howe that their obiection is friuolous and vaine and to no purpose but onely to deceiue the symple and ignoraunt All the foure Euangelistes doe also witnesse vnto vs that these are christes wordes from hencefoorth the sonne of man shal be sittyng on the right hande of the power of god And I went out from the father and came into the worlde and I leaue the worlde againe and go vnto the father The blessed Euangeliste saint Marke doeth write on this maner When the Lorde had spoken vnto them hee was receaued into heauen and sate hym downe on the right hand of god These wordes haue we written in Luke he led them out into Bethanie and lift vp his handes and blessed them And it came to passe as he blessed them he departed from them and was caried vp into heauen But he doeth so liuely set out the matter I meane the ascendyng vp of Christ into heauen in the booke of the Actes of the Apostles that thei may be ashamed to open their mouthes for to saie that the body of Christe is still here in earth whersoeuer their holy annointed do blowe vpon a peece of bread or vpon a wafer cake Againe when the blessed Apostle saint Paul doeth byd vs to seeke Christe he biddeth vs not to seeke for hym in the Sacrament but aboue in heauen where hee sitteth on the right hande of the father If ye be saith he risen againe with christ seeke those thynges whiche are aboue where Christe sitteth on the right hand of God. And in a nother place Our conuersation is in heauen from whence we looke for the Sauiour euen the Lorde Iesu Christ whiche shall chaunge our vile bodies that they maie be fashioned like vnto his glorious bodie By these wordes we do plainely learne that Christ is not onely in heauen touchyng his manhoode but that he shall also when he cōmeth againe make our vile and corruptible bodies like vnto his glorious body Whereby it shoulde folowe if the body of our Sauiour Christe beyng glorified and immortall can be euery where or in mo places then in one at once that our bodies also sith that they shall be made like vnto his glorious body could be euery where and in all places after the generall resurrection whereby the same that the Apostle doeth speake of here shal be performed and fulfilled But this absurditie is so greate that no christian euer is able to heare it Christe hym selfe willyng that we should seeke hym none other where but in heauen and also armyng vs against those false Prophetes that should go about to perswade vs that he is here styll vpon the earth doth saie these wordes Take heede I haue tolde you before if they shal saie vnto you beholde he is in the deserte go not foorth beholde he is in the secrete places beléeue not Why should we then at these antichristes bidding runne from aulter to aulter and from pixe to pixe for to seeke our Sauiour Christe Ought we not rather to doe as we reade that an olde auncient father did vnto whom the deuill did appeare in the likenes of Christe saiyng beholde thy Lorde and thy Kyng This good olde auncient father hearing this blasphemous voice did shut vp his eyes saiyng I will not see my Lorde and my Kyng in this worlde For he hymselfe euen my Sauiour and redéemer did geue me warning that if any should say that he were in the desert or in some secrete places I shoulde not beléeue it And so the foule spirite did by and by vanishe away from him If we woulde do the like when these false annoynted do most lyingly say vnto vs Beholde Christ is in this aulter or in that aulter he is in this pixe or that pixe this abominable spirite of idolatrie wherby the christian people is pluckt away from the true worshipping of God to the honouring and worshipping of a péece of bread which being a good creature of God thei make a stincking idol should seene vanishe away from vs. But heare yet what Saint Paul saith Christe hauyng in his owne person purged our sinnes sitteth on the ryght hande of the maiestie in the highest places And in another place he saith This man after that he had offered one sacrifice for sinnes sitteth for euer at the right hande of God and from hencefoorth tarieth til his enimies be made his footstoole Let vs but marke this last saying of Paul. For here hée doth teache vs that our Sauiour Iesus Christ after that he had perfourmed done the thing wherefore he had put on our frayle nature he did take it vp into heauen where he sitteth down in it on the right hand of the maiestie of god not for a yere or two or for to be here at euery papistes becke almost euery houre of the day but for euer euen tyll his enimies be made his footstoole which thing shall neuer be tyll the worldes ende In the meane season let vs folowe the commaundement of the Apostle where he saith Whensoeuer ye eate of this bread and drinke of this cup ye shall shewe foorth the Lordes death tyll he come These wordes tyll he come must be vnderstanded either of his manhoode or of his Godhead But of his Godhead they can not be vnderstanded for touching it he is wheresoeuer two or three are gathered in his name much more where the whole congregation of the faithfull be assembled together for to heare his worde and to receaue his holy Sacramentes They must then of necessitie be vnderstanded of his manhoode which if it were there the Apostle néeded not to say tyll he come for he shoulde be there already present These places and other like whiche I néede not nowe to bring in for I haue witnesses enowe for their foure of the which yet two do make directly against them do sufficiently declare that these wordes of our Sauiour Christ This is my body ought not to be taken in that sence and signification that they will haue vs to take them for First and formost let vs marke the whole tenour of the wordes Christe our Sauiour saieth This is my body whiche is geuen for you Here he speaketh of a mortall body which in all thynges was like vnto our bodyes synne onely excepted and whiche hath a due proportion of lymmes with all other dimensions that pertaine to an humaine bodye and without the whiche it could be no humaine body And I doe beléeue that he did rise againe and was glorified in the same body hauyng his due proportion of lymmes and all other dimensions still that doe pertaine to mans bodie I beléeue also that the same body though it be now immortall is still of a iust height length breadth and thickenesse hauing a head armes handes and feete and all other members that are required in a perfect mans body Whiche thyng they will confesse excepte that they will affirme with Martion that Christe
hartes they haue not And therefore they eate and drinke their owne iudgement Againe he saith Reâ—s erit non paruipretij sed sanguiniâ— christi qui violat commaculat animam christi sanguine passione mundatam He is guilty of no small price but euen of the blood of Christ that defileth his owne soule that was made cleane by the passion and blood of Christe Athanasius also saieth Adorantes dominum neque ita vt dignum est eo viuentes non sentiunt se reòs fieri dominicae mortisâ— Worshippyng our Lorde and not liuyng so as it is meete for our Lorde they feele not that thereby they are made guiltie of our Lordes death So that we may easely perceiue by these testimonies that Saint Paules meanyng is that the wicked resortyng vnworthely to the holy misteries and hauyng no regarde what is meant thereby and maketh no more accounte of it then if he did eate and drinke at an Alehouse vppon an Alchentche is guiltie of the Lordes body and blood for so Sainte Augustine speaketh of the water of baptisme Baptismum multi habent noâ— ad vitam aeternâ—m sed ad panam aeternam noÌ„ bene vtentes tanto bono That is to saie some haue baptisme not to life euerlastyng but to paine euerlasting not well vsing so good a thing Thus you haue hearde out of these auncient fathers what it is to be guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde Whereby our Pope catholikes may learne that they all receaue this sacrament vnworthely that thei are all guilty of the body and blood of the lorde and so eate and drinke their owne damnation For they doe moste shamefully alter and chaunge the holy institution and ordinaunce of our Sauiour Christe not onely in this that they doe without any grounde of the scriptures take awaie the cup of the lorde froÌ„ the laitie or laie people for whom he did shead his precious blood as wel as for our gallaunt maisters of the Cleargie but also in this that thei doe suffer their shauelinges to eate and drinke vp all alone blessyng the people with an emptie Cup and sendyng them home againe as much fooles as they came But if they be guiltie of the body and blood of the lorde if they eate and drynke there I meane in the Sacrament their owne damnation and yet doe not vnderstande nor perceaue in what perill they be and that very damnation doth hang ouer their heades it ought to be no marueyle vnto vs For GOD hath geuen them ouer into a reprobate sence hee hath made their wisedome meere foolishenes And why bicause that thei haue preferred their owne wisdome before the wisdome of our sauiour christ who is the wisdome of the heauenly father ¶ The .xvj. Chapiter ¶ The Sacrament ought to be ministred to all the people in both kyndes OUr Sauiour Christe did appointe institute and ordeine that his holy sacrament should be receaued in both kindes and that the faithfull shoulde take the misticall cup and deuide it among themselues For these are his wordes Take this and deuide it among you Whiche thyng they did immediatly For as the blessed Euangeliste Saint Marke doth write thei al dranke of it No no will these wise folkes saie it needeth not to be so For sith the bread is the naturall body of Christe it can not be without blood If the people then doe receaue the bread beyng made the body of Christe they doe per concomitantiam for so thei tearme it whereby they signifie that the body cannot be without the blood nor the blood without the body receaue both the fleshe and blood together and haue no neede to receaue the misticall cup for that were to receaue the blood of Christe twise In deede Christe our sauiour had not the wit to perceaue so muche or else his mynde was so much vppon his death and passion that he shoulde suffer the next daie that he wiste not well what he did O ye blinde bussardes and wicked obstinate enemies of al trueth wil yet set the wisdome of god to schole or if it be so as ye saie that the one is sufficient so that receauing the one we receaue both together what néede haue your shauen Madianites of suche sippyng and lickyng as thei vse in their abominable and blasphemous Masses If by our goodlie concomitantiam the flesh and blood are so conteined and ioyned together vnder the accidentes of bread as ye say that no man can receaue the sacramentall bread but he must receaue both the bodie and blood together why do your Priestes both sippe and licke vp the blood seuerallie by it self in the Chalice why is it not as lawfull for the laitie or laye people to drinke the Cup of the Lorde as ye make it lawfull for your annoynted gentlemen was it not as well instituted for vs as for you or for either Doth not the wisdome of God saie himself drinke ye all of this And Marke writeth that according to the lordes commaundement they dranke all of it Yea saie they but this was spoken to the apostles onely who alone were there present we reade not that their were any besides them in the company of Christ or that fate with hym at boorde when he did institute this sacrament Sith thaÌ„ that the priestes are the apostles successors it is most requisit that they should communicate in both kyndes that the laitie or laie people of whom none was with christ at the first institution of the sacrament do content themselues with one kinde Uerely this is well hit If thei do put awaie the laie people from the misticall cup bicause that none of them was present with christ at the firste institution of his sacrament how dare thei be so bold to minister vnto them the sacramentall bread sith that Christ did geue it to none of the laitie then nor commaunded afterwards that the one should be more geuen vnto them then the other Or how doth it chaunce that when your sacred apostles doe communicate without Masse and receaue the Sacrament at their holy brethrens handes they do vtterly refuse the misticall cup of the precious blood of our Sauiour Iesu Christe Are they the apostles successors onlie whyles they say Masse do thei not run into the curse the of Pope Gelasius whose wordes are these we haue vnderstanded that some hauyng onely receaued the holye portion of the body do abstaine from the cup of the holy blood But sith that they are moued by a fonde superstition whiche I knowe not thus to abstaine either let them receaue the whole Sacrament or be put from all For there can be no deuision of this one Sacrament and high misterie without greate sacriledge The glose that is written vpon this Canon doth also saie It is not without a iuste and necessarie cause that the Sacrament is taken vnder both kyndes For the kynde or forme of
vnto him that is signified by them Saint Ciprian therefore saieth full well Before prayer the priest with a preface prepareth the hartes of the brethren saying vnto them Lift vp your heartes that when the people aunswereth We lift them vp vnto the Lorde thei may be put in minde to thinke of nothing else but of the Lorde Chrisostome also saith Clamamus in conspectu sacrificij Sursum corda We crie a loude in the sight of the oblation Lift vp your hearts S. Augustine vpon the Psalmes saith Let vs lift vp our heartes if ye be risen againe with christ he saieth vnto the faithfull he saieth vnto them that receaue the body and blood of our Lorde If ye be risen againe with Christ sauour those thynges that are aboue where Christe is at the right hande of God seeke for the thinges that bee aboue not for the things that be in earth Their owne manipulus curatorum saith thus Before the Canon the Priest saith Lift vp your hartes As if he woulde saie who so will receaue this Sacramente ought to haue his hearte lifted vp vnto God. But lette vs graunt vnto them by waie of disputation that the naturall body and blood of Christe bee really present vnder the formes of bread and wine yet we shall alwaies bee in feare to commit Idolatrie if at least their doctrine be true For they saie excepte the Priestes doe pronounce the wordes of consecration which words they be in doubt of them selues and cannot wel tel which they be vpon the creatures of bread and wine Cum intentione consecrandi That is with an intent and mynde to consecrate they be not made the body and blood of Christe but remaine still nude nude and bare creatures of bread and wine Therefore Holtcot saieth vpon the maister of sentences Laicus adorat hostiam non consecratam The laie people saith he worshippeth a wafer that is not coÌ„secrated And therfore that perill and daunger of Idolatrie may be auoyded at all tymes Thomas de Aquino in a certaine booke geueth vs counsell that we worship it with a condition saiyng Lorde if thou be there I doe worship thee if thou be not there I worship thee not Is not this a sure and certaine doctrine thinke ye and most worthy to be mainteined with fire and sworde and with suche sheddyng of innnocent blood Repeâ—t then ye Magistrates and rulers of the people and be sorie in your heartes that euer ye consented to the death of so many Martyrs that in these our daies haue been most cruelly put to death for the truethes sake and crie God mercie betimes lest ye with the beaste and hir false Prophetes whose slaues ye are now become though some of you perceaue it not be cast for euer into the lake that burneth with fire and Brimstone which is the seconde death There be some in the world that alledge Saincte Ciprian to proue that the Sacrament must be worshipped And these wordes of his doe they bryng foorthe The Sacramentes as muche as in them is can neuer be without the proper vertue nor the diuine maiestie can in any wise absent it self from the misteries It foloweth then saie they that they must be worshipped sith that the diuine maiestie is neuer absent from them I would faine aske these greate doctours of diuinitie why they doe not then worship the water of baptisme wherin we are apparelled with Christ renewed with the holy ghost and receiue free remission of our synnes I am sure that the diuine maiestie of God is no more absent from the Sacrament of baptisme then from the Sacrament of the body and blood of Christe And yet none of them all will graunt that the water of baptisme should be worshipped Christ our sauiour who is the trueth hymselfe and can not lie doth saie in his Gospell He that loueth me keepeth my worde and my father shal loue hym and we will come to hym and dwell with hym Againe He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blood dwelleth in mée and I in hym These also are sainct Iohns wordes whosoeuer confesseth that Iesus is the sonne of god God dwelleth in hym and he in God. By these textes we doe learne that God the father God the sonne and God the holy Ghoste dwelleth in all the faithfull beléeuers yea I dare saie a thousande tymes more effectuously then in the inuisible elementes of water or bread or of wine And yet no godly honour ought to be doen vnto them for that were a plaine Idolatrie Christe our Sauiour saiyng Thou shalt honour the Lorde thy God and hym onely shalte thou serue and worship Now all men maie see that the saiyng of Saincte Ciprian helpeth them nothyng for to maintaine their Idolatrous worshippyng of the sacrament excepte they will also graunte that the water of Baptisme and euery true christian man must be worshipped also But peraduenture some man wil aske will ye haue no maner of honour to be doen vnto the Sacramentes I doe aunswere that we doe sufficient honour vnto them when we doe receaue them with an vnfained faith and as Christ hath instituted them submitting our selues obediently vnto his holy institution and ordinaunce If we doe otherwise we receaue them vnworthely â–ª to our vtter vndoing and condemnation If then S. Ambroses saiyng after they receaue the Sacrament vnworthely that handle the misteries otherwise than Christ hath instituted If they be also guiltie of the body and blood of the Lorde that come to this holy Supper not obseruyng the institution of hym that is the aucthour of it where shall our Pope catholiques become How shall they escape damnation For none in all the whole worlde if we consider well what hath been saide before doe more abhominably and shamefully breake the ordinaunce of God then they doe Can they therefore haue a deuout mynde towardes hym that saieth Ye shal not doe euery thing as ye thynke best but that whiche I commaunde you that shall ye doe onely I am the Lorde your god Adde nothyng vnto it nor take ought awaie from it but leauing them to the righteous iudgement of hym that with the fire of his wrath did consume Nadab and Abihu in the sight of all the people bicause that thei had offered straunge fire which the lorde had not commaunded them I will goe through by the helpe of God with the rest of their obiection We saide before that thei eate the bread of the Lorde and drinke his Cup vnworthely that come to the holy misteries not hauing truly examined themselues or that come to them without true faithe in the merites of the deathe passion and blood shedding of our Sauiour Iesu Christe and that presume to take or receaue them without true repentaunce vnfeyned confession of their synnes and without amendement of their owne liues I saide also that after the saiyng of Saincte Ambrose thei
other that was eaten vp and drunken euen of his owne selfe The body of Christ say they only when it is glorified and immortall can be euery where or in mo places then in one at once but it was not then glorified nor yet immortall for why he died the next day after howe coulde it be then all at once sitting at the boorde and in the handes and mouthes of all his Apostles rounde about him As for the first absurditie thei go about to put away by S. Augustines wordes which are these Christ was borne in his owne handes when commending or deliuering his body he did say This is my body For he did beare the same body in his owne handes As it is then no absurditie to say that Christ did beare him selfe or the same body that he gaue them in his owne handes so it ought to seeme no straungenesse if we say according to the scriptures and the fathers that christ did eate his owne body For as being borne in his owne handes he did declare that there was somewhat in him more excellent than in other men which though thei can be borne with other mens handes yet thei can not be borne in their owne so by eating his owne body which thing no mortall man is able to do he did shewe openly that he coulde worke aboue the possibilitie of man. I am well content to graunt that Christ our Sauiour did eate his owne body as he did beare him self in his own hands But howe was he borne in his owne handes For when he did coÌ„mende or deliuer the same body of his and also his blood he toke that in his handes which the faithfull do knowe and bare him selfe after a certayne maner when he did say This is my body These are Saint Augustines very wordes as hée wrote them also whereby he doth let vs to vnderstande how we ought to take his wordes before For adding this worde quodammodo after a maner he doth signifie therby how Christ did beare his fleshe in his owne handes that is to say Sacramentally For as he saieth in another place Except the Sacramentes shoulde haue a similitude of the thinges whereof thei be Sacramentes thei shoulde be no Sacramentes and by reason of this similitude or likenesse thei receaue many times the names of the things whereof thei be Sacramentes For as the Sacrament of the body of Christ is Secundum quendam modum after a certaine maner â–ª the body of Christ and the Sacrament of his blood his blood so is the Sacrament of faith faith By the Sacrament of faith he vnderstandeth baptisme which because of the similitude or affinitie that it hath with the thing whereof it is a Sacrament is called by the name of it When he saith then that Christe did beare him selfe in his owne handes after a certaine maner his meaning is that he did beare the Sacrament of his body But then peraduenture thei will say againe that if it were so Christ did no more then another man is able to do For any man is able to beare the signes of his owne body It is true that any man is able to beare his owne signe but we speake here of a sacrament which bringeth with it self the efficacie nature vertue strength of the thing that it is a Sacrament of For which properties it taketh the name of the thing it selfe which can not be sayde of the bare signe of a mans body Therefore all that the papistes are able to bring here for to â—asill the eyes of the simple and ignoraunt people is méere sophistication and iuggling Yet I am in doubt that thei will replie and say If a Sacrament doth bring with it selfe the nature efficacie vertue and strength of the thing that it is a Sacrament of being because of those properties called by the name of the thing it selfe what needeth Christ to eate the Sacrament of his owne body whose nature propertie and vertue is to worke bring life Was not Christ the life it selfe Chrisostome writing vpon the blessed Euangelist Saint Matthewe doth say That Christ him selfe did communicate that is to say eate drinke of the mysticall bread and wine for to make his Apostles to receaue the misteries without any maner feare or dread of conscience For before when he spake of the eatyng of his fleshe and of the drinkyng of his blood many being offended with that forsooke him and went away Left then the same shoulde happen nowe he did eate drinke with them of those visible creatures of the whiche he did say through grace as Epiphanius writeth This is my body and this is my blood Besides this thei will not denie that baptisme is a Sacrament wherin the worthy receauers are renewed by the holy ghost doe receaue free remission of their synnes and are made the children of God. Was not christ that newe Adam whom all we that séeke to be renewed must put on And vnto whom the holy Ghost was not geuen by measure Was not he that vnspotted Lambe in whose mouth no guile was founde was not he the true and naturall sonne of God What needed hee then to be baptized Had not he aboundantly and of his owne nature all those thynges that are geuen vnto vs in baptisme And yet did he with the Publicanes and Synners come to Iohn Baptiste for to be baptized of hym in the water of Iordane Therfore as he was baptized for to sanctifie our baptisme and for to certifie vs that we should al be baptized most truely and moste effectuously in his baptisme that he was baptized withall in his passion which was his death and bloodshedding whereby we are purged from all our synnes So besides the cause alledged before of Sainct Chrisostome he woulde communicate with vs that is to saie eate and drinke of the misticall bread and of the misticall wine for to signifie vnto vs sith that he was not onely partaker with vs of the coÌ„mon meates and drinkes but also of the holy misteries whiche he himselfe had instituted and ordeined that we are in deede fleshe of his fleshe and bone of his bones and that therefore we neede not to feare or to doubt if we continue stil his true members vnto the ende feedyng in those misteries whiche he hym selfe woulde be partaker of vppon his fleshe and blood through a liuely faithe but that we shal be partakers with hym both in bodies and soules of the glorie and ioyes of his heauenly kingdome Now as touching the seconde absurditie I knowe that for the auoydyng of it they will flée to the common refuge that is to saie vnto the omnipotencie of God whiche as I saide wil helpe them no further than their doctrine doth agrée with the holy Scriptures whiche testifie vnto vs that the body of Christ is in all thinges like vnto ours synne onely beyng excepted
they be compelled to geue vnto their monstrous iugglyng and excantation contrary to the myndes and writinges of their owne scholedoctours For Iohannes Scotus otherwise called Duns shewyng from whence this doctrine of Transubstantiation did come writeth after this maner It seemeth that men are chiefly moued to embrace or receaue this sentence bicause that we must holde of the Sacramentes as the holy Churche of Rome doth holde but the holy Churche of Rome doth holde that the bread is transubstantiated or really chaunged into the body of Christ and the wins into his blood Likewise Gabriell Biell writyng vpon the Canon after that he had shewed that it was vncertaine how the body of Christ was in the sacrament whether it was by the conuersion or turnyng of the visible creatures of bread and wine into it or by some other meane doeth saie plainely these wordes But bicause that we muste holde of the Sacramentes as the holy Church of Rome doeth holde sith that it hath decréed and determined that the bread is transubstantiated or really chaunged into the body of Christ therefore this opinion is receaued of all the Catholiques that there remaineth no substaunce but that it is truely and really chaunged transubstantiated and turned into the body of the Lorde Two thynges doe we here learne by the waie First that this monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation did come from Rome the greate Grandame of all abhominable errours heresies and abuses for this doctrine of theirs came neuer out of the worde of God for so saieth he hymselfe I meane Gabriel biell that all this their transubstantiation of substaunces of bread and wine Non inuenitur expressum in canone bibliae That is to saie it is not founde expressed saieth he in the Canon of the Bible And as for the antiquitie of this doctrine it is playnly set foorth by their owne doctour how olde it is For Tonstall saith of the maner meane howe this might be whether by transubstantiation or otherwise perhaps it had been better to leaue euery man that woulde be curious to his owne coniecture sicut liberum fuit ante concilium Lateranum as before the counsell of Laterane it was left at libertie Thus we sée howe auncient it is neuer hearde of in all the worlde vntyll their late counsell of Laterane holden in Rome vnder Pope Innocentius the thirde in the yere of our Lorde 1215. in the time of king Iohn king of Englande and neuer before So for the space of .xij. hundred and .xv. yeres the Churche of God was able to stand well without it So the great antiquitie of their transubstantiation is but thrée hundred fiftie and seuen Therefore all men may see howe much credite we ought to geue vnto it and againe howe worthie a thing it is that for it so many notable learned and other godly men and women shoulde thus cruelly be put to death murthered to the great decay of true religion throughout al realmes whose innocent blood crieth vengeaunce in the eares of god against those wicked papistes and also against the maiestrates that were the Popes butchers and hangmen Wherefore I say turne and repent with all spéede and aske mercie in Iesus Christe our sauiour that your blooddy handes may be made cleane by his blood and so washed from your sinnes Secondly we learne by the sayinges of these holy doctours of theirs that they that holde opinion that the substaunce of bread wine is not really chauÌ„ged but vanisheth away for to geue place vnto the substaunce of the body and blood of Christ do holde against the decrées and canons of the holy mother the Churche of Rome which doth holde that the bread and wine are transubstantiated really chaunged and turned into the substaunce of the body and blood of Christe the outwarde appearaunce and accidentes of them only remayning And therfore wyll they nyll they euen in spite of their smoothe shauen faces thei shal be fayne to confesse if not with their mouthes at least in their consciences that their Christe that they haue in their Masses and in their boxes and in their Sacrament is a bready Christ that is to say a Christ made of bread which hath a body of the substaunce of bread and wine wherewith they haue made all nations to commit most detestable idolatrie and to fal away from the true Messias and Christ whose true and naturall body hath his substaunce not of the corruptible substaunce of bread and wine but of the substance of the blessed virgine Marie his mother and now being glorified and immortal is on the right hand of the maiestie on high where by the mighty operation of his eternal spirite we do feede vpoÌ„ his flesh blood through faith as long as we continue true liuely members of his body but most specially when we do worthely receaue his holy mysteries which he him self hath instituted for a perpetuall remembraunce of his death and passion ¶ The .xxj. Chapiter ¶ The wicked doth neither eate nor drinke the body and blood of Christe IF these wordes This is my body shoulde be taken as they sounde whereby suche transubstantiation must néedes ensue and folowe that no bread and wine shoulde remayne but onely the body blood of Christ couered with the accidentes of bread and wine all the vngodlye and vnfaithfull hypocrites that receaue the Sacrament shoulde eate the fleshe of Christ and drinke his blood and so shoulde haue euerlasting life as it hath béen said before yea they should dwell in Chrst and Christ in them For he saieth He that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him But it is most sure that the vnfaithfull hypocrites do not dwell in Christe nor Christe in them except he woulde haue Christe and the deuyll to dwell both together in one place whiche thing can not be saith Saint Paul to the Corinthians Therefore I may conclude that they do neither eate his flesh nor drinke his blood For as Saint Augustine saith Hoc est â—rgo manducare illam escam illum potum bibere in christo manere illum manentem in se habere That is to saie This is to eate that meate and to drinke that drinke to dwell in Christe and to haue Christ dwel in hym Againe in the same place he saith Ac per hoc qui non manet in christo et in quo non manet christus proculdubio nec manducat spiritualitèr carnem eius nec bibit sanguinem eius licèt carnalitèr visibilitèr premat dentibus Sacramentum corporis sanguinis christi And therefore he that dwelleth not in Christ and in whom christ dwelleth not without doubt doth not eate spiritually his flesh nor drink his blood though he doth carnally and visibly presse with his téeth the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ And in another place he doth shewe saith he what it is to eate his
fleshe and drinke his blood not sacramentally but in very deede that is so to dwell in Christ that Christe maie also dwell in hym For he saieth this as if he should saie he that dwelleth not in mee and in whō I dwel not let hym not saie or thinke that he eateth my flesh or drinketh my blood And out of the Sentences of Prosper he doeth alledge these wordes he that doeth disagree from Christ doth neither eate his fleshe nor drinke his blood although he doth euery daie receaue indifferently the Sacrament of so high a thyng to the condempnation of his owne presumptuousnes Againe he saieth Discipuli manducabant panem domini Iudas panem domini contra dominum illi vitam ille paenam The disciples did eate the bread which is the Lorde but Iudas did eate bread of the Lorde against the Lorde they vnto life he vnto death Againe if any doe disagree from Christe the vngodly and vnfaithfull hipocrites doe disagree from hym Therefore if these wordes of Sainct Augustine be true they doe neither eate his fleshe nor yet drinke his blood though they doe euery daie receaue indifferently the Sacrament of so high a thyng to their owne condemnation and vtter castyng awaie of their owne soules Whereby I may also conclude that there is no such transubstantiation as they do falsely imagine but that there remayneth both bread and wine wherevpon the vngodly hypocrites do féede only the godly faithfull being most effectuously made partakers of the precious body and blood of Christ which as Saint Ambrose saieth is the foode of the saintes onely so that who soeuer eateth of it he shall not dye the death of a sinner For it shal be made vnto him remission of sinnes So likewise Saint Origene saith most plainely against these felowes these wordes Est verus cibus quem nemo malus potest edere Etenim s◠malus posse◠edere corpus Domini non scriberetur Qui edit hunc panem viue◠in aeternum The body of Christ is the true foode which no euyll man can eate for if the euyll man coulde eate the body of our Lorde it shoulde not be written He that eateth this bread shal liue for euer Saint Hierome also saith Haeretici non manducant corpus domini nec bibunt sanguinem suum The wicked heretiques do not eate the body of the Lorde nor drinke his blood And againe he saieth All that loue pleasure more then God eate not the fleshe of Iesu Christe nor drinke his blood Thus you sée plainly proued that the wicked do not receaue nor eate the body and blood of Christe although they eate the Sacramentall Sacrament neuer so often Againe if their doctrine were true that is to say if the bread and wine were really and substantially the bodye and blood of Christ then shoulde the Mice Rattes and other vermine that eate their sacramentall bread eate also the body of Christ which thing some of them are not ashamed to confesse and say Si dicatur quòd Mus sumat corpus christi non est magnum inconueniens If it be saide that a Mouse receaueth the body of Christe it is no great inconuenience And Alexander of Hales saieth also beyng a greate doctour of the Papistes transubstantiation Si Canis vel Porcus deglutiret hostiam consecratam integram non video quare corpus Christi non simul traijceretur in ventrem Canis vel Porci If a Dogge or a Pigge shoulde happen to swallow downe the whole hoste being consecrate I sée no reason but the body of Christe may passe withall into the belly of the Dogge or of the Pigge But others of them cōsidering the great absurdities of it do say that whē Mice or other like vermine do approche or come nie vnto it the body of Christ doth flée vp strayght into heauē the olde substaunce cōming againe miraculously vnto the accidētes Belike their fained Christ hath not so much power as a poore Cat or Mouse hath which being but a poore creature of our sauiour Christ whō we do worship and feede vpon aboue in heauen on the right hande of the father doeth with his sent only fraie awaie Mice and Rattes so that they dare not come where he is muche lesse that they shoulde venture vpon hym and eate hym vp as they doe their false Christe or else make him to finde his legges or winges for to be out of their reache and clawes Likewise when they burne their moulded God if their doctrine were true they coulde not choose but that they must burne also the body of Christ excepte they will saie that the substaunce of the ashes is made of meere accidentes But I knowe that they will saie that as soone as the bodie of Christ doth see the fyre come it flieth straight waies vp into heauen makyng the olde substaunce by his almightie power to come to his accidentes againe Who would not deride and laugh to scorne this vaine doctrine of theirs Is Christe now of lesse abilitie and power then he was before his resurrection or risyng againe What Mice what Dogs what Pigges what Rattes what Cattes what heate what fyre what water what bityng what chewyng with teeth what deuils what tyrauntes were not obedient vnto his diuine power when he was conuersant among men being subiect to all maner of infirmities that wee are subiect vnto synne onely excepted And shall he now that he hath all power geuen vnto hym both in heauen and in earth be faine to geue place not only to fyre and water but also to litle poore séely Mice which feare the Cat and dare not presume to approche neigh her no not as nigh as he may haue the sent of the cat And is christ of lesse power that they dare come nigh to eate hym vp or make him flée into heauen as soone as he séeth them comming or is Christe of lesse power then water whiche can quenche fyre or of lesse power then the Sunne that drieth vp water O blasphemous Papistes enemies to Christes body and Passion robbers cleane of his diuine might and power if thus we shoulde folowe your doctrine we shall at last cleane denie God and saie with you in our hartes Non est Deus There is no God at all ¶ The .xxij. Chapiter ¶ The true exposition of these worde◠hoc est corpus meum and that Sacramentes are called by those names wherof thei are Sacramentes I Wyll nowe come to the true exposition of these woordes This is my body Firste and formost it is to be noted and marked that the sacramentes are most commonly called by the names of those things that they be sacraments of Which thing may easyly be proued both by the scriptures and also by the aucthorities of the auncient fathers of the olde catholique Churche When the Lorde our God did institute and ordeyne circumcision he dyd say And my couenaunt shal be in your flesh Here
Christe had meant some other thyng then the bare wordes do sounde but one or other woulde haue expounded them Againe how could it be that they that do eate of that bread and drinke of that Cup vnworthilie shoulde be guiltie of the body and blood of Christ and receaue their damnation bicause they make no difference of the Lordes body excepte the verie naturall body and blood of the Lorde were there present in the holy communion Firste and formost I graunt that the worde of the Lorde must be fulfilled and that it must néedes be as the truth saith But then we muste take the wordes of that the Lorde doeth speake in their right sence and according to the meanyng that he hath spoken them and not after the vaine imagination of of mens wittes For that holy father Tertullian saieth we must not bryng our owne sences to the readyng of Scriptures but we muste take the sence that the Scripture doeth geue by conferryng one Scripture by another and therefore he saieth Oportet secundum plura intelligi paâ—ciora The fewer places must be expounded by the mo Saint Hierome also saieth Non in verbis scripturarum est euangelium sed in sensu The Gospell standeth not in the bare wordes of the Scriptures but in the meanyng Saint Augustine also saith Solet circumstantia scripturaruÌ„ illuminare sententiam The circumstances of the scriptures is wont to geue light and to open the meanyng Else it will bee verie straunge as when he saith I am the dore I am the true vine we might by as good reason imagine that hee is a materiall dore and a material vine and that his Apostles are vine brauÌ„ches because that he saieth and ye are the braunches Againe ye are speakyng to his Apostles the Salte of the earth Againe when Paul did saie and the rocke was christe men readyng or hearyng the same might haue surmised that the Apostles were verie Salt that the Rocke whiche the Isralites dranke of in the wildernes was very Christ in deede why bicause that the wordes doe sounde so and seeme vnto the ignoraunt to signifie so Therfore if we will haue the true and liuely worde of god to take effect we muste with diligent conferryng of the Scriptures searche out the meanyng and right sence of it as wee haue saide a little aboue out of the Fathers else we may saie long enough euen vntil our heades do ache this is gods word thus and thus did the Lorde say before that we can proue any thyng And whereas they doe boast and crake so much of their witnesses which do al with one consent rehearse these words of the lordes institution This is my body after one maner and fashion they do in that point but deceaue the poore simple and ignoraunt people For although thei doe nothyng varie in the repeatyng of these wordes This is my body yet when they rehearse the wordes of our Sauiour Christe whiche he spake touchyng the Cuppe they doe sufficiently declare howe these wordes of Christe ought to be taken and vnderstanded and what is the true sence and meanyng of them For where Matthewe and Marke doe saie in the persone of Christ This is my blood both Luke and the blessed apostle S. Paul as faithfull interpreters of our sauiour christes wordes doe saie This cup is the newe Testament in my blood Which wordes if they be well considered and marked doe open the vnderstandyng of all the whole matter For as the Cup or that whiche is in the Cup is the newe Testament by the newe Testament hee doeth vnderstande the frée remission of our sinnes that we haue through the merites of his death passion and bloodshedding so the bread is the body of Christe But the cup doeth onely signifie and represent vnto vs the newe Testament that is to say the forgeuenes of our sinnes whiche we haue in the blood of Christ whereof we are made partakers in his holy and blessed Sacrament therefore we can conclude none otherwise but that the bread doeth onely represent and signifie vnto vs the blessed body of christ which was broken for vs the vertue of which body is communicated and geuen vnto vs by the due ministration and worthy receauyng of the holy and blessed Communion Againe if the multitude of witnesses ought to take place three of the chéefe Euangelistes do testifie vnto vs that our Sauiour Christe did saie Ye shall not haue me alwaies with you vnto whom we may adde Peter for the fourth whose wordes are these Repent ye therefore and turne that your sinnes may be done awaie when the time of refreshyng commeth whiche we shall haue of the presence of the Lorde and when God shall sende hym whiche before was preached vnto you that is to wit Iesus Christ who must receaue heauen vntill the tyme that all thynges whiche God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophetes sence the worlde began be restored againe Here Doctour Harding with the residue of the louanistes â–ª wil replie and saie why sir this place of Peter maketh litle or nothyng for you for this worde oportet in the Actes whiche signifieth must dooth not importe so much as you woulde inferre of necessitie as may euidently appeare by Saint Paul where hee saieth Oportet Episcopum esse vnius vxoris virum A Bishop must be the husbande of one wife Here you maye see saie they that oportet doeth not importe suche a necessitie as you make that he that neuer was maried may be a Bishop Here gentle reader vnderstande thou that this place of Paul by them alledged is not alike whiche these Papisticall Louanistes goe about to compare For in comparyng of the Scriptures we must not consider the naked words but the meaning thereof for as saint Hierome saieth Ne putemus in verbis scripturarum esse euangelium sed in sensu That is let vs not thinke the Gospell standeth in the words of the scriptures but in the meanyng For this place of Sainct Paul by them alledged doeth declare of what equalitie a Bishop ought to be But in the other place S. Peter teacheth vs the place where Christe must necessarily be vntill the ende of the worlde whiche wee ought to beléeue to be true accordyng to our Creede And this comparison of this worde oportet doth no more aunswere this place of Peter in the Actes then if I woulde saie of you being here present Oportet te hîc esse You must néedes be here which importeth such necessitie for the time that you can none otherwise be but here And yet our Popecatholiques goe aboute in wordes to auoyde this necessitie with an other oportet in another sence as this Oportet te esse virum bonum You must be a good man here oportet doeth not in verie deede conclude anye such necessitie but that you may be as euill a man as a papist Thus you maie see
docemus etiam nos id detestabile iudicamus That is to saie we do rightly condemne al newe thynges whiche Christ hath not taught bicause christe is the waie to the faithfull if therefore we teache that which Christ hath not taught we iudge it detestable These substanciall saiynges of these most auncient fathers which be so surely grouÌ„ded in the Scriptures and worde of God shoulde make you to be afraied for to chaunge alter and teache any maner of thing in the Lordes institution and ordinaunce that he hym selfe hath doen and appointed If ye had the worde of God and the saiynges of the fathers in any estimation or reuerence as ye will make vs to beleeue ye haue you woulde neuer so muche abuse Gods misteries and commaundementes as ye doe But ye neither regarde Gods worde nor yet the saiynges of the auncient fathers but as farfoorth as they write as men and so doyng seeme somewhat to beare with your beggerly and dirtie traditions whiche ye will haue to stande whatsoeuer God and his sonne Iesus Christe our Lorde and Sauiour doe coÌ„maunde to the contrary else all his faithfull seruaunts and true prophetes shal drinke of the whip and frie a Faggot Yet they go foorth still with their owne reasons that they maie beate downe altogether the ordinaunce institution of our sauiour Christe â–ª and set vp their owne There be many in the churche saie they that of their owne nature do so abhorre wine that it is death to them either to smell it or to drinke a drop of it How should the sacrament be ministred vnto them in both kyndes woulde they not alwaies be ready to vomet when the Cup should be offered vnto them Againe if the cup were kepte from them when they should sée the other to communicate in both kindes would not that same be a wounde to their consciences and an occasion of dispaire The Churche therefore condescendyng to their infirmitie and as a tender mother bearyng with the weakenesse of her children did institute and ordaine that all the laie people shoulde in generall absteine from the Cup lest through our libertie our weake brethren shoulde perishe for whom Christe hath suffered his precious death For if they shoulde communicate but in one kynde and see all the other communicate in both they should alwaies be in a perplexitie thinkyng still that thei had not receaued the Sacrament as they ought to doe and so should neuer be quiet in their consciences All men that haue any wit or reason or any sparke of charitie in them wil confesse with you that our weake brethren are to be borne withall as muche as maie be But not in all thinges For â–ª if God doeth either commaunde or forbidde anie thyng expressely in his holy worde I am bounde to obeye it though all the whole worlde were offended at it and if I do it not for feare of the offences of men damnation hangeth ouer my head Barnarde geueth a verie good counsell therefore to vs saiyng Melius est vt scandalum oriatur quà m voritas relinquatur That is to saie it is better that offence shoulde spring or rise then the trueth shoulde bee lefte doyng his commaundement S. Gregorie saieth when there commeth more offence then hurte we maie not sticke to offende But in thynges indifferent that is to saie whiche we maie vse with thankes geuyng without the displeasure of God and also forbeare â—â— tyme and necessitie but specially the loue of our neighbour doeth require As is the choyse of meates and suche like wee are bound to beare with the weakenes of our brethren and to take heede that we cast not them awaie with our libertie for whom the only begotten sonne of God did vouchesafe to shead his most precious blood If they could proue that the ministration or receauyng of the Sacramentes were indifferent for al men to vse them at their owne pleasure and as they list then had thei saide some what and the battaile ended But that shal they neuer be able to proue For in the Sacrament the onely institution and ordinaunce of the lorde must be obserued and kepte And whosoeuer doth handle them or vse hym selfe aboute them otherwise than the Lorde hath instituted and ordeined he is an vnworthy receauer of them as Saint Ambrose doeth sufficiently declare saiyng Indignus est domino qui aliter Mysterium celebrat quam ab eo traditum est Non enim potest denotus esse qui aliter praesumit quam datum est ab autore He is vnworthy of the Lorde that doeth otherwise celebrate the misterie then it was deliuered of the Lorde For he cannot be deuoute that taketh it otherwise then it was geuen of the aucthor Thus farre he Therfore we ought in no wise to alter the Lordes institution for feare of men or fewe mens sakes whiche bicause of some naturall let can not receaue the visible and outward signes els bicause that there be some that be deafe and cannot here the preaching of Gods worde whiche doubtelesse vnto them is a greate griefe or rather a Hell of conscience For they might surmise that GOD hath vtterly forsaken them sith that he hath depriued them of that meane wherby he doth commonly call his electe and chosen and certifieth them of their saluation wee shoulde haue as iuste cause to take away cleane from the congregation the preachyng of Gods worde least we shoulde minister vnto them a farther occasion of dispayre Who hauyng any wit in his head woulde alowe our doing if we shoulde so doe And yet this standeth with as good reason as the other Why doe ye not rather by Gods worde shewe and declare vnto these weake brethren that haue suche naturall impedimentes and lettes that they can not receaue the Sacrament whole as the trueth hymselfe and the wisdome of the father hath instituted ordeined that the forbearing of the visible signes sith that thei doe it not of a contempte can not hurte nor hinder them if they doe with a liuely faithe take holde vppon the thynges that bee signified and represented vnto vs by the Sacramentes When the Iewes were in captiuitie and coulde not offer the Sacrifices that God had commaunded them in the place and with suche ceremonies as God had ordeined in his lawe they offered none at all and yet this was not imputed vnto them as long as they forsooke not the lawe of god and his true religion they were still partakers of the spirituall thynges that were signified vnto them by these outwarde ceremonies and Sacrifices When the Israelites were in the wildernes they ministred not the outwarde circumcision vnto their men children by the space of fourtie yeres bicause that they coulde not do it coÌ„ueniently And yet it is not to be thought that god was displeased therefore though he hym selfe had commaunded circumcision to be ministred vpon the eight daie after the childrens byrth and that with a sore
threatnyng as it appeareth in Genesis Euen so may we saie of those folke that haue suche naturall impedimentes that they can not receaue the whole Sacramentes accordyng to the institution and ordinaunce of our Sauiour Christ If thei haue a true liuely faith and take holde therby vpon the mercie of God declared vnto vs in our Sauiour Christe For so doeth S. Augustine saie Credere in christum hoc est manducare panem viuum nolite parare fauces sed cor To beleeue in Christ that is the eatyng of the bread of life prepare not your mouthes prepare your haertes Againe Qui manducat intus non foris qui manducat in corde non qui premit dente He that eateth Christes body inwardly not that eateth outwardly he that eateth the body of Christe it selfe in his harte not that presseth the Sacrament with his téeth Againe Quid paras dentem ventrem crede manducasti What preparest thou thy tooth and thy belly beléeue and thou hast eaten Saincte Tertullian saieth Christus auditu deuorandus est intellectu ruminaÌ„duâ— est fide digerendus That is to say christ must be deuoured by hearing chewed by vnderstandyng digested by faith S. Ciprian affirmeth all this when he saieth Quod est esca carni hoc est animae fides Non dentes ad mordendum acuimus sed fide sincera panem sanctum frangimus That meate is vnto our flesh the same is faithe vnto our soules We sharpen not our teeth to bite withall but with pure faith we breake this holy bread Barnarde saieth also Qui manducat carnem meam bibit sanguinem meum habet vitam eternam hoc est qui recolit mortem meam exemplo meo mortificat membra sua super terram habet vitam eternam That is to saie he that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my blood hath eternal life that is he that beleueth or remembreth my pretious death and by my example doth mortifie his members vpon the earth hath eternall life By these testimonies we may sée howe the papistes might perswade the weake ones that thei speake of how that Christ is eaten by faith c. For truely they ought rather to forbeare the whole Sacrament then by mangling of it breake the institution of the Lorde But these ioly felowes which are so afraide to offende a fewe persons in whom no offence is to be feared if thei be well instructed and taught make no conscience at all to offende all the whole christendome by mangling of the holy sacramentees and by taking halfe of it away from the laitie For howe can men knowing the institution and ordinaunce of Christe communicate vnder one kinde with a good safe conscience And specially when thei sée them that should be the Lanternes and lights of the world to communicate vnder both kindes If thei be so charitable as thei wyll séeme to be why doe thei not them selues abstaine from the cup least thei minister occasion vnto the poore laye brethren to thinke that they do not receaue the Communion a right or as they ought to do and so to be disquieted in their consciences as long as they liue But what shoulde I tary any longer about this matter They do not onely take away halfe the Sacrament from the christian people which thing as their owne aucthours do testifie can not be done without great sacriledge but also they do so shamefully vse the sacramentall bread that they do also about it breake altogether the Lordes institution and ordinaunce For whereas our Sauiour Christe did breake the bread and did geue it to his apostles bidding them and all his faithfull ministers to do the same that is to say to breake the bread and to distribute it to all faithfull communicantes they do eate vp all alone making none partakers with them at all In déede thei breake the bread but it is only for a face and as it were for an apishe counterfeyting of the Lordes institution but no man doth faâ—e the better for it For thei eate vp all alone neuerthelesse and not one crumbe do thei geue to the poore people that standeth by them so that we may better call it an vnion or rather an excommunication than a Communion And a most deuillishe and detestable sacriledge rather than a holy and blessed Sacrament For through their miserable doyng in sufferyng the people to be present at praier and not communicate together according to the decrées were all excommunicated ipso facto In the Councell of Antioche it was decreed thus Omnes qui ingrediuntur in ecclesiam dei sacras scripturas audiunt auersantur antem preceptionem dominici sacramenti ab ecclesia abijci oportet c. All that come into the Church of God and heare the holy Scriptures and refuse the receauyng of the Lordes Sacrament lette them be put from the Churche c. The very like wordes ye haue in the Canon of the apostles Hugo Cardinaliâ— saith In the Primatiue Church saieth he as many as were present at the Canon of the Masse did daiely communicate and if they would not they departed as excommunicate Durandus saith In the Primatiue Churche al the faithfull daily receaued the Communion By these testimonies we may perceaue two things First that none came into the Churche but they were excommunicated if they were not communicantes Secondly how in the Primatiue Churche both the priestes and laie people receiued the CoÌ„munion with the Minister These doctours are no protestantes nor Hugonites but papistes as ye are Thus we maie sée that they sticke not to breake the lordes institution the Canons of the apostles nor yet passe vpon their owne doctours saiynges to these men no order rule nor Lawe will serue Againe whereas our sauiour Christ saith Take eate c. These our gentlemen are woont to say Nay not so but gape wide and we will cast it into your mouthes or ye shall fall downe vpon your knées and with knocking vpoÌ„ your brestes and holding vp of your handes ye shall deuoutly worshippe it So that here thei make the poore ignoraunt and simple people to beléeue that he who hath sanctified their mouthes hath not sanctified their handes also whereby it commeth to passe that if thei handle the visible and outwarde Sacramentes with gloues on their hands which are made of sheepe skinnes and olde rotten dogge skinnes they make no conscience of it but if thei chaunce to touche either the coÌ„secrated hoste or the Chalice â–ª with their bare skinne which Christe hath sanctified with his precious blood and hath promised to glorifie it at the day of the generall resurrection thei are so troubled in their consciences that thei thinke veryly that they shall sincke downe quicke into hell or that their fingers and handes shall rotte of Such godly doctrine do our papistes beate into poore mens heades But the angel did