would rather at thys tyme fraye them to make them amende then to punyshe them and lose thē for euer and wold perce thus theyr mindes and brynge them to a knowledge of theyr synnes And as subuercion destruccion was threatned vnto thys Niniue so is it to thys hole realme for ther is among vs as greate and as manye syns God geue grace there be no greater nor nomore as wer among them We muste then amende or els we shall peryshe euerychone Luke .xiii. but what tyme the Lord knoweth not I. Now it foloweth how the preaching of Ionas was accepted And the people of Niniue beleued God preclaymed fastynge and arayed them selues in sacke clothe as well the greate as the small of them Out of this text is fyrst to be noted how that y e Niniuits resisted not the preachynge of Ionas when they had yet yf they would haue excused their euil mani refuges pretexts Ther obedience to the word of god cōdēneth both the Iewes vs of obstynacie malyce i. They might haue pretended thys Ionas is but one man therfore not to be credited ii He is a stranger speketh it of hatred vnto vs of affecciō towardes hys owne countrye .iii. He is of a cōtrary relygion to ours wuld deceaue as frō our fathers faith iiii He is no king but a man that semeth to haue lytle wir and lesse experience v. He is one cōtemned of hys owne countrye men and can not be hearde of them and shuld we credit hys woordes vi He is a noughty lyuer an◠one that God hateth and hath punyshed and shuld we passe of hys sayinges But they remembred theyr own faults at the preachyng of one day they amended they neuer loked for myracle They pretended not the antiquitie and aunciētnes of theyr citie that had stode almost from the tyme of the flud Gen. x. They that heard hym neuer desyred theyr amendement vntyl suche tyme as the kyng the preists and the other elders of the Citie had agreed whether Ionas doctrine were true or not Of thys facilitie quycknes of belyfe in the Niniuites we maye se y t soner beleueth the verye infydels the word of god then such as beareth the name of God and be broughte vp in supersticion And that I thynke were easye to be sene yf experiēce shuld be taken to preach at Babilon or Constantinople he should rather conuert those cities then Rome Farther theyr promptnes cōdemneth our obstinacie and hardnes of harte that daily heare the word of god preached and yet nothyng the better nor nerer to saluacion It foloweth what the Niniuites do when they be conuerted Fyrst they beleue in the Lord second they fast A man ignoraunt of God offendeth twoo maner of waies in bodi and in soule and both these offences must be amended if we wyl be reconciled vnto god By fayth the mynde is reconcyled vnto god and by abstinēce the body is kepte in subieccion and the wantones of cōcupiscence kept in obedience But in thys our myserable and cursed tyme of God for synne is great question and controuersy moued not onely cōcerning fayth but also fasting of which two thinges I iudge it mete somwhat to be spoken of As touchynge fayth it is not an opinion and knowledge onlye but a vehement ernest and certayne persuasion of Gods promises in Christ and out of thys faythe spryngeth all Godlynes and vertuous woorkes and what soeuer spryngeth not hereof is synne And thys faythe the almighty god confirmeth in his true and vertuous people two maner of wayes Inwardly outwardly Inwardlye by the holy gost who testifieth by his spirite with our spirit that we be the chyldren of God Outwardly by preaching of gods word and ministracion of the sacramentes The preachynge conteyne the innumerable benefites and promyses of God made in the new testamēt and y e old vnto vs in Christe who is y e seede that shuld and doth treade and breake the heade of the serpent Gene. iii. Io. iii. The Sacramentes be as visyble woordes offered vnto the Eyes and other Senses as the sweete sounde of the word to the eare and the holye gost to the hart The numbre of these sacramentes in y ◠publycke ministerie of the church be twoo One of baptisme and the other of the lords supper and both these teach and confyrme none other thynge then that the mercye of God saueth the faithfull and beleuers Therfore is the bread in y e holy supper called the bodye of Christ and the wyne the blud of Christ because thei be sacraments and seales of gods promises in Christ. This plaine symple doctryne of the sacramentes were sufficiēt if fraud gile treason heresie supersticion papistrie ignorancie arrogancie miserie and the malyce of men woulde suffer it But these iuels afore rehersed haue called into question and controuersie whether carnally corporally and reallye the precious body of Christ be present and how the communion and sacrament of hys body shulde be ministred and vsed For the resolucion answerynge vnto the whyche questions I wyll sincerlye and playnelye shewe my mynde accordynge to the worde of God ¶ Of the presence of Christes body in the sacrament I Wyl not in this question saye asmuche as I would or could because of late dayes in thys place it was godlye and learnedly touched But yet somewhat muste I saye because the ignoraunce of it bringeth idololatrye Idololatry bryngeth eternal damnaciō eternall dānacion commeth not onlye to the ygnoraunte but also vnto hym that shuld in hys vocacion remoue or do his good wil to remoue the ygnorauncie I am appoynted to remoue ygnorauncye thus therefore I pray you hear how ye may remoue it I wil kepe this order Fyrst I wil shew by many argumēts that ther is no corporal presēce of Christs body in the sacramēt Thē wyll I answer to the argumēts of y ◠aduersaryes y t wold haue it here The fyrst argument THis I take of y e name of christs body which is lyke vnto ours in al thynges except syn Heb. ii Esa. liii And incase it wer not in al thynges like vnto oures excepte synne and immortalitie Sayncte Paules Argument would proue nothynge i. Cor. xv But our bodyes be one to each one measured certaynelye wyth quantitie and qualitie and occupye at one tyme one place therfore so doeth and euer hath done Christes bodye And thus woulde Paule proue our resurreccion because our bodies be as Christes is y t is rysen excepte synne and immortalitie After that thei sat Christ hath now a glorified body so we haue not it maketh nothing for their purpose for whē Christ made hys supper instituted y e sacramēt of hys death he was a mortal and passible man subiect vnto the tyrany and violence of his aduersaries Yea after his immortalitie he shewed manifest tokens and arguments of his pure true and sensible humanitie Io. xxi i. Io. i. For y ◠apostles fyngers touched hym
thing shalbe to y e best vnto those that loue the lorde Ionas also in thys hys peruerse froward opinion to w tdraw the mercy of god froÌ„ the Niniuits expresseth y e noughty opinion that saieth that sinners can neuer be receaued into grace after they fal once froÌ„ the Lorde They would abrogate y e greatest work of god to say hys mercye that it shoulde not woorke where it pleaseth hym but where as it pleaseth mans fancies to appoynte it The Lord doth not onelye fauour and bear with Ionas infirmityes but also couereth him from the burnyng heate of the sunne and also teacheth him by the tree that he is offeÌ„ded w tout cause what tree this was it is not agreed vpon yet among writers but it maketh no matter therof it is ynough we knowe it was a tree wyth brode leaues wherby the lord would succour both the bodye and knowledge of the infirme Ionas That it grewe vp sodenly and wythered away sodenly it beareth therein the ymage and propertie of suche honours riches and treasures as be in thys world whych sodenly ryse and sodenly fall agayne Noman therfore shuld hasard or daunger hys sowle for so britle and fraile things And by the withering away of this lytle tree God woulde shew Ionas howe vncharitable he was angry that y â— great Citie of Niniue was saued as though he had sayd if it greue the somuch for the losse of this lytle tre shuld it not be a greater grefe vnto the to se the destruccion of so greate a Citye For the tree sprang vp in one nyght and the Citie had stand many hundred yeares Againe for the tree Ionas laboured neuer a dele but God buylded Niniue The tree is but one thynge the Citie had greate nombre both of men and catel And least Ionas myght haue sayd yea but al men of the citie be euyl therfore worthy to perysh but God addeth to the mater and sayth there were in the citie aboue a hundred and twentye thousande persones that knewe not betwene the ryghte hande and the lefte that is to saye chyldren and foules Of thys dialoge betwene God and Ionas we maye gather thys generall and vniuersal doctrine that god wyl saue al penitente synners .i. Timo. ii for seyng he gaue hys onely soÌ„ne for vs whiles we wer yet his enemies how shuld it be he wold not in him giue vs al thiÌ„ges Romaynes .viii. Mathe. xi But here of commeth oure losse and perdicion that we repente not from oure euyll as the Proclamacion of the king of Niniue commaunded the people and subiectes thereof that woulde not onelye men to amend theyr yuel liues but also they shuld restore agayne all false goten goodes and make restitucioÌ„ therof as well to god as to man Restitucion towardes God is when al honoure and glory is geuen vnto hym as saynte Paule sayeth .i. Timotheus .i. But thys glorye is and hathe bene taken froÌ„ God by men of euery sorte as well by those of the Ecclesiasticall polycye as those of the Ciuile policie Those of the Ecclesiastical Policye take awaye thys honoure and prayse from God two waies One by neglecting the true doctrine the other by defeâ—dynge of false doctryne By negligence offend such as know God and hys ministerie bi the holi word of god yet for priuate respectes ether for lucre or for feare of them selues suffer many tokens monumeÌ„tes and ceremonyes of supersticion as is the dyuersitie of meates for religions sake yet I aproue the commaundemeÌ„t of the Magistrates that for a Ciuile Policie cause certayne dayes apoynted to eat fish in ymages forbyddyng of mariage in the lent the vse of suche vestimentes or apparel as obscure the mynysterie of Christes churche and representeth the forme and fasshyon of the Aaronicall ministerie of the old law abrogated and ended in Christ eyther els seldom or neuer teach the people neither procure them to be taught Al those I exhort to restitucioÌ„ or els doubtles theyr thefte wyll bryng them to damnacioÌ„ Let them preach truly the woorde of God and minister his Sacramentes after the institucioÌ„ of Christ and theÌ„ theyr harme done in time past shall not be thought vpon Ther be an other sorte that refuse not only to mocke thys satisfaccion but also obstinatly maintaine and defend false doctrine and study to oppresse the true doctryne Of thys sort is no smalle numbre But those I exhorte also to leaue theyr yuel sayinges and to make restitucion As many as be of the laytie as thei be called that is to sai not of the publicke ministerie of the church robbeth also god of hys glory honoure They seke remedy for synne by another meanes then through the death of Christ as by the marchaundies of Masses Indulgences InuocacioÌ„ of saintes the peines of Purgatorie but I aduyse them to geue God that for it appertayneth onlye vnto hym Harken vnto the woord of God and call vpon hys name as he teacheth thorowe Christ in spirit and veritie And thancke hym for all hys gyftes he geueth bothe to your body and soule At your death commende your soules to hym for Christ that dyed vnder Pontius Pilate as Saynte Steauen did Act .vii. And do not dout of y â— dead for they be at rest al redy eyther in heauen eyther in hell Io. iii. v.i Cor. xv.i. Tess. iiii Apoca. iiii Wherefore rather gyue thankes to God for theÌ„ then praye from them ¶ Of restitucion to be made to man IN external goodes maye a man offend thre maner of wayes In yuel getting of theÌ„ An euyl kepyng of theÌ„ And in euyll spendyng of theÌ„ They be yuel gotten manye wayes Fyrste when they be taken from an other by murder Rape Uyolencie Crafte or Thefte Thus offeÌ„did quen Iesabel in takyng away Nabothes vineyard .iii. Reg. xxi at length she was torne wyth dogges for her labour Then be they iueâ— gotten by subtylties fraudes corrupcion of lawes by lying flattery and such other Let euery man make restitucion of goodes thus gotten or els he shal sure perish Let the sedicious hurtful and daungerous traytoure that contrarye vnto Gods lawes taketh weapon agaynst hys leage Lorde and kynge restore both hys hearte and hys goodes agayne to the Kynges pleasure and commaundement Let al men cease from gettyng of theyr goodes by thys vnlawfull meanes and the goodes so gotten lette them restore againe As zacheus dyd Luc. xix And that they may be y e better fensed against thys vnlawful vngodly gettiÌ„g to gether of goods I prai theÌ„ to read the Canon of saint Paul .i. Tim. vi Such as wil be ryche et cetera Goodes be yuel kept Fyrste if thei exalt theÌ„ vnto arrogancie and pryde whych bringeth the contempt of other and theÌ„ if in the aboundauÌ„ce of goods thou forget God Thyrdly yf hauynge goodes thou cease from labour and put thy selfe to ease so that thou make thy selfe profitable neither to god neyther to y â— commune wealth thou dwellest in Here offende verye
Farther saynt Paule sayth he shal Phil. iii. that Christ shall make oure bodyes lyke vnto hys glorious body Therfore they do destroy y e true and very humanitie of Christs body that say hys body is in manye places at one time which robbeth hys body of al the qualyties quātities and properties of a true body For y ◠scripture of god confesseth that Christs body is but in one place And many of the Popes Canones confyrme the same Thus it is written De cōsecrat Distinct .ij. prima quidem Donec seculum finiatur sursum dominus est Sed tame hic nobiscum est viritas domini Corpus enim in quo resurrexit in vno loco esse oportet veritas autē eius vbique diffusa est That is to say Tyl y ◠world be ended the lord is aboue but notwythstandynge hys truth is here wyth vs. The body in whych he rysse muste be in one place hys veritie is dyspersed euery where The second reason THis is taken out of y e nature condicion of a sacrament whyche is thys that the thyng that is remembred by the sacramente be it selfe absent and yet the signes or sacramētes take the name nominacion of y ◠thing represented signifyed by the sygnes for a declaraciō of the thynge that is done wyth the sygnes So is it in al the sacraments of the old testament the new therfore also in this sacramēt The thyng it selfe in thys sacramēt y ◠is to wyt y e precious body of Christe broken hys innocent bloud shedde be absēt yet be the bread the wine called the body brokē and the blud shedding according to y ◠nature of a sacramente to setforth the better the thing done and signified by the sacramēt Ther is done in the sacrament the memorie and remēbraunce of Christes death whych was done on the Crosse when hys precious body and bloud was rēt and torne shed and poured out for our synnes Wyth this agreeth y ◠minde of S. Augustine Ad Bonifacium Epist. xxiii Sienum sacramenta quandam similitudinem earum rerum quarum sacramenta sunt non haberent ommno sacramenta nō essēt ▪ That is to say if Sacramentes had not some proporcion and lykenes of the thynges whereof they be sacramentes they were no sacramentes at al. And thus rather of the symilitude and sygnification of the thyng they represent signifye they take the name and not that in deede they be as they be named So after thys maner is the sacrament of Christes body called Christes bodye and the sacramentes of Christes bloud called Christes bloud and the sacramente of fayeth is called fayeth As Saynt Augustine learnedly and godly sayeth in the same argumente Accedat verbum ad elementum vt fit sacramentū non ait tollat elementum vt fit sacramentum That is to saye let the worde come vnto the Element and then is made the Sacramente He sayeth not lette the word channge or transubstanciate the Elemente that is to say the substaunce and matter of the sacramente and then is made the sacrament The thyrde reason IF he were here in y e sacramente bodelye and corporally he shoulde euery day suffer and shed hys precious bloud For the scripture sayth thys is my bodye y ◠is brokē for you and my blud that is shedde for you Luke xxii i. Cor. xi but thys is not true that he daylye suffreth payne and passiō Rom. vi no more is it true that he is in the sacrament bodelye for heauen kepeth hym tyll the laste daye Act. iii. Neither yet is y e bread after consecration hys verye bodye i. Cor. xi nor the wyne his blud Math. xxvi But the bread remayneth styl breade the wyne styll wyne after the word spoken as they were before cōcerning their substaūce but the vse of thē be chaūged The fourth reason THe scripture maketh no mēcion but of one ascension and of two commynges one paste and the other we looke for in the ende of the world at the latter iudgemente Yf theyr doctrine were true ther shuld be infinite ascēsiōs and infinite descencions Farther they cannot tel thē selues what is become of the bodye thei faine to haue in the sacrament when the accidentes and qualities corrupt and be consumed Theyr glose vpon the Canone Tribus gradibus ait auolare in Celum that is to say it flyeth into heauen but we saye he was there before They darre not say it corrupteth nor y t it is turned into the substaunce of our bodyes and sowles what is there then become of thys bodie The fyfth reason GOd hadde made by this mean his churche in daunger and subiecte vnto Idololatrie For there be manye chaunces and cases happen that maye let the Prieste to consecrate and then shoulde the people worshyppe an Idole for lacke of the presence of Christes bodye These daungers maye chaunce three maner of waies in the prieste in the woordes and in the matter The priest if he be not lawfully consecrated if he be an herityke one excommunicated or a simoniache he consecrateth not Magister sententiarum Lib. iiii dist xiii Se the glose De consecra dist ii cap. Quid sit sanguis In the woordes of consecracion there is no lesse daunger and dout Fyrst many of theyr writers be ignoraunte wyth what wordes Christ cōsecrated Iohānes Duns and Pope Innocēt the third libro de officio Misse part .iii. cap. vi xiiii Doo say the consecracion to be cōprehended in thys worde Benedixt Comesta douteth the glose vpon thys Canon Vtrum sub figura where as the glossator interpreteth these wordes in y ◠Canone of the Masse Iube hec perferri that is to sai Cōmaūde these thynges to be caried As though they were the wordes of consecracion The which opinion the Master of the sentence semeth to fauoure in the place afore named If an heritike saith he would take vpon hym to vsurpe thys misterye would God send an angell frō heauen to consecrate his oblacion But how so euer they agre vpon the wordes of consecraciō ther is yet an other rule in theyr masse bokes that the wordes must be perfectly pronoūced or els thei do nothing How shoulde thys be knowen when they speake them in sylēce Wel graunt they would crye or synge them oute yet so myghte they els be vayne for ther is also required the intencion of him that wil cōsecrate The mater must be such bread such wyne as the glose speaketh of de conse dist ii Sicut dē sanctificando the whych properties if they be absent nothyng is consecrated The syxt reason IF Christ be present corporallye then shall theyr sacrifyces cease as saynte Paule sayeth .i. Corin. xi Ye shall shewe the Lordes deathe tyll he come He commeth after theyr belyue and learning then shoulde they cease from sacrifisynge The seuenth reason IN case they could dyssolue and aunswere to euery one of these reasons yet could not Christs bodye be in the Masse
theyr exces vpoÌ„ the towardly youth of theyr dyoceses So might y â— Nobilitie and our worshipful men of the shyre dooe yea so might euery person and curat do either with his goods help forth the truth and old catholycke faythe of Christe eyther wyth their goodwyls animate them to learne the doctryne of y â— Patriarkes Prophets and the apostles and such as haue the talent of teachyng myght rather teache then play helpe then hyndre buylde then pull downe helpe forth then draw-backe promote God rather then the deuyl fauour Christ then Antichrist agre wyth the kynge then conspire wyth the Pope As concernyng the policâ—e and reformacion therof I haue sayd my mind before the whych God geue grace it may be accepted folowed If it be not yet I haue delyuered my soule God shal requyre your bluddes at your owne hande And incase any man be offended wyth me for my true sayinge I had rather haue dyspleasure of al the worlde then of God that is able to damne â—ath my bodye and my sowle In y â— thyrd place Ionas putteth an excellent discripcion of God the whych we should wel kepe in mynde that he is a pitiful and mercyful God longe suffering and of much clemencie Thys descripcion of God agreeth with Gods own wordes spokeÌ„ to Moses cx.xxxiiii the whych encoraged Iustes shulde do the same to vs if we were of god Great doubtles was the synne of Ionas that toke an occasioÌ„ to be angry by gods fauour and goodnes towardes thys sorowful Citye Euen thus dyd the Pharises that were angry at Christ because he kept companye wyth synners Ionas was then as many meÌ„ be now adayes that thyncke wretched Synners shoulde neuer fynde pardon for theyr synnes before God Now foloweth a farther discripcion of Ionas faute and impaciencye And nowe O Lord take my lyfe from me I beseeche thee for I had rather dy theÌ„ liue Of thys text we learne two thynges fyrste howe sore and haynously thys Ionas offended that rather desyred to dy theÌ„ god should haue pitye vpon thâ—se penytente people by whose preseruacioÌ„ he thought some shame and rebuke shuld happen vnto hym because he did afore speake and threaten theyr perdicion and losse Muche better and more Godly dyd Moses and Paul that wyshed rather their owne harme theÌ„ y e losse of y t people Also thys texte declareth the werynes and impaciencye of the fleshe that wyll not suffer the troubles annexed vnto the vocacioÌ„ but rather wisheth to dye then to lyue So did Elias desyre death .iii. Reg. xix so that the text experience â–ª dayly sheweth the best day that euer a true preacher shal see is the day of hys deathe But as the deuyll hath vsed the vocacion of Bishops and Priestes in this present tyme ther is no day so terrible nor fearefull to them as the dai of death The cause therof me thynketh S. Augustine Episto cxlviii ad Ualerium sheweth right well Ante omnia inquam peto ut cogitet religiose prudentia tua nihil esse in hac vita et maxime hoc tempore facâ—â—iâ—s et letius et hominibus acceptabilius Episcopi aut Presbiteri aut Diaconi officio si perfunctorie atque adâ—â—â—atorie res agatur sed nihil apud deum miserius et tristius et damnabilius That is to say Before al thynges I desyre that your Godlye prudence would thynke nothynge to be more lyght facile or ioyfull in thys lyfe chiefely nowe thys tyme then the offyce of a Byshop Priest or Deacon yf the thynge be done lyghtlye or hypocriticallye but before God there is nothynge more miserable sorowful and damnable Nowe foloweth the answer of god to this angry maÌ„ ¶ God maketh answer to angry Ionas Then sayd the lord art thou so angry Of thys demaund question of the Lord we learne how he in a fume or hastye passion if a maÌ„ may speake so of god wil not cast away this infirme and weake Ionas but wyth sufferaunce trayned hym to a better and more aduised iudgemente So doeth Esaye reporte of Gods nature chap. xlii He wil not put out the towe kindled He dyd not onely consyder the weakenes of the man but also the daungers and trouble of hys pastoral vocacion Pytyâ—ully therfore doth god bear wyth hym and scholeth him to a farther better knowledge Of this maÌ„ we mai learn how to be ware of hasty rash passions of Ire â–ª for if there be not in all oure actes a moderacion thereof we shal neuer doo nor iudge thinges vp ryghtly accordyng to knowledge If meÌ„ would remember this demauÌ„d of God towardes Ionas they woulde not be so angrye when they be rebuked for their faultes but rather thanke y â— admonitoure for hys good admonicion and warning of gods displeasure Now foloweth the secoÌ„d part of the chapter And Ionas gat him oute of the Citye and sat downe on the East syde thereof and there made hym a Boothe and satte vnder it in the shadowe tyll he myght see what shuld Chaunce vnto the cytye WheÌ„ Ionas had no excuse to make why he was angrye nor woulde not confesse hys faulte for he answereth nowe nothyng to the questyon God demaundeth of hym he goeth hym selfe out of the Citâ—e to se the ende whether y e Niniuiâ—es wold perseuer in their penauÌ„ce begone or not Of thys we learne yf we be wrongfully angrye and admonyshed if we wyl not confesse the faulte yet shuld we consyder and way it the more deepelye In that he made hym selfe a boothe we see wyth what symplycitie the good man was contented wyth al and likewyse howe he hym selfe was contente to labour to make hys own couch Our Byshops and Priestes haue all thynges prepared to theyr handes God geue them grace better to deserue it The texte sayeth The Lorde God prepared a wilde vine whych sprang vp ouer Ionas that he myght haue shadowe aboue hys heade to delyuer hym out of hys paine The Lorde here purposeth to helpe the infirmities of Ionas and remoue the sinistre and false iudgement he had of Gods mercye by the ymage of a yong tree He bringeth forth a yong tree that may geue shadow to Ionas wherof Ionas reioyceth very much But the Lorde queeleth it a agayne strayght way and that maketh Ionas eftsones angri In the myddest of hys fumes commeth the Lord and by a collacion and similitude betwene symple tree and the woorthye Cytye of Niniue he sheweth Ionas his fault that was angry for the mercy shewed wnto the Citie But in these thinges be thynges to be marked Fyrst in Ionas then in God thyrdly in the 〈◊〉 In Ionas maye be sene the ymage of aâ—â—an that laboreth and is oppressed with many affeccions and neuer contented with y â— doings of god We shoulde not folowe thys fault but submyt oure iudgementes to his wyl Saing alwaies in al gods works thy wylbe done whether thou send vs myrth or sorow ioy or pain for euery
for it lacketh the worde of God that is to saye the shewyng of Christs death Farther the Masse destroieth and dyshonoreth y e institucion of Christe ¶ Solucions of their argumentes THese I wyll comprehend all in thre poyntes First thei contend by the authoriti of the fathers The seconde by these woordes of Christe thys is my bodye The thyrde by the omnipotencye of God Of the fathers authoritie When they be beten by the autoritie of Gods worde they â—â—e for helpe at the fathers authoritie Let them make answer Is thys theyr opinion when the prieste hath spoken these wordes Thys is my bodye by and by the substaunce of the bread to be chauÌ„ged or the substauÌ„ce therof to vanish away I aske the question because yet thei be not fully agreed ther vpon for it commeth the corporal bodye of Christe wyth the same qualitie and quantitie he was borne lyued and died in so that ther hangs in the ayre in the priestes handes y â— accideÌ„tes and qualities of bread wythoute anye substaunce and so thus to be honored there of the people In what apostles writinges fynd they this doctrine Or in what mans writinges that folowed the Apostles wythin c.cc.ccc cccc ccccc.cccccc yea ccccccc yeares If they can shew thys in anye autenticall wryter in any worke that hath not bene doubted of I wyll beleue as they doo But that it maye be knowen vnto you that the fathers wer not of theyr opinioÌ„ I wyll propounde vnto you certayne coniectures Fyrst we read not wher ther was euer any contencioÌ„ about the words of consecracioÌ„ wher they began and wher they ended neyther any thynge of the ministers intencion to be of suche vertue they speake of The second the Elders neueâ— answered the Arrian that denyed the equalitie betwen goâ— the father and God the sonne wyth thys Christ is God and equall wyth the father for we so honor hym in the sacrameÌ„t If the Catholicke church had so iudged of Christes bodelye presence in the sacramente as the newe vpstart church doth and hath done of late yeares there coulde not haue bene a stronger argumente agaynst Arrius and hys heresye The thyrd Niether dyd the Marcionistes euer make such a reason though Christ semed to haue the qualities and condicions of a naturall man yet he had not them in deede For in the Sacrament of hys boâ—â—e there semeth to be the very â—ualities and condicions of â—eade and wyne yet is there â—eyther breade nor wyne in â—eede If thys opinion of the acâ—idents qualities and sensual iudgement of the breade had bene aproued and takeÌ„ in those hates for Christianitie Christiane religyon howe woulde thys illusion and wytchcrafte haue defended I pray you the Marcionist opynion doutles nothynge more But Tertullian agaynste the Marcionistes doth reason another wise and saith Christ of y â— bread that he toke made hys body sayinge thys is my body that is to say a fygure of my bodye They fourth They vsed chalices of wood and glasse De coÌ„secrat dist i. vasa in quibus the wooden chalices could soke in the wine consecrated the glassen chalices might sone haue bene broken if anye of them both had conteyned the precious bloude of Christ they wold not so temerously haue vsed it The fyfte The sacrament was geuen to the chyldren in theyr hands to beare it home wyth them Eccle. hist. Lib. vii cap. xxxiiii The syxte No scripture of god neither doctour of y â— Catholicke faith taught euer Christ to be honored here in earth wyth candels and bowynges of knees The seuenth In celebratynge the supper they sayd lyft vp your hartes meanyng not to haue y e minde affyxed in the sygnes and elementes of the sacraments but in heauen Wherof it maye be easly gathered that they neuer thought of a corporal presence here in the earth The eyght Origene vpon the booke of Leuit. declateth that y â— remanentes and reliques of the sacramentes were not kepte to be honored but they were burned who wold handle his god so cruellye I praye you as to burne hym lyke an heretycke Also ther is a decre in y â— Canone lawe Tribus gradibus the whyche commaundeth the ministers tâ— receaue al the reliques of the sacrament and it is the rule of Clement .iii. that lyued Anno. M. C.lxxxx In y e meane tyme I speake no worde of that foloweth I should saye wicked question mete for Iuggelours inchauÌ„tours and wytches and not for Christiane men much lesse for Deuines and teachers of gods people in what moment of time the bread is turned in to the body and the wyne into the blud when the priest speaketh these words Thys is my body if they grauÌ„t at lest these to be the woordes of consecracion Gabriel Biel. lect xlviii â–ª sayth that the body is not presente whyles thys oracion is a speakynge Thys is my body Sed tota oracio est referenda ad vltimum iustaÌ„s ipsius orationis that is to say the hole oracion must be referred vnto y e last instaÌ„ce of it And w t this opinioÌ„ agreeth y e glose vpoÌ„ y e canone law De consecracione distinct .ii. Sum omne sayth that the consecracion is made onelye in the laste letter And in an other Canone Ante benedictioneÌ„ thus he sayth licet verba successiue proferantur noâ—â— tamen successiue consecratio fit sed in vno instaÌ„ti corruÌ„pitur panis scilicet in vltimo fustanti prelationis verborum That is to saye althoughe the woordes be spoken one after an other yet is not the consecracion made by a lytle lytle but in one instante or punet of tyme the bread is altered to sai in the last moment of the woordes spoken After thys their wicked and Idololatrical doctryne thys lillable â—m in thys oracion Hoc est corpus meum â–ª to say thys is my body hath al the strengthe vertue to chaunge and deifye the bread But I praye you what syllable is it that chaungeth and deifieth the wine for euen wyth them these woordes seme to haue more dyffycultie then the other But let these illustons and eraftes go and let vs cleaue to the truthe of Gods woorde and we shalbe oute of al daunger A Question THus they saye now yf this opinioÌ„ be neither of the Apostles neyther froÌ„ the auncieÌ„t doctours how chaunceth it to be so vniuersally takeÌ„ and for so infallyble and indoubted truth yea such a truth as incase men forsake al truth and yet not contrary thys truth is accompted a man moste christiane true Answer NOthing is more expedient to answer directlye vnto the question then to coÌ„syder the time of our fathers They thought it best to name the sacramentes by y â— name of the thyng was represented by the sacramentes Yet in manye places of theyr wryryngs they so interpretate theÌ„ selues that no man excepte he wyl be wylfully blynd can say but they vnderstode the sacrament to sygnifie and not to be the thing signified to