eate not the blood for the blood is the life therefore thou maiest not eate the blood with the fleshe Nowe therefore what maner of â—uersion not obseruation of Gods lawe is this what a disagreemente and vnlikenesse is this betwixt the olde Testament and the newe That which the father forbiddeth the sonne commaundeth that which not onely nature doth vtterly condemne but also the fathers commaundement by most special law hath abolished shal Christ the sonne of God the most seuere keeper of the lawe bring the same againe into vse God forbid hee neuer did it hee neuer willed it he neuer thought it neither was hee able to commit so grosse an absurditie without great prediudice of the law and nature it selfe neyther doe thou imagine euer any suche thing in thy minde gentle Reader Christâ— did neuâ—r bryng in any suche enormitie but the Paâ—ists a deteâ—table and sauadge kinde of people altogeather contrary to Christes meaning and contrary too all lawe and rule not only of all nature but of Scripture it selfe They doe gnawe vppon the woordâ—s as vppon the fleshe of the letter which if be construed in their right sense nothing can be more heauenly but yf carnally nothing câ—n bee more damnable But if wee will needes bee so precise about the woordes of Christâ— Why then by the same Argument of Christes omnipotencie let vs turne Peter into a Rocke of Stoneâ— and a Stone into Christe and Christes fleshe into Table meate For neither when he called bread his body which hee woulde geue for vs noting thereby the power and effâ—cacie of his passion did these woordes tende to that ende to institute some transmutation of Creatures by any hidden myracle or that departing out of the earth with his body to leaue his body behinde him or else why shoulde hee commaunde it too bee eaten if his will had beene too haue it reserued for a token but Christe did vnderstande by these woordes an other maner of thing being matter of farre greater and deeper mysterie For he deliuered a Sacrament which being vnderstoode spiritually doth geue life but beâ—ng carnally vnderstoodeâ— doeth kyll For flesh according too the testimonie of Christe him selfe doeth not proâ—ite any thing at all But howe can it bee apâ—ly saide that this moste holy fleshe doeth proâ—ite nothing at all What did not the fleshe of Christe borne for vs baptized for vs and slaine for vs profite Yes truely very muche But our treatise heere concerneth not the very substaunce of his flesh nor yâ—t his heauenly Actions in the fleshe but only our fleshly eating of his naturall fleshe in this Sacrament which shoulde auaile vs nought at all too eternall life tâ—ough wee eate thereof with our mouthes a thousande times whereof the Lord himselfe meaning to aduertise the Capernaites not altogether obscurely who did wrest these wordes to the carnall and fleshly sense and meaning of eating saide vnto them these wordes My woordes are spirite and life The fleshe doeth not profite at all Which wordes doe tende too this construction at the last You doe conceiue of these woordes which I spake touching the eating of my fleshe too too grossely and carnally and farre otherwise then my meaning is for I did neither speake them in any suche sense as that I would inuite you to the deuouring of my person for what can bee more absurde Neither did I take vppon mee this fleshe too any suche ende as too fill your throates and belies therewith For what commoditie shoulde thereby redownde vnto you that was not my meaning but too the ende I shoulde geue the same to bee slaine for your sakes which slaughter of my fleshe beyng apprehended of you spiritually by faith and inwardly disgested within your heartes shall refreshe you much more effectually then Moyses refreshed your bellies with his Manna for it shall reuiue you with a liuely life not perishable and temporall but eternall and it shall satisfie your hunger not that hunger which will bee hungry again but which shall replenish you being full fed with euerlasting felicitie in such wise as that you shal from thence foorth neuer bee hungry any more Whereupon those his woordes are not without cause called spirite and life not wherewith he turned bread into fleshe but whereâ—ith he represented the efficacie of his fleshe which was slaine for vs and of his blood which was shedde for vs vnder the mysteries of bread and wine And on this wise in deede the fleshe of Christ not in that sense as it is eaten but in that whereby our faith is reposed in him is become altogiâ—her profitable vnto vs. It seemeth vnto me nowe that I haue spoken sufficiently of this matter if I anâ—exe one thing more Whervnto I woulde verie faine heare what aunswere these Laterane breade flesh makers will make who thinke it not sufficient to turne breade and wine into a Sacrament of the bodie and blood by the diuine power of the woorde vnlesse by a certaine kinde of Alcumie they poure foorth substaunce of things from out one substance into an other and so produce out of the substaunce of breade and wine a certaine contrarie nature of mans flesh and blood and make thereof some certaine quinte essence And goe to nowe to yeelde thus much to their Alcumistical chaunge to wit that nothing remayneth in the Sacrament besides the onely substaunce of the bodie and blood I come nowe not to enquire in what mynute of time in what instant of pronouncing the woorde this transubstantiation taketh his first commencement of being created For the Popes themselues cannot yet agree vpon this poynt This thing do I demaund After that this same bodie of our Lorde being once deuoured by vs doeth passe once downe into the bowels and resteth within our bodies whether it remaine whole there without all kinde of disgestion or whether the substaunce of that fleshe doe growe through naturall concoction into and increase the substaunce of our fleshe If they graunt this it must needes then come to passe thereby that the vndefiled and pure fleshe of Christ swallowed vy vs and conuerted into the substaunce of our mortal and corrupt nature must become one and the selfsame flesh with our corruâ—t flâ—sh For as bread and wine according to the testâ—monâ—e of Damascen by eating and drinking is transposed into the bodie blood of the person that eateth and drinketh euen so the flesh and blood of Christ if they bee receyued really as they tearme it into our bodies must needes be transubstantiatâ—d vnited into our owne flesh and blood Hereof therefore must it folow of verie necessâ—â—ie that the â—lesh of Christ being nowe made our fleshe shall be sinfull flesh which were horrible to bee spoken yea not onely sinfull but also as our fleshe doeth corrupt and waxe rotten withall so the same corruption must of necessitie happen vnto the flesh of Christ as well as into ours if according to Dâ—mascene we bee concorporate and
wine What when you heate out of Origen Not the matter of bread but vpoÌ„ the bread the word was spoken which is profitable to him that eateth in the Lord not vnworthily And aboue al other chiefly what wil you answere to these wordes of Gelas. who wâ—â—ting of the Sacraments of bread wine Howe that wee are by the same made partakers of the heaueÌ„ly nature yet doth boldly pronouÌ„ce that the substaÌ„ce of bread wine do neuertheles remaine stil. Besides these when ye read also the wordes of August And we receiue this day visible foode c. What I say when on all sides your eares doe fully conceiue the voyces of the most choyse learned fathers touching the visible meat the bread which is broken the wine which is crusht out of the grapes the matter and the substance of bread and wine when as these so many authours whom I haue cited do as it were thrust into your mouth bread wine doe you notwithstanding not receyue bread nor wine and are yee yet so poreblinde as not to see ought else here but phanatical superficiall shadowes onely and accidents of bread Surely that queysie stomacke of yours deserueth in my conceyte to bee continually fed with those delicate cates of accidents But bycause I will not oppresse you with testimonies I surcease here This one thing I demaund sithence these visible kindes whereof ye speake doe holde yet the names of the things which they were before I woulde faine know whether togither with the names they do retaine the effect and operation of the same things wherein they be sayd to feed and to nourish yea or nay If ye say yea certes ye feed your guestes very finely that so feede them with colours and shewes of accidents not much vnlike as if bycause Pepper is black therfore a man should say it is hote in the mouth or bycause salt is white therefore it doth sauour and season victuals But if ye say nay what consonancie of likenesse shal there bee betwixt the Lordes flesh and this Sacrament which you fasten wholy to shadowes seing that shadowes haue no force at al to refresh withal seeing ye leaue vs no substaunce of breade wherevpon wee may feede For what shall we say doeth not the fleshe of Christ nourish the inwarde man no more substancially then the outward formes of bread and wine doe nourish the bodie Surely yee haue discouered vs verie daintie delicates whereby the bodie is neither fedde nor soule refreshed For whether the inwarde soule doe receyue no more comfort of the fleshe of Christ then our outwarde bodies nourishmeÌ„t of visible formes I leaue to other mens iudgement how wel we are like to be fed Besides this also remayneth yet another tryâ—â—ing toy of most vaine distinction to witte Of the Sacrament and not the thing Of the Sacrament and the thing Of the thing and not the Sacrament Of which diuision there is not one member so much that is not altogither rotten First wheras he placeth the Sacrament in certaine emptie and Metaphisâ—cal formes remooued from the thing it selfe therein he doeth no more digresse from all conueniencie of reason and the iudgement of the auncient fathers than most blockishly vary from himself For discoursing a litle earst of the nature of a SacrameÌ„t he affirmed that it ought to be of such efficacie as mighâ— be able to refresh the bodies of them that did receyue it But these fantastical formes remoued from the thinges doe not refreshe the bodie Ergo they bee not the Sacrament in anie respect Againe whereas hee sayeth that these visible kindes bee the Sacrament onely yea and a Sacrament also of a double thing bycause they signifie both and doe carie an expresse likenesse of both this is also of both partes false For first the thing that is neither breade nor the bodie nor a thing but a Sacrament of a thing onely not a creature but the accident of a creature nor is any substaunce at all howe can it possibly bee that the same thing which is not any thing at all may seeme to bee a Sacrament of some one thing and of some substaunce yea and that also of a double thing Or what kinde of likenesse at the length may there seeme to bee betwixt these monstrous formes and the bodie of Christe eyther naturall or mysticall in the one whereof wee doe receyue nourishment in the other vnitie sithence in formes there is neyther any power to refreshe bodie or soule nor any vnion or kniâ—ting together of partes and members Moreouer wherâ—as the same Lombarde doeth affirme that the naturall fleshe of Christ is the Sacrament of Ecclesiasticall vnion howe will hee agree with himselfe Whereas nowe he doeth abide by it that these visible formes bee the Sacrament of that coniunction What monster will this bugge whelpe foorth at the length That cannot be contented to haue littered his visible formes for a Sacrament of a double thing vnlesse hee must also whelpâ— foorth vnto vs a double Sacrament out of the same emptie paunch of formes But perhappes this great maister of Sentences was so busied about coyning of new Sentences that he had quite forgotten the olde Prouerbe to witte That it behoueth a lyar to be alwayes fresh of remembrance So hitherto nowe what is the Sacrament onely and not the thing you vnderstande well ynough I suppose In the seconde place nowe steppeth forth an other as farre fetched a riddle conned out of the braine panne of Sphynx her selfe verie deepe and daungerous to bee assoyled Namely what thing that may bee that is both the thing and withal the Sacrament also If thou canst not vndo this tarring yron gentle reader for I know thou art not able of thy selfe to attaine to it this deepe riddlemaster wil discouer it vnto thee For he wil tel thee that it is the fleshe of Christe which being both a substance in respect of the visible forme of bread vnder the which it is conteined and signified is also the Sacrament of the mystical body in as much as it signifieth the mystical vnitie of the Church forsoath and representeth the expresse ymage thereof O marueylous nimble witte fined in the verie bottome of all Lombardie But from whence is this expresse ymage of this Sacrament deriued whereof Lombarde maketh mention Forsooth out of S. Paul First where he sayth We be many one bread and one bodie Then next out of Augustines woordes The Church sayeth he is called one bread and one bodie For this cause That as one loafe of breade is made of many graynes and as one bodie is made of many members so the Church is vnited and knit togither of manie faythfull through the coupling or mutual knot of loue As concerning S. Paul the whole and natural deriuation of this similitude is deriued not from the bodie of Christâ— but from the bread onely Nowe to admitte this to bee true that there is no
say that one and the selfe same Christe may sitte in heauen according to his natural and bodily presence and at the selfe same time too be handled with hands on earth that the substance of one selfe body is limitted at one selfe time in one certaine place to be conteined in infinite places that as touching the person Christ is but one but hath two kindes of bodies the one whereof must be onely locall and al the rest of his bodies not local to be in a place yet to fill no place certen to be a true natural body of a natural man and yet to be neither round nor broad neither short nor thick nor long neither to haue in it selfe any proportion or distaunce of members to wit no distaÌ„ce froÌ„ eye to eye from eyes to eares froÌ„ head to feet but wher y â— eies be there also must be the eares where the arme is ther must be the leg finally the heele hand head foote must be al one meÌ„mber euery of theÌ„ supply others place altogethers to be one body of Christe full complete and of all partes absolute in tenne thousande diuerse places at once and yet all these must make vp but one onely body And in this doing I praye you what is els done then according to the heresie of Eutiches in establishing the diuinitie of Christe too ouerthrowe meane whyles the truthe of his humanitie vtterly and to choppe together into one confuse mixture God and man heauen and earth altogether Of which matter let vs once againe heare what Augustine saieth Do not dout sayeth hee that the man Christe is there nowe from whence hee shall come agayne imprinte in thy minde and beleeue stedfastly the Christian faith that hee is risen agayne from the dead ascended into heauen sitteth at the right hand of his father and shall come from thence not from any where els too iudge the quicke and the dead in the very same forme and substance of body too the which hee hath giuen immortalitie and from the which he hath not taken nature awaye According to this nature he is not to be imagined to bee dispersed euery where For we must be very circumspect herein least we do establishe the diuinitie of his manhood that wee vtterly take away the truthe of his body For it is no good argument to saye that as in the nature of the Godhead hee is euery where as God likewise we haue our beeing our life our mouing in him yet are not we therefore euery where as he is for he is after one sorte a man in the godhead and after an other sorte a God in the manhoode after a certen peculiar proper singular maner For this one person is both God and man and they both one only Christ Iesus in al places as he is Godâ— but as he is maÌ„ in heauen c. You haue now a playne demonstration of Augustines iudgemeÌ„t touching the sacrameÌ„t of Christs body no lesse euident in wordes in reason manifest then autentick in substaÌ„ce authoritie Unto whose testimony if nought els were added I would surely think our selues sufficiently furnished euen with this one to ouerthrow all the grosse absurdities of that Popish doctrine But lest we may not seeme to produce as it were this one alone from amongest al other wryters but rather one ouâ— of many we doo not heere so much vouch Augustine himselfe as in the name of Augustine specifie the general faith and common consent of the learned fathers in Augustines time and in the same Augustine the antiquitie of the doctrine touching that matter to be considered For what els did the generall agreement of the Churche proclaime publiquely abroade what do their wrytinges purport vnto vs at this present what do their bookes testifie els then the very same which wee professe at this day deliuered vnto vs from those our first teachers amongest all the which the neerer any one liued to that auncient age of the Apostles so much the further did he dissent from that newfangled toy of transubstaÌ„tiatioÌ„ I should rather haue said dâ—ousy dreame The truth wherof beeing iustifiable by many sundry proofes wil yet appeare much more abuÌ„dantly in this that not one so much of al that primitiue purer age did euer speake woord of any such adoring of the sacrament of any such transubstantiation reseruatioÌ„ carrying abroade of any such byhangers and fourmes without a subiect or of excluding the substance of bread but al ingeneral with one voyce do proclaime that bread and wine is a signe of Christs body blood some call it a figure others an exemplar others a type some a likenesse and token many a memorial and al with one voice confesse too bee a sacrament of the body of some the body is sayde to bee represented by the bread of many too bee shewed of others too be signified and many also too bee figured Tertullian doth by expresse woordes say This is my body that is to say this is the figure of my body and in an other place Christe did cal bread his body Origen also no lesse expresly The churche offreth vppe the shewes of the body and of the blood Nazianzen hath these words Concerning the table whervnto we do resort or concerning the tymes and helth and saluation which I do with my mouth receaue from him c. Ambr. saith thus Before the blessing of the words other kindes are named after the blessing the body of Christe is signified And in an other place In the type whereof wee doo drinke the mystical cuppe of his blood Chrysostome also as plainely that hee might dayly shew foorth vnto vs bread and wine for a similitude of Christs body blood according to the order of Melchisedech And againe If Iesus did not suffer death whose memorial then signe is this sacrifice Cyprian saith the people is vnderstood in the water in the wyne blood is shewed forth What caÌ„ be more manifest then the words of Gelasius In this action of mysteries saith he is celebrated the Image and similitude of Christes body and blood Theodoret. Christ dooth not chaunge the nature of bread but putteth theretoo grace Againe in his seconde Dialogue For the mystical signes doo not goe foorth from their nature What shal I neede to cyte Bertram who making a true reporte of the vsage of his tyme dooth remoue neyther bread nor wyne out of the sacrament but establisheth the presence therof by these woordes The bread and wyne is figuratiuely the body and blood of Christe And immediatly after The body of Christ that is celebrated in the Churche by a mystery is after a certaine maner the body of Christe and this manner is in a figure an ymage I passe ouer here Baâ—il who calleth bread an exemplar Ioyne with the foresaide wryters Macarius who testifying most
trumpe of Euangelicall Embassy soundeth a farre higher and more shrill note nothing so meanely exercised of it selfe about those present thinges whiche concerne this present life though otherwise it doe minister many holsome restoritiues for the good preseruation thereof but proclaimeth a far more happy league and hostage of a better euerlasting felicitie against infinite and the neuer ceassing vexations and calamities not of this worlde only but which presse downe and oppresse the whole frame of the vniuersall creation it rayseth vpp and geueth vndaunted courage against the vnaoydable assaultes of death and the Diuell it displayeth also remedie a ready coÌ„quest therof Yea it properly layth down and discouereth the passable way which doth bring vs home againe vnto God and the meanes also whereby we may vntwyne our soules out of the entangled Laberinth of sinnes and conuey vs too the heauenly glory that neuer shal haue end And because to attaine too this so vnspeakeable surpassing excellencie of immortall felicitie may no possible passage be founde else but through the bowels and blood of Gods owne sonne and our faith in the same heereof commeth it that glauncing ouer the name of woorkes many times though not altogeather suppressing the vse of them the whole ministerie of Euangelicall doctrine doeth exercise it selfe chiefly aboute those thinges which may best certifie distressed consciences of the merites of Christe not of any our deseruinges of the supercelestiall bountie of Gods mercy and of the vnuanquishable force of faith Not because the good works of the godly are meane whiles nothing auaileable beyng perfourmed acording to Gods lawe for they profite very muche not them only to whom they bee imparted but be acceptable also vnto God By meanes whereof they procure great commendation not only in the sight of men but be many times bountifully rewarded of God yea euen to great benefite and gayne of the authors therof Let vs therfore graunt vnto the lawe of the Lord her due honour that it be holy and immaculate conuerting soules Which wee do not embase but establishe rather Let the commendable industrie of the godly employed in the exercise of Gods commaundements haue her proper dignitie her glorious and manifold rewardes in this life which we do not abridge but encrease and aduance more highly For what one thing can allure Christian heartes to pursue the way of good life more seriously and cheerefully then when as being made familiarly acquainted with Gods mercie they feele and conceiue throughly first and especially theyr duetie towardes God next what they owe towards their neighbours for gods sake Or what can be more agreeable with conuenience of naâ—urall reason then that each person ought so to behaue himselfe towards others as either by proof he hath fouÌ„d god affecâ—ed towards himself or doth trust y t in time to come he shal be Goe to let vs imagine this in our minde that mans lewdnesse is growne so altogeather dissolute as that it will not bee enclined to any gratefull remembraunce of dutifull requital nor bee enduced to any couenable thankfulnesse what shal we beleeue that the dulnesse of mens natures will be sooner reclaimed with seuere aâ—steritie of disicpline and feare of the whippe and that the Lawe shall preuaile further with her sterne lookes then the sweete and amiable embrasings of the louing Gospell but be the matter as it will yea let vs moreouer graunt this also That â—o â—ame the licentiousnesse of sinne is none other way reserued but the very snaffle and mozeroll â—f correction what shall wee say when the moste bountiful father of heauen and earth geueth out in speciall charge to powre out plentifully vpon all fleshe indifferently the incomprehensible riches of his free mercy shall wee speake nothing thereof And when as the maister of the housholde is of his owne nature so bountifull and liberall as Ianuensis reporteth shall his stewarde pinch and be a Niggard Finally to reach yet one step further and too confesse as the trueth is that amongst all the chaunces changes of this life nothing is more honorable nothing more excellent then the commendation of vertue and that they haue perfourmed matter of great valour which do with rules of good lawes and preceptes of commendable maners endue the mindes of men and reduce them from vice to treade the tracke of vertue and â—o admit this also that in all ciuill societie this point of doctrine is of all others most necessarie yet doe I demauâ—d this one question of these men what benefite or aduantage all those our trauailes and labouresâ— bee they neuer so holy may procure vs at the handes of God in all these naturall corruptions of this life which cannot possibly be altogether reclaimed with any lawe nor with any coÌ„mandementes You wyl say that they will auaile very much for we yeeld to God dutifull thankfulnesse and to our neighbour necessary ayde and thereby many times doe obteine of God honour and estimation not only to our selues but for the common weale also and bee many times preserued wonderfully rewarded by god the most assured rewarder of all godly actions according to the most euident testimonie of the Psalmographe saying on this wise For thy seruant keepeth them and in keeping of them is great reward Admit this I say to bee true Neuerthelesse for as much as this rewarde it selfe and recompencing of good workes doth not stretch it selfe beyond the limitted boundes of this present life this is also vndoubted true that when wee haue made a curious collection of all the most famous and most exquisite workes yea of the best holy ones in the worlde yet in respect of the principall fountaine and originall cause of iustification all this huge heape of our woorkes and merites doe nothing at al auaile to purchase immortalitie of eternal life with God and his holy Angels nor to obteine to be raised from the deadâ— nor to the destroying the force of death and the Deuill ne to the cleansing of our sinfull fleshe nor yet to winne that glorious crowne of that endlesse kingdome in the worlde to come To procure those so many I say so meruâ—ylous vnmeasurable benefits so infinitly and incredibly surmounting all capacitie and reach of our nature and hope our merites and woorkes bee they neuer so holy yeelde not any furtheraunce or benefite at al. To bring this to passe is the only workmanship of Iesu Christ This is the only benefite of the sonne of God not due too any our desertes but a free gift proceeding from his onely meere liberalitie and mercie and receiued of vs by faith not as any recompence of workes but powred foorth oftentimes euen into the bosome of the moste vnworthie which seeme too bee farthest of from all hope without any regarde had of those which doe feede theyr owne fancies most vpon confidence and good opinion of their own wel doing euen of his own free mercy bounteous liberalitie
hence intoo Heauen nor wil yee vouchsafe bread to be bread nor Christ to bee Christ vnlesse yee shape vs heere an earthly Christ on earth and set it foorth to the gaze of the people to bee ydolatrously worshipped But heere wil some one obiect againe what and doo you leaue vs nothing in the sacrament but bread and wyne and will you spare the people naught els but bare signes onely And what shall become then of the omnipotency of the woorde Where is then that woorking woorde wherâ—of Ambrose maketh mention The effectuall force whereof if were so mighty too make thinges too beginne to bee that which they were not before howe much rather shall they bee forcible too make thinges to be which are already made and to bee conuerted into other substaunces Let brabbling slaunder bee set aside GOD forbidde there shoulde bee any so prophane an absurditie in so sacred a mystery that any man shoulde speake or thinke that there is nought els deliuered vntoo the people but bread and wyne and bare signes and that any man shoulde bee so fonde too thinke that Christes woordes were vttered in vaine as the which doo mynister nothing profitable in the sacrament nor woorke nothing auayleable Yes truely very much for what can be more woonderful what can bee more heauenly then too make of an earthly thing a sacred sacrament then to chaunge the creatures of bread and wyne in such wise not that they should become bare fruitlesse signes but that they should be traÌ„sposed into the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ by vnspeakeable sanctification of Gods spirite so that they are not too bee taken nowe for common bread and wyne but too bee dignifâ—ed with the name and place of him whose ymage they represent by Gods institution What say you now Lombarde Do yee not see what and howe mightely the heauenly maiestie of Christ hath brought to passe here in this holy supper Doo yee not conceaue a wonderful force of a miracle wherein Christ hath giuen you a memorial of his passion and his owne fleshe not vnder a bare signe but vnder an honorable sacrament not vnder the name of bread and wyne but vnder the name of his owne body and blood that hath giuen I say a sacrament for thee to feed vpoÌ„ not to fil thy â—elly but to feed thy soule What doth this seme matter of smal emportance with you that Christ himselâ—e is deliuered vnto you vnder a sacrament for what expecâ— you heere els what do yee looke for els in this sacrament then a most perfect exaÌ„ple most absolute demonstration of your sauiour expressed vntoo you by a certain peculiar institution wherin you do plainly perceaue no more bare common bread now in that respect nor to that vse purpose as common bread is vsually takeÌ„ but as it were an heaueÌ„ly bread sanctified by the heauenly grace of wordes chaunged out of his old nature vse into the body of Christ by a certain mystical representation But you yeelde in the sacrament no bread nor wyne at al but whatsoeuer materâ—al or substantial parte the bread dooth pâ—ssesse the same you doo wholy chaunge into the naturall and bodyly substaunce of Christe What answere therefore thinke yee wee ought too make too Ambrose whose woordes as bee of greatest emportance so bee they moste manifest That they be saieth hee the same that they were and bee conuerted into an other thing Ambrose dooth confesse them too bee the things that they were and will you make vs beleeue that they cease too bee the same which they were Origen wryting too the same effect The bread sayth hee which is sanctified by the word of God touching the matter and substaunce thereof goeth downe into the belly and is throwen out into the draught c. If that be bread which after sanctification goeth downe intoo the belly according too the testimony of Origen with what face wil Lombarde deny it to bee bread Againe on the other side if according too Lombardes opinion there remaine no crumme of substaunce at al whereof then shall that bee a substaunce which Origen dooth ascribe to the bread Nowe let the Pope himselfe be vmpier here and iudge whether we ought rather credit Origen or Lombarde Too the samâ— effect may Augustine bee produced a witâ—esse of antiquitie not too bee reiected The heauenly bread sayeth he which is the flesh of Christ is after this maner called the body of Christ being in very deede the sacrament of Christs body c. If it be a sacrament of the body howe is it the very body Againe if bicause it is called the body of Christe it bee therefore Christes fleshe what shoulde let but that by the same argument Peter shoulde bee Satan bicause hee is called Satan Moreouer if the nature of sacramentes bee such as too bee called by the name of the thinges which they signifie I beseeche you Lombarde take away the substaunce of bread what shal bee left in the accidentary fourmes that may either supply the name of a body or represent the lykenesse of a body in any respect Rabanus Maurus somewhat a later wryter then the other agreeth with them in this point The sacrament sayth he is turned into the nourishment of the body Bethinke your selfe now Lombarde what nourishment may bee in fourmes and coloures where abideth no substaunce of the things which be receaued Furthermore what can bee more manifest then the woordes of Chrysostome who dooth in moste playne tearmes deny that the natural body of Christ is in the holy vesselsâ— but affirmeth that the mystery of his body is conteyned therein What can bee more autentique then the authoritie or more plaine and euident then the iudgements of Theodoret Macarius Gelasius Tertullian Basil which discoursing vpon the Eucharist do with most approued consent and testimony affirme some that the very substauÌ„ce some that the matter of the bread doth remayne some doo say that it is a body but typicall and symbolicall But of formes of bare apparaunces of transubstantiation not a woorde as yet no not so much as one syllable was hearde of in all that purer age of these wryters I shoulde presse to much vpon you Lombarde if I shoulde turne al vpon you that I coulde out of the auncient recordes of the fathers which arme in arme as it were bending against you doo affirme the body of Christ to be in the holy mysteries in such wyse as that they seclude not meanewhiles bread from it owne substaunce but from the common and vsual vse thereof only translate it into an other ende and supernatural condition by a certain mystical sacramental meanes not that it should be no more bread for vs to be eaten but that it should no bee common bare and simple bread That is to say that it be bread stil and the same bread also the body of Christ withal Bread indeed
in substaunce but in the respect of the sacrament vse likenesse aud denomination the holy body of Christ. Therefore that which wee receaue in our mouth is natural bread but in respect of the eating this nature is not regarded of vs but raysing our hartes much more high euen intoo heauen yea vntoo the heauens of heauens as Chrysostome reporteth it doth meditate vpon farre more excellent matter And heereof came it that the auncient wryters did so vsually extol the magnyficence of this sacramente with such excellency in olde tyme. Wherein they wâ—re many tymes rapted intoo such a wonderful vehemency of hyperbolicall speeches as though the bread and wine were in very deede matter of nought and that nothing els should seeme to be made accompt of in the celebration of the supper but the body and blood of the Lord onely As in very deede these dead elementes be no better worth in respect of the body which they do represent But what hereof then Shall the elementes of bread and wyne bee therefore no parte of the sacrament bicause the consideration of the Lordes body doth possesse the principall partes and holdeth the whole soule attentiue and faste fixed vpon it Or shall Christe bee therefore sayde too haue transposed the substance of bread and wine intoo his naturall body really bicause hee hath chaunged the same intoo the sacrament of his body Or by what argument will our aduersaries make this their assertion iustifiable For if God and nature do bring to passe no one thing in the whole frame of creation without great cause It remaineth that we may bee made acquainted too what ende for what cause to what vse or to what purpose Christe should make this Metamorphosis That thrusting away bread from out it owne substance he should deliuer ouer his true naturall fleshe in deede but inuisible to be deuoured carnally with the carnall mouth of the body vnder inuisible formes But here againe startes vp our Lombard a gods name and will render vs a tryple cause of this great mysterie to wit why the Lord would so liberally bestowe his natural flesh and blood to be deuoured not after a fleshly maner but vnder an other kinde naturally and in deede but inuisibly First bicause faith should obteine a more excellent rewarde where mans reason is not able by proofe to attaine according to the testimonie of Gregory whom hee vouâ—heth Secondly bicause the minde should not abhorre that which the eye might beholde for that otherwise the stomake of them that should eate would loathe â—he straunge deuouring of rawe fleshe Thirdly bicause nothing should be seene here thaâ— might bee offensiue to the vnbeleeuers or that might mynister occasion to the infidell to scorne and deride it You haue heard now the prety poppet reasons patchâ— vp in the chief shoppe of Lombards diuinitie It remaineth hencefoorth that wee searche the very depth of them And first where as hee reasoneth of the merite of faith I will not deny but that in matters of fayth mans reason is not of any such capacitie too attayne thereto For the excellencie of fayth is conuersant in those things properly which the fleshly eyes can not see or which haue beene knowen by the scriptures to haue beene already past either which are promised shall come in after time Moreouer I am not offended with that no lesse auncient then true proposition of Gregorie where treating of the Lordes entering vnto the disciples the gates beeing shut hee doth deny that faith ought to haue any merite where mans reason caÌ„ make proofe by experience For we doe confesse and beleeue this to be most true that which the scriptures haue deliuered touching the gates being shut and of the Lordes entrie in But wher did the scriptures at any tyme make neuer so litle a motion of the casting away of bread of the essentiall presence of Christe vnder empty formes or of transubstantiated elementes Blessed be they sayeth Christe which haue not seene yet haue beleeued This is true I confesse but it followeth not therefore that all thinges which are not seene with the eyes ought to be beleeued Neither doe we not therefore relinquishe the reach of mans reason bicause wee doe not yelde to all maner trifling imaginarie coÌ„ceiptes Whatsoeuer is commaunded by the prescript word of God the same we do firmely and faithfully beleeue and thereunto with most forewarde and ready faith do submitte all maner force of mans reason But who euer gaue any such commaundement to beleeue that which you haue forged touching that most senselesse absurditie of transubstantiation or by what authorised woorde of scripture at the length will you make iustifiable by writing or by meaning that we ought to adore though our eyes see not that your conterfaict person of the sonne of God shapen out of bread and set out to be adored and eaten of vs Fayth therefore wanteth not her merite in thinges that ought truly to be beleeued which by expresse and vndouted auâ—thoritie of the word be to be iustified But to beleeue â—he things which are noâ— grounded vpon the wâ—â—d which are no where nor were euer instituted by God but drowsily deuised by fonde foolish vanitie of mans idle imagination is no matter of faith at all but amazed â—rensy rather nor hath any merite at al but is extrâ—eme wickednesse So also is that other absurditie no lesse ridiâ—ulous which he doth inferre touching the infidels least ocâ—asion be giueÌ„ saith he to the infidels to laugh it 〈◊〉 scorne Why should the infidels deride it I beseeche you Lombardâ— you do aunswere bicause it would breede great offence to the vnbeleeuers who without all question would loath scorne the Christian religion if 〈◊〉 should â—eâ— the blood of a slaine man in the sacrament Go to then doth this seme to be the cause why y e Lord should deliuer his body blood not after a fleshly maner but vnder an other forme lest if the Pagans should seâ— it they should coÌ„ceiue matter to laugh it too scorne for this seemeth your allegatiâ—n w t yâ—â— seeme also to haue â—onâ—ed â—onningly out of August very wellâ— And what shal we say then to the Apostles them selues were they Pagans vnbeleeuing also why did he not giue the cup of his blood to his Apostles in his proper nature kinde where was no daÌ„ger at all to procure any mockage or if hee were willing to hyde his blood vnder a sacramentall forme aunswere I praye you what cause was there why the Lorde should vouchsafe the deliuerie thereof by formes rather then by materiall bread Besides this as concerning the Paganes if Christe did feare the scornings of Paganes so much I desyre Lombard to tell mee thus much againe If some one Pagane shoulde happen too come nowe into your temples and beholde your massinges maskings what greater occasion can be ministred too mooue them to laughter and skorning then when hee should see
the rocke did signifie Christ but the rock was Christ when as neuerthelesse no man ought to doute of the Apostles meaning herein not that Christe was a very rocke or stone in deede but that the rocke did signifie Christ. Or if these iolly fellowes will not bee satisfied with this aunswere of Augustine then let Ambrose aunswere for Augustine Who setting downe the matter playnely by the woorde of signifying Bicause saith he we be deliuered by the death of the Lorde beeing myndefull hereof we doe in eating and drinking signifie the flesh and blood which was crucified for vs. But if all the speeches which Christe vsed which are euery where very plentifull in figures and parables must bee leueled according too this playne rule of the letter then let vs in our entry at the Church doore worship the doore bicause in like vtterance of speeche the Lorde sayde I am the doore if any man doe enter by me c. Where appeareth no sounde of any woorde of signifying whereby he might manifest vnto vs that he was not a doore in deede but did signifie a doore But in this place I see you forsake your grammer construction and shrowde your selues vnder a figure and not without cause And what scrupule is it I praye you that may let vs to vse a figuratiue speeche as wel here where he saith This is my body Or why shoulde you bee more squemishe at a figuratiue speeche where we are saide to eate Christe then where we are commanded by the scriptures to put on Christe Paul doth instruct the Galathians on this wise Al ye that be baptized haue put on Christe and here you acknowledge a figure Christ teacheth vs that he is the foode of our life and commaundeth vs to eate him affirming that to be his body here ye can take no notice of any figure And why so I praye you or what reason doth enduce you to this that in putting on Christe you will seeme altogether spirituall but in deuouring Christe altogether fleshly and carnall preparing your myndes there and here onely your teeth and belly But I vnderstande what scrupule this is that so much altereth your diet It is bicause in the woordes of the supper a certen speciall commaundement is set downe by Christe whereby wee be commaunded to doe this in remembraunce of him Goe to and doth this seeme cause sufficient enough why reiecting the figure you shoulde runne awaye from heauenly diuinitie to boyshe grammaticall construction from the spirite to the letter from life to the belly Why then when S. Paul doth not onely make vs to be cloathed with Christ but also commaundeth vs to put him on When as also he commaundeth vs to take the sworde into our handes which by expresse denomination hee calleth the worde of God and fayth the Buckler wherewith hee chargeth too be furnished shall wee therefore stricktly conuer these commaundementes of the Apostles after the naturall phrase and simple maner of speeche leauing the spirite May I be so bold holy father to demaund of you when the blessed virgin is commaunded to take the disciple of Christe for her sonne as is before mentioned shall wee therefore take him for her naturall sonne borne of her body Men are counsayled too gelde them selues for the kingdome of God what shall wee therefore followe the fonde example of Origen in the carnall construction of the letter The Lord him self doth els where commande to pluck out the eye if it offende likewise to cut of the right hande and the right foote if they offende the same Christe also doth by expresse wordes forbidde that none of his disciples should seeke to be saluted by the name of Lorde or maister and that none of his seruauntes shoulde presse vp to the highest places and seates in meetings together is there any one of all your holy crewe that will therefore mangle his body and cut of any his members or pluck foorth his eyes at this commaundement of the Gospell or will any of you thinke it matter vnseemely for a bishop to beare rule ouer others I thinke you wil not for you will saye it were a very absurde matter to be done Nowe which of these seemeth more absurde vnto you either to cut of the hande or foote from the body or to take the eye forth of the head then to deuoure at one morsell a quicke liuing man whole and sounde togâ—ther with handes feete eyes and skinne fleshe blood bones yea his guttes also nayles sinowes and muscles and to swallow him downe into the panche And yet notwithstanding may not all these so many and so monstruouse absurdities which you see plainely with your eyes and which the very course of nature can in no wise disgest preuaile with you to call your grosse and fleshly fat imaginations to the spirituall vnderstanding of these woordes wherein if you can not finde in your heart to credit your owne senses and reason nor to yelde to your iudgemet holy father yet ought the authoritie of Augustine not so lightly be regarded who in his booke de Doctrina Christiana discoursing vpon the maner of discerning the properties of wordes whether they be properly spokeÌ„ or figuratiuely amongest other his rules hee setteth downe this for a speciall note namely that where any speech wil seeme to commaund sacriledge or an haynous and wicked thing the same speech should be construed for a figuratiue speech And least any man shoulde cauill here that this note doth not appertaine vnto the Euchariste let Augustine be hearkened vnto beeing the expositour of his owne woordes who doth applie this chiefly too those woordes vttered of eating Christe his fleshe and drinking his blood In which woordes of Christ saith Augustine bicause a wicked thing semeth to be commaunded hereof hee concludeth on this wise It is a figure therefore saith he coÌ„maunding to participate with the passion of our Lord Iesus sweetly and profitably too laye vp within the closettes of our remembrance that Christs flesh was wouÌ„ded crucified for vs What can bee more manifest then these woordes of Augustine what more autentyke then his autoritie which if wee yelde vnto to be truth in deede then either muâ—â— you abandon this newe framshapen poppet of Papisticall transubstantiation or incurre the blemishe of horrible wickednesse and withall yelde ouer to many other grosse absurdities quite against nature and kynde whether ye will or no. For what more execrable wickednesse or horror more deteâ—table may a man not only coÌ„mit but imagine more vnworthy the precious body of our Lord then in bidding bread and wine adiew out of the sacrament to supplie in place thereof Christe his naturall fleshe to be torne with teeth really and corporally to be deuâ—ured fleshe blood bones to conuey it so into the stomake and to swallowe downe mans naturall blood moreouer in respâ—ct of nature it selfe what can be vttered more grossely absurde more vnreasonable then to