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A68033
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The epistle of Erasmus Roterodamus, sente vnto Conradus Pelicanus concerning his opinion of the blessed sacrament of Christes body and bloude.
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Erasmus, Desiderius, d. 1536.
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1554
(1554)
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STC 10491; ESTC S101686
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4,396
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18
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¶ The epistle of Erasmus Roterodamus sente vnto Conradus Pelicanus concerning his opinion of the blessed Sacrament of Christes body and bloude Excusum Londinum aedibus â—ohannis Cawodi Typographi Reginae Mariae Anno. 1554. THe power of the gospell doth not put away morall vertues but maketh theÌ„ perfecte And ye knowe well ynoughe how farre it doth varye and differ not only from vertue I saye but vtterly from all humanitie to bewraye the priuite secrete counsel of frendship Forasmuch as we do curse eueÌ„ them which blabbe out those thinges that were spoken amonge frendes although their frendship be broken they be fallen out And they which be of a more gentle nature can not finde in their hearte to vpbrayd or obiecte vnto them whom they chiefly hate any such thing as they whiche were theyr frendes afore haue told them of truste I thoughte you to haue bene one of this sorte that I mighte safely haue told you any secretes nor I wold not haue choosen any other vnto whom I might haue shewed the secretes of my conscience Wherfore I marueyl more what hathe chaunced that ye haue spredde abroade concerninge me those thinges which I neuer nether sayd nor thought And that ye haue priuelye whispered into the eares of a certayne honest yonge man that I was of the same mind that ye were of concerninge the Eucharistie or the Sacrament of Christes bodye bloude Nowe shuld he haue caried with him in to his contrey this sting of sclauÌ„der which ye layd vpon me yf by chaunce he I had not fallen in coÌ„munication of the same matter And yet I can not tel whether he be gone withoute all suspicion of me or not Verely at the first when I herd this yong maÌ„ I thought that ye did thinke none other thinge then ye were wont to professe vnto me Ye did condempne those which durst be so bold to professe that there was nothinge els but breade wine Nor I did neuer thinke otherwise vpoÌ„ you before our last coÌ„munication wherin ye semed as it were cleane another man one that was inspired ye declared your ful mind wtoute any colour And now seinge that ye professe the same openlye ye goo furth abroad affirming that I you be both of one mind yea and that ye do so in diuerse places that youre tale hath made a coÌ„mon rumor wherof euerye one knoweth you to be the aucthor And I do not doubte but ye write the same in like maner to youre frendes Verely as for me I did neuer agree with you throughly no not in your first saying For in that ye dyd saye that in the Sacramente was the body of the lord but how and after what maner it was there we should coÌ„mit that vnto god whiche knoweth al thing truly I added this more to that your sayinge that I thought it might be sayd so more simply diuerse doubtes might so be auoyded yf it were lefull for a christian man to swarue from that which was alreadye approued alowed both by the auctoritie of common councels also by the agreamente of al churches nations so many ages past But more ouer I alwayes denied that I could let that sinke in my mind speciallye when both the writinges of the Euangelistes also of the Apostles do so plainly name the body which is giuen the blode which is shed And seing that the same doth woÌ„derfully agree with the vnspeakeable charity of god toward maÌ„kind that he wold fede by an vnspeakeable maner with the fleshe blode of his sonne those which he had redemed by the same body bloude And that he wold comfort theÌ„ by this secrete presence of his soÌ„ne as by a pledge vnto such time as he wold come agayn glorious manifest to al. These thinges wold make me more inclined to receaue the sentence of the catholike churche yea yf nothinge wer determined nether of th one parte nor thother Nowe what a madnes were it yf I shuld not be affraid to pronunce that there were nothing els but breade wine I am wont to coÌ„men frely of euerye thing with my frendes which be learned specially when the weake be absent some time for serching for the the true the some time to proue theÌ„ some time for pleasure beinge in this be halfe peraduenture more simple then nede wer But I will knowledge my selfe worthy death yf euer anye man hearde this worde of me ether in earneste or in bourdes that there is nothing els in the Sacrament but bread wine or that there is not there the very body bloude of the lord which thing some now a dayes by their bookes abroade doo hold defend Yea I besech christ not to fauor me yf euer this sayinge or thoughte did tarye in my mind For yf any of these flying or waueringe thoughtes did once touche my heart I did easelye auoyde theÌ„ considering the inestimable loue charitie of God toward vs wayinge the wordes of holy scripture whiche wordes of holy scripture did coÌ„pell yea Luther him selfe whome ye do sette more by prefer afore al scholes al bisshops al men of right opinioÌ„ councels to professe the same which the vniuersal church doth professe although he is woÌ„t gladly to dissent froÌ„ the same churche I know how litle ye do regard the auctoritie of the councels Verelye as for me I do condempne no churche specially where it hath al churches agreing with it Paule doth thinke that an aungel is not to be hard yf he preache an other gospel The church hath persuaded me to beleue the gospell by her instructioÌ„ also haue I learned to expounde the wordes of the gopel Hitherto haue I worshipped in the Sacrament Christ which did suffre for me as al other christen men haue done nor yet I neuer see anye thinge wherefore I ought to go froÌ„ this opinion No mans reason shal be able to carye me away froÌ„ the whole senteÌ„ce agreament of the christen world for those fiue wordes In the begynning God made heauen earth be of more strength with me then all the argumentes reasons of Aristotle and all the other Philosophers wherby they do teache the worlde to be withoute beginninge And nowe what do these men bringe wherby I shuld be moued to professe this so vngodlye sedicious sentence or saying Their reasoÌ„s be weake of no streng the suche as these He once toke awaye his fleshe lesse it shoulde be offensiue The Apostles did not wondre at it nor did not worship it We are commaunded to be spirituall as who saye the fleshe thus giueÌ„ did hindre the spirite The fleshe is there but not perceptible by any sense yet the same is a pledge of the loue of God toward vs a coÌ„fort of our hope in god The scripture doth make for vs we haue in scripture This is my body which is giuen for you This is my bloude which is shedde for you
Where do they rede this is not my body but a token signe of my body this is not my blode but a token signe of my blode And wheÌ„ they haue greatly troubled payned theÌ„ selfe they can hardlye teache by other places that the very name of the thing caÌ„ be taken for the signe token of the thing And yet they can not altogether playnlye proue that We say when we behold a paynted table this is Hector whiche slewe Patroclus yet euery maÌ„ knoweth that Hector him self is not in the table That may be true whatsoeuer Christ sayeth is Now suppose that they may proue this thing last aforesayd that is that the thing may be taken for the signe or tokeÌ„ therof yet what strength or efficacie hath this kind of reasoning these wordes may be takeÌ„ thus therfore they must be takeÌ„ thus To what purpose dothe it make for them to recite the sayinges of so many old catholike auctours howsoeuer they wreste them colour them wrappe vp together al their sayinges yet bring they no place whiche manifestlye speaketh that there is not the bodye and bloude of the Lorde They exhorte and moue menne vnto a spirituall communicatyng of the Lordes bodye bloode What meruell is it yf the be commended which is rather to be estemed in that receauing of it in eyther kinde For if it be not receaued spiritually the carnall receauing onely with out thou other bringeth daÌ„nation I praye you what cause is here wherfore I shuld forsake leaue that thing which the vniuersal church hath vsed and taught so many ages Ye know that Luther I do throughly agree in no kynde of doctrine sauing that that he reproueth euer truly of the corrupt maners of men And now shal I departe from the communion of the catholyke churche and fall to the opinion of Carolastadins who also hath quaied from his owne doctryne teachyng If I had reuealed vnto you as to a frend eyther aduoutrye or theft how muche had it bene agaynst al the law of frendship to haue blabled it out yea but to one man that thing whereby your freÌ„de might haue bene in daunger Nowe seyng that ye sprede abrode amonges al meÌ„ a crime most haynous of al other whiche my tonge thoughe it be fre lyberal neuer vttered nor which my minde neuer coÌ„ceiued What name must we giue that whiche ye doo being an Euangelical frende do ye thynke to abuse the aucthoritie of my name to persuade your late begon beleue I pray you in christe is this to be a folower of the gospel to steyne so wicked cruell a dede agaynst a freÌ„d wherby ye might entice mo into a new sect as though there were to few new sects If that opinyon be godlye whiche you doo affirme haue ye no other means wherby ye may persuade it but by makyng the mooste false lye vpon Erasmus sayng that he and you be both of one minde And if my authoritie be so greatly estemed amonges you why can it do nothing in so mani things where in I disseÌ„t froÌ„ you If your minde doo wauer and doubte as ye be wont to saye because that ye regard nothing at al the aucthoritie of the byshoppes councels yet hytherto my mynde hath bene stayed by the coÌ„sent of the vniuersall churche If you be persuaded that ther is nothing els in the Sacrament but bread and wyne I had rather be rent in sondre euery parte froÌ„ other then to professe the same that ye doo professe And I had leuer suffre what soeuer it were then to commyt such an abomynable cryme agaynst myne owne conscience so to departe oute of this lyfe I doo not here dilate and set furthe with many wordes the most rightuous cause of expostulation the matter it selfe hath trouble coÌ„tentioÌ„ ynoughe in it If ye haue any cryme of the spirite of the Gospell ye will heale agayne al those that ye through these most false feyned tales haue infected I am content and can suffre that ye blabbe furth amonges al meÌ„ whatsoeuer I haue spoken in our familiar coÌ„municatioÌ„ yea althoughe I were merye wyth drink ether in bourdes or ernest But truly I can not suffre that ye make me ether Author of this doctryne or yet fellow with you in that which I neuer nether spake nor thought so I pray God that I neuer be separated from Christe Amen At Basyll Anno. 1.5.2.6 A plaine and godlye treatise concernynge the Masse the blessed Sacrament of the Aulter for the instruccion of the symple and vnlerned people THe verye holye newe sacrifice of the new testament whiche the Church of Chryste hath euer had in vse celebrate euen from the begynninge is of the olde holy writes called as it is at this day tho roughoute the Catholike Church by the Hebrew name Missa Ambro … lib. v. eâ—â—stolaruâ— epistolâ— cxxiij Augustâ—â—â—â— sermo 〈◊〉 teÌ„po cc … as it appeare the righte euidently by S. Ambrose in hys v. booke of Epistles and the .xxxiii. Epistle of the same booke and by S Austine also in his .cc. li. sermoÌ„ De tempore And thys worde Missa hath his originall of the Hebrew worde Massa whiche signifiethe voluntarye or free oblacion or offerynge whiche is offered vppe wyth the hande or elles as some other do thinke of the Hebrewe woorde Masas whyche sygnyfyeth to eleuate or lyfte vppe and althoughe the olde holye fathers dyd