by the worde of God there is no cause lefte to reiect it but in this case when one shall say here is Christ in Geneua an other saie here is Christ in Wyttenberge an other saie behold he is 〈◊〉 the wooddes of Bohemye euery faction pulling the symple vnto it here loe to trye such voyces whether they come of God or no the sure waye is to harken vnto the practyse and doctrine of the most part of Christendome as it hath ben for hundreds of yeares togeather And continuance of tyme in one doctrine with multitude of folowers doth make a very good persuasion to reiecte the vpstart and vnaccompanyed religion Naye say you if continuance of tyme and multitude of persons might be rulers to gouerne mens consciences then would that argument serue For the Israëlites against the Iewes for the priestes against the prophetes for the Iewes Gentiles against Christ his Apostles for the Turkes against vs Christians at this day See loe how you be deceyued For I would saye first not that a multitude of Turkes are better then a few Christians or that a long cōtynued Idolatrie is better then a new religion but in cōferring Turke with Turke Iew with Iew Christian with Christian and so furth I saye if the Mahometes law were good and that schismes and diuisions should aryse emong the professors of it that then the surest waye should be so to vnderstand and receiue that law as it hath ben taken of longest tyme before and of the most parte of all Turkes And in lyke maner when so euer emong vs which professe one Christ diuisions and taking of partes doe trouble mens consciences the best waye is by all good reason to folow that syde which hath longest continued and which hath most voyces for it And so it a Turke or panyme would alleage continuance of tyme to proue thereby his religiō to be good the next and wysest waye to aunswer hym is not to call him vnreasonable and folysh for the bringing of that argument for vndoubtedly vnto our naturall and common reason it is no tryfeling persuasion to see contynuance and multitude of folowers to be with vs but the right waye of cōuerting or confounding them in that argument is either to shew that naturall reason is against them as it was in their worshipping of stockes and stones either by myracle to persuade them as the Apostles in their dayes haue done or as good and religious persons doe in this our tyme emong the Indians or else to shew that it is no wonder if the religion of which thei be hath allreadie long contynued and shall from hense forward encreace daylie because it geaueth libertie vnto the flesh and vnto all bodely pleasures But the continuance and multitude of folowers which commend the doctrine of the church are so notable and myraculouse that except the finger of God were here it is vnpossible it should be regarded For prescript fastinges watchinges prayers preferring of virginitie before wedlock submitting of our owne willes vnto the cōmaundemēt of others confessing of our secrete faultes quiet suffring of harde penance these are verye much against the nature and appetyte of our flesh on the other syde that which the church teacheth of sainctes of sowles departed of seuen sacramentes and especiallye of that one in whiche allmightie God is receyued all this is so farr beyonde the capacitie of carnall reason that except fayth be infunded it is neuer rightly beleiued Yet this religion so repugnant vnto naturall appetyte so much surmounting all reason hath ben embraced of the poore and ryche the symple and the learned the stout and the tender the beggers and the Cesars and in spite of the dyuell the world the flesh and heretikes hath contynued these .xv. hundred yeares as we beleiue and as you be sorye for it these nyne hundred yeares togeather It is no wonder if a Turkyshe religion be much made of and cherisshed for they are permitted to haue here carnall pleasures for the worlde to come they are promysed to haue their full of them Againe I doe not maruayll if many follow Luther the Father or anye of his euyll fauored broode and children for the flesshe doth well allow it to eate what it will at all tymes to be free from earely rysing to haue short seruice in the churche to haue matrymonye no sacrament to be bounde to no ceremonye and to be subiect vnto none other authoritie then the expresse scripture But that the Catholike religion which is so exacte so deuout and so graue that it maketh the carnall men to wyssh that it were out of the worlde should haue cōtynuall folowers of it and before so long tyme preserued it is not for flessh and bloud to bring it to passe but it is the verye worke of God whom nothing can resyst and withstande Consider also their lyues and maners which haue ben emong other the maynteyners of it And because none are more odious vnto the world then prelates monkes and fryars I wysh that some of them were rightly considered For if you can beleiue historyes and monumētes what fault do you fynde in S. Francys and S. Dominike if you will reade their bookes what can you saye against S. Bernard S. Bonauenture S. Thomas of Aquyne Rupertus Anselmus Dionysius the Carthusian with a numbre of such holy and reuerende fathers whose writinges sufficiently declare how much they remembred Christ how diligently they did reade the scriptures how freely they reproued faultes and lamented the euill lyfe of Christians how much they were acquaynted with the sweete spirite of God and practysed in fightyng for the sowle against the dyuell The doctrine therfor of our church hath not only contynued meruaylouslye but contynued in many and in those many no few haue ben excellent and in such sort excellent that if not before it might our religion haue ben now alowed because such godly and graue heades did vse it Whereas on your syde if your inuentions were tollerable yet those Apostles of yours whō in these latter dayes you say God hath styrred to reproue our vice and irreligion and to reuyue his truth and testament haue ben so vyle themselues that vndoubtedly God dyd neuer sende them and a reasonable man should neuer folow them What an Apostle was Luther who gaue hym leaue to break his vow which those holye men whom euen now I named did keepe vnto death who moued hym to lye with a noune If he lyued chaste being yet within his ordre what spirite trow you was that which could not afterwardes keepe hym chaste when he was selected to preache a Ghospell Then if he lyued abominably when he was kept in Cloyster was he a meete instrument for God to worke the redemption of his church so long deceaued And if God had forgeauē his former great offences that he should be more humble in preaching of grace and mercie would he so sone haue forsakē hym that in
striued before SalomoÌ„ one told a long tale of her dwelling in one house togeather with her felowe of her owne and her felowes childebearing of her quicke child taken in the night season from her side and the placing of her companions dead boye in her bosome with other such circumstancies more to moue perchaunse some affections When she had ended It ys not so quod the other woman vnto her as thou saiest but thy soune ys deade and myne lyueth But on the other side Thou lyest saieth she for my soune ys a lyue and thyne ys deade And thus thei striued before te kinge Now what sentence the wise Prince gaue it is commonlye knowen as how he called for a sword and commaunding the quick child to be diuided in .ij. partes sought to find out thereby in which of the .ij. women the naturall compassion ouer her child would sonest appeare Which straitwayes vttering it self brimly in one of them as he wittilie had coÌ„ceiued vnto her he apointed the quicke child and sensiblie dissolued a secrete question Of which example this I thinke may be well gathered that in all controuersies we goe strayt to the quicke of the question and rest not vpon the by matters For in disputing of the Sacrament of the aultar and the necessitie whether some allwaies should communicate thou lyest saieth one thou blasphemiest saieth the other this is an itching folie saieth one this is sluttisshe eloquence saith the other you playe apishe partes saieth one you be like S. George an horsebacke saieth the other and this is no litle sport vnto manie to see how contrarie sides can cutt one the other But this vndoubtedlye is nothing to the question how euen one is with the other For coÌ„cerning such odd wordes as I can not tell hou thei come in and serue to the expressing of affections so let hym take heede which vseth them that thei coÌ„sent and agree with the matter and let other be warned which are the readers or hearers not to gape after such glauncies which happ now and then in sadd writing but to marke aduisedlye what truth is in question and neither by acclamation to the wordlie proceedinges neither indignation against the old faith and Catholike to shrinke in anye part from it Wich is me thinketh to call for a Salomons sword and not to sitt still in iudgement with harkening after such by phrases as are not of the substance of the question The sharpnes of which sword will shew who is the false harlot and who is loth to be inwardlie examined caring not what absurditie he permitteth so that he be not openlie confounded and the nature as I may saye of the question be not espyied And this I speake not onlye for the indifferent reader his sake whom I wisshe to consider the truth ernestly but for our ease allso in this fight with the Protestantes that we might come to some peace and conclusion For to the bokes of Catholikes which of late haue ben printed some of the answers and the most coÌ„mon are these It is an vnlerned boke it doth not obserue the stiles titles which it should doe it nameth hym but Master whom it should call my Lord it alleageth such authorities as we neuer saw it reciteth visions which are not in scripture it hath false Latin in it it is full of skoffes and tauntes As who should thinke the argument were dissolued if the maker of it were reproued for lisping in his vtterance or making a wrie mouth vpon his aduersarie For if these were heighnous faultes and might in deede be so proued against the Catholikes or if there were not a perfect hatred which the holye Prophete boldlye confesseth in louing the persons of his enemies with detesting to the vttermost and defying all their iniquities yet a wise preacher would not speake at all of them or lightlie passe away from such matters and go exactlie to the point of the question and proue that it toucheth not the state of his religion Yet I graunt if a religion were approued by long vse of all Christendome it were inough to tell the people that the contrarie is not to be credited and thei without more wordes ought to be perswaded as bound to folow an vniuersall authoritie of Catholike priestes and Bishopes But when new opinions are brought furth in to open pulpites and thei coÌ„mended by no formar authoritie allso when straunge Ghospells are confirmed by no miracles but onlye by naked affirmations and priuate interpretatioÌ„s that this is true and this we vnderstaÌ„d it or els by no likelie and probable reasons by which the vnderstanding might be sumwhat directed it is no honest and indifferent dealing that when such their wordes and argumeÌ„ts are disproued it should be inough for them to answer againe you lie or you iest or you fauor not the pure and sincere Ghospell I gather by the handeling of other Catholikes what I haue to prouide for about my owne doings A preacher at paules crosse in an euill houre prouoked all the Catholikes in the world vpon manifold articles against him for part of his lying a short confutation was straitwaies put in writing which for the shortnes of it being easelie copied out and for the truth and soundnes of it liked verie well of the Catholikes through much goeing abrode in to manie places and free communicating of it vnto diuers persons it cummeth at length vnto a protestaÌ„ts handes which before that was desirous of it Which to the coÌ„mendacion of his zeale vndoubtedlie although not of his science made with speede an answer vnto it and intitled it An answer in defence of the truth c. Wherin you may note how much in a short time the world is chaunged For at that season simple and familiar letters of Catholikes not framed to such purposes were out of hand answered and put in print Treatisies also which went abrode without name from frind to frind were sought and inquired for curiouslie and set furth in print to be considered Yet now when thei are prouoked againe and againe to make good the crakes sett on their Ghospell thei worke I feare by deceipts and subtelties and haue either no answer at all to make or that which thei haue made is not lyked of their fauorers or els thei will make so manie wordes and so greate a worke that lyke craftie wormes thei maye couer themselues vnder leaues and still mainteine a russhing with creeping yet awaye from the taking or els thei are not so hott in sprite as thei were wont to be But concerning that called Defence of the truth being sent vnto me by a great fauorer of the proceedinges and sent of verye good will and frindshipp that I should be reformed after his desire by it by considering how the Papiâ—â—es are allwayes repelled I taried not long but made a reply againste it the veritie of our cause was so euident and the false demeanure of the aduersarie that I might well defend the Catholike
which the old fathers vsed peruerted yet of vs but what old father or young brother hath taught you the mightie contrarietie which you speake of betweene sacrifice and sacrament Yet goe to if we haue mistaken the old fathers how well doe you vnderstand them you can not denie but the old fathers do call the sacrament an oblation or sacrifice but you will expound their meanyng vnto vs. Wherevpon you tell vs that in the beginnyng the people at the celebratiō of the Lord his supper offered vp wyne breade and other victuals partlie to find the priestes and partlie to refresshe the poore and allso to serue the communion And so partlie It came to passe the example being taken first of the common people that the administration of the sacrament of this offering was called an oblation An other occasion that the Doctours vsed those termes of sacrifieng and offering was that in the celebration of the sacrament thei had praier for all states and thankes geauing to God for all benefites After the fathers called euerie good action a sacrifice were it priuate or common And therfor their successors by litle and litle bent the same name vnto the action and celebration of the Sacrament An other cause that the holie fathers call the sacrament an oblation or sacrifice is because according to Christes ordenance we celebrate the remembrance of his death and passion which was the onlie and true sacrifice Where I may begyn to speake against you for this your diuision of sacrifice I can not readelie tell there are so many thinges which are to be moued and reproued First the imperfectnes that you haue vsed in it ▪ because you haue not expressed the full cumpasse of this word sacrifice as the holie Fathers haue vnderstode it Then your superfluousnes because you make many partes of that which you should haue concluded in one member As if euerie good action be called a sacrifice thē should you haue well brought the other kindes which you speake of vnder this one signification as the principall largest aboue all other Allthough you in deuising three maners after which the fathers take the word sacrifice do leaue this one out of the number by which euerie good action as you report is called a sacrifice which yet deserueth to haue the first place emong them if that which is most generall should not be omitted in diuiding Thirdlie your diuision is to be reproued for the greate vntruth which is conteined in it as I shall declare vnto you hereafter If first you will consider what an other maner of diuision was to be lerned out of the Doctours and in what sense it is spoken and beleiued of vs that a sacrifice propiciatorie is offered in our misteries Vnderstand you therefor that A sacrifice is a reuerent seruice and worshipp due vnto God onlie Now againe Of sacrificies some be internall and inuisible other some externall and visible The inward and internall sacrifice may be thus defined It is that worshipp and seruice in which our hart and will is geauen vnto God and this is done vpon the aultar of our hart when either we burne the incense of holie and deuoute loue in his sight or when we vowe to hym ourselues and his giftes in vs or when we remember his benefites in solempne feastes and holidaies or when vpon the aultar of our hart with the fyer of charitie we burne the offeringes of humilitie and praise vnto hym And this is the pure and acceptable sacrifice which onlie God requireth of vs not because of his owne profit and vantage but that we by vniting of ourselues to hym might liue and continue for euer with hym But how shall a man know that there is such a spirituall inuisible and acceptable sacrifice Of his owne doing a man perchaūse may know but of an others mynd who can tell without some externall signe or token shewed Againe if a man would vtter his owne inward deuotion how can he exemplifie it without some externall signe either of bowing of knees or holding vp of handes or lifting vp of eyes or knocking of breast or offering vp of some gift yea rather the soule and bodie being so nigh togeather as they are it ys impossible that the hart soule shold entierlie be occupied in the true worshipe of God and that by no maner of similitude it shold be perceaued in the bodie Therefor by necessarie and naturall consequence and folowing there must be an externall sacrifice And that is defined of S. Augustine by these wordes The visible sacrifice ys a sacrament that ys to saie an holie signe of the inuisible sacrifice Of this second kind of sacrifice if you require exāples you may easelie find them in the sacrificies of Abel Noe Abraham and others in the law of nature and in the boke of Leuiticus as concerning the old law and in the churches and deuotions of Christiās in this tyme of grace as whē thei offer candells burne frankincense take ashes beare palme and do anything outwardlie to the honor of God In which thinges except the offerer haue an internall deuotiō and pietie all those externall ceremonies are not to him worth the vsing and if he be in hart and memorie fullie disposed and aduised to consider his owne miserie and god his mercie then are these outwarde actions and obseruations holie signes and tokens of the internall sacrifice and may be called externall sacrificies But let vs speake of one singular example for all The visible and bitter death of our Sauior Christ vpon the crosse was an external aud bloudie sacrifice But in what sense and meaning vndoubtedlie as it was and is called visible But what meane I by visible I meane that so painefull maner of hys hanging by the handes and fcete vpon the crosse and so vniuersall a wounding of euerie part of his pretiouse bodie so that from the croune of his heade to the soele of his feete there was no whole place in hym and the panting of euerie vaine and stretching of euerie ioynt and incredible torment in all his blessed fleshe these thinges with manie other were I meane holie signes of his inward sacrifice in which he offered vp before hym and to hym which seeth all secreates his liffe his hart his will his thankes his praises and praiers and all that was his for the sauing of mankind and satisfieing of his fathers Iustice. Yea concernyng the eies of men not onlie the sight of God who may doubt of his patience which in all those tormētes dyd neuer once murmur who can mistrust or suspect his charitie which emong so manie cruellties done to hym forgat not to loue his enemies who should not but consider hys endlesse obedience whose soule could not be remoued from the keeping of his fathers will when the bodie was disioynted the one member from the other In verie deed this was an holie signe and sacrament of the inuisible and
no Doctor vpon his bare word without scripture or reason and as we folow his lesson therein so yet we add further that be a man neuer so auncient and well learned and let hym bring neuer so much scripture and reason yet except he be allowed of the churche he is to be eschewed with all his 〈◊〉 and learning For if it shall please you to learne more iudgement this 〈◊〉 must vnderstand 〈…〉 in all places of all persons To dispute of that which the whole church doth obserue through the world â–ª it is saieth S. Austyne a most impudent madnes and therfor it may be rightlye and well beleiued first of all that which the whole church doth teach vs. But what if ther be schismes and diuisions in the church for thetyme present Mary Syr then we must resort vnto Antiquitie and aske counsell of the most auncient fathers But then agayne what if the auncient fathers agree not emong themselfes Truly then we must folow the voyces of the most and best learned of them And so by these meanes we haue three places of refuge Vniuersalitye Antiquitye and CoÌ„sent And we the Catholikes haue most certaine and infallible rules by which we do trye priuate opinions of doctors geauing lesse vnto them then you do which esteeme your owne iudgemeÌ„tes so highlye except thâ—â— agree with the church of Christ or agree with other of their 〈…〉 as though that the Catholikes did make an article of faith of euery thing which thei reade in the fathers but consider rather that we trye them more exactly then you doe and we can not be straitwaies persuaded without further question if the best learned that euer was shold bring scripture and reason to proue his singular opinion Yet seeing that you can finde in your harte so quicklie to yeld vnto the learned and holy mens scriptures or good reasons although there is a better waye which you shold take neuertheles to lett you haue a litle your owne mynde what saie you now vnto S. Cyrill his wordes be these vnto Calosyrius They are then madd which saye the mystical beâ—ediction or blessing to recise from her sanctification if any leauinges remayne vntyll the next daye ' Because the very holy body of Christ shall not be chainged but the vertue blessing and lyuely quyckenyng is in it rather This is S. Cyrill against you an how can you auoyde hym You wyll not you say playnlie deny the place because it is alleaged of diuers other Yet because this worke of S. Cyrill is not extant you haue good cause to suspect it Although the worke be not extant vnto you yet it maye be in some libraries of the world and the place being alleaged of many an honest plaine dealing man would not suspect without some good and great cause that it were falsely fathered vpon S. Cirill For if the Catholikes could haue founde in their hartes to haue mysused the simplicitie of others and to attribute vnto holie fathers such sentences as were neuer thers it had ben an easie matter for the Bisshoppes of Christendome in that great consent and peace of faith which hath ben in the church for eight or nine hundred yeares togeather vntill the dyuell raised vpp Luther to haue agreed vpoÌ„ such a booke which should make expressely against new vpstart heretikes and haue the name of S. Augustine S. Ambrose S. Hierome or some other And againe it had ben an easye matter for some one Bisshop Abbot or Doctor to fayne that he had fouÌ„de such or such a booke of S. Augustine S. Ambrose S. Hierome or other if there had ben no more conscience in Catholikes then is proued to be now in heretikes It is sone said this is not Saint Cyrill his testimonie and as the prouerbe is in some scholes Plus potest asinus negare quà m Aristoteles probare And further also if the Catholikes should be perceiued neuer to haue had emong them this testimonie of S. Cyrill before that late heretikes of these dayes beganne to impugne them openlye as one might easely alleage at all aduenture vpon some priuate wylfulnes that S. Cyrill sayeth this vnto Calosyrius so might he probably be suspected of an other lest perchauÌ„se he inuented false testimonies But you can not proue it by vs that we haue vsed this defence out of S. Cyrill only sence we haue striued against you but rather when all thinges were quyet you shall finde those testimonies which you suspect to haue ben recyted of Catholikes And especiallye that saying of his which maketh for the supremacie of the Bishop of Rome which some hundred yeares agoe S. Thomas Aquinas hath recyted out of S. Cyrill Thesaurorum .xij. which testimony if it be not in the Latyn now extant yet it maye be in the Greeke and what Greeke copyes are beyonde sea you can not tell and if it be not in print yet it may be in wryten bookes whereas many yeares before any printing was in the world this testimonie is alleaged by approued men and excellent both for learning and lyuing Also if you haue cause to suspect the testimonie which hath not the worke extant out of which it was taken what cause moued you then to make so greate store of a fragment of Gelasius which you doe allwaies alleage most busylye when you talke of receyuing vnder both kyndes And allthough Gelaâ—sius in that selfe same abrupt and short sentence doth expresselye declare that he speaketh against such as which vpon a certayne superstition abstayned from the receyuing of Christ his bloud and serueth nothing at all vnto the purpose of which we talke Yet you delight so much in it as though all were fysâ—he which commeth to your nett and no testimony were to be suspected which may seeme to serue for your purpose although the work be not extant Whereby it appeareth that you picke onlye a quarrell againste the testimonye which we bring out of S. Cyrill and myslyke with it not because the worke is not extant but because he calleth you madd men in reprouing reseruation of the sacrament Now wheÌ„ you haue said as much as you could to the disgracyng of the testimony then flatter you with it agayne and saye But be yt so that these are Cyrill his owne wordes in deede â–ª we haue for that one suspected place a numbre of sounde testimonyes that all dyd not allow reseruation nor thinke it according to the worde of God You geaue and take awaye againe You graunt that they shall be Saint Cyrill his owne wordes in deede and yet stratwayes you call it a suspected place But lett vs consider how sounde your testimonies beâ— First you alleage Origine which in deede hath those wordes which you recite but his meaningâ— yet was not to reproue all reseruation of the sacrament â–ª For he expounding those wordes Leu. 7. in which it is commaunded that the flesshe of the sacrifice which shall be offred in