Imprimatur Henricus Maurice Rmo P. D. Wilhelmo Archiep. Cant. à Sacris Januarii 11. 1686. A TREATISE WRITTEN By an AUTHOR of the Communion of the CHURCH of ROME TOUCHING Transubstantiation WHEREIN Is made appear That according to the PRINCIPLES of That CHURCH This DOCTRINE cannot be an ARTICLE of FAITH LONDON Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in S. Paul's Church-Yard MDCLXXXVII THE PREFACE IT is well known that there are in the Communion of the Church of Rome a great many Learned Persons that do not approve of all which it teacheth and that do earnestly long for a Reformation although they remain within its bosome But it is no less true that there 's but very few that have the courage to make their thoughts known and 't is no hard matter to guess at the Reasons of it In the last Age one Picherel and some others of great note wrote solid Treatises on certain matters of Controversie and explain'd themselves just as Protestants do now And in the present Monsieur de Marca did the same on the Doctrine of the Eucharist and Barnes an Eminent Benedictine on most of the principal Questions wherein Protestants differ from the Church of Rome But as if every one feared such usage as Father Paolo and poor Barnes found for the Liberty they had taken the works of these sincere and learned Men have almost always been supprest during their Life-time and not suffer'd to come abroad till after their Decease It is therefore something more than ordinary to behold the Work of a Person now living and of the Communion of the Church of Rome that dares shew the like affection for the Reformation of his Church in the Doctrine of the Eucharist and that heartily wishes the Bishops and Clergy of France would take it into their serious consideration This Person is considerable for his Quality but much more for his great Learning He was an intimate friend of the late Monsieur de Launoy's a noted Divine of the Faculty of Paris who mightily desired to see a free Council wherein Men might speak their thoughts touching the Reforming of the Romish Church and it plainly appears he was of the same judgment with this Eminent Person touching the Doctrine of Transubstantiation The Reader may rest assured that the Author's Manuscript Copy has been exactly follow'd in the Edition of this Work which not only his Letters now in our Hands will justifie but also the Original of these Papers which he sent to a Friend to be Printed It is to be hoped the World will not take it ill if the Author of this Work be not more particularly described which could not be done without exposing him to the malice of those who use all mann r of ways to destroy such of their party as do own the Truth It nearly behoves the Bishops and Clergy of France to make some serious Reflections upon what the Author thought fit to represent to them concerning Transubstantiation The same might have been said to the other Articles of the Romish belief which are rejected by Protestants as so many additions to the ancient Faith of the Primitive Christians which are impos'd upon Mens consciences by the Clergy by such unheard-of ways and that are so contrary to the nature of Religion If such Remonstrances as these are not of sufficient force to make them change their proceedings against Protestants they will at least serve to shew their Injustice before Men and will one day aggravate their condemnation before the Tribunal of God. THE CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE Method proposed by the Assembly of the Clergy of France to judge of Articles of Faith. Pag. 1 This Method admitted by Protestants 2 Transubstantiation to be Examined by it ib. PART I. THAT several of the Doctors of the Church of Rome have confess'd that Transubstantiation is no ancient Doctrine 3 So Suarez 3 Scotus ib. D'Alliaco ib. Card. Cusa ib. Erasmus ib. Alphonsus à Castro 4 Tonstal Bishop of Durham ib. Cassander ib. Ch. du Moulin ib. J. Yribarne ib. Mons de Marca ib. PART II. THAT the Ancients did not believe Transubstantiation Proved In GENERAL First The Papists themselves confess that Transubstantiation is not expresly mentioned nor taught in Scripture 5 So Scotus ib. Ockham ib. Alphonsus de Castra ib. Gabriel Biel. ib. Card. Cajetane ib. Secondly That Transubstantiation comprehending infinite difficulties we do not yet find that either the Jews or Gentiles have objected any thing to the Christians in their disputes against it ib. Not Trypho ib. Celsus ib. Julian ib. Who yet have traduced most of the Mysteries of our Religion 7 Which plainly shews that Transubstantiation was not then known ib. In PARTICULAR Transubstantiation was not believed by any of the Fathers of the Church This shewn in those of the several Ages CENT II. Justine Martyr 8 Irenaeus 9 Clemens Alexandr 10 Theodotus ib. CENT III. Tertullian 11 Origen 13 Cyprian 15 CENT IV. Eustathius 16 Eusebius Caesariensis ib. Cyrillus Hierosel 17 Macharius ib. S. Basil 18 Ephraem ib. Epiphanius 19 Gregorius Naz. ib. Gregorius Nyssen 20 S. Ambrose 21 Gaudentius 22 S. Chrysostome ib. CENT V. S. Jerome 26 S. Augustine 27 Theodoret. 37 Arnobius Jun. 38 Prosper ib. Hesychius 39 Procopius Gazens ib. P. Gelasius 40 CENT VI. Fulgentius 41 Ephrem de Conte ib. Facundus ib. Primasius 42 CENT VII VIII Isidorus Hispalensis 43 Beda 44 Sedulius ib. Jo. Damascenus ib. Concil Constantinop 45 Alcuinus 46 Carolus M. 47 Officium Ambrosianum ib. Ordo Romanus ib. CENT IX Theodorus Studita 48 Ahyto ib. Theodulphus 49 Rabanus 51 Amalarius 52 Walafridus Strabo 54 Herribald ib. Trudegard 55 Ratramne ib. Jo. Erigena 56 Prudentius 58 Christian Drutmar ib. Florus Diacon 60 CENT X. Alferic A. B. Cant. 61 Wolphinus ib. Saxon Homil. ib. Fulcuinus 62 Herriger ib. Monast Cluny ib. Ratherius 63 CENT XI Auth. Life of S. Genulphe 64 Leuthericus ib. Fulbertus ib. Berno 65 Bruno 66 Gregory VII P. ib. Theophylact. 67 Nicetas Pectoratus ib. Chronicon Malleac ib. CENT XII Honorius 67 Rupertus 68 Zonaras ib. Amalaricus ib. CENT XIII c. Of the Council of Lateran 69 That several after it did not believe Transubstantiation Guido le Gros. 69 Reginald Peacock 70 Guido Cluv. 71 Jo. of Paris ib. Albert. M. 72 Durand ib. Cornelius Bp. of Bitonte ib. Dominicus Bannes ib. CONCLUS To the Clergy of France that they ought not to press upon the Protestants the belief of Transubstantiation 72 A TREATISE OF Transubstantiation Written by one of the CHVRCH of ROME THE Bishops of France in their last Assembly held at Paris in the year 1682. The Clergy of France's Method to judge of Articles of Faith. compos'd a Pastorial Letter addressed to the Protestants to invite them to return to the Communion of the Church of Rome And because in order to put an end to their differences in Matters of Religion some Rule must be agreed on to be received by the different Parties they laid down several
Principles which they called Methods as fit to be made use of whereby to judge what should be received as an Article of Faith. In the Fourth Method they laid down as a Maxim that the true means to discern what relates to matter of Faith or not is to see if the Article which is to be admitted was always believed as Matter of Faith that is to say that the French Bishops admitted in their pastoral Letter the Maxim which Vincentius Lyrinensis left us above 1100. years ago That great Care must be taken to retain in the Catholick Church what hath been believed every where by all and at all times as being the true Means whereby to discern what is Matter of Faith and what is not This same is the Rule given by Pope Pius the Fourth who obliges them to swear in the profession of Faith added to the Council of Trent That the Holy Scriptures should not be Interpreted †Secundum unanimem consensum Patrum But by the unanimous consent of the Ancient Fathers The Protestants have thought this Maxim so reasonable that Monsieur Larroque a French Minister Admitted by the Protestants saith in his Preface to the History of the Eucharist that he believes there is no Man of Sense but ought to admit of it And it was received as a Rule of Faith by the Reform'd Church of England by Philip Melancthon by Peter Martyr Gallasius Scultetus Casaubon Grotius Vossius Beza and by Gesselius who recites their Authorities in the Preface of his History of Memorable things from the Creation of the World to the year of Christ 1125. Seeing therefore that the Bishops of France have propos'd to us so 〈◊〉 a Method Transubstantiation to be examined by it let us examine if the Doctrin of Transubstantiation be a Doctrin of Faith and prove i◠not because the Council of Trent has defin'd it so Or that the Council of Lateran in the year 1215. suppos'd it to be so non quia ipsam quam tenemus fidem commendaverit Milevitanus Optatus vel Mediolanensis Ambrostus aut quia Collegarum Nostrorum Conciliis ipsa praedicta est saith S. Austin against the Donatists De unit Eccles cap. 16. But because 't is contain'd in the Holy Scriptures and understood in that Sense by the unanimous consent of the Doctors and Councils that have gone before us This is what we now undertake to perform by the assistance of God's holy Spirit and with a disposition of Mind free from all Malice and Prejudice according to what Caesar saith in Salust in the beginning of the Book of Cataline Omnes homines qui de Rebus dubiis consultant ab ira odio vacuos esse debere haud facile animum pervidere verum ubi illa officiunt And St. Austin upon the Book against the Letter of the Manichean by them called the Letter of Foundation Vt autem facilius mitescatis c. nemo nostrum so jam quaeramus quasi ab utrisque nesciatur ita enim diligenter concorditer quari poterit si nulla temeraria praesumtione inventa cognita esse credatur But not to over-burthen this small Treatise with too great a number of Arguments or Citations we will chiefly examine two things First Who those Catholick Doctors are that believed the Doctrine of Transubstantiation not to be ancient Secondly If what those Doctors have writ be true And whether we can indeed produce sufficient Authorities to believe that the ancient Church did not hold nor believe it PART I. IN the first place Several Doctors of the Church of Rome have believed the Doctrin of Transubstantion not to be very ancient That there have been Catholick Doctors which have taught that Transubstantiation is no ancient Doctrine * SUAREZ in 3. Tom. in Euch. Disp 70. Sect. 2. Suarez formally asserteth it although indeed he saith their Opinion ought to be corrected The truth is ⸪ Lombard l. 4. d. 11. Peter Lombard Master of the Sentences saith expresly Si quaeras qualis sit illa conversio an formalis an substantialis an alterius generis definire non audeo Secondly †Scotus in 4. d. 11. q. 3. Scotus saith That there were formerly three Opinions touching the changing the Bread into the Body of Christ the first of which held that the Bread remain'd in the Eucharist In the Paragraph quantum ergo ad istum articulum c. he saith that at present the Church of Rome holds Transubstantiation Nunc autem ipsa tenet Sancta Rom. Ecclesia panem transubstantiari And a little under he saith ad tertium ubi stat vis dicendum quod Ecclesia declaravit istum intellectum esse de veritate fidei § Haec duo videnda in illo Symbolo edito sub Innocentio tertio in Concilio Lateranensi And since this Declaration made by this Council held in the year 1215. it is an Article of Faith. Tenendum est esse de substantia fidei hoc post istam declarationem solemnem * Lib. 3. de Euch. cap. 23. Bellarmine doth own that Scotus did believe Transubstantiation was no Article of Faith before the Council of Lateran under Innocent the Third but he adds that 't was because Scotus did not know of the Council held under Gregory the Seventh and that he had not read the Authorities of the Fathers which saith Bellarmin I have now recited Thirdly †P. Dayly on 4th Sent. q. 6. Art. 4. Peter Dayly Cardinal and Bishop of Cambray saith It doth not clearly follow from the Determination of the Church that the substance of Bread ceaseth therefore he doth not believe this to be the ancient Doctrine Fourthly * Card. Cusa Cardinal Cusa Excit l. 6. Serm. 40. Super una Oblatione consummavit c. saith That there were some ancient Divines which did not believe Transubstantiation Fifthly †Erasmus Erasmus in his Notes on the First to the Corinthians saith That it was late ere the Church established Transubstantiation * Alphonsus à Castro Lib. 8. contr Haeres Sixthly Alphonsus à Castro saith That the ancient Writers very feldom spake of Transubstantiation Seventhly †Tonstal Lib. 1. of the Sacrament Tonstall Bishop of Lurham about the middle of the last Century speaking of the Breads being chang'd into the Body of Christ saith It were much better to leave it to the Liberty of Christians to believe as they pleas'd of the manner in which this change is made as it was practis'd in the Church before the Council of Lateran Eighthly Cossander in his Consultation with the Emperour Maximilian the Second touching the differences of Religion confesseth that Transubstantiation is a Novelty and that 't were much better to keep to the terms of the Ancients that the Abuses therein approach near to Idolatry Ninthly Du Mouten Charles du Moulin the Oracle of the French Civilians upon the Edicts and Ordinances of France against the Injuries
extra de summa Trinit fide Cathol C. firmiter Oredimus de Celebratione Missarum cap. cum Marta Albertus Magnus expounds the Eucharist by Transubstantiation but he saith salvo Meliori judicio which shews that he did not believe it as of Faith. Durandus of St. Porcien taught that the substance of Bread Remain'd but that the form was chang'd Durand in the 4. Sent. dist 10. q. 13. saith In 4. dist 11. Q. 3. That in his time there were Catholick Doctors which taught the Bread remain'd in the Eucharist and did prove it by the Confession which Berenger was forc'd to make affirming this opinion was not condemn'd Cornelius Bishop of Bitonte declared against Transubstantiation in the Council of Trent Canus Locor Theol. l. 12. c. 13. Dominicus Bannes taught Disp 49. Sect. 4. Disp 9. Sect. 8. that the Existence of Bread doth remain that so the Accidents of Bread and Wine may remain by this Existence At least Suarez and Mairat attribute this oppinion to him To all which if we add the Doctors that we have mention'd in our first Part that could not speak of Transubstantiation but as of a New Doctrine and which could not be proved by the Scriptures without intimating that they were not at all satisfied with it we shall see it plainly appears that we cannot apply to the Doctrine of Transubstantiation the Rule of Vincentius Lirrinensis which is offer'd to us by the Bishops of France The CONCLUSION WHerefore the Bishops are humbly desired That they would not continue to exercise so much rigor and severity against the Protestants of France who having yielded farther than they well could with a safe Conscience to obey the Kings Orders yet cannot in any wise resolve to make any profession of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation it appearing that they oppose it only for Conscience sake and as being contrary to the very Rule offered to them by the Bishops themselves If St. Austin could say Epist 162. That those ought not to be esteemed Hereticks that with an honest mind maintained the Errors of their Ancestors and are ready to relinquish them when they are better inform'd of the Truth how much greater Reason is there to bear with People who do shew by the very confession of Romish Catholick Doctors That the Doctrine of Transubstantiation is a new invention and by consequence that it ought not to be imposed as an Article of Faith by the very Rule laid down by the Bishops of France No reasonable person can find any question in matter of Religion whereto this Rule of St. Austin's can be more justly applied For if it he not observ'd in this controversy of Transubstantiation there will never be any thing found that it may be used in If then such Persons are not Hereticks for seeking the Truth and that they think 't is their duty to seek it that they are of the judgment of Catholick Doctors and that they observe the Rule prescribed by the Bishops it is no way safe to persecute them to that degree of violence to make them believe that which is contrary to the Rule which is laid down and therefore what is said by St. Austin on Psalm 54. should seriously be consider'd Plerumque cum tibi videris Odisse inimicum fratrum odisti nescis FINIS ADDENDA THese words in their place are also to be added The Gloss on the Canon hoc est in the 2. dist of the Consecrat The heavenly Sacrament which truly represents the flesh of Jesus Christ is called the Body of Christ but improperly and nevertheless it is so called after its manner not according to the truth of the thing but by a significant Mystery so that the meaning is 't is called the Body of Jesus Christ that is to say that the Body is thereby signified And also the Text of the Canon taken out of St. Austin De consec 2. c. 48. Sicut Caelestis panis qui Christi caro est suo modo vocatur Corpus Christi cum re vera sit Sacramentum Corporis Christi illius videlicet quod visibile palpabile mortale c. Books lately Printed for Richard Chiswell A Dissertation concerning the Government of the Ancient Church more particularly of the Encroachments of the Bishops of Rome upon other Sees By WILLIAM CAVE D. D. Octavo An Answer to Mr. Serjeant's Sure Footing in Christianity concerning the Rule of Faith With some other Discourses By WILLIAM FALKNER D. D. 4 to A Vindication of the Ordinations of the Church of England in Answer to a Paper written by one of the Church of Rome to prove the Nullity of our Orders By GILBERT BVRNET D. D. Octavo An Abridgment of the History of the Reformation of the Church of England By G. BVRNET D. D. Octavo The APOLOGY of the Church of England and an Epistle to one Signior Scipio a Venetian Gentleman concerning the Council of Trent Written 〈…〉 in Latin by the Right Reverend Father in God. JOHN JEWEL Lord 〈…〉 of Salisbury Made English by a Person of Quality To which is added The Life of the said Bishop Collected and written by the same Hand Octaâ—â— The Life of WILLIAM BEDEL D. D. Bishop of Kilmore in Ireland Together with Certain letters which passed betwixt him and James Waddesâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 a late Pensioner of the Holy Inquisition of Sevil in Matter of Religion concerning the General Motives to the Roman Obedience Octavoâ— The Decree made at ROME the 2d of March 1679. condemning some Opinions of the Jesuits and other Casuists Quarto A Discourse concerning the Necessity of Reformation with respect to the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome Quarto First and Second Parts A Discourse concerning the Celebration of Divine Service in an Unknown Tongue Quarto A Papist not Misrepresented by Protestants Being a Reply to the Reflections upon the Answer to A Papist Misrepresented and Represented Quarto An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England in the several Articles proposed by the late Bishop of CONDOM in his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholick Church Quarto A Defence of the Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England against the Exceptions of Monsieur de Meaux late Bishop of Condom and his Vindicator Quarto A CATECHISM explaining the Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome With an Answer thereunto By a Protestant of the Church of England 8vo A Papist Represented and not Misrepresented being an Answer to the First Second Fifth and Sixth Sheets of the Second Part of the Papist Misrepresented and Represented and for a further Vindication of the CATECHISM truly representing the Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome Quarto The Lay-Christian's Obligation to read the Holy Scriptures Quarto The Plain Man's Reply to the Catholick Missionaries 24 o. An Answer to THREE PAPERS lately printed concerning the Authority of the Catholick Church in Matters of Faith and the Reformation of the Church of England Quarto A Vindication of the Answer to THREE PAPERS concerning the Unity and Authority of the Catholick Church and the Reformation of the Church of England Quarto
is so that the Cup of the Blood is his Blood that the Body is poured forth upon our Members for our Salvation that there is a Body of Jesus Christ that may be cast out by spitting and whereof some part may be flung out of the Mouth That he will not dispute whether this Body evaporates in the Air or whether it departs out of the body with the blood or whether it goes out at the pores or into the Draft all this doth sufficiently shew That this Doctor distinguished the Bread and Wine as a Typical body from the real Body of Jesus Christ and that by consequence he believed the bread and wine remained after Consecration to be called the body and blood of Jesus Christ but improperly Valafridus Strabo Valafridus Strabo Abbas Augiensis stiled a very Learned Man by Herman Contracted in the year 849. Jesus Christ said he gave to his Disciples the Sacrament of his Body and Blood in the substance of bread and wine Lib. de Reb. Eccles c. 16. Bill p. 7. to 10. teaching them to celebrate it in remembrance of his most holy Passion because there could nothing be found fitter than these things to signify the unity of the Head and Members for as Bread is made of sundry Grains and brought into one body by means of Water and as the Wine is squeez'd from several Grapes so also the body of Jesus Christ is made of the anion of a multitude of Saints And a little after he declares That Jesus Christ hath chose for us a very fit Sacrifice for the Mystery of his body and blood in that Melchisedeck having offer'd bread and wine he gave to his Children the same kinds of Sacraments And afterwards cap. 18. That for that great Number of Legal Ordinances Jesus Christ gave us the word of his Gospel so also instead of the great diversity of Sacrifices Believers are to rest satisfied with the sole Oblation of bread and wine It is evident Strabo makes the Holy Sacrament to consist in the substance of bread and wine which according to him is differenced from the body because it is but the memorial of it That 't is the figure that it consists in being made of sundry Grains and the Wine of sundry Grapes That the Sacrifice of the New Testament is of the same kind as that of Melchisedeck and that the Eucharist is an Oblation of bread and wine All these things intimate that the bread and wine remain in the Eucharist after Consecration Herribald was Bishop of Auxerre Herribald in the time that Vallafridus Strabo wrote Tom. 2. ch 19.52 and 61. Now he was of the same Opinion with Rabanus Thomas Waldensis assures us so Herribald of Auxerre saith he and Rabanus of Mayence say That the Sacrament of the Eucharist goes into the Draft The Anonimous Author contemporary with Herribald which was published by Father Cellot the Jesuit saith also the same Nevertheless Lupus Abbot of Ferriers Ep. 19. speaking of him calls him a most excellent Prelate excellentissimum Praesulem In the 37th Ep. he stiles him a Man of a lofty and Divine understanding Altissimi Divini ingenii And Hinemarus Archbishop of Reims calls him the Bishop of Venerable Qualities De Praed ch 6. So that the very Chronicle of Auxerre intimates that there was ingrav'd on his Monument this Inscription Here lies the body of St. Herribald Therefore the Author of the 1st Treatise of the Perpetuity of the Eucharist saith in page 843 That Herribald and Rhabanus were Adversaries to Pascasius Tho in the 2d Treatise of the Perpetuity in page 842. he saith speaking of the Minister Claude who told him that Amalarius and Herribald were in any wise Adversaries to Paschas It appears by the Letter Paschasius wrote to Frudegard Frndegardus that he was not of the same Judgment Paschasius was of seeing he opposes to him St. Austin's 23d Letter to Boniface Sic VVidefort contra VVickliff ad art 1. * Trithem de Script Eccles Ratramne Priest and Frier of Corby experienc'd in the Scriptures Ratramnus equally esteem'd for his Learning and Manners whom †De Praedest Hinemar ‖ Ep. 79. Lupus Abbot of Ferriers his Contemporaries ₠De Script Eccles Sigebert who liv'd in the xi Century and Father ‡ De Euchr. ch 1. Cellot the Jesuits Anonimus do all make mention of under his true name of Ratramne wrote a Book under the Reign of Charles the Bald as is reported by the same Trythemius which he intitul'd Of the Body and Blood of the Lord From a Monk of Corby he was made Abbot of Ovais The President ₠Maug dissert Hist Chron. c. 17. tom 2. pag. 133 135. Mauguin speaking of him saith he was a Learned Doctor of the Church eminent in Probity and in Doctrine an undaunted defender and protector of the Catholick Truth against Innovators He dedicated his Book to the Emperor Charles the Bald. Now this Author did not believe Transubstantiation because he saith For as to the substance of those Creatures they are after Consecration what they were before they were before bread and wine and it is plainly seen that after Consecration these created substances do remain in the very same species And a little after he saith Ratramnus in the Apology of the Fathers is stiled a learn'd Benedictin Defender of Grace a Man of great Wisdom and Reputation and in the 1st treatise of the Perpetuity p. 3. c. 5. he is stiled an obscure kind of a person that evaporated himself in obscure Reasonings which he added to those of the Church and explained as he pleased himself as some are pleased to say This spiritual flesh which spiritually feeds Believers is made of grains of Wheat by the hands of the Baker such as it appears to our sight but it hath neither bones nor sinews nor no distinction of parts nor is it enliven'd with a Soul or reasonable substance To conclude it is unable to move of it self and if it gives life it is the effect of a spiritual virtue of an invisible and a Divine Virtue and Efficacy A little after he saith again As the Water represents the People in the Sacrament if it were true that the Bread consecrated by Ministers was corporally changed into the Body of Jesus Christ it must also necessarily follow that the water which is mingled with it were changed into the blood of the faithful people for where there is but one sanctification there ought to be but one operation and the Mystery should be equal where the Reason of the Mystery is the same It is evident there is no corporal change in the water and by consequence there is no corporal change to be expected in the wine All that is said of the Body of the people represented by water is understood spiritually it is then a necessary consequence that what is said of the blood of Jesus Christ represented by
without any thing that 's weighty a corruption whereunto the species are subject without any thing that 's capable of being corrupted a Nourishment in the Symbols without any thing that can nourish a power in the Wine to be smelt without any thing that may be smelled No body ever reproach'd us with so strange a thing that a Man with one word should destroy a substance which he holdeth in his hands and that nevertheless against the testimony of all the Senses I see that which is no more I feel that which I do not feel I taste that which I do not taste I understand that which I do not understand I touch that which I do not touch that I should be nourished with nothing that my taste should be delighted with nothing that my Eyes and Ears should be struck with Nothing The three Reflections we have hitherto made Hence it follows that Transubstantiation was not ancient That many of the antient Catholick Doctors have not believed Transubstantiation to be antient That they have judged it could not evidently be deduced from the Holy Scriptures and That the antient Pagan Philosophers have not reproached us with it are three very strong Suppositions to make us mightily doubt the Antiquity of this Doctrine But to shew evidently that 't was but in the last Ages that this opinion was made an Article of Faith we need only consult the Doctors of the Primitive Church and see if they have effectively explain'd the Eucharist by the Systeme of Transubstantiation AGE ii Just Martyr That the Fathers of the SECOND CENTURY did not believe Transubstantiation S Justin Martyr saith Apol. 2. That after the common Prayers were ended there was presented to the chief of the Brethren which was God's Minister the Bread and the Wine mixt with Water which he receiv'd into his hands and giving thanks and glory to the Father of Heaven and Earth through Jesus Christ his Son and the Holy Ghost c. and the said President or Minister having ended his thanksgiving the People having all said Amen those whom we call Deacons and Ministers attending on this Holy Service give to every one present at the Holy Communion part of this Holy Bread so blessed and glorify'd and also of the Holy liquor mixt of Wine and Water upon which Prayers had been made And a little lower Behold Lord we do not receive this Bread nor this Wine as common Bread and Wine but as Jesus Christ is become Flesh and Blood by the Word so also the nourishment which by the Word is become a Sacrament and of which by conversion and change our flesh and Blood are nourish'd is as we have learned the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ incarnate If St. Justin had believed that the substance of the Bread Wine and Water had been changed after Consecration so that they had been destroy'd how could he have said that after Consecration the Deacons did distribute to the People the Bread the Wine and the Water Secondly When he saith we do not take this Bread and Wine as common Bread and Wine this language amongst the antient Doctors intimates that both the one and the other do still subsist but that by Consecration they have acquir'd a new use and quality As when Cyril of Jerusalem Catech. 3. Ad Illum saith Approach not to Baptism as to common Water Or as Gregory Nyssen saith of Baptism Do not despise the Holy Font and look not upon it as common Water To conclude this blessed Martyr saith Our Body and Blood are nourish'd by the change of the Eucharistical food which converts and turns it self into our Flesh and Blood. These words plainly shew that 't is the Bread and Wine which are turn'd into our Substance into our Flesh and into our Blood seeing that tis ' certain Justin Martyr that the real Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ is not converted into our Flesh and Blood. So when Justin saith That the Sacramental Food is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ that imports that 't is not common Bread and Wine but a Bread and Wine which is to be consider'd as the Flesh and Blood of the Word incarnate S. Irenaeus proves against Valentine and his followers Irenaeus that our Bodies shall not be destroy'd and by consequence that they shall be raised incorruptible by receiving the Sacrament as the Bread of the Eucharist becomes supernatural by the invocation of the Holy Ghost We establish in the Eucharist saith S. Irenaeus Adversus Haeres l. 4. c. 24. the Communion and unity of the Flesh and of the Spirit for as the Bread which is of the Earth receiving the invocation of God is no longer common Bread but is the Sacrament compos'd of two things one Terrestrial and the other Celestial So also our Bodies which receive the Eucharist are no longer corruptible but have the Hope of a future Resurrection This passage doth suppose that the Bread remains in the Eucharist in the first place because if Consecration did destroy the substance of the Bread and Wire it must be confess'd the Holy Doctor had taken wrong measures to shew that the Flesh is not destroy'd by the grace of the Holy Spirit by the Bread of the Eucharist which it self should be destroy'd by the grace of the Spirit which comes upon it Secondly Because a little before Irenaeus saith How is it they say the Flesh shall be destroy'd and turn to corruption seeing it is nourish'd with the body and blood of Christ Now the Flesh is sed by the conversion of nourishment into the body which not being to be said of Jesus Christ is only to be apply'd to the Bread. Moreover these words That the Eucharist is compos'd of two things sufficiently shew that the Bread remains for to say Ireneus means by a Terrestrial thing the accidents of Bread and Wine besides that S. Austin saâ—th in the second Book of Soliloquies Chap. 12. that 't is a thing monstrous to say that accidents subsist without a subject Irereus also himself saith Book 2. cap. 14. that Water cannot be without moisture Fire without heat a Stone without hardness For these things are so united that the one cannot be separated from the other but the one must subsist in the other So in like manner by this Terrestrial thing must be understood the Bread as S. Gregory Naz. saith in his fourth Oration according to Bilius his version Baptism also is compos'd of two things Water and the Spirit the one is visible and is meant in a corporal manner Irenaeus but the other is invisible and operates after a spiritual manner the one is Typical the other cleanseth that which is inward and most hidden Clement of Alexandria saith the same in different terms Clem. Alexand. Paedag. l. 2. The Blood of Christ is twofold the one is carnal whereby we are deliver'd from corruption the other is spiritual whereby we are anointed and that is to drink the
the wine must be understood spiritually Again The things which differ amongst themselves are not one and the same thing The Body of Jesus Christ which was dead and rose again and become immortal doth dye no more Death has no more deminion over it it is Eternal and can no more suffer but that which is celebrated in the Church is temporal and not eternal and it is corruptible and not incorruptible And again it must then be said that the body of Jesus Christ such as it is made in the Church was incorruptible and eternal Nevertheless it cannot be denied that what is so cut into morsels to be eat changed and corrupted and that being eat with the teeth it goes into the Body Again Now 't is true that the figure and the reallity are things distinct therefore the body and blood which are celebrated in the Church are different from the flesh and blood of the body of Jesus Christ which it is well known is glorious since his Resurrection therefore the body that we celebrate is a pledg and figure These words of Ratramne or Bertram are so clear that it is wonder'd the Author of the Perpetuity should say in the first Treatise p. 3. that Bertram is an obscure Author and not evidently favourable to Calvinists but that Catholicks may explain him in a good sense I cannot tell what to call this Confidence John Erigen Joan. Erigena a Scotch Man whom the Emperor Charles the Bald commanded to write touching the Body and Blood of the Lord as he had done also to Ratramne which appears by Borrenger's Letter to Richard publish'd by Dom Luke D'Achery in the 2d Tome of his Spicileg was of an opinion contrary to Paschasius as is acknowledged by * De Euchar. Lanfrank and Berenger in his Episte to the same Lanfrank and Hincmar saith of John Erigen that he taught ‡ De praedest chap. 31. That the Sacrament of the Altar was not the real Body and Blood of Jesus Christ but only the Remembrance both of the one and the other And Berenger writing to Lanfranc saith to him If you hold John for a Heretick whose Judgment we have been inform'd of touching the Sacrament you must also hold for Hereticks Ambrose Chrysostom Austin not to mention many more Nevertheless * De Gest Reg. Angl. l. 1. c. 5. William of Malmsbury ‖ Annal. per pred ad 882. Roger de Hoveden and ‡ Ad An. 883. Matthew of Westminster speak of John Scot as of the greatest Man of his time and Molanus Professor in Divinity at the University of Lovain in his Appendix to the Martyrology of Ussuart at the Letter J has left these Words engraven John Scot Martyr translated Dionysius's Ecclesiastical Hierarchy after which by Authority of the Popes he was put in the number of the Martyrs of Jesus Christ To conclude the Roman Martyrology which we have in our Library Printed at Antwerp Anno 1586 by order of Gregory the 13th as is said in the Title of the Book Martyrologium Romanum Jussu Gregorii 13 editum at the 4 of the Ides of November makes mention of John Scot It 's true the Author of the 1st Dissertation upon John Scot which the Author of the Perpetuity chose having placed the said Dissertation at the end of his 2d Treatise to which he often refers his Readers has made in the same Dissertation a Chapter which bears the Title that John Scot was not put into the Catalogue of Martyrs by the Sacred Authority of Popes and that his Name is not to be found in any Edition of the Roman Martyrology But it is also certain that the same Author who hath also publish'd the belief of the Greek Church touching Transubstantiation has inserted in the end of his Book a Treatise Entituled A Refutation of the Answer of a Minister of Charenton to the Dissertation which is in the end of Monsieur Arnauds Book concerning the Employments the Martyrdom and the Writings of John Scot or Erigen and the last Chapter of this Refutation hath this Title A sincere Declaration of the Author touching some things he had said in his Dissertation the which he since confesses were not true And in Numb 6. of this Chapter the Author saith in these Terms in Art. 7. p. 25 he speaks of the 7th Art. of the first Dissertation upon John Scot which is at the end of Mr. Arnauds Perpetuity it is said that 't is false that there was a Martyrology Printed at Antwerp by Command of Gregory the 13th in the Year 1586. 2dly That there is not to be found in any Roman Martyrology Printed at Antwerp or any where else the Commemoration of John Scot on the 4th of the Ides of November It would be superfluous here to relate the Reasons that they have had so positively to deny these matters of Fact. It is sufficient to observe First That there is a Roman Martyrology set forth by Order of Gregory the 13th and Printed by Platin at Antwerp in the Year 1586. 2dly That there is seen in this Martyrology the Commemoration of John Scot on the 4th of the Ides of November in these Words Eodem Die Sancti Joannis Scoti qui Grafiis puerorum confossus Martyrii Coronam adeptus est This Author is of good reputation and doubtless was not ignorant of what St. Austin saith in some of his Works That to Lye in a matter of Religion is meer Blasphemy Nevertheless we may observe before proceeding any farther that if Scot had advanced any new Doctrine he would certainly have been reproved for it by the Church of Lyons by Prudentius by Florus by the Councils of Valence and Langres which condemn'd and censur'd his Opinions on the Doctrine of Predestination St. Prudentius Prudentius Bishop of Troyes in Champaign who assisted at the Councils of Paris in the Year 846 of Tours in 849 at Soissons in the Year 853. to whom Leo the 4th wrote an honourable Letter which is to be seen in the 6th Tome of the Councils of the which the Bishop of Toul in the French Martyrology on the 7th of April having said that at Troys his Anniversary is solemnized as of a holy Bishop and Confessor he also makes a magnificent Elegy of him This holy Bishop I say was of the same Judgment with John Scot in the Subject of the Eucharist Hincmar de Praedest c. 31. for Hincmar Arch Bishop of Rhemes numbers him with John Scot against whom he observes nevertheless that he wrote touching Predestination and saith that they both held That the Sacraments of the Altar are not the true Body and Blood of our Lord but only the commemoration of his Body and Blood. Christianus Drutmar Priest and Frier of Corby Christianus Drutmarus famous for his Learned Works saith Sigebert of Illustrious Men as also the Abbot Trythemius wrote a Commentary upon St. Matthew about the year 845. It is in the Bibliotheca Patrum Tom. 16 pag.
ready drawn up it not appearing that the advice of the Assembly was taken on each of them as is usually practis'd in all free and lawful Councils Mathew Paris on the year 1215. speaks in these terms Every one being Assembled in the place abovesaid and each having according to the custom of General Councils taken their place the Pope having first made an Exhortatory Sermon there was read in full Council Sixty Articles which were liked by some and disliked by others Godfry a Frier of St. Pantalion at Cologne saith Ad Ann. 1215. there was nothing worth the remembrance done at this Council only that the Eastern Church submitted to the Western which before was never known Nauclerus and Platina in the Life of Innocent the 3d. affirm the same for they mark that several things were there propos'd but that nothing was clearly determin'd And Kings and Princes have no Reason to allow of this Council because in the 3d Chap. of the said Council power is given to the Pope to deprive Princes and Lords of their Lands and to give them to others Guy le Gros Archbishop of Narbonne in the year 1268. did not believe Transubstantiation for being at Rome and discovering his mind to a certain Doctor being return'd to Narbonne Pope Clement the IV. wrote him a Letter telling him that a certain Doctor inform'd him that discoursing with him he held that the Body of Christ was not essentially in the Sacrament and no otherwise than as the thing signified is in the Sign and that he said also this Opinion was common at Paris This appears by the Register'd Manuscript of the Letters of Clement the IV. And to shew that the Arch-Bishop of Narbonne said this Doctrine was very frequent at Paris we find that two years after that is to say in the year 1270. which was in the year St. Lewis died Stephen Bishop of Paris by advice of some Doctors in Divinity condemned those which held that God cannot make an Accident to be without a Subject because it is of its Essence to be actually in its Subject 2ly That the Accident without a Subject is not evident unless it be equivocal 3ly That to make the Accident subsist without its Subject as we think it does in the Eucharist is a thing impossible and implies a Contradiction 4ly That God cannot make the Accident be without its Subject neither that it should have several Dimensions Which Maxims being inconsistent with Transubstantiation doth plainly shew that even at that time Men were divided on the Subject of Transubstantiation One William saith the Frier Walsingham in the Life of Richard the 2d King of England on the year 1381. Preached at Leicester on Palm-Sunday That the Sacrament of the Altar is real Bread after Consecration and that the Bishop of Lincoln going to punish him for it the People appearing concern'd for him made the Bishop not dare do any thing against him which doth plainly shew that in that time the Doctrine of Transubstantiation had not taken any deep root in the minds of the People Reginald Peacock Bishop of Chichester in England In Richard. 2. Anno 1282. in the year 1457 did not hold Transubstantiation seeing Baleus reports on the Credit of Thomas Gasconius and Leland Tom. 2. Ch. 19. that he had no sound thoughts touching the Eucharist and that he asserted the Doctrine of Wickliff Now the Doctrine of Wickliff Tho. Waldens in Epist ad Mart. 5. as is related by this Frier Walsingham and Thomas Waldensis was That after Consecration by the Priest in the Mass there remains true Bread and Wine such as they were before nevertheless saith Walsingham the Lords and Nobles of the Land favour'd Wickliff In Rich. 2. which shews plainly that the belief of Transubstantiation was not generally received Guy of Cluvigny Doctor in Divinity of the Order of Carmelites and Reader of the Sacred Palace did not hold Transubstantiation but held the Opinion of Rupert de Duits to wit the Impanation and said That this Opinion was so agreeable to him that if he were Pope he would establish it Tom. 2. Ch. 64. Thomas Waldensis reports the same thing having receiv'd it from John of Paris It 's certain that John of Paris teacheth so in his Manuscript Treatise in the Library of St. Victor having for its Title Determinatio fratris Joannis de Parisiis Praedicatoris de modo existendi Corpus Christi in Sacramento Altaris alio quam sit ille quem tenet Ecclesia The same John de Paris wrote the Treatise above mention'd about the year 1300. he was a Jacobin and Doctor of the Sorbon he held that the Eucharist is the Body of Christ as Rupert de Duits and Guy of Cluvigny did to wit by Assumption Jesus Christ having taken the Bread into the Unity of his Suppositum as he took the human Nature into the Unity of his Person And towards the end of the Manuscript it is said That the faculty thought fit that the manner of explaining the Eucharist by Assumption of the Bread or by Conversion was a probable Opinion but that neither the one nor the other was decided as a matter of Faith and that whoever said otherwise did not say well and run the risque of Excommunication In praesentia Collegii Magistrorum in Theologia dictum est says the end of the Manuscript utrumque modum ponendi Corpus Christi esse in Altari tenet pro Opinioni probabili approbat utrumque per. Et per dicta Sanctorum Dicit tamen quod nullus est determinatus per Ecclesiam idcirco nullus cadit sub fide si aliter dixisset minus bene dixisset qui aliter dicunt minus bene dicunt qui determinate assereret alterum praecise cadere sub fide incurreret sententiam Canonis vel Anathematis Thomas Waldensis attributes this Opinion to John de Paris There is commonly found in the Library of the Franciscan Friers a Book called the Poor's Reckoning writ by one called De Goris a Doctor of Tholouse and Native of Arragon he Dedicated his Book to Alphonsus of Arragon Arch-Bishop of Sarragossa He chargeth John de Paris with the Opinion of the Impanation and doth not condemn it It is on the 4th Book of Sentences Dist. 11. q. 3. The Continuator of VVilliam de Nangis his Manuscript Chronicle in the Library of St. German de Pres that John de Paris is stiled Doctor of great Knowledg and Learning * De Script Ecclesiast Trythemius and Auctuar ‡ Auctuan le Mire give him also the same Epithets I observe That in this Manuscript John de Paris to confirm his Opinion makes use of the Authority of the Master of the Sentences in 4th Sent. Dist. 21. I take it to be Dist. 12. as if the Master of the Sentences should there say That the Impanation is a probable Opinion He also cites to the same purpose Dominus Hostiensem c. Super Corpus juris