auncient Fathers and by diuerse other graue authorities So shall yt be nowe set furth and cōmended to yowe by the practise of the Primitiue Churche Whiche we haue differred to this place And forasmoche as the Proclamer to extenuate and abase the honorable estimacion of the Masse whiche yt ought to haue in the heartes of the people doth for shame and with shame conceale the names of soche auncient Authours as do testifie that both Sainct Peter and Sainct Iames saied Masse the one at Rome the other at Hierusalem and doth also to Whē truth and learning serueth not mocking and skorning be their best argumētes bring the matter in contempt aske by waie of skorn whie raither we saie not that Chryste him self saied Masse for that were the neerer waie to bring the Masse in creditte I shall by good and sufficient authoritie shewe that not onelie Sainct Peter and Sainct Iames but also Chryste him self did saie Masse And so beginning at Chryst descende to three or foure hundreth yeares after Chryst and shewe the practise of the Churche And for this time I will ouerpasse the farder mocke and skorn that he maketh against the blessed Masse asking whie we doe not raither saie that Aaron and his chapleins saied Masse For in dede saieth he as yt hath ben vsed the Churche hath had moch more of the Robes of the Ceremonies and of the sacrifices of Aaron then of the institucion or ordeinance of Chryste For ys I shoulde touche him for that I shoulde cause Arons garment worne for a Bishopporke and the Cōmunion ministred in a cope him to be perceaued to impugne and in that behalf to skorne the ministracion of the Communion For that ys ministred in coapes and other soche garmentes as before were vsed in the Churche and he himself refuseth not to weare Aarons garment for a Bishoppericke So well agreeth his doing and his preaching together And thus scoffing at the garmentes that be nowe yet vsed he seemeth to me not to like this order of Religion that he liueth in but raither to reprooue this as he doth the other For in this poinct by his iudgement they holde both of Aaron But letting this passe I will returne to my matter and wish the Reader to remembre what this woorde Masse doth signifie as yt ys declared in the last chapiter and therwith to haue in minde as yt ys saied in this chapiter Chryste saied Masse that Masse ys the action of the consecracion oblacion and receauing of the bodie and bloode of Chryst and so vnderstanding Masse I saie that Chryst did saie Masse For he in his last Supper did institute Masse and did ther consecrate his bodie and bloode and offred them in sacrifice and gaue them to his Apostes to be receaued and commaunded that so yt shoulde be doen in the remembrance of his passion and death In this matter who listeth to be satisfied forsomoche as one auncient Authour maie satisfie a man let him reade the Epistle of Sainct Ciprian to Cecilius Epist li. 2. Epist. 3. and he shall ther sinde euery parte of the Masse here reckned to be doen by Chryst First for the consecracion he saieth thus Vt in Genesi
remembrance of me for asmoche as holie Ciprian saieth that Chryst hath commaunded vs to offre his bodie in sacrifice and before him so saied Irenaeus and after him so saied Sainct Ambrose and diuerse other holie learned Fathers I wolde learn of them what place ells in the scripture ther ys wherupon these auncient Fathers dooe grownde these their sainges But let them mocke and skorn at Chrystes trueth as the Phariseis and Scribes did at him self yet as Chryst remained and remaineth and shall for euer remain and shall condemne the wiked generacion So dothe and shall this trueth remain to their condemnacion And howesouer they will laboure to obscure yt yet the holie doctours who verie well knewe by the doctrine of the primitiue Churche howe the scripture ys to be vnderstanded shall allwaies open the same and make yt clere As nowe Sainct Cyprian in declaring the commaundement of Chryst doth almost speake the verie woordes of the commaundement Chryste saied Hoc facite in meam commâ—morationem This doe ye in the remembrance of me Ciprian saieth he commaunded this sacrifice to be doen in the remembrance of him Sainct Ambrose likewise growndeth himself vpon these saine woordes of Chryst when he saied I lorde being mindfull of thy honorable passion come vnto thing aultar although vnwoorthie and a sinner that I maie offre vnto thee the sacrifice that thowe didest institute and commaundest to be offred in the remembrance of thee The Ambr. oratione praepar ad Missem same allusion haue other Fathers also So that yt ys as clear as the daie light amonge the auncient doctours that Chryst by these woordes commaunded his Churche to offre his bodie and bloode in sacrifice Nowe once to ende the notes that maie be made vpon Sainct Ciprian and to stoppe the mouthes of them that speake wicked thinges as saieth the spalmist Note well the last parte of Sainct Ciprians sainges and ye shall see that both Chryst did offre sacrifice in his last Supper and that we also do òffre sacrifice yf we doe obserue and kepe the institucion of Christ For Sainct Ciprian saieth Sacerdos vice Christi verè sungitur si id quod Christus secerit imitatur sacrificium verum pleanum tunc offert in Ecclesia Deo Patri si sic incipiat offerre secundùm quod ipsum Christum viderit obtulisse The preist doeth truelie exercise the ministracion of Chryste yf he folowe that that Chryst hath doen and then doeth he offre in the Chruche vnto God the Father a true and sull sacrifice yf he so beginne to offre as he hath seen Chryst to haue offred In which sentence this maie be noted first that Chryst did offre sacrifice in the last Supper which the Aduersarie denieth Secondarely that the Church folowing the institucion of Chryste offreth to God a full and a true sacrifice whiche also the Aduersarie denieth By this then ye perceaue these two partes of the Masse that ys holie consecracion and oblacion to be doen by Chryst in his holie ministracion As for the thirde whiche ys holy receauing ther ys no controuersie betwixt vs and the Aduersarie Yt ys more then neadeth to be spoken of that both Chryst him self and all the Apostles present at the borde of Chryst did eat of that holie oblacion or sacrifice These three being the substanciall partes of the Masse and the verie true Masse in dede and being by Christ instituted ordeined and appoincted as yowe haue perceaued what can we ells saie but that Chryste ys the Authour of the Masse that he instituted the Masse and that he saied Masse Yf anie desire to be better satisfied in these two partes namely consecracion and oblacion for the first let him repaire to the second booke and ther from the xli chapiter to the ende of the booke he shall finde enoughe to satisfie him For the other in the first booke from the xxxiij chapiter to the ende of that booke he shall likewise finde that maie content him THE FOVR AND THIRTETH CHApiter sheweth the vse of the Masse vsed and practised by the Apostles THe Masse as ys saied and proued being instituted by Chryste and by him also coÌ„maunded to be practised and vsed of his Church yt shall be expedient and necessarie that we see how and in what maner that his commaundement was executed and his institucioÌ„ practised first by the Apostles and after by the holie Fathers of the primitiue and auncient Chruche For they well knowing Chrystes verie minde their doinges are to vs a perfect expositioÌ„ and declaracioÌ„of the same Wherfore minding to see them they shall yet so be seen as both the practise of the Masse of the catholique Church nowe in vse and the practise also of the Schismaticall Churche maie be plainlie laied furth and compared to the former practises that therbie triall maie be made whether of these two agree or disagree with the Apostolique and primitiue Churche Yf we of the catholique Churche dissent either from Chrystes institution or from the Apostles and Fathers as touching the substanciall parts of the Masse or anie other weightie matter of the faith let vs suffre the reproche Yf the Proclamer and and his complices haue swerued from them let them repent and seke gods mercie This I promisse before God that I will laie furth the matter as simplie for the declararatioÌ„ of the trueth as I can deuise that the fault maie be fownd wher yt ys And before I enter to declare this practise I wish the reader to be aduertised and to haue this for a generall rule that wher in this Processe we shall treact of the Masse and call yt the Masse of S. Peter of S. Andrewe of S. Iames of S. Clement or S. Dionise Masse S. Basills Masse Chrisostomes Masse S. Ambrose Masse and soche other that we doe not neither ys yt so to be betaken that these distinctions be vpon the propre significacioÌ„ of the Masse that ys that these Masses be distincted in the substanciall parts of Masse as that the Masse of S. Peter shoulde be substanciallie distincted from the Masse of S. Iames and the Masse of S. Iames substanciallie different from the Masse of S. Basill and so furth But the difference ys taken of the generall acception or significacioÌ„ of Masse that ys that they be different in extern thinges as in some ceremonies in praiers and in other gestures or maners but not in intern or inwarde substanciall thinges For in them all ye shall finde one thing onely consecrated one thing onelie offred in sacrifice one thing onelie receaued And therfore in Consecracion oblacion and receauing they being not different Masse of the Apostles and Fathers and that ys vsed nowe in the Church all one in substance But all one are not called S. Peters Masse nor S. Iames Masse and so furth But Chrystes Masse For these thinges be of his institucion and not of theirs The diuersitie of Ceremonies praiers and other maners ys of theÌ„ by the magisterie of the
true wheer ther ys equalitie betwixt the thinges themselues ther ys the abuse I mean the vnwoorthie receauing equall also But to an equall abuse iustice inflicteth an equall pain Wherfor for the abuse of the Sacrmentes of both lawes ther shoulde be equall pain But the pain for the abuse of both Sacramentes are not equall For the pain of the abuse of this Sacrament exceadeth the other as farre as the Sonne of God exceadeth Rāmes and bulls Wherfor the Sacramentes also are not equall By that then that the pain of the vnwoorthie receauinge of the blessed Sacrament so farre exceadeth the pain of the abuse of the Sacramentes of the olde lawe yt maie well be perceaued that this Sacrament incomparablie excelleth the other And for as moche as S. Basill teacheth them to be as farre different and as farre to passe the one the other as the Sonne of God exceadeth Rammes and bulls yt ys euident that the thinges them selues be euen the same that he speaketh of as abused by euell receipt Wherbie also yt must nedes folowe that the bodie of the Sonne of God ys receaued of euell men in the bless Sacrament But that ye maie heare him by most plain woordes teache as moche harken what he saieth in an other place Si verò is qui fratrem propter cibum offendit Basil de Bapt. li. 1. cap. 3 A plain place that euell men maie eate the bodie of Chryste and drinke his blood But vnprofitablie Ioan. 6. à charitate excidit sine qua magnorum donorum iustificationum operationes nihil prosunt Quidnam dixerit quis de eo qui ociose inutiliter edere audet corpus bibere sunguinem Domini nostri Iesu Christi Yf he that for meate offendeth his brother falleth from charitie whitoute the whiche both the woorkes of great gistes and also of iustificacions doe nothing auaill what shall a man saie of him that idely and vnprofitablie dareth to eate the bodie and drinke the bloode of our lorde Iesus Chryst What can the Aduersarie saie to this Be not these woordes plain Saieth not Basill that a man maie eate the bodie and drinke the blood of Chryst ydelie and vnprofitablie And who can eate the bodie of Chryst and drinke his bloode vnprofitablie but the euell and sinfull man For of the good receauer Chryst saieth Qui manducat meam carnem bibit meum sanguinem habet vitam aeternam He that eateth mi flesh and drinketh my blood hath euerlasting life But I haue taried long vpon Sainct Basill I will therfor be short aboute Sainct Hierom who ys placed with Sainct Basill to shewe the enacted trueth of the vnderstanding of Sainct Paule in the latin Church as the other hath doen in the greke Churche Thus writeth Sainct Hierom vpon this verse of the psalme Adhuc escae eorum erant in ore ipsorum ira Dei descendit supercos Hieron in Psal 77. While the meat was yet in their mouthes the wrathe of God fell vpon them Haec de his qui Deum past acceptnm Manna dereliquerunt Nam nunc in Ecclesia si quis carne sanguine Christi reficitur declinat ad vitia nouerit iudicium Dei sibi imminere sicut Paulus Apostolus ait Qui acceperit corpus sanguinem Domini indignè reus erit corporis sanguinis Domini These woordes be spoken of them A plain exposition of S. Paules woordes for the Proclamer that did forsake God after they had receaued Manna For nowe in the Church yf anie man be fedde with the bodie and bloode of Chryste and doeth decline to vices let him knowe that the iudgement of God ys at hand as the Apostle Paule saieth He that taketh the bodie and bloode of our lorde vnwoorthilie shall be giltie of the bodie and bloode of our lorde Marke here the saing of Sainct Paule reported by Sainct Hierom and so shalt thowe see the verie minde and true vnderstanding of Sainct Paules sentence whose vnderstanding we nowe seke S. Hierom saieth that S. Paule saieth thus He that taketh the bodie and bloode of our Lorde vnworthilie shal be giltie of the bodie and bloode our lorde In dede as yt ys allreadie often rehersed the woordes of Sainct Paule be not soche yet Sainct Hierom saieth he saieth so bicause in verie dede the authour saieth that that Sainct Paule doeth meen As when Chryst did saie Destroie this Temple and in three daies I Ioan. 2. will reedifie yt The Iewes according to the outward sownde of the woordes saied that he spake that saing of their verie Temple But the Euangelist well knowinge the minde of his master saied Hoc autem dicebat de templo corporis sui This he saied of the temple of his bodie Nowe yf a man shoulde saie that Chryst saied Destroie ie or kill this my bodie and in three daies I will raise yt vppe again he shall with the Euangelist saie the trueth of Chrystes saing though Chrystes woordes were not the same woordes yet Chryst did so saie bicause he did so meen So likewise here doth Sainct Hierom. Sainct Paule speaketh of bread as Chryst did of the Temple The Iewes tooke him to haue spoken of the verie materiall temple as the Sacramentaries doe Sainct Paule of materiall breade But as the Euangellst testifieth that solde that he might haue remission of his sinnes yf he wolde not haue had ben wicked For Iudas was present and was partaker of that sacrifice Thus farre he In these woordes that Chrisostō saieth that Chryst offred Iudas the blood that he solde ys both taught vs the presence of Chrystes bodie and bloode in the Sacrament and also that euell persons doe receaue the same For as Iudas so all like vnto Iudas And let these woordes gentle Reader be well noted of thee that Chrisostome saieth that Chryst gaue Iudas the blood that the solde Yf he gaue him that he solde he gaue him his verie blood and not the figure of his bloode For not the figure but he blood yt self was solde Wher also in the ende of this place nowe alleaged Chrisostom saieth that Iudas was present at the last Supper and was partaker of the Sacrisice these twoo pointes nowe here inquired are reuiued and the trueth of them to vs confirmed For the sacrifice offred in the last Supper by Chryst was the sacrifice of his bodie as before in the first and second and also in this thirde booke yt ys euidentlie prooued and here also by Chrisostom signified Wherbie we are taught that the bodie of Chryst ys present in the Sacrament and Iudas was at Chrystes supper and receaued there c. so Iudas being a partaker of that sacrifice was though he were a traditour and a wicked man a receauer of the bodie of Chryst Which being so yt maie be concluded that euell and wicked men maie receaue the bodie of Chryst in the Sacrament Allthough this that ys produced oute of Chrisostom maie fullie satisfie