you with looking on many places There is a little treatise of Melancthons intituled De vsuintegri sacrameÌ„ti in which ye shall finde diuers argumentes concludyng the necessitie of bothe kindes and that they sinne and greuously offende that doo restraine the people from one parte of the sacrament But I perceiue this is your coÌ„mon fashion to make Doctours writers to speake whatsoeuer you woulde haue them to speake Now sir 12. Cap. if ye haue no better proufes and testimonies oute of the holy scriptures and olde fathers then these whiche ye haue in this your Apologie alledged I assure you the challenge that before was made may iustly be againe repeted And A. it may be sayde to you that you haue out of the scripture nor sillable nor tittle out of the auncient doctours nor sentence nor halfe sentence that doeth directly proue eyther your priuate masse or communion vnder one kinde to the laitie For all that here you haue vttered be nothinge but wrythed coniectures vpon cases extraordinary and shiftes of extremitie to proue a continual or general rule to bée obserued in the church of Christe contrary to the example and order by hym selfe apointed Wherefore there is no cause that you should so confidently conclude as though you had profoundly ben faire clokes for them to holde their peace where as in déede they haue in these poinctes or litle or nothing to say for them selfe And surely if I had ben of your sorte I would haue wyshed that you also had ben bounde in recognisance if that would haue stayed you from wrytinge For both your reasons and aucthorities by you vttered though they séeme to your selfe neuer so stroÌ„g doth rather bewray your parte theâ— pithely defend it But if you and yours had neuer so greate store of armour prouision and furniture as to the terrour of men you would pretende to haue yet ye shold neuer be able to beare downe the manifest trueth so euidently apperinge in the wordes of Christes institution nor the wytnesses of the primatiue churche agreinge with the same Answere to the argumente of multitude continuance of time c â–ª Therefore the thunderinge in of the aucthoritie of the holy catholike church the prescription of .xv C. yeres the consent of moste parte of Christendome the holines and learninge of so many godly fathers as hath béen these ix C. yeres the age and sclender learninge of those that stande against you doth nothinge at all either feare vs or moue vs to suspect that doctrine which by Christes aucthoritie and witnesse of the Apostles wée know to be trewe We haue ben accustomed of longe time to those vaine voices Wée sée they all be either manifestly false or at the least of small effecte These are the mystes which you haue alway cast before the eies of the simple and ignorant as it were to blinde and amase them to the ende that either they may not sée the trueth when it is brought to them or if they sée it to make them suspecte it when they heare that .xv. C. yeares the more parte of the worlde haue bene of contrary opinion But this is euidently false that you say For .600 yere after Christe more these doctrines were neuer heard of in the church much lesse vnder one kinde prohibicion of mariage in priestes purgatory the supremacie of Rome nor a number moe of your errours Yea and at this daye thinke and doo contrary to you in those thinges And wyll you then so falsely beare men in hand that the whole churche was always of your opinion But be it so that the moste part of christendome .ix. C. yeres hathe taught as you doo Is that a sufficient argument to reiecte a doctrine euident by the worde of god May not all christianitie be cleane defaced if such argumentê of continuance of time and multitude of persons should be rules to gouerne mens conscience Might not the gentiles haue alledged the like againste the Apostles and their successours Might not they haue saide and saide more truly then you that the worshipping of their gods had continued not hundreds but thousande of yeares that the whole worlde helde with them that the wise and profound learned Philosophers defended their doctrine that the Apostles were but new heretikes Ideotes and vnlearned persons that their doctrine came from the dotinge people of the Iewes that the gods declared their dyspleasure and indignations against the new teachinge of Christ with seditions tumultes warres plagues dearthes tempestious weatheringes and suche like Might not the Israelites haue couÌ„ted greate folly in the house of Iuda that they would swarue from theim in worshippinge of god seinge they were tenne partes to one Might not the priestes in the olde lawe yea dyd they not alledge against the prophetes continuance of time and multitude of doctours priestes and Rabins Were they not hundredes to one poore Micheas Did they not the like in Christes time Did they not beate vpon the longe continuance of Moyses law whiche they saide he came to destroy Did they not none can forsake the guidinge and instruction of our holy mother the church without manifest perill of their owne soules and such as they doo leade from the church In déede this accusation is greuous and may not lightly be passed of mée although you staie not longe vpon it This is that you feare mens consciences withall This is it that in déede maketh many to stagger in receininge the trueth when they heare you continually beate vppon the name of your holy mother the churche and in wordes claime that to you whiche verely and in déede is not in you For all be not the sonnes of Abraham that bragge and auante that they came of Abrahams stocke All be not the people of god that say they bee the people of god All be not Israelites that discended of Israel All be not Christian men in déede that name them selfe Christians I will therfore in few wordes declare what the church is and howe we may if we take not good héede be deceiued by the name of the churche takinge the church of Antichrist for the true and right churche of Christe First how necessarie indéede it is for a christian man to beléeue the faieth of the holy church it may by this appere that to be borne to euerlastyng life and saluacion to be made the sonne of God and heire of the kyngdom of heauen of necessitie wée must be conceiued in the wombe of the churche of Christe and as it were fostred vp in hir lappe For she is the mother of all those that are the true children of God And in hir custodie Christe hath lefte the treasure of his grace by hir ministery to be bestowed amonge his people Therfore if wée couitte to haue entrance into the kyngdome of God and be partakers of the graces and promisses of Christe I confesse wée must remaine in the faith of his holy churche But what is this churche or how may
setters forth of the sameâ— There lacked not gods promisses amonge the Iewes There lacked not succession of bishops and â—â—istes There lacked not opinion of great holinesse and austeritie of life There lacked â—â—â—t great sâ—il and knowledge of the law of god And yet is it moste euident that they erred that they refused the trueth that vnder the name and gay shewe of the church in very déede they persecuted the church Why shal we not thinke that the like maybee in this time Yea why should wee not surely perswade our selues by the course of gods beinges and by the testimonies of holy scripture that the like is now in this â—urtime Our sauiour Chirst and hys Aposties haue left warning abundantly that it would hee so in his churcheâ— and especially towarde the ende of the â—hâ—â—lde Christe him selfe prophesied that desolacion should stand in the holy place that is in the churche Sainâ— Paule witnesseth that Antichrist shold sit in the temple of god that is in the church Where it is also signified not that he should be an abiecte in the churche but a power auantinge him selfâ— aboue the name of god Peter saiâ—th that in the church should bee maisters and teachers of lies Paule affirmeth for suretie that in the latter dayes suche shall come as shall geue eate to doctrine of the dyuel for bidding to mary and eate suche meates as god had created to bée taken with thanken geuinge These thinges were prophecied to come not amonge Turkes and Sarasens not amonge Infidels and Paganes but in the temple of god in the church of god in the societie of them that did professe Christ We haue therfore great cause to marke the working of god by the example of the old church amonge the Iewes Wee see that the Prophetes were firste vered by those that bare the name of the churche and shold haue most gladly receiued them We sée that in Christes time and the Apostles not the Gentils first refused the comfortable tidinges of the gospel but they that called them selfe the people of god and had amonge them the custodie of his lawe and ceremonies Euen in like maner we haue to thinke that he wyll doo in this time seinge â—ée hath of the same forewarned vs. For euen as the olde lawe and religion of the Iewes was a shadow and paterne of the true relygion brought in by Christ so the state and maner of that church may well resemble the state of Christes church in the latter time As the olde church therefore to warde the â—ndedid forsake this lawe and right vse of gods ceremonies and beinge denyeded in sundry sectes deuised new worshippinges accordinge to theyr dâ—â—â—â— phantasies in so muche that for the mainteraÌ„ce therof they refused Christ and his Apostlê So in like maner and wée iustly thinke that the church after Christ towarde the ende of the world shall departe from the trueth of Gods worde right ministration of his sacramentê cleautinge to theyr owne inter pretacions beinge deuided in sundry sectes of religion for the defence of the saine shal refuse and cast out of the church such as god will sende so renew the trueth of his holy word and gospel Wherfore it ought to comfort and confirme vs and cause vs to thinke that wée be in déede in the churche rather then to feare vs seinge they that in the pompe and glorious face of the worlde séeme to haue the gouernmente of the churche doth refuse vs and take vs to bee none of the church For suche they were alwaies that from the beginnynge refused and oppressed the trueth Such they were that vexed the Prophetes Such they were that refused Christ Such they were that persecuted his Apostels Here perhappes some curious conscience wil be pricked and thinke it is not likely that god of his great mercy would suffer his churche and so great a number of people to erre so many hundred yeares But wée must beware how by oure reason of likelihodde wée enter into gods iudgement and vnscrutable prouidence We must thinke of him as the courte of his doingeâ— sheweth vs Wée must thinke of him as his holy worde teacheth vs. Wée must not thinke of him as oure soâ—de reason wyll leade vs. Is it not merueilous thinke you and to oure iudgement vnscrutable that thousands of yeres hee suffered all the nationâ—â— of the earth to bee â—â—selled in Polaâ—â—y and opened his knowledge to only one little people of the Iewes Is it not merueâ—lous that of .xij. partes of that one people he suffered .x. and a halse to forsake him at one time yea that one parte that remained not a fold tymes cleane to geue ouel the trus worshyppinge of god so that in those dayes he might scante séente to haue any true church vpon the whole face of that earth Be not these thinges beyonde the likelyhoddes of mans féeble reason Nay â—â—â—e not say with S. Paule O vnscruâ—â—sse and Botomlesse deepenes of his diuâ—â—â—e iudgemente and leaue to séeke what is likely in his ddinges The Iewes were his chosen people from whiche the sausour of the worldâ— should rise â–ª They had among them his law aâ—â—â— ceremonies his aboundant promisses and sacramentes They had his tabernacle out of the which he as presente spake vnto them If then the depenes of gods iudgement were suche towarde them that hee suffered them so ofte and so longe to go astraie and sence Christes time most miserably 1560. yeres hath scattered them vpon the earth may 〈◊〉 not feare the like also amonge vs in this latter time Doth not S. Paule put vs in feare that if god did breake away the naturall braunches of the Oliue he would also if cause were geuen cut of those that were but grassed on beside nature Doth not Christe in the gospell forewarne vs that in the latter dayes should bée suche mischiefe and blindnes in the churche that euen the electe should be in daunger to be seduced And shall we then hope at that time to seacute e the true churche in so triumphant glory of the world as it shal make euen the greatest Emperours and Princes of the earth in worlde might power subiect vnto it Truly that agreeth not with Christes prephecie nor the warninges of the Apostels wherein they tel vs of the greate daunger that shal happen in the churche towarde the ende of the worlde â–ª That it may not be thought to be my euely phantasie that the aduersarie of Christe shall in the latter daies sit in the churche and beare the face of religion Heare you what Hylarie sayth Conrra Auxentiuâ—â—n In whose time the Arrians by the furtherance of the Emperour and a number of Bishops tooke on them the name of the Catholikes and persecuted the true christian churche Ye do ill saith he to be infout with walles ye do ill to worship the churche of God in gay honfes and buildinges ye do ill to bryng the name of peace vnder them Vs it not certaine that Antichrist
shall sit in them Mountaines woddes marriceâ— prisonâ— denneâ— are more safe for me For in those the Prophetes either vosuntarely abydinge or cast thether by violence did prophesie by the spirite of god How could a man more plainely declare that the true churche both then was and after shuld be vexed and persecuted by those that in sight and power of external gouernment were taken for the church At is notable also that Augustine hath Deciuit dei lib. 20. speaking of Antichriste Rectius putant etiam latine dici sicut in graeco est non in templo sed in teÌ„plum dei sedeat â—â—nq ipse sit templum dei quod est ecclesia Some thinke it were better spoken in Latine as it is in the Greâ—e as to say that Aâ—â—ithriste shoâ—th sit not in thâ— temple of God but as the temple of God aâ— thoughe himselfe were the temple of God â–ª which is the churche What Bernarde dyd thinke of the churche in his time aboue 400. yeares agoe it appereth in viuers places There is no sounde parte now faith he in the clergie it remaineth therfore that the man of sinne be reuealed And in an other place All my friendes vt now become my foes all my mainteinere â—â—e now become aduetsariâ—â— â–ª The 〈◊〉 of Christe â—o seruice so Antichrist If I should â—â—eite out of authourâ— and Histories al such testimonies as serueth to this purpose I shoulde be a greate deale longer then this place requireth I will therfore at this time omitte them Seting therfore it doeth euidently appere that in the latter time they shall beare the name of the churche whiche in déede be not the right churche wée must booke diligently that wée gene not ouer to euery power that wil claime the name of the churche but consider whither the true marke of the holy churche be amonge them What is the true marke of Christes churche Christe the true pastour noting whiche were his shéepe faseth 〈◊〉 sheepe will here my voyce And as by his worde and voyce he calleth them into his folde so by his sacramentes there he marketh them The right churche therfore as the folde of Christe hath the true worde of God and vse of his sacramentes accordyng to the same for the due markes therof So much then as the worde of God and vse of the sacramentes be corrupted amonge ady people or congregacion so farre shall that company be from the shate of the true and perfit churche of Christe Therfore it is easie to iudge what is to be thought of them that leaue the worde of God and worship him well nere altogether with their owne deuised phaÌ„tasies That the scripture which is the voyce and worde of God is the true triall of the church wée haue good authoritie in the auncient fathers S. Augustine contra PetilianuÌ„ cap. 2. The controuersie is betweene veâ— the Donatisteâ— saith he where the churche is Therefore what shall wee dot shall wee seeke if in our owne wordes or in the wordes of out forde Iesus Christe the head therof thinke wee ought rather to seeke it in his wordes that is trueth and best knoweth hie body Therfore they be not to be compted the churche that with their owne wordes will san they he the churche but they whose doctrine â—â—â—réeth with the worde of Christe that is head of the churche In like maner hath Chrisostome in Mat. cap. 14. wherfore saith he in this thâ—â— off chaifâ—ouâ— men ought to resorte to the seâ—â—â—â— tureâ— â—ecause in this time since theresie is come into the churches there can be no other proufe of true christianitie nor any other refuge for christian men desyryng to know the tune faith but onely the holy for iptureâ— for before it was she wed by many meanes which was the churche of Christe which was gentilitie But now to them that will knowe whiche is the right churche of Christe there is no meanes but only by the scriptures S. Augustine hath the like in many wordes in the. 16. cap. contra epistolam Periliani whiche I let passe here for breuiries sake The place beginneth in this wise Vtrum Donatistae ecclesiam teneant non nisi diuinatu scripturarum canonicis libris ostendant Quianee nos ppterea dicimus nobis credere oportere quod in ecclesia Christ sumus c. Wherfore a Christian conscience that in this daungerous time wyll walke safely must take the word of god to be his only state must â—ake the holy scripture to be as well the rule whereby his shall measure the true paterne of the church as the very touchstone wherby he must trie al the doctrine of the same For god in time paste spoke by his prophetes many and sundry waies but last of all by his dere sonne Whose doctrine how perfite it was the woman of Samaria witnesseth sayinge When Messias commeth he shall telâ—â— all thinges And the same Messias hym selfe saieth I haue made knowen to you all that I haue heard of my father And therefore sendinge his Apostles hee saith Teach them to obserue all that I haue commaunded As if he had sayd ye shall declare vnto the gentils not whatsoeuer shal seeme good to your selfe but those thinges that I haue commaunded you Those thinges therfore are to be hard those thinges we must stay vppon In those we must séeke our saluation and life What soeuer is not agreinge with them must be cast of and compted of no forse So saieth Origine Wee must nedes cal the holy scriptures to witnes In Hierem Hom. 1. For our senses and declaracions withoute those witnesses haue no credite So saith Hierom. That hath not aucthoritie in the scripture in euen as lighily contenmed as it is spoken And againe in psal 86. Consider what hee saith Which were in it not which be in it So that except the Apostles whatsoeuer should be spoken afterwarde let it bee cutte of let it not haue authoritie Therfore be one neuer so holy after the Apostlee bee hee neuer so eloquent he hath not authority Because the lord wyll make his declaracion in the writinge of people and princes that were in it In that place Hierome at large declareth that the doctrine of god must bee proued by such wrytinges as were in the churche vntil the Apostles time and those that after folowed to bee of no sufficient authority were they neuer so holy Let vs stay therefore vpon the canonical scriptures and holy worde of god For saith S. Cyprian Hereof arise schismes because we selâ—e not to the head nor haue recourse to the springe nor kepe the commaundementes of the heauenly maister Let he aske Peter saith Ambrose let vs aske Paule if we wyl finde out the trueth And Christ him selfe biddeth vs searche the scriptures and not presume of our owne spirite vppon vnwritten verities beside the worde of god What credite is to bee geuen to those that so speake Chrisostome teacheth vs. As Christ saith he when hee vnderstode that they sayde
Doeth not the Apostels proue it at large But for as much as you are not able to proue the negatiue I will no further trouble you therwith Yet when there is an affirmatiue imploied in the negatiue as there is here thoughe I discharge you of very gentilnes from the proufe of th one order of schooles will driue you to proue the other though it were in factes muche more in doctrine Your negatiue was 2. Cap. that there was no priuate Masse at all in the primatiue churche thus you say and shewe no cause why This terme priuate A distictioÌ„ of priuate whiche you in this place first inuented I meane Luthers schoole may be taken concerning this matter diuers waies One way priuate is contrarie to common A. to many And in this significacion wée neuer saied that any Masse was priuate For the catholike church euer taught that the Masse is a common or publique sacrifice restrained to none so but that the whole churche or any liuely membre therof had thereby great commoditée and might beyng prepared and well disposed bee partaker not onely of the common Praier and Suffrages offered vp to God in the Masse but also of the holy sacramente of Christes body and bloud therin consecrated and offered Wée neuer yet prisoned vp the holy Sacrifice of the Masse or the sacramente therin receiued or the vse of ani of them from any that disposed them selues godly If you had harde vs preache that the Masse is onely auailable to the priest or to princes or to vs of England or to them of Italie or to men and not to women or to such as are aliue and not to suche as are dead or to say that none ought to receiue the Sacrament but the priest you might haue charged vs that wée wente aboute to enclose that to some one sorte of priuate profit that ought to remaine in common for all sortes of people And in this wise wée neuer taught that any Masse was priuate But you haue the other significacion of this terme priuate B. That is the soole receiuynge of the Sacramente by the priest imbarrynge none to communicate with him yea rather reioysing if any would be so wel disposed to receiue with him And lamentynge when he séeth the people so euill disposed that none will order theim selues so that they may worthely receiue with him And yet not forsying theim to receiue when they are not disposed nor readie And in this meanyng of priuate the catholike churche doeth teache that the priest may receiue the Sacramente at Masse alone when none other is disposed to receiue with him Now if you be able wee require you to proue thaffirmatiue included in your negatiue Whiche is this That euery priest or any other ought when he receiueth the sacrament to haue companie to receiue with him in the same time and place vpon payne of Gods high indignation and then wee will yelde vnto you If you be able to proue neither the negatiue nor the affirmatiue storme not so sore against the doctrine of the catholik churche the whiche falsehed many times assaulteth and was neuer yet able to ouerthrow As you say 3. Cap. there was no priuate Masse in the primatiue church and say vntruly so may you say and say truly there was no christian kynge in the Apostles time That all thynges shuld not be brought to the forme of the primatiue churche There was no christian man that then counted any thinge his owne of suche thynges as he possessed but all were common There was then no doctrine taught but it was confirmed by miracles There was no woman that might come with open face to the churche There was no Bisshop indewed with temporaltées There was no distinction commonly of parishes There was nothyng eaten that was mingled with bloud There was no whole realmes turned to the fayth There was no receuyng of the Sacrament but after supper There was no infant but was housled And thus may wée rolle in a greate sorte suche there was not truly as you rolle in diuers of yours falsly And will you I beséeche ye reforme al thynges to the very state of the primatiue churche now Will you suppresse al christian kyngê which were not in the Apostels time A. Wyll you alter the state now and make all thinges to be common Wyll you disgrace all preachers that woorke not miracles Wyl you inforce women to hoodwinke them selues in the churche will you rayle against bisshoppes that kéepe any temporalties Wyll ye set men at liberty to doo their duty at what churche they will Wyll ye inhibit the folkes to eate bluddynges or Pigions or Capons suche as are killed by stiffilyng Will you inforce vs to be houseled after supper Wyll you housell all babes and infantes againe B. To call suche thynges to the state of the Apostels time The primatiue churche the state of infaÌ„cie and of the primatiue church againe is nothyng els but to enforce a taule man to come to his swadlynge clothes and to crie alarme in his cradel again I trust when you say there was no priuate Masse in the primatiue churche not withstandinge you disalowe priuate Masse yet you wil alowe Masse to bee in the primatiue churche or els wisdome would haue sayed more generally there was no Masse at all nor priuate nor common c. And yet there is an open difference betwéen these two sentences there was no priuate Masse at that time and there ought to be no priuate Masse at any time In the one wée conceiue the vse of that age not withstandynge the law of the churche euen then might stande indifferently to the contrarie vpon circumstances and good consideracions And in the other wée precisely conceiue what the lawe doeth determine either lawfull or vnlawfull The constant faith C. the pure life An argumente of the coÌ„parison of the times the feruent charitée the contempte of the worlde that then florisshed so amongest such as professed Christ might cause perhappes that no Masse was celibrated but that diuers christians and specially lookyng for continuall persecucion would be houseled there at and be alwaies sure to haue their viaticuÌ„ as it is termed in the olde Cannons that is to say their vâ—age prouision In that state of burnynge charitée and of contempt of the worlde and al the pleasures therof some of the people perhaps of their owne accorde did alwaies willyngly and gladly prepare theim selues at euery Masse to be housled with the priest And will you now in the state of keycolde charitée D. when the people are nothyng willyng to dispose theim selues to receiue their housill E. plucke the priest from the aulter whose office as to offer that dayly sacrifice for the people vnlesse ther be that wil receiue Will you imbarre him that is bounde to offer vp the dayly sacrifice of dutie because they will not dispose theim selues to receiue their housill Who as concernyng so
and thingeâ—â— hée listeth That it is a sacrifice of Christes body that it is vsed in place of the Lordes Supper that one may offerat for quicke and deade that it is in the priestes power to apply it all your sorte doe not only without resistance easely confesse but without reason stoutly defende Therefore I shall not néede to make any further prouse of the partes of this discripcion I doo therefore take priuate masse to be not only as you and some other patrons of your cause of late yeares haue wrested it sence the ministers of gods truth in this latter time haue driuen you to the best shiftes of interpretacion but as it was commonly vsed in the worlde before and as it is set forth in your schole men to the great defacinge of Christes death and passion And yet ye shall not thinke that wée of trueth can or ought to yelde to the best of your interpretacions that euer I could heare Of this priuate masse that I haue now declared to you the challenge that ye take so greuousy was made And therein doo I also at this time ioigne issue with you and say that nether you nor any of your parte will euer be able to proue the same by the hoâ—y scriptures auncient fathers or alowed councels yea and because you vrge the negatiue that with gods healpe wée will abundantly proue the contrary This will I doo quietly and calmely without stormynge or tempestuous blustering either at you or at your doctrine as one moste glad to bringe you againe to that heauenly trueth of the gospel whiche vnder the blasphemous names of falshode and phantasée you declare your selfe to haue forsaken In the residue of your discourse ye woulde séeme to take from vs the true and right rule to reforme the church of Christ 3. Cap. that is to proue that in doctrines and vse of the sacramentes al thinges should not be reduced to the patern of the Apostles time and the primatiue churche Herein you doo as they are wonte whose conscience doeth pricke them to haue done amisse For suche alway draw backe and lurke out of the light being lothe to come there where they know that truth woulde be tried Euen so you fearyng to be founde fautie woulde wryng vs from that rule wherby all trueth in doctrine ought to be examined To this purpose ye may séeme to bryng three reasons One is a rowlyng in of a rable of suche examples as no reasonable man woulde denie vnto you The seconde is a resemblyng of the primatiue church vnto an infant in the swadlynge cloutes and this latter time to a tall man of perfit yeres and ripe age The thirde is the comparison of the times and the ferueÌ„t charitée that then was with the key-colde charitée that now is As touching the first I cannot choose but greately merueile at your maner of reasonyng whiche indeuour to proue the contrary of that that no man did euer affirme Did ye euer here of any A. that woulde haue all thinges without exception reduced to that very forme of the worlde that was in the primatiue churche And yet your examples tendeth to the rupted either with false opinions depraued or with superstitious ceremonies defaced is it not full time thinke you to call for redresse accordyng to the scripture and primatiue churche So to doo wée haue good example in Christe him selfe and in his apostle S. Paule When Christe woulde purge the lawe from pharisaicall mitigations and interpretacions he had recourse to the first fountaine originall Math. 5. saiynge Dictum est veteribus c. Ego autem dico vobis So he ruduced all to the first fountaine In the mattier of deuorsemeÌ„t he alledged not the Rabins and late writers of Iewes but saied Ab initio non fuit sic Countyng what soeuer was added to the first ordinance of the law to be a corruption of it S. Paule mindyng to redresse the abuse of this sacramente of the lordes supper euen in this poincte that they tooke it in partes and not together bryngeth the institution of Christ from the beginnyng and saieth This haue st receiued of the Lorde Wyllynge to alter nothyng therin The like doeth S. Cyprian epist ad Cecisium against Aquarios Wee must not harken saieth he what other did before vs but what Christe first did that was before al. And here he speaketh of the same sacrament and against them that abused if contrarie to the first fouÌ„dacion were they neuer so holy This Tertussian also taketh to be a sure rule against all heresies and abuses who saith in this wise This reason is of force against all heresies That is true that was first ordeined that is corrupted that is after done And Cyprian in the same epistle before mencioned Hereof saith he arise diuisions in the church because wee seeke not to the head nor haue recourse to the fountain nor kepe the commaundementes of the heauenly maister Therefore seyng it is so good a rule in religion to resorte to the first institucion wée also without any iust reproche may require to haue the sacramentes reformed accordynge to the scripture and the primatiue church But you thinke perhappê although for shame ye may not say it that their successours in calder age of the churche were of more wisedome and discretion and know better what they had to doo then the Apostles and olde fathers Therto tendeth your similitude of bringyng a talle man againe to his swadlyng cloutes B therein resemblynge the primatiue churche to infancie and this latter time to ripe age and discrecion That the primatiue churche was not of the state of infancie This is not your onely similitude It is muche in the mouthes of suche as mainteine your doctrine But I assure you it was neuer inuented without the spirite of Antichriste nor cannot be maintened without blasphemy against Christe and singular reproche of his Apostles and their successours If that time were the state of infancie in the churche when Christ him selfe instructed when his Apostles taught when the holy fathers gouerned nexte their time then wee muste néedes recken Christ the Apostles the fathers to be infantes in religion to be babes in gouernement of the churche not to be able so well to se what was conueniente in the vse of the sacramente as their posteritee were Can any christian mans hearte fall into that cogitacion without feare of Gods wrath and displeasure And yet that must needes folow vpon this defence of your doctrine I pray you when hath a man best discrecion to rule him selfe Will yée not say when he is most indued with the vse of reason and wisedome When had the churche of God such aboundant wisedome and knowledge of his heauenly misteries When was it indued with so plentifull graces of the holy ghost as it was in time of the Apostles and first fathers Did it not appere in their pure life in their feruent zeale in their miraculous workyng And will
prouyng your learnyng can not be so little but that ye must néedes know A. Euen as say you it is to be wisshed that al contencion and strife were cleane banisshed and yet men are not to be forbidden to sue for their righte when they be iniured so is it to be wisshed that people were so deuoute as they woulde dayly receiue their howsill for so ye terme it And yet is not the priest to be letted to receiue when the people wil not dispose them selues vnto it Beside that ye conclude here only the case of necessitie whiche healpeth the common vse of your priuate Masse very little Ye make your comparison betweene thynges very vnlike and of nature diuers that is between possible and vnpossible and lawful vnlawful That all cotencion should be banisshed from amonge men in this worlde is a thing vnpossible a perfection not to be looked for in this fraile life But in a christian congregacion to haue some of the people or ministers to coÌ„municate orderly with the chiefe minister celebratynge is a thynge so possible as bothe the space of many hundred yeres it was continually vsed in the churche and may at this day with good example and instruction of the ministers be brought to passe although not euery day yet very often times Moreouer to sue for ones right is not only a thing suffered but of it selfe lawful and good and wée haue therof example and aucthoritée in gods worde But for the priest to minister the lordes supper alone is a thyng neither tollerable nor lawfull but contrarie to the forme that Christ him self vsed neither haue wée either aucthoritée or example in the scripture as a sufficient warrant to alter that forme that he vsed and apoincted Therfore your comparison is fautie on bothe partes and especially for that ye séeme to gather therby that it is no more necessarie for company to receiue with the priest then it is to haue all contencion banisshed from christian men whiche as I haue sayd in the frailtée of this woride is vnpossible If suche similitudes should be alowed a man might breake all gods commaundementes and yet proue him self not to do amisse Is not this a ioyly reason thinke you As it is to be wisshed that all variance and strife were cleane abandoned from amonge christian men and yet are not they to be forbidden to sue for their right which be iniured of other so it is to be wisshed that all vnmaried priestes did liue chaste but if they can not the bisshop must not forbid them to haue aâ—coosen of theirs to kéepe their house with whom Si non caste tamen caute This comparison is as rightly applied as yours is and yet how well it proueth I will make your selfe iudge All your drifte in this parte is by alledgyng the corruption of the worlde and slacknesse of deuocion to signifie that the people can not bee brought to communicate with the priest and therfore of necessitie that he may receiue alone But be the world neuer so corrupte I thinke it as vnpossible to haue a priest to celebrate deuoutly euery day as it is to haue some of the people often times to communicate with the priest Wherfore I may as effectually conclude vpoÌ„ the corruption of this time that priestes can not bee brought deuoutly to Masse euery day as ye doo that the people can not dispose them selfe in this colde charitie godly to frequent the sacrament And then were ye best to restraine your dayly massynge priestes and apoincte them either to once or at least to fewer times in the yere as ye haue taken order for the people generally to receiue only at Caster B But the prieste say you is bounde to offer vp the dayly sacrifice for himselfe and for the people This is the roote of all the abuses of the Lordes supper that ye haue brought into the churche of christ This is it wherwith ye doo pitifully deface the death and passion of Christ makinge your selues for your glories sake as it were means of reconciliacion betwene god and his people This is it that hathe discouraged christian people from the often vse and frequentacion of the Sacramente For hereby ye signifie that of necessitie it apperteineth only to the priest and as you wrote before the people to be lefte free to come as seldome as they wyl This ye take for the grounde of your reason in this place and yet within few lines haue twise rehersed it withoute any proofe at all But in déede ye muste of necessitée leaue that vnproued that ye be not in any wise able to proue For sure I am that neither the institucion of Christ maketh mencion of any oblation or sacrifice to be done by the minister sauinge only the sacrifice of thankes geuing for yet the scripture apointeth any bounden duty for the priest more to vse the sacrament then other godly and wel disposed christian men What significacion haue you in the wordes that christ vsed in ordeining the sacrament or in the maner of his doynge that hee then offered him selfe to his father He did that the next day after him self vpon the crosse as S. Paule saieth perfectly once for euer neither doeth he graunt his priuilege of the euerlasting priesthodde to any but to him selfe Therfore when your priestes take vppon them his office to offer sacrifice propitiatorie they goe beyonde theyr commission and take more vpon them then their dutie not without iuste reprehension of arrogancie and presumption Christes institution as the euangelistes S. Paule setteth it foorth is a teaching that hee gaue to vs his blessed body and bloud and not that wee should offer it vp to god the father He sayde Take eate doo this in remembrance of mee he said not geue offer and sacrifice for your sinnes A sacrifice is a thinge geuen to God the sacramente was a thinge geuen to vs. Nothinge therfore can be of nature more contrary then your sacrifice and christes sacramente Wherfore it must néedes bee that ye sucked this erroure oute of the phrases and fashions of speakynge that the olde fathers vsed peruertinge the same to a farre worse sence then euer they ment it For whâ— causes thâ— Lordes supper is called of the Deâ—tours a sacrifice 1. This thinge more euidently to declare it behoueth to consider that the fathers vpon dyuers occasions vsed to call the Sacrament by the name of an oblation or sacrifice First Csemens Asexander Teriussian Jraenens and other make mencion of a certaine oblation or offering that Christen people commonly vsed when they came together to celebrate the Lordes Supper In this they offered vp bread wyne and victuals abundantly not only to serue the communion as wee had a shadow of late yeres in the holy lofe but also that of the ouerplus therof aswell the ministers might haue their findinge as poore people also be refreshed Hereof partely it came to passe the erample beinge taken firste of the common
body hath communion with vs in baptisme Likewise they that receiue the Lordes supper be fedde with the same feede of the body and bloud of Christe that wée be and so haue communion with vs in that sacrament though in place they be farre of This is the communion betwéene christian men and this wée most reddely graunte But will you conclude here vpon that there is lyke communion of the benefite of soole receiuyng in priuate Masse as there is of praier when a man praieth alone Then must ye say the same of baptisme also As for example that our baptisme here may benefite some that are in Fraunce and receiue them into the churche like as our praier here may obteine the healpe and grace of God for them that be there Which were great folly to affirme In déed wée haue communion in baptisme but euery mans owne baptisme bringeth him the grace of that sacrament And in lyke maner is it in the Lordes supper Wée haue all communion therein and yet euery mans owne receiuyng doth profit him You will say perhaps you doo not inferre this vpon the argument of generall communion but onely that they whiche be in diuers places may communicate Wel sir I graunte you that but yet ye should haue inferred the other poincte if ye woulde orderly proue that ye began That is to be lyke coÌ„munion in the Lordes supper of one alone receiued as there is in praier when one man in place alone praieth â—â—r a multitude The multitude that praieth not may haue benefit by one mans praier But proue you by Gods worde that one man receiuyng or ministringe the Lordes supper alone doth benefit those that receiue not or that it is suche a thyng as may be doone of no for many And surely it standeth you vpon substaÌ„cially to proue that pointe or els your priuate Masse will fall to the grounde and bee of no estimacion For if people shall vnderstande that your sole receiuinge in your Masse doth not only nothing profite them that be present but as Chrisostome witnesseth bringeth them in gods displeasure if they receiue not them selfe thinke you that the gayne and aduantage thereof wyll bée so great as hath bene before Assure your selfe it wyl not But what doo you inferre vpon this proofe of communion betweene them that are in place farre distante forsoth in effecte this That if there may be communion betwene those that are not together in one place then a priest sayinge Masse in our Lady chappel in Paules at sixe a clocke in the morning doth communicate with him that doth the like in Iesus Churche at .ix. of the clocke the next day although in place and tyme they bee seperate Sir I deny your argument say that neither th one nor thother doth communicate with any Christian man because neither of both receiueth accordinge to Christes institution I confesse there is communyon betwene them that receiue in sundry places according to the order by Christ apoynted as there is likewise in baptisme But if they alter the sacrament they doo not cummunicate I sayd a little before that in the passe ouer all the companies of the Iewes in sundry houses did communicate and yet one might not eate vp the lambe alone because god had taken an other order Likewise all societées of Christian men communicate together in the Lordes supper and yet should not one celebrate it alone seinge Christes example sheweth and the Apostles interpretation declareth that in ministringe of it there shousd bee also a particuler communion as I may terme it betwene the members of one congregation Wherfore the grauntinge of communitie betweene all christian men in vse of the sacrament doth make nothinge against this that Christ ordeined it to be receiued as a feast with company to th ende it might more liuely represent both the general giuing and bestowing of his body to death for many and also the vnitie and concorde that ought to be betwéene Christian men receiuing together of one lose and one cup. For this purpose as S. Augustine signifieth he vsed those externall elementes of breade and wine to declare that as the bread of many graines is brought into one lofe and the iuice of many 〈◊〉 apes is made wine in one cup so the multitude of a christian congregacion receiuyng together the Lordes supper are made meÌ„bers of one body knit together in like faith and charitie and hauyng like hope of saluacion The like effecte is doone in baytisme as S. Augustine witnesseth In sermone ad infantes and wée be graffed into Christ and made partakers of his body and bloud But he wold haue it more liuely represented and set foorthe in this sacrament of communion as well for the multitude as for the apte signification of the externall elementes More ouer the ecclesiastical histories declare when Chrisostome was banisshed muche against the peoples heartes that diuers of them woulde not communicate with his successour but had their assembles and receiued the sacrament in an other place by them selues so that diuers of them by the Emperours thretnynges coulde not be constreined to communicate with him that was bisshop after him This their dooyng was to no purpose if diuersitie of time and place doo not declare a seperacion betwéen them that be of one congregacion The whole vse of excommunication in the primatiue churche doth so sufficiently proue this as no reasonable man néedeth greatly to doubte it The effecte wherof this your deuise may séeme to take away For what other thyng is excommunication as touchyng the externall acte then a debarryng of the partie to receiue with other of the same congregacion and therby to note him not to be of that misticall body But after your deuise a priest that is excommunicated of the bisshop may say Masse in his chamber and affirme that he will communicate with him whether he will or no. Because distinction of place maketh nothyng to the purpose Because wée necessarily require a numbre together you presse vpon the mattier very earnestly and thinke by your dalliyng foly to driue vs to many folies For you curiously require a mesure of place a prescription of time and a certaine number of persons as it were therby to portray vnto you a perfit plat of a christian communion for so it pleaseth you to dally in this weightie mattier I answer that wée se in the Euangelistes and S. Paule that Christe tooke breade and gaue with it his body that he tooke wine also and gaue with it his bloud that he did it in coÌ„uenient place and time that he had a company with him to receiue and willed them to distribute amonge them Therfore with S. Cyprian wée compte his example in these thynges necessarie and not to be altered As for the kinde of breade or wine the fashion or quantitie of place the conueniencie of time the increasing or deminisshynge of the number or company wee recken amonge those thinges that may be altered as you say