resuscytate hym in the last day And whan he sayed My flessh is veryly meate ¶ Thus you se good readers how ofte how playnly that he declareth that the meate whiche he speketh of here is hym selfe And now sayth mayster Masker very solemynely with authoryte byddeth euery man marke it well and consyder it that y e meate that Cryste speketh of here is nothynge ellys but 〈◊〉 ¶ And vpon what colour saith may ster Masker 〈◊〉 bycause sayth he that our lorde bode them labour and wurke for the meate that wolde not peryshe but abyde into euerlastynge lyfe and afterward tolde them that the wurk of god by which they shold wurke labour for that meate was nothynge ellys but fayth and bylyef in hym ¶ Fyrste in thys construccyon mayster Masker lyeth very large For though Cryst sayd that to byleue in hym was the wurke of god he sayde not as mayster Masker maketh it that nothynge ellys was the 〈◊〉 of god but onely bylyefe ¶ But now suppose that Cryst had sayd as mayster Masker wold make it seme that is to wyt that the wurke of god were nothynge ellys but the bylyefe yet ye se well good readers that Cryst in sayeng that the bylyefe in hym is the wurke by whyche they shall wurke to gete the meate sayth that the bylyefe is the meane to gete the meate and not that the bylyefe is the meate ¶ But mayster Masker bycause y t bylyefe is the waye to this meate therfore he calleth the bylyefe the meate as wysely as though he wold call the kynges strete Westmynster chyrche bycause it is the way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yf he come from charing crosse And bycause men must spyrytually eate thys meate with fayth therfore he calleth the fayth the meate as wy sely as yf he wold bycause he eateth his meate wyth his mowth therfore call his mowth his meate what wyt hath thys man ¶ But now wyll mayster Masker wax angry with my wordes and call me M. mokke as he dothe onys or twyse in hys boke ¶ But now good readers I wyll not adiure you by godde holy names to iudge iustely but euyn onely desyre you that in waye of good company that you wyll say but euyn indyfferently Were it not wene you great pytye that a man sholde mokke mayster Masker whan euery fole maye perceyue hym in so great a mater wryte so wysely ¶ And yet you maye se that I dele wyth hym very gentylly For in thys poynt wherin by cōtraryeng of Cristes own wordes he wryteth playne heresye I minyshe his bordē of that odiouse cryme bycause the mater in thys place so serueth me do couer the both of his 〈◊〉 heresye with this prety plaster of his pleasaūt frenesie ¶ And yet I wene the man hath so lytle honesty that he wyll neuer can me thanke for my curtesye specyally bycause that as farre as I can se the man had leuer confesse hym selfe an heretyke than be proued a fole And that appereth well in this For this lytell scabbe of hys foly he labo reth somwhat to hyde and couer so that a man muste pull of the clowte ere he can spye the boche But as for y e boch of hys cancred heresyes with out any clowt or plaster he laieth out abrode to shewe to begge withall amonge the blessed bretherne as beggers laye theyr fore legges out in fyght that lye a beggynge a frydays aboute saynt sauyour and at ye. Sauy gate ¶ But as for raylynge agaynst ima ges purgatory and 〈◊〉 to sayn tes and agaynst the holy canō of the masse all this he taketh for tryfles and wolde we sholde reken all these heresyes of his for poyntes well and suffycyently proued by that that he goth so boldely forth on biyond them denyeth the blessed body of Cryste it selfe in the blessed sacrament to And where as he not onely mokketh and iesteth agaynst the olde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and sayntes of 〈◊〉 catholyke chyrche but agaynste oure sauyour hym selfe in hys holy sacrament to yet the sage sad ercnest holy mā all made of grauite sadnes and seueryte must hym selfe be reue rently reasoned with may haue no mokke of his matched wyth no mery worde of myne in no maner wyse ¶ But yet lyke as yf a ryght greate man wolde wantonly walke a mummynge and dysguyse hym selfe and with nyce appareyle dyssemble hys personage and with a fonde visour hydde and couer his visage he muste be content to be taūted of euery good felow that he meteth as merely as hym selfe lyste to ieste wyth them so tyll mayster Masker here put of his maskers visour and shewe forth his owue venerable visage that I may se hym such an honorable personage as it may become hym to saye to me what he lyste and me to requyte hys mockes with no mery worde in this world but stande styll demurely and make hym lowe curtesy agayne I wyll not let in y e meane tyme whyle I wote nere what he is and whyle his wytteles wrytynge maketh men wene he were a wylde gose to be so bolde and homely wyth his maystershyp as sory as I am for hym whā he playeth the blasphemouse beste to laugh yet make mery wyth hym where I se hym playe the fole ¶ Yet wyll I now lette passe his re pugnaunce another foly of hys For yf euer he defende his foly y t I haue shewed you than shall he be fayne to declare his repugnaunce hym selfe And therfore I leue that poynte for hym selfe that in defendyng his foly he maye shew his repugnaunce and so for defence of a syngle foly proue hym selfe thryes a fole fyrst in wrytynge foly secundly in wrytynge repugnaunce thyrdly to be so folysshe 〈◊〉 in defēce of that one foly to bryng in the totherto ¶ Makynge therfore for thys tyme no senger tale of his folyes whiche wold make myne answere ouer long to brynge them in all let vs se some pyece of his fruytefull exposycyon The. iii. chapyter IN the seconde lefe these are his wordes I am the brede of lyfe and who so come to me that is to saye who so is gryffed and ioyned to me by fayth shall neuer honger that is who so byleue in me is satissyed It is fayth therfore that stanncheth this honger and thyrste of the soule Fayth it is therfore in Cryst that fylleth our hungry hartes so that we can desyre no nother yf we ones thus eate and drynk hym by fayth that is to say yf we byleue his fleshe and body to haue ben broken and hys bloude shedde for out synnes for thā are our sowles satysfyed and we be iustyfyed ¶ The worde of Chryst good reader with which he begynneth is well and fully fulfylled yf it be vnderstā den as I haue before declared that is to wytte that who so come onys by well workynge fayth and perseueraunce therin vnto the meate that is Chryste and attayne the possessy ō and fruicion of hym in blysse he shall neuer hunger nor
theym not but laugh and lette theym bable pryde maketh theym procede and they procure mo and sprede the bokes more abrode and drawe mo bretherne to theym ¶ There ys no small nomber of suche erronyouse englyshe bookes prented of whyche yf fewe were boughte there wolde not of lykelyhed so many be putte in prente sauynge that some brethern there are in this realme that of theyr zele to theyr sectes beyng of such substaūce that they maye forbere yt geue some money therto before hande content to abyde thaduenture of the sale or geue the bokes aboute for nought to brynge men to the deuyl ¶ And in this wise is there sent oute to be prented the boke y t Fryth made laste agaynste the blessed sacrament answerynge to my letter wherwyth I confuted the pestylēt treatyce that he hadde made agaynste yt byfore And the bretherne loked for yt nowe at thys bartlemew tyde laste passed and yet loke euery daye except yt be come all redye and secretely runne amonge theym ¶ But in the meane whyle there is come ouer a nother boke aguynst the blessed sacrament a boke of that sort that Frythes boke the bretherne may nowe forbere For more blasphemouse and more bedelem rype than this boke is were that boke harde to be which is yet madde inough as me say that haue sene yt ¶ This boke is intytled The souper of our lord But I beshre w suche a she wer as so serueth in the souper that he conuayth awaye the best dyshe and bryngeth yt not to the borde as this man wold yf he could conuey fro the blessed sacrament Cri stes owne blessed fleshe and bloode and leue vs nothynge therin but for a memoryall onely bare brede and wyne ¶ But his handes are to lumpyshe and this messe also to great for hym to cōuey clene specyally syth y e dishe is so dere and so dayntye that euery chrystē man hath his hart bent therto and therfore his yie set theron to 〈◊〉 where yt bycometh ¶ The man hath not set his name vnto his boke nor whose yt is I can not surely say But some reken yt to be made by Wyllyam Tyndale for that in a pystle of his vnto Fryth he wryteth that in any thynge that he cando ' he wolde not fayle to helpe hym forthe ¶ Nowe be yt some of the brethern reporte that the booke was made by George Jay And of trouth Tyndale wrote vnto Frith that George Jay hadde made a boke agaynste the sacrament whych was as yet partly by his meanes partely for lacke of money reteyned and kepte fro the prent Nowe be yt what George Joy wolde do therin afterward whā hys money were come that coulde he not he sayth assure hym ¶ Nowe of trouthe George Joye hath longe hadde in hande and redy lyenge by hym his boke agaynst the sacrament And nowe yf this be yt he hathe somwhat enlengthed yt of late by a pyece that he hath patched in agaynst me wherin he wolde seme to soyle myne argumentes whyche in my letter I made in that mater agaynste the deuely she treatyce of Fryth ¶ And in very dede dyuerse that are lerned and haue redde the booke reken yt veryly to be the booke of George Jaye whereof Tyndale wrote vnto Fryth specyally by certayn wordes that were in that letter For therin wryteth Tyndale that yf George Jay dyd put forth his boke there shold be founden in it many rea sons very few to the purpose ¶ Nowe be yt me thynketh by that marke that this boke sholde not be that For in this boke be there very fewe reasons and of them all neuer one to the purpose ¶ The maker of the boke in y e ende of his boke for one cause why he put teth not his name therto wryteth in thys wyse Mayster mocke whom the veryte moost offendeth and doth but mocke it out whan he can not soyle it he koweth me well inough ¶ Thys sadde and sage ernest mā that mockyng at myne name calleth me mayster Mocke dothe in these wyse wordes nothynge but mocke the readers of his boke saue that his reason is so rude and folysh that the mocke returneth to hym selfe ¶ For syth he wryteth not his booke to me nor sendeth me none of theym but the bretherne kepe theym fro me as closely as they cā what if I wyst neuer so wel who he were that wrote yt what were this to the bretherne that reade yt know they therby who yt is to ¶ Now for my selfe also though I knowe Tyndale by name George Jay or George Joy by name also and twenty such other fond felowes of the same secte mo yet yf tenne of those wolde make tenne suche folysh treatyses and sette they re names to none coulde I know therby whych of those madde foles made whyche folyshe boke ¶ Dyuerse there are in dede of those that are lerned and haue redde the boke that thynke for the lacke of lernynge and of wytte also that they fynde euery where therin the booke sholde neyther be made by Tyndale nor by George Jay neyther but rather by some yonge vnlerned fole ¶ Nowe be it as for me I thynke the boke myghte be for all that made by Tyndale or by George Jaye eyther For the mater beynge dyuysed agaynst the blessed sacramēt the wy sest or the moste fole the moste lerned or the leste is all in maner one and in that mater maketh lytle dyfference For I neuer founde yet any man so wel lerned and so naturally well wytted wythall but after that he fell ones to y e defense of heresies specyally of this abomynable here sye agaynst the blessed sacramēt ney ther lernyng nor wyt neuer wel ser ued hymafter For as for Tyndale the captayne of our Englyshe heretyques who byfore he felto these fransyes mē had went had had some wyt and was taken for full pretyly lerned to ye se good chrysten readers playnly tryed by his bokes that an vnlettered man myghte be ashamed to write so vnler nedly and a madde man wolde all most wax rede for shame to wryte in some thynges so frantykely ¶ As touchynge frere Barons and George Jay the bretherne systern them selfe se theyr wyttes so wasted and theyr lernyng waxen so slender that the bretherhed hath lytle lyste to reade them ¶ And some of the bre therne that say this new worke was made by George Jay thynke that the cause why he sette not his name therto was bycause he wyst well the brethern dyd not regarde hym And Tyndale had in his letter also decla red him for a fole by reasō wherof he thought y t if yt came vnder his name the stimacyon therof were but loste ¶ Fryth was lo a proper yonge man and a towarde tyll he fell vnto these folyes After whyche to what dekay both his wyt and his lernynge came euery wyse man myche meruayled that in his open examenacyon herd and consydered his answeres ¶ For all be
yt that in the booke that the bretherne that are here haue sent ouer to prent Tyndale and hys felowes to bydylde the worlde wyth all purpose to make many chaunges and amende and aduaunce hys parte vnderpropyng yt wyth they re own proper lyes yet shal y e meanes be metely well founden to controll they re falshed I truste and to take awaye theyr clokes and lyue hys foly bare And than shall men playnely se that of one whome the bretherne boste for so wyse there neuer dyed in Englange byfore any false heretyque so folyshe ¶ But now as touchynge this new come ouer boke whyche the maker hath entitled The super of the lord though the man haue named yt the souper of our sauyour Chryste yet hathe the man made yt the souper of the deuyll ¶ The specyall effecte of all hys whole purpose is to fede vs wyth the moste poysoned heresye that laboreth to kyll the catholyque christen fayth concernynge the blessed sacra ment of the autare all be yt by the waye he putteth forthe dyuerse other heresye besyde ¶ Thys vsauerye souper of his withoute any corne of salte and spyced all wyth poyson he dyuydeth as yt were into two courses that ys to wytte into the treatynge and 〈◊〉 of two specyall thynges spe cyfyed in the gospell of Chryste wherby chrysten people playnely perceyue that in the blessed sacramēt of th aulter is the very blessed bodye of Chryste his very fieshe and hys bloude ¶ In the fyrste parte whych I call here his fyrst course occupyenge the tone halfe of his boke he treateth the wordes of Chryste spoken in the syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ why che wordes our sauyour speketh of the eatyng of his flesh and drynkyng of hys bloude ¶ In his secunde parte whyche I call hys secund course he treateth y e maundye of Chryste wyth hys apostles vpon shere thursday wherin our sauyour actually dyd instytute y t blessed sacrament therin veryly gaue his awne very fleshe and blood to his twelne apostles hym selfe ¶ I shal therfore diuyde this worke of myne into two partes in lyke wise of whyche twayne this shall be the fyrste wherin I shall detect make euery man perceyue thys mannys euyll coquery in hys fyrste course concernynge the treatynge of Chrystes wordes in the syxt chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ ¶ And all be yt y t I shall afterward send you forth my secunde parte also agaynst his secunde course yet shall I so handle thys mannes myscheuouse heresye in this fyrst part that though I neuer wrote worde more herafter of the mater yet to the perceyuynge of the trouth and deteccyon of his falsed this fyrst part might suffyse for all the whole mater ¶ In hys fyrste parte he forste expowneth the later parte of his syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ and by hys declaracyon laboreth to drawe men from the perceyuynge of the trouth and setteth forth also both his pryncypall heresye and ouer that dyuerse other ¶ Also in the same parte he argueth agaynste all men in generall that expowne any of those wordes of Crist there spoken to be ment by Chryste of the very eatynge of hys fleshe as the catholyque chyrch byleueth in the blessed sacrament ¶ In that fyrste parte also he argueth agaynste me by name in specyall and pretendeth to soyle such argumentes as I made in my letter agaynste the poysoned treatyse that John Fryth had before made in that mater agaynst the blessed sacrament ¶ In that parte also the man bryngeth in two placys all in great which he hath pyked out by longe leysoure amonge all my bokes in eyther of whyche two places he sheweth that I haue notably contraryed myn own wrytynge that I haue wryten my self in other places before sheweth also the places where ¶ I shall therfore good readers in thys fyrste parte of myne gyue you fyue bokes and some of them very shorte ¶ In the fyrst wyll I geue you the exposycion of the selfe same wordes of Chryste mencyoned in the syxte chapyter of saynt John by whyche who so conferre them and consyder them togyther shall I trust perceiue well the fashed of his exposycyon not be deceiued therby And for myne exposycyon ye shall not geue me the thanke For I haue but pyked it out here and there out of the wrytynges of dyuers olde holy menne ¶ The seconde shall shew you for a sample some of the fawtes both in folies and errours that the man hath made vs in his exposycyon ¶ The thyrde shal answere soyle hys wyse reasons wyth whyche he wolde make all men folys that haue expowned that place before cōtrary to hys here sye now that is to wytte all the olde holy doctours and saynte frome thapostses dayes vnto oure owne tyme. ¶ In y e fourth shall ye se what wyt and what sernyng he sheweth in soysynge of myne argumentes made be fore in that mater agaynst his felow Iohn̄ Fryth ¶ The fyfth shall declare you the dylygence that the man hath done in sekyng out my neglygence leuynge some places in my wrytynge repugnaūt contrary the tone place to the tother And of such place ye shall as I sayd se hym with dylygent serche of thre yere at laste brynge you forth twayne And there shall you se good chrysten reders that in those twayn my neglygence shall for all his dylygence proue hym twyse a fole ¶ But in the treatyng of this mater with hym I shall lacke somwhat of the commodyte that the man hath in dysputynge wyth me For he hath a greate pleasure of tetymes nowe in one maner now in another now to talke of me and nowe to speke to me by name wyth thus sayth More and 〈◊〉 mayster More and sometyme maysier Mocke and let More mocke on and lye to and many such goodly garnyshynge mo But he wyll be for hys owne parte sure that I shall not dyspute wyth hym by name and therfore he kepeth it awaye ¶ And therfore what foly and what falsed be founden in his boke he forceth very lytell For shame he thynketh he can none take therby whyle folke knowe not hys name ¶ Wherin he fareth myche lyke to some bestely body y t wolde not care to sytte downe wyth hys face to the walwarde and ease hym selfe in the open strete and though all the towne at onys tote in his tayle take it for no shame at all bycause they se not hys face ¶ And veryly as we se somtyme that suche as walke in visours haue mych the lesse fere and shame bothe what they do and what they saye bycause they thynke theym selfe vnknowen so do these folke oftentymes lytell force what they wryte that vse to putte out theyr bookes and set not theyr names vnto theym They thynke theym selfe vnsene whyle 〈◊〉 name is vnknowen and therfore they fere not the shame of theyr foly As some haue I sene 〈◊〉 thys full boldely come daunce in a maske whose dauncynge bycame thē so
well that yf theyr visours hadde ben of theyr facys shame wolde not haue suffred theym to sette forthe a fote ¶ And mayster 〈◊〉 vnder his 〈◊〉 face forceth not myche to shyfte a false caste amonge wyth a payre of false dyce ¶ And therfore syth thys man by wythdrawynge his name from hys booke hath done on a visour of dyssimulacyon dyssimulynge his person to voide the shame of his fashed and speketh to mych to be called mayster 〈◊〉 whyche name he were els well worthy for hys false dyce I shall in this dyspicyon bytwene hym and me be 〈◊〉 for thys onys syth by some name muste I call hym for lacke of hys other name to call hym mayster 〈◊〉 And thus finishynge 〈◊〉 preface we shall begynne the mater The fyrst booke The. i. chapyter MAyster 〈◊〉 hath in thys hys poysened treatice agaynst Crystes hole some so 〈◊〉 xxxii leuys In y e first xiiii wherof he expowneth vs the later parte of the syxte chapyter of saynt 〈◊〉 And incidently by the way the man maketh as though he answered the reasons whiche I made in my letter agaynste the pestylent treatice that fryth made fyrst agaynst the blessed sacramēt And in the same xiiii leuys also he bryngeth forth two thynges for specyall notable wherin he sayth I haue openly cōtraryed myn 〈◊〉 wrytynge ¶ I wyll good reader peruse the re manaūt of hys booke after this fyrst part answered In whyche conteynyng these thre thynges that I haue 〈◊〉 you the fyrst hath he so han desed y t all were there not as there are in dede dyuerse false 〈◊〉 interfaced therin yet it were for the mater of very sleyght effecte For in his exposiciō he nothyng toucheth nor cometh nere to the thyng wherin the poynt of all the mater standeth ¶ The secund point hath he so well treated in hys argumentacyon that the reasons whyche I laye agaynste Frith mayster Masker fyrst falsely reherseth and after so folyshely soyleth that he leueth thē more stronger agaynst hym whan he hath done 〈◊〉 he fownde them whan he bygan ¶ And as for the thyrde poynt concernynge hys notable notys of suche thynges as he sayeth to myne ouersyghte them he so garnessheth setteth out so semely to the show that I wolde no man sholde euer after this daye truste any worde that I shall wryte but yf ye se mayster 〈◊〉 pfaynesy proued therin eyther so folyshe as no man shold trust his wyt or so false that no man shold trust his trouth Let vs therfore now come to the fyrste point that is to wytte hys exposicyon The. ii chapyter THe whole summe of his 〈◊〉 is that our sauyour 〈◊〉 those wordes takynge occasion of the myracle that he so late before had wrought among them in fedyng fyut thousand of thē with fyue barly louys and two fysshes dyd in those wordes vppon theyr new resort vnto hym whan they folowed hym to Capharnaum fyrst rebuke blame them bycause they soughte hym not for the miracles that they had sene hym wurke but bicause they had ben fedde by hym fylled theyr belyes and that therfore our sauyour exhorted them to labour rather to gete that meat that neuer sholde perysshe Op pon whiche exhortacyon whan the Iewes asked hym what they sholde do wherby they sholde wurke y e wur kes of god Chryst sayd vnto them that the wurke of god was to byleue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hym whom the father had 〈◊〉 ¶ Thā goeth he ferther she weth that vpon the wordes of the Iewis askyng our lord what tokē he shewed for whiche they shold byleue in hym syth theyr forefathers had gyuen thē the brede of Māna in deserte of whi che it was writen he gaue them bred from aboue our lorde shewed them that Moses gaue them not that bred from heuen but his owne father had geuen them the very brede that was descended from heuen and that oure lorde there by all the remanaunt of those wordes in the sayd syxte chapiter of sait Iohn̄ declareth that hym selfe is that very bred is to be 〈◊〉 by the fayth and the byliefe y t Chrystes 〈◊〉 and body was broken and his bloude shed for our synnes And so expowneth he forth all these wordes of Chryst applyeng them onely to the declaracyon of his passyon to be suffred for our redempcion and that our sauyour wold haue them by leue that point that the byliefe of y t point was ment by the eatynge and that that fayth and byliefe is y e 〈◊〉 of our soules ¶ The whole somme of his exposicyō is this in al his sayd xiiii 〈◊〉 I mene not that this is all that euer he sayth therin for I leue out his cir cumstaunces his garnysshynge his notes his argumentacions his contencyons with me his mokkes his tauntys agaynst all catholyke folke his many folde heresyes also with all whiche here and there he furnyssheth all the progresse of his paynted processe all whiche thynges I shall after touche by them selfe But the somme the substaunce and the ende wherto all the whole processe of his exposicyō cometh is this that I haue rehersed you The. iii. chapyter BUt now good chrysten readers all this exposicyō were it neuer so trew neuer so comely nor neuer so cunnyngly handeled yet were it as I tolde you before very farre from the purpose For this exposicyō myghte be good ynough yet myght Thryste in those wordes teache the thynge that we speke of 〈◊〉 that is to wytte besyde the teachyng them that hym selfe was the very brede y t was descended from heuyn to gyue lyfe to the world and that he sholde suffre deth for the synnes of y e world and that they shold byleue these thyn ges and so eate hym 〈◊〉 by fayth he myghte I saye teche in those wordes also that he wolde gyue vnto men his very body his very 〈◊〉 to eate and his very bloud to drinke and that he wolde that they shold byleue that lesson also And wrth y e spy rituall eatynge therof by farth receyue and eate also his very blessed body flesshe and bloude by the mouth not in his owne flesshely forme as y e flesshely Iewes mysse toke it but as hym selfe than ment it and parte there expowned it and by his institu 〈◊〉 dyd after more clerely declare it informe of brede and wyne in y e blessed sacrament of the aulter ¶ It is I trow good readers to no man almost vnknowen that the holy scrypture of god is in suche meruelous maner by the profound wysedome of his holy spyryte for y e more plentuouse profyte of his chyrche de uised indyghted and wryten that it hath not onely that one sense trewe which we call the litterall sence that is to wytte that sence whiche for the fyrst lessō therof god wold we shold perceiue and lerne but also diuerse other sensys spirytuall pertaynynge to the profyte of our maners and instrucciōs in sūdry vertues by meane of 〈◊〉 openyng
prophete speketh in the psalter Dixit insipiens in corde suo noÌ„ est deus The fole sayd in his harte there is no god which he might as well begynne as any of the tother twayne yf he wold now for the furnyshynge of this heresye come forth with suche vnreasonale reasons as some folysh folosophers broughte in therfore of olde were yt not ynough for me to confute those folyshe argumeÌ„tes wherwyth he wold 〈◊〉 sym ple soulis Must I nede besyde y t go make myche a do ê“ue y t there were a god or els grauÌ„t thys gose y t there were no god at all bycause hym self wold say so styll when his found rea sons were soyled ¶ Now to his seconde poynt where it is not inough for him to say that I muste proue it wherin as ye se I haue proued hym a very fole but he assygneth me also what maner of ê“se I must make and none maye serue hym but suche as hym selfe lyst assygne that ther fore I must proue it hym by expresse wordes of holy scrypture I aske hym than whyther he wylbe content yf I proue yt hym by expresse worde of Chryste wryten in all the foure euangelystes saynt Mathew saynt Marke saynt Luke and sait IohuÌ„ yf he saye ye as I suppose he wyll than aske I hym farther wherfore he wyll byleue the wrytyng of them foure wherto what will he answere but bycause y t those gospell of theyrs are holy scrypture But than shall I farther desyre hym to she we me howe he knoweth that those foure bo kes or any one of all four is the boke of hym whose name yt bereth or ys the holy scrypture of god at all To this questyon lo but yf he can go far ther than holy saint Austayne could or the mayster captayne of his owne heresyes Martyne Luther eyther he muste saye that he knoweth those bokes for holy scrypture bycause the coÌ„men knowen catholique chyrch hath so told hym Now whan he shal haue ones answered me thus euery chyld may sone se what I shall aske hym agayne For than shall I saye tell me than mayster Maskar I beseche you syth you byleue this commen knowen catholyque chyrche in that one great verytie wherupon by your owne saynge all the other wryters depende why sholde you not as well byleue yt in thys other artycle whyche yt as playnely telleth you and yet you do denye yt why sholde you not I saye mayster Maskar byleue the chyrche as wel whan yt telleth you god hath taught his chyrche that this is his very body as you byleue the same chyrch when yt telleth you god hath taught his chyrch that this is his very scriture namely syth there are wryten in y e same scrypture other thynges to mannes reason as harde to conceyue and as incredyble to byleue as that ¶ Here you se good readers to what poynte I haue brought master Maskar I haue set hym here so fast in the myre that therin shall he stycke and neuer clene wade oute whyle he lyueth ¶ Moreouer mayster maskar can not denye me this but that the ryght bylyef in y e sacrameÌ„t dyuers other thynges mo were ones taughte and byleued and christen men bounden to byleue them to without expresse wor des of holy scripture layed forth for the profe before any word of y e new testament was wryten and after per aduenture to where tharticles were preached and wryten gospelles not there Now yf suche thynges were at one tyme not onely byleued but men also bounden to the belief therof without expresse wordes of scripture for the profe mayster Maskar must than though there be come wrytynge synnes yet either profe vs by expÌ„sse wordes of scrypture that of all that god wyl we shall byleue there is nothynge left out but euery such thyng there writen in with expresse wordes or els may he neuer make him self so sure face in out a this fashion with expresse worde that sauyng the very playne expresse wordes of scripture we be no man of vs bounden to byleue nothynge ellys ¶ Now this am I sure inough that suche expresse wordes shall he neuer fynde in scrypture that tell hym expressely that all is wryteÌ„ in And than syth be can not proue vs this poynte by scrypturer but that at the leste wyse we maye be bounden to byleue some suche thynges as in holy scryp pture is not expressely writen which thynges those may be and which not of whome wyll god we shall lerne but of his knowen cathylyque chyrch by whiche he teacheth vs whiche be the very scripture ¶ Nowe as for the thyrde poynte mayster maskar toucheth in whiche he wyl allowe for no suffycient ê“fe myne owne vnwryten dremys he ge ueth my dremys I thanke hym of his courtesye myche more authoryte than euer I loked for For whyle he reiecteth none of theym but suche as are vnwryten he she weth hym selfe redy to byleue them yf I wold vouchesaufe to wryte them ¶ In the fonrth point he promiseth y t yf I do by expresse wordes of scrypture proue that it is so thaÌ„ though yt be aboue the reche of his reason yet wyl he by belyefe both reche yt and receyue yt hold it fast to Wold god mayster Maskar wolde abyd by this worde For now I aske hym agayn whyther he wyl be content yf I proue it him by expresse wordes of some one of the foure euangelystes And if he be coÌ„tent with expresse wordes of any one than will I do more for hym proue yt by all foure ¶ For saynte IohnÌ„ reherseth that our sauyour sayd hym selfe he wold geue theym his fleshe to eate And that he ment of the sacramente you se all redy proued here byfore And the tother thre reherse that Chryste sayde hym selfe whan he gaue theym the sacrament thys is my body that shal be broken for you What wordes caÌ„ there be more playn and expresse than these ¶ But here sayth mayster Maskar that these be not expresse wordes For he sayth that these wordes be spoken but by way of allegory And he proueth it as Frith doth by y t our sauiour sayd of hym self I am the dore and I am the vyne ¶ Nowe remember good readers that master Maskar bylyed me right nowe and sayd that all my second argumeÌ„t was a posse ad esse it may be so ergo yt is so But now consyder good christen reders your selfe why ther this argumeÌ„t of his be not a posse ad esse in dede For by those placê I am the dore and I am the vyne and suche other he concludeth that these other places of eatynge hys fleshe and geuynge of hys bodye was spoken by an allegorye to And howe concludeth he that yt ys so but bycause yt maye be so And thus ye se good readers that the selfe same kynde of arguynge which mayster Maskar fayneth hym selfe to fynd with me falsely belyeth me therin for I neded there none other thynge to
do but answere the thynges that Fryth layed forthe agaynst the catholyque fayth the selfe same kynde of arguynge I saye mayster Maskar vseth hym selfe and so dothe yonge father Fryth hys felow in folye to ¶ But than agayne whan they argue thus These places maye be so vnderstanden by an allegorye onely as those other places be ergo they be to be so vnderstāden in dede I haue proued alredy that his entēt is false and that they maye not be vnderstanden in an allegory onely as the tother be but the playne and open diffe rence betwene the places appere vp pon the cyrcumstaunces of the texte This haue I proued agaynst Frith alredye and that in suche wyse as your selfe hath sene here that mayster Maskar can not auoyde yt but in goynge about to defende Frythes foly hathe wyth his two solucyons of myne one argument ofter than twyse ouer throwen him self made myne argument more than twyse so stronge ¶ But yet good readers bycause I say that those wordes of Crist The brede y t I shal geue you is my flesh which I shal geue for the lyfe of the world and my flesh is verily meat and my blood veryly drynke and But if you eate the fleshe of the son of man and drynke hys bloode you shal not haue life in you and so forth al such wordis as our sauyour spake hym selfe mencyoned in the syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn and those wordes of our sauyour at hys maun dye wryten wyth all the tother thre euangelystes Thys is my bodye that shall be broken for you be playn and expresse wordes for the catholyque fayth and mayster maskar sayth that the be not wordes playne and expresse but expowneth them all another waye therfore to breke the stryfe therin betwene him and me I haue brought you forth for my parte in myne exposycyon the playne expresse wordes of dyuerse olde holy sayntes by whych you may playne expressely se that they al sayd as I saye ¶ And mayster maskar also can not hym selfe say naye but that agaynst other heretyques before his dayes and myne dyuerse whole generall counsayles of chrystendome haue playnely and expressely determyned the same to be trew that I saye ¶ And all the countreys chrystened can also testyfye that god hathe hym self by manyfold opē miracles playn expressely declared for the blessid sa crament that this is the trewe fayth which mayster Maskar here oppugneth and that god hath by those myra cles expowned his own wordes hym self to be playne expressely spoken for our part ¶ And therfore nowe good christen reders yf mayster mas kar wil make any more stickyng with vs not graūt Christes wordes for playn expresse accordynge to hys promyse reche receyue y e trew faith hold it faste to ye may playne ex pressely tel him there shal neuer trew man trust his false promyse after ¶ Now touchyng the fyfth poynte where he saith that he findeth xx pla ces in scripture mo to prouyng that Christes body is not here in erth remember this wel good reder agaynst he bryna them forth For in his second part whē we come to the tale ye shal fynd his mo than twēty farre fewer than fyftene of al y t shal wel serue hym ye shall fynd fewer than one ¶ Then where he concludeth in the laste poynt vpon these fyue poyntes afore whyche fyue howe well they proue good chrysten readers you se that I must geue hym leue to byleue myne vn wryten vanyties veryties he wold saye at seysour yf the thyn ges that he calleth vn wrytē verities were ī dede vn writē inuēted also by me thā he might be y e bolder to cast hē myne vn writen vanities as he cal leth thē before myn vn writē dremis to But on y e tother syde syth you se your selfe that I haue shewed you theym writem in holy saintes bokes and that a thousand yere before that I was borne your self seeth it wri ten in the playne scrypture to proued playn expresse for our part against hym by tholde exposycyon of all the holy doctours and sayntes and by y e determinacyons of dyuerse generall counsayles of Christes whole catho lyque chyrche and proued playn for our parte also by so many playn opē myracles mayster maskar must nedes be more then madde to cal nowe suche wryten vetyties myne vn wry ten vanytes or myne vn wryten dremys either except he proue both all those thynges to be but an inuencyon of myne and ouer that all those wri tynges to be yet vn writen and that holy doctrine both of holy saintes and of holy scripture vanities also that all the whyle that al those holy folke 〈◊〉 awurke ther with they neyther wrote nor studyed nor dyd nothynge but dreme ¶ Now whyle mayster More must therfore vppon suche consyderaciōs geue maister Masker seue to byleue thys vnwryten vanyte whiche is in all the. iiii euangesystes an expresse wryten verite whyle I must I say therfore vppon suche folysh false cō 〈◊〉 geue hym seue to byleue the tre we fayth at leysour yf he had put it in my choyce I wold haue ben soth to geue hym any senger seysour therin for he hath ben to longe out of ryght bylyefe all redy But syth he sayeth I muste I maye not choyse wherof I am as helpe me god very sory For excepte he take hym selfe that leysour bytyme seuynge the busynesse that be dayly taketh in wrytyng of pestylēt bokes to the cōtrary he shal eis not faile to byleue y e trew fayth at a longe leysour ouer late y t is to wytte whan he lyeth wrechedly in hell where he shall not wryte for lacke of lyght and burnynge vp of his paper but shall haue euerlastyng laysour from all other worke to byleue there that he wolde not byleue here and lye styll euer burne there in euerlastynge fyre for his formar vngracyouse obstinate infydelyte out of whyche 〈◊〉 I be 〈◊〉 god geue hym the grace to crepe and gete out by tyme. And thus you se good readers what a goodly piece mayster masker hath made you which pleased him I warraunt you very well whan he wrote it But it wyl not I wene please him now very well whan he shall after this myne answere rede it The. xii chapyter BUt now goth he ferther against me with a specyall goodly piece wherin thus he sayth Here mayst thou se chrysten reader wherfore More wolde so fayne make the byleue that 〈◊〉 lest aught vnwryten of necessyte to be byleued euyn to stablysshe the popes kyngdome whych standeth of Morys vnwryten vanytees as of the presence of Chrystes body and makynge therof in the brede of putgatory of inuocacyon of sayntes wurshyppyng of stonys and flockys pylgrymages halowynge of vowes and 〈◊〉 and crepynge to the crosse c. If ye wyll byleue what so euer More can fayne wythout the scryptures than can thys poete