the answere is cleare and reddie Christes flesh is the meare of the soule and not of the bodie of the minde and not of the mouth It is eaten be hearing chawed bee vnderstanding and digested bee faith saith Tertullian This our Sauiour teacheth him selfe who knew it better then the pope without sauing his holinesse and all the Iesuites to helpe him I am the breade of life saith he he that commeth to me shall not hunger and hee that beleeueth in me shall neuer thirst Out of which words this argument floweth To come to Christ and beleeue in him is to eate the breade of life that thou neuer hunger nor thirste againe But to come to Christ and beleeue in him is not to eate with thy tethe the reall flesh of Christ which was borne of the Virgine Marie Ergo to eate the reall flesh of Crhiste which was borne of the Virgine Marie with thy teeâ—hâ— is not to eate the bread of life that thou neuer huÌ„ger nor thirst a gain And a little after he that beleeueth in me hath euerlasting life I am the bread of life Which Syllogisme adding the proposition may haue this forme Whosoeuer beleeueth in the breade of life hath euerlasting life But I am the breade of life Ergo Whosoeuer beleeueth in me hath euerlasting life where you â—ee beleeuing for eating But that which followeth in the rebuke of them who tooke him to speake of a carnall and fleshlie eating is most pregnant It is the spirit which quickneth the flesh profiteth no thing the wordes that I speake are spirit and truth That is to saye it is the spiritual eating of my flesh that quickneth and giueth life the fleshlye and carnal eating of it can doe you no good For my wordes are spirituâ—ll and liuelie that is effectual to life In all that cap. he that will marke attentiuely shal finde that whole discourse with the câ—pernaites to be spiritual and the difference betweene them and him to bee their carnall concept of his spirituall wordes Hee shall finde the meate spirituall the life that it feedeth spirituall and the teethe that eateth spirituall There he shall finde that hee that eateeth not his flesh hath no life in him that is no spirituall life and hee that beleeueth in him hath eternall life that is to eate the breade of life that came downe from heauen and giueth life vnto the worlde Thirdlye Maister Rainolds againste Maister Robert Bruce reasoneth thus Christes bodie is there present where it is broken But it is broken in the sacrament Ergo it is present in the Sacrament To the maiore we answere that it is present in the Sacrament as it is broken in the Sacrament But it is broken onely in a figure and therefore is present onely in a figure But to the faithfull Christ presents in deede bee a divine communication with the Sacrament his verie bodie to feede the soule Bvt if he wer bodily in the Sacrament then the wicked would also participate his bodie which thing Christ himselfe denieth in Ioan. c. 6. v. 56 Fourthly the same man in the same place reasoneth out of the wordes of Moses concerning the olde couenante and the wordes of Christe concerning the newe thus That whereof Christe spoke is the bloode of the newe TestameÌ„t as â— whereof Moses spoke was the blood of the olde But yâ— whereof Moses spake was the verie bloode of the olde Testament Ergo that whereof Christe spoke was the verie bloode of the newe Testament Of this argument we deny the minor The blood of both couenants waâ— one the bloode of Christ Iesus who made the vnion in the olde Lawe betweene god them maketh the vnion in the new Testament betweene god and vs. The blood of beâ—es in the olde testameÌ„t was not the very blood of the covenant And therefore this man hath founde a knife to cut his owne throate The wine of the newe Testament is the bloode of the newe couenant as the bloode ofâ— beues and sheepe was the bloode of the olde couenant But the bloode of beues and sheepe was not the very blood of the olde couenant but a figure thereof Ergo the wine in the new Testament was not the very blood of the couenant but a figure thereof Lastly they cast vp to vs incredulity and not beleeuing the omnipotencie of Christ. They beare the worlde in hande that wee denying Christe to turne the bread into his bodie are more incredilous then sathâ—n who beleeued that he coulde make breade of stones To cast this sweete simile into the teethe that it came from These men are as captious as the devill Hee reasoned a potentiae ad actum If thou arte the Sonne of GOD command that these stones bee made breade they follow the same â—rade hee was the sonne of God Ergo he changed the breade into his flesh The question is not heare what Christ could doe but what he would doe We know and confesse as wel as they that Christ can doe what he will but will not doe all that he can To proue that Christs will was to doe a thing as I haue said so contrarious to nature so refuted bee sense it behooueth the testimonie to be without exception That Christ was borne of a virgine that he walked on the waters that hee turned water into wine these are the exemples of their induction the spirit of truth that cannot lye hath tâ—stified in plaine tearmes If that spirit had testified as plainely that in his last Supper hee turned the breade into his bodie and left nothing to our taste but accidents we should beleeue this as well as that and bee Gods good helpe haue stoode as surely to it as all the Iesuites since the first Iesuit Ignatius Laiola But seeing these proofes are noâ— thing but figured scriptures turned to their naked skinne wee hope that all Christians will abhore that vgly sinne to rend with mercilesse teethe his flesh that hath borne the horrour of hell â—o purchase mercie to vs. Heare they woulde faine buckle on vs an absurditie out of the words of the institution which we may not passe by In the wordeâ— This is my body which was broken for you The prononne this demonstrateth that which was broken for the sinnes of the elect But in our opinidion the pronoune this demonstrateth the breade Whereof say they it will follow that breade was broken for the sinnes of the elect Firste the maiore is not true for the pronoune this demonstrates not the thing but the figure of the thing tha was broken for the elect Secondly there is a parte of the maiore left out of the conclusion which should haue been expresseâ— Ergo the bread is the bodie which was broken for yâ— elect which conclusion is true in a figure And heare it is a world to see the blindnesse of these men for of their liâ—erall sense this absurditie will followe without a warde The pronoune
neuer was Of the wicked Paull saith hee that eateth this breade and drinketh of this cuppe vnworthely eateth and drinketh his owne damnation He saith not hee that eateth the bodie drinketh the bloode of Christ vnworthely And heare I dare lay my heade which I will not giue for the popes heade and his triple Crowne too that all the Schooles in Roome and Remes shall neuer proue be the Scripture that the body of Christ can be eaten vnworthely Howe oft doth hee promise himselfe in Iohn eternall life sumtime to him that eateth his flesh sometime to him that beleeueth Whereof it is manifest that none eateth his flesh vnworthely seeing that all that eateth of it shal haue eternal life This besides the place quoted be Lumbard that worthy Fatder August in Iohn tract 26. striketh dead Sacramentum quibusdam ad vitam quibusdam ad mortem sumitur res vero cuâ—us est sacramentum omnibus ad vitani nulli ad mortem That is some receaueth the sacrament to life some to death but that whereof it is the sacrament bringeth life to all death to none Seuenthly in the fore cited wordes of Paull He that â—ateth of this breade and drinketh of this cuppe vnworthelie eaâ—eth and drinketh his owne damnation We find this argument The elements in the Sacraments remaine that which Paull be the spirit of God doth call chem But Paull be the spirit of god doth cal them bread and wine and that after the consecration or else they coulde not bee receaued vnworthely nor drawe on so heauy a iudgment as to be guilty of the Lords body and blood Ergo the elements in the Sacrament remaineth breade and wine and are not changed into the naturall bodie and blood of Christ. Heare the base shift that the Apostle vseth the names which they seeme for the names which they are will not houlde for that were to feede the errour of the fenses and to brangle the foundation of faith which thing bee farre from this Apostle who trauâ—lled so faithfullye and discreit ye 〈◊〉 Apostleshipe Heare thou hast seauen argumentes gentle reader thâ— weakest of all which if wee hade no more were sufficient to beare out this cause with greater probability then any that our aduersarie hath to the contrary The firste thirde fifth and sixth concludeth the negatiue that the breade and wine are not the reale and essentiall bodie of our Sauiour The second proueth that they are types anâ— figures of Christ exhibited for the ransome of our sinnes The fourth and seuenth that the bread and wine remaineth in their owne natures and are not transubstantâ—aâ—ted as the Church of Rome laboureth â—o earnestly to bring the worlde to beleeue And so of these seuen arguments four erefutes the aduersarie and three confirmes the truthe Nowe that the Church maintained this truth as she receaued it from Christ and his Apostles for more then fiue hundreth years after Christ I wil proue bee the the testimonies of the fathers who liued and taught the Church in that age And heare I woulde praye the reader not to mistake me I alleadge not these testimonies to confirme this truth as not sufficiently proued already or to ad more authoritie to the testimonies of the scripture for we acknowledge the authoritie of the word of God to haue that Maiestie that if all the world did say against it yet it remained the certaine trueth of the eternall God who is trueth it selfe and can not lye And wee greatly lament the miserie of this age wherein there is so many fouÌ„d and of them some who knew the truth to oppose them selues against so manifest a light But seeing bee the peruersnes of man and malice of the deuill it is controuerted in my simple iudgment the consent of the Church is no small inducement to indifferentmen and a great slap in the aduersaries saill who beares the world in hand that they saill before the wind and that all the fathers of the primitiue Church doth rowe in their bardge Which confident assertion how false it is I hope with gods good help to make it manifest and to proue be their owne wordes that none of the fathers did euer know that transubstantiated monster which was whelped in the counsell of Rome fiue hundreth yeares after them and after that fostered in the bosome of that Church To beginne Tertullian who liued in the yeare two hundreth saieth of the eating of Christ in the Sacrament Auditu deuoâ—andus est intellectu ruminandus et fide digerendus That is bee hearing he is to bee eaten be vnderstanding chawed bee faith digested Chrysostom teacheth the same Magnus iâ—â—e panis qui replet mentem non ventrem This is the great bread which filles the minde and not the bellie And August Quid dentem et ventrem paraâ— crede et manducasti Why preparest thou thy teethe and thy bellie beleeue and thou hast eaten Cyprian saith esus eius carnis eâ—t quadam aviditas et desiderium manendi in Christo Quod est esus carni hoc est fides animae non dentes ad mordendum acuimus sed fide sinceva sanctum panem edinms The eating of his flesh is a certaine gredinesse and desire to dwell in Christe As eating is to the flesh so is faith to the soule We sharpe not our teethe to bruse but faith to eate that sacred bread Basilius saith est quoddam spirituale os interni hominis quo pascitur recipiens panem vitae qui descendit do caelo There is a spirituall mouth of the inward man bee which he is fed who eates the bread that came downe from heauen Be the testimonies of which fathers it is most cleere and apparant that the Church then tooke the eating of Christs flesh and drinking his bloode to bee a spirituall action of the soule not a bodily action of the mouth that it is eaten be faith not with the teethe and digested into the minde not into the bellie and foullâ—stomache of the receauer Of sacraments in generall August saith in sacramentis videndum est non quid sint sed quid ostendant signa enim rerum sunt aliud existentia aliud significantia in sacraments it is to bee noted not what they are but what they meane so they are signes of thinges signyfiing one thinge and in deede an other Of figures that they are vsuall in the scripture and that the name of the figure is set for the thinge figured and contrariwayes of the thinge for the figure he saith Solet res quae significat eius rei quam significat nomine appellari Hinc dictum erat petra erat Christus Non dixit petra significat Christum sed tanquam boc esset quodâ—vtique per substantiam non erat The thinge which signifieth vseth to be called many times be the name that it signifieth Hereupon it is saide that Christ was the rocke he saide not that the rock signifieth Christe but as if
A DIDVCTION OF THE TRVE AND CATHOLIK meaning of our Sauiour his words this is my bcdie in the institution of his laste Supper through the ages of the Church from Christ to our owne dayes Whereunto is annexed a reply to M. William Reynolds in defence of M. Robert Bruce his arguments in this subiect and displaying of M. Iohn Hammiltons ignorance and contradictions with sundry absurdities following vpon the Romane interpretation of these words Compiled by ALEXANDER HVME Maister of the high Schoole of Edinburgh EDINBVRGH Printed by Robert Waldegraue Printer to the Kings Maiestie 1602 Cum Privilegio Regiâ— TO THE RIGHT Honorable the L. Prouest Bayless and counsel of Edinburgh ALEXANDER HVMâ— wisheth true wisdome and felicitie THE Spouse of Christ right Honorable who lyeth in his bosome heareth his voice that is his word keepeth his sacraments in the integritie which she receaued This glorious title of his wel-beloued the Church of Rome doeth falslie arrogat For she hath preferred her owne decrees to his word to the one sacrament she hath â—dded oile spittle salt and creame From the other she hath taken away the blessed cup of his precious blood she hath set vp in his chaire the man of sinne she hath giuen his office of intercession to Saints and Angels She hath made his house a denne of theeues and a market of merites masses pardones and other pelfe selling heauen and hell for siluer and golde Whereby it is cleare to all men that hath not drunke of the wine of her fornication that she is not the spouse of Christ but the skarlet whore that sitteth on the beaste with seauen heades and hath poysoned the nationes of the earth with her abhominationes It is the guise of a whore to disgrace the lawful spouse to whose bedde shee presumeth what lyeth in her To this end this strumpet hath per secuâ—ed the welbeloued of our Sauiour euer since she gote vppe her heade And nowe in our dayes slandereth her with the opprobrie of a whore neuer harde of before the dayes of Luther To meete with this contumelie I haue contriued this little treatise the laste winter at such houres as I coulde borrowe of my bed because my calling holdes me occupied at other times In it I haue taken for one of the surest notes of the true spouse the sacrament wherein he communicateth him self and all his graces with her Firste I gather be seauen argumentes drawen out of the well of truth the true meaning of the wordes of the institution this is my bodie containing the right maner howe Christ feedeth vs with his precious body and bloode Secondly I proue be their owne testimonies that the fathers of the primitiue Church receaued that sense from Christ and his Apostles and kept it as they receaued it 500 yeares after the firste institution Thirdlye I proue the occasion of the corruption and how it sprang and grew with the truth like darnell amongst wheate without offence for the space of 300 yeares Fourthly I shewe howe in the yeare 800. it beganne to â—appe the truth and that some grewe either so impudent or ignorant as to denye a figure and maintaine a literall sense in the wordes of the institution Fifthly that aboute that same time Ioannes Scotus in the time of Charles the greate Bertrame at the commandement of Carolus Calvus opossed them selues refuted that erroure whereby it maye seeme that that noble Prince was of the same mind Sixthly that the better sid coÌ„tinued long a partie that these books were not coÌ„demned â—il the counsel of Lateran 250. yeares after they were published Seuenthlye that this counsell condemned Berengarius vnhard for an hereticke and the truth which hee mentained of heresie Lastly I followe the storie that the Church of Rome euer since persecuting the truth with fire and fagot could neuer get it extinguished That it had alwayes assertoures and many that sealed it with their bloode In which discourse my intent is to proue that the church was planted in the truth be Christ his Apost not be Caluin or Zuinglius as our aduersaries beareth the ignorante in hand That there hath beene alwayes since a Church professing it That the Church of Rome euer since the Counsell of Lateran aboute 550 yeares hath persecuted her That this little barke howbeit driuen into manye obscure harboures yet all the stormes which the deuill and antichriste coulde raise hath not sunke her This little treatise I haue thought good to dedicate to your Wisdomes because I and al my trauelles am consecrated to your common wealth Accept my good will and protect the truthe with your authoritie The Lorde giue you wisdome to discerne and heartes to maintaine his cause Fare-well in him who is the well of well-fare Edinburgh the 18. of Febr. Anno. 1602. TO M. IOHN Hammilton his olde Regent grace and right iudgment HEaring great report of a booke which you had set out I met with your treatise intituled of the Lordes Supper printed anno 1581. supposing that your comming home had stirred the mindes of men to read and praise the thing which had lyen long dispised I red also with hope to find the arguments that induced you to turne your coate But finding no thing which you might not and in all appearance did not knowe before your peruersion I pitied your miserable case who hath a hearte at one time capable of contrarie persuasions of your saluation and was woe how be it it be worthie no answere that our men had let it lye 19. yeares without an answere because it seemed that that silence had made you confident and your sectaries hope that it was vnanswerable Wherefore thinking it to be the worke so much spoken of I resolued to doe it the honoure that no man thought it worthie and set my selfe to answere it because you were some time my Regent After that I had answered the firste cap. and a good parte of the seconde there came to my handes your seconde worke Then I perceaued my erroure stayed my hande to read it also Hauing red it I rewed al For argumeÌ„ts in both I founde none indeede and few in show To flite which is the greatest parte of both these bookes I thought it meeter for a scoulde then a scholar And the last I founde contrarie to the firste not onely confuting but condemning of heresie the verie inscription thereof Your greatest gift for anye thing that I can see is in nik-naming and beleing the Saints of God That gift we can wel be contented to leaue to papistes because such graces are more acceptable to your pope then our God Some of you hath purchased Bishoprickes and some Cardinalshipes be that kind of eloquÌ„ece But wee are assured that he whome wee serue neuer rewardeth that arte with better hyre then hell Yet I wonder at your impudencie or rather stupiditie to hope that naked lies can win credite euen where the men of whom you speake are most hated Can any man
beleeuâ— that if GOD had showen so notable a iudgment on Iohn Knoxe in the pulpite and presence of such a frequent assemblie as vseth to be in the Church of Edinburgh the people woulde not haue onely abhorred his doctrine but stoned him selfe out of the towne Or can anye man that hath a mans harte that is reason and vnderstanding beleeue that if Iohn Caluin had vsed that manifest iuglarie which ye are not ashamed to publish in the face of the Sun in the congregation at Geneua that that people who found the moyen in a priuate grudge to banish him their towne for certaine yeares would not on such a notorious cause as that haue either stoned him in the streetes or expelled him at the leaste with shame for euer But this is a note of gods iudgment that hee hath so besotted your senses that you haue not the wittes to caste a probable collour vpon your lyes This was an other cause that made me leaue my purpose to confute your booke For if I had gone fordward I sawe that I was to meete with many slanders which was not worth the hearing nor reading and needed no other to confute them then the mouth that toulde them if the hearer had but halfe a nose to smell alye as whote as a foxe Yet hauing spent many dayes and nights in gathering materialles to that worke I resolued not to lose them but with some trauell contriued them in this forme which you see hoping that the power of reason and truth might not onelie staye such from that erroure as your sectaries had made to doubt but also make you and them to doubt of that which you teach so confidently if you would read as aduisedly as you haue bequeathed your selfe vnconsideratlye to that abhomination And heare I charge you in the bowels and mercies of lesus Christ as you will answere in the great daye of the Lorde if you doubt indeed which is not likely for anye matter that wee can see in your bookes to haue turned you or left the truth for any particular to open your eyes againe to the light and to returne to the grace from which you are fallen I haue heere deduced the truth of this question whereon standeth the foundatioÌ„ of the Romane religion from Christ to our owne times I haue taken this paines partlie for our people partelye for you to whome I wishe the good that a Scholar should to his maister And therefore I praye you as you loue to liue for euer to leaue the way of death euerlasting Otherwayes in the court of conscience where truth will be reuealed the popes indulgence will doe no good I must beare witnesse of your wilfulnes and proude contempt of the reuealed truthe The Lorde giue you a harte to loue him better then men Yours if you be Christes ALEXANDER HVME The diduction from the fountaine OVR Lord and maister Iesus Christe that night that hee was betrayed into the hands of the highe preiste to continue in his Church a solemne remembrance of his blessed passion which hee was shortly to suffer instituted at his last supper with his disciples after that hee had finished the lawe of the pascall Lamb in place there of a newe Sacrament in the Elementes of Breade and Wine In this and with this after an vnspeakable maner be a secret diuine efficacie hee deliuered also to their Faith his precious Bodie and Blood to vnite them and al that should succeede them to be bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh to nourish their soules vnto eternal life In this mystery there is such a secret coÌ„iunctioÌ„ betweene the elements and his precious flesh that in al ages it hath exercised the hearts and minds of men in the deep contemplation thereof some to life and some to eternall death and condemnation For seeing the glorie and excellencie of our omnipotent God consisteth in the highest perfection of mercie and iustice his infinite wisdome hath tempered his worde and Sacraments to minister matter to both Therefore betweene his elect whose heartes he illuminates with the light of his spirite and those whome he hath left to the iudgment of their owne fenses and illusions of errour there hath risen out of this cloude greate stormes to exercise his Church that it might not lye sleeping in the sonne of securitie It is fortie yeares and morâ— since the Lordâ— beganne to sowe in this countrie being then ouerwhelmed in the mists of ignorance the seede of his eternall trueth Now seeing our vnthankfulnes hee suffereth the enemie to repaire home againe and to sowe darnel in his haruest He is busie and we are secure Wherefore to meete his practises and to arme the simple against his sophismes I haue chosen this argument of reall presence as of greatest importance to confute all papistrie For if the naturall bodie of our Sauiour is not in the sacrament as they call it of the altare they haue no sacrifice for the quick and deade and wanting that their market of masses this fiue hundreth yeares hath beene a faire of false wares In this disputation I will vse no rethoricall colloures to fill mens eareâ— with wordes but shortely will ayme my arguments to the poynt hoping that in all sounde iudgementes weight of reason will be more effectuall then the ratling sound of emptie words I will deduce the truthe of this poynte out of the well of truth and then will proue the Church to haue receiued it from Christ and his Apostles and notwithstanding the craft and crueltie of the enemie to haue kept it sincere and pure to our times Lord shew to me the the light of thy truth put weight in my wordes and force in may arguments to beare thy truth through the middest of thy enemies and to confounde the wisdome of the wise Our Lord and Sauiour at the institution of this Sacrament tooke breade and after that hee had giuen thankes broke it and gaue it to his disciples saying Thus is my body which is broken for you this doe ye in remembrance of me The wordes this is my bodye the Church of Roome taketh literallie â—ffirming that the breade is turned into the very natural reall body of christ hauing no nature thereof but collour sauour taste and other inseparable accidents Wee on the other side take them figuratiuelie denying that there is anye change of the substance but that the bread remaineth bread representing to our soules the bodie of Christ to feede our soules to eternall life As for the wordes them selues without other inforcements they are capable of both senses we grant that if both scripture nature did not denye they maye be taken literallie Againe that they may be taken figuratiuely if the peruersnesse of the aduersarie will not grant other scripturs in the same forme will easilie conuince He that saide of the bread This is my bodie saide likewise of him selfe I am a vine I am a doore and Paull saith the rock vvas Christe But
grace in shamelesse lyes But heere I would beseech the diligent reader to iudge betweene vs and them indifferentlie Bellarmine the great Rabbi of the seminarie at Rome and the goâ—â—ah of that vncircumcised congregation gathereth what euer hee couldâ— find with his owne trauels or the trauels of the whole seminary which bee report serued him what euer had anye shew for his purpose Hee hath gathered together aboue a hundreth and nine places of all which I dare promise the diligent reader that hee hath not two which speaketh the thing which hee woulde haue In them all hee hath neither founde transubstantiation of the elements nor accidents without subiects nor subiects without accidentes nor the bodie of Christ rent with teeth nor that the accidentes are the outward signes in the sacrament nor that â—he bodie of Christ is at one time both in heauen and all other places where the sacrament is ministred nor any other of these new theoremes of the Romaine faith without a glose and that sometimes impertinent sometimes obscurer then the text sometimes repugnant to the text and alwayes peruerting the true sense of the author I hope that no man will count these allegationes equiualent except they proue all the theoremes and appendices of transubstantiation as cleerelye as wee haue done Notwithstanding whate uer they or we can doe in this kinde is no proofe of the truthe but a witnes of the consent of tymes Nowe in this place followeth next to be considered howe this monstrouse opinion of transubstantiation began to insinuate it self into the heartes of men in the ages following for from this time forth it beganne dailye to grow and to gather strength In the mysterie of the sacrament there is such a secrete sacred coniunction of Christs blessed flesh with the seales as we can not well vnderstaÌ„d nor is lawful for vs curiously to enquire but reuerentlye to beleeue that his bodie is the bread which came downe from heauen and giueth life vnto the worlde On Christs parte by the secret and vnseene efficacie of his diuinitie hee conuaieth him selfe into our soules to feede them vnto eternall life On our parts there is an action iointly of the soule and bodie the one receauing the elementes with the mouth of the bodie the other receauing the body and bloode of Christe bee the moâ—th of fâ—ith In this action the whole powers of the soule and body are occupied at one instant applying all the comforts of the senses to the soule The mouth tasting sweetnes presents sweetnes to the soule the stomach receauing refreshment mindeth the soule of refreshment The vitales receauing strength comfort life offers to the soule the strength comfort life that floweth from the bread of which who-so-euer eateth shall neuer hunger nor thirst againe To printe this analogie into our heartes and to lift our senses from the sensuall consideration of these present obiects to the spirituall contemplation of his absente flesh it pleased the wisdome of our Sauiour to name the figures of breade and wine his bodie and blood broken and shed for the faithfull partakers of these mysteries And that he doth not changing the substance as these men woulde haue vs weene but turning the vse of bodilie meate to present to our deepe speculation the meate that feedeth the soule to eternall life This besides the places alredie cited Theodoret about foure hundreth yeares after Christ teacheth as resolutelie as euer did either Zuinglius or Caluin his wordes ar these faithfullie translated because they are ouer long to set downe in his owne language Our Sauiour changed the names to the bodie giuing the name of the signe and to the signe giuing the name of the bodie His purpose is mantfest for he would haue them who did participate his diuine mysterie to haue no eye to the thing which they sawe but bee changing the names to appreheÌ„d the change made be grace For calling his naturall bodie bread meate and calling him self a vine hee honoured the signes with the names of his bodie and blood not changing their natures but adding grace to nature This example of our Sauiour all true preachers in all ages who laboured to instruct the heartes of men in these mysteries followed when they sawe the mindes baselye contented with the externall action manie tymes they amplifyed the presence of Christe with hyperbolicall argumentes of his diuine power to lift the heart from the elements to the thing presented be the elements For as mariners betweene two dangers in the seas beareth of that which they moste feare towardes that which they leaste suspect euen so these teachers drew the people froÌ„ the elements subiect to the sense towards a bodely presence contrarie to sense neuer surmizing that men woulde bee so credulouse as to take such hyperbolical amplificationes for simple suthes The deuill who hath alwaies beene reddie of good to take occasions of ill watered this weede with all helpes Firste hee bred in the heartes of men such a colde regarde of these holye mysteries that few resorted to them as it appeareth be the grieuous complaintes of the fathers of that age and lawes made be sundrie emperours to mende that fault Be this meanes he so incensed the harts of them who had the haÌ„dling of them yâ— no man thoght his eloqueÌ„ce sufâ—icieÌ„t to amplify the preseÌ„ce of Christ in the sacrament with high speeches to imprint a reverent estimatioÌ„ of these sacred mysteries in the dull heartes of the people This continued well nye three hundreth yeares without suspition of ill With the opinion of a corporall presence the deuil drew in be little and little that the verie bodie of Christ offered to the father in the masse was a sacrifice propitiatorie for the quick dead and the people as wee are all borne to superstition and idolatrie imbraced that more gredelie then any truth The Clargie spying the masses to become good marchandise and hopeing for greate cheates to the kitcâ—in bee that market put to their shoulders lifted the sacrifice aboue the sacrament So this weede grewe dailie as weedes commonly growes fastest till few could find the truth that onely such as diligently sifted the Scripturs and fathers of former times It was long before men grew so brasen faced as to denye the figure in the words of the institution The first that wee reade to haue commed so farre was Damascene about the yeare eight hundreth After him followed Pas casius and Theophylact wel nye a hundreth yeares These men broke the yce to them that followed but pearsed not into the depth of this diuinitie Transubstantiation of the elements accidents without subiects and subiects without accideÌ„tâ— the monstruous brude of the Romane Church were not yet clecked She had not yet sit vpon that egge neither was these men yet so well resolued as vpon all occasions to sing one song They disseÌ„ted in many things from them that followed and in sundry thinges from themselues At
this tyme and before this monster grew to a head the Lord raised vp one Ioannes Scotus besome tearmed Erigena paedagoge to the worthye Emperour Charles the great a man of great learning and well red both in Greeke and Latine This man wrote a learned work against this erroure and in the beginning of it began to descry the firste conception and whole genealogie of this moÌ„ster Soone efter followed an other called Bertram a preist or as some thinkes a monke of Corsbie in saxonie where Pascasius also was bred This booke is yet extant wherein hee learnedly cites the fathers mightely vrges the scriptures and providently preuents the whole matter of transubstantiation This worke and the author also Tritemius highlie commendeth both for life and learning It escaped I can not tell bee what diuine prouidence the fyrie purgatorie of verselles in the flames whereof the booke of Ioannes Scotus was quite consumed Yet there was an other prouided for it be the Doctors of Louan be the counsel of Trent called index expurgatorius not to consume all for that would haue beene a discredit to the holye Church but to raze such sentences as were vncureable and where it woulde serue the turne to charge no thing but the affirmatiue into the negatiue substance into accidents temporall into eternall c. That is to saye white into blacke lighte into darkenes and truth into a lye These two bookâ— were then published not in a nooke but in the open light and face of the world the one of theÌ„ at the coÌ„man dement of the Emperour Carolus magnus They continued from aboute the yeare eight hundreth to the troubles of Berengarius which fell out aboute the one thousand and fiftie yeare without condemnation or accusation of heresie which waâ— an argument that the weede had not then ouerrshadowed the corne Bertram maketh mention of 〈◊〉 eate contention theâ— in Fraâ—â—e aboute this matter which argâ—â—s that the right side was yet a partie They who had hard the reuerent Beda or his schollers for the moste parte swaied that waye Heere Maister William Reinolds in his booke against Maister Robert Bruce seemeth to leaue his reader to thinke that these two men are either theirs or neuters They wrote darkely saith hee of the truth of this Sacrament and so doubtfully that the ZuingliaÌ„s vse their authoritie against the Catholickes and the Lutherans againste the Zuinglians In which wordes hee woulde leade the reader to thinke that Scotus and Bertram wrote for transubstantiation but in such obscure tearmes as might bee drawne to â—ny sense so lothe are they that wee haue the shadowe of any antiquitie before the dayes of Berengariâ—s â—t that time because it is written in the Reuelation that after a thousand years the deuill should be let loose he is content to grant that opposition was made to the veritie of Christs bodie in the sacrament and cites for witnes to blot it noâ—withstanding with a note of newne◠〈◊〉 Foxe whome hee tearmeth the Martyrâ—â—ker But to let him goe with his tantes for we must beare worse then that if neede bee if that prophesie be to be referred iuste to that tyme let them see if it maye not better be vnderstoode of the Church of Rome Which at that time began to persue their brethren with fire and fagott and made Lawes to compell all men to beleeue vnder paine of both deaths temporall and eternall that a rounde wafer with the picture of Christe in it was the very essential body of Christ that was borne of the virgine Marye This was more like to haue beene the loose deuill and the lying deuil to which euer since hath raged in these partes then that of Berengarius which was soone bounde againe and vnder paine of burning compelled to fing tongue thou lyed If that was the deuill who is daylye rosted in the eternall flames of the fâ—re of hell hee was fell fleed for a fire that woulde haue beene done in one day But if these books were not plaine with vs I would aske of Maister Reinolds why the pope burned the one the index expurgatorius mangled the other But wee are much beholden to him how-be-it he denieth vs this antiquitie yet hee would faine haue it beleeued that our doctrine was condemned of heresie in the very daies of the Apostles To proue this he quotes Ignatius out of Theodoret who saith that some acknowledged not the eucharist to be the flesh of christ that suffered for our sinnes These some heritiekes he woulde haue taken to bee men of our minde that in those times denyed transubstantiation of the bodie of Christ. Yet if he had marked with advised iudgmente the drift of Theodoret for out of him the meaning of Ignatius is to be gathered hee might haue seene that Ignatius spake of such heritickes as Theodoret alledges him againste or else the allegation of Ignatius had been impertinent But Theodoret alleadged him against Valentinian Marcion and Manes who denied Christ to haue suffered reall paines in a reall bodie Ergo Ignatius spake of heritikes who denied Christ to haue suffered reall paines in a reall bodie For as odious as wee are in Maister Reinolds eies it will be as hard for him to conuince vs of this erroure as to make the place of Ignatius other wayes to bee spoken of vs. This argumeut of Ignatius was common amongst the fathers againste that heresie that if Christ had not a true body and suffered not reall paines for our sinnes the sacrament could not bee a figure thereof As TertulliaÌ„ reasons before because meÌ„ vse not to make figures of phantasies And heare it will be harde for Maister Reinolds to clenge his hart and hands of falshoode and forgerie for alledging Ignatius out of Theodoret against that which Theodoret plainely frequently teacheth that the sacraments are Tou pathous typoi figures of the passion and symbola cai typoâ— ou tees theoteetos allatou sâ—matos cai haimatos Signes and figures not of his deitie but of his bodie bloode But to returne to our storie Wee reade after Bertram aboute the yeare nine hundreth and fiftie that their rose â— greate controuersie likewise in Ingland about this question which is a proofe that a hundreth and fiftie yeares after the debate in France which Bertram maketh mention of that the right side was then also a partie and that the better part For transubstantiatioÌ„ for now that tearme was clecked stoode Odo Archbishope of Canterburie garded with a greate armie of rascall ignorante preists who woone their dayly drink by a disceatfull market of breade for flesh On the other side was the rest better parte of the Clergie The Bishope was so armed with multitude that maior pars picit meliâ—rem the greater part conquered the better with arguments which in those times were growen to a greate hea◠〈◊〉 vniuersalitie and false miracles A hundreth yeares after that aboute the yeare one thousand and fifty Berengarius deacon of
his word we beleeue with the Centurion that he can doe what he will But that hee will doe al that he can was the faith of the deuill who persuaded him to make breade of stones because he coulde As for this question when Maister Iohn Hammilton can proue to vs that Christ his will was to create him selfe a newâ— bodie of breade bee the eternall worde of truthe we shall addresse our heartes to beleeue it Secondlye he argues It is blasphemy to saye that Christes blessing worketh no thing in the breade and if it worke anyething it is no thing but transubstantiation To this it maye be replyed that Christ hath not left vs in the worde that powerfull forme of blessing and that no other not the Pope him selfe can supplye that want with wordes 〈◊〉 As for the words 〈…〉 thanks or to giue him that blessing the bread it containeth onely an assertion that he blessed it not the forme how he blessed it Which thing it may seeme the Lorde left out foreseeing that these men woulde haue misconstrued it if they had gotten it Further they are not yet agreed on it whether the wordes of the institution or the blessing if they had them worketh this miraculous change When they are all agreed let M. Iohn Hammilton if hee like not this answere sende vs word and wee shall shape him an other Thirdely he saith we giue Christ the lyâ—â— â—enying the breade to be turned into Christes bodie Be that rule as is saide alredie hee giueth Christe the lye that saith he is not a vine nor a doore Alace that M. Iohn Hammilton should set his faith vpon such grounds as these Fourthlye he woulde proue bee the institution that Christ saide masse in his owne person sitting at the table with his disciples Masse at a table â—ye man â—oulde he not get an altar twentie to one that Masse was not Catholike that wâ—nted an alter hallowed hee some pope For seeing it is a necessarie instrument to that action it was no harder for him to haue raised vp a 〈◊〉 to that ende then to turne the bread into his bodie nether hauing two bodies nor changing the formes of the â—reade This doubtlesse was a great ouer-sight Bâ—t heare I woulde aske an other question also whether he saide masse sec imdum ordinem sarum vel Romanum And what was the forme of his masse â—loths whether in the consecration hee keeped the iust number of Crosses beckes binges Ioukes and turnes prescribed in that action whether in his memento he prayed for his father and his mother and in the oblation offered sacrifice for them And to omitt the rest for I can noâ— stand on all whether hee repeted the fiue wordes hoc est enim corpus meum with out taking his breath For if hee omitted these murgines or anye of many moe then these he was not so catholike a preste I meane so Romane catholike and for all my correction pardon my comparison as for M. Iohn Hammilton and ten thousand moe that isâ— and was farre more formal to mummill 〈◊〉 Romane Masse then hee Heere also might be asked whether the Masse which Christ saide was perfect or imperfect And if it was perfect as perhaps they may grant whether all the crosses and kisses in the rubrick of the canon of the Masse and the rest of the ceremonies prescribed there be vnnecessary additions and if they be what they were that durste presume to ad to that which the eternall wisdome of God had praescribed such trashe and make their inuentiones as necessarie as his instituâ—ion For now it is growen to that heade that if M. Iohn Ham. for as catholike as he is or the highest headed Bishope within the Popes precincts woulde acknowledge no other Masse then Christ ordained he woulde soone be as odious an heritike as either Martine Luther or Iohn Caluin But to his syllogisme That Christ said Masse thus he reasons The Masse is no other thing hut the giuing and offering of Christes precious bodie and bloode contained vnder the externall formes of breade and wine after the order and riâ—e of melchisadeâ— to theliuing God for the people But Christ Iesus after that he had consecrated the breade and wine in his precious bodie and bloode gaue the same to God the father for his Apostles sitting with them at the institution of this holy Sacrament Ergo Christe saide Masse at the institution of the Sacrament To the 〈◊〉 of this syllogisme I haue answered that if M. Iohn Hammilton would saye no other Masse then that he woulde be condemned of heresie for imitation of Christe The minor I vtterly denye The text saieth not that Christe gaue thâ— breade and wine consecrated to his father for his disciples But to his disciples for a remembrance of his blessed passion That which hee gaue to his disciples for a remembrance of him selfe it will passe M. I. his intandement to proue it giuen to God for them But to finde the Masse in these wordes beholde how many leapes he takes Firste that Christ gaue this Sacrament to his father Secondly that he gaue is that hee offered Thirdely that hee offered it euen then when he gaue it Fourthly that hâ— offerâ—â— a sacrifice foâ— his disciples Fistly that â—ee oâ—fered it for them that is not for their redemption for that woulde bee derogatorie to his bloodie sacrifice buâ— to adore GOD for their redemptioni And therefore as if their were noe morâ— doubt of these wordes then the wordeâ— of the Masse booke Iube 〈◊〉 perserri per â—ianusâ— sancti angelâ— tâ—â— c. Hee runneth out vpou vs as blasphemâ—ers of this holy sacrifice pernerters of this holy textâ— To conclude with him in a place heâ— proueth that the wicked eateth not noâ— driâ—keth the bodie and blood of Christ His argument is the foundest syllogisme in all that worke But that men may seâ— how loâ—h hâ— is to speake truth or reason for it 〈◊〉 â—â—teth vp that assertion argument and all at once and calleth it an impious heâ—e sie and proueth it bee the inâ—tance of â—udas who with the reste of the twelue Apostles receâ—â—â—â—â— the Saâ—rament In which reason the ingeniouâ— reader maye take vp an incâ—anted and besotted head with the sotâ—sh poyson of the Romane dregges The question is whether the wicked in the Sacramente â—eceaueth the reall bodie of Christ And for proofe hee alleges the euangâ—listes Mathew Marke and I uke to proue that Iâ—das receaued the Sacramente That Iudas receaued the Sacrament it is a thing that might haue beene and some affirmeth and some denyeth But that Iudas did eate the flesh and drinke the bloode of Christe it will passe all the schooles of Rome to proue bee the â—racles of truth Of that Augustine saith dominuâ—â—â—das â—â—das did eate not the breade the Lorde but the breade of the Lorde This much to giue the reader a taste of M. Iohn his doctourall learning For anye thing that appeareth in his
writtinges he might haue beene vndoctored this dozen yearâ—â— and if hee profite no more then he hath done hee might haue wanted a Doctour hoode so long as he liueth Of all the vnleaâ—ned books 〈…〉 I red of all the vnconstante and wand ring stiles running aâ— the â—â—ubiect on euerie â—ighte occasion I giue it the first place Hetherto I â—aue laide downe what little reason they haue to denye the wordes of the institution to bee â—iguratiue Now beside the seauen argumente in the beginning And the sounde arguments mightely laide in bee M. Robert Bruce and weakely warded be M. William Rainoldes I will open what mater of inconuenience what forcing of textes what coyning of figures what monsters in nature sense and reason might haue chocked this monster in the cradle if a drifte of heresie raised bee the enemie of truthe had not dazaled the eyes of men and driuen them into the wildernesse of erroure To beginne at the lightest to maintaine that there is no figure in the institution they are driuen to force a stranger figure on the wordes of Paull Hâ—â— that cateth of this breade and drinketh of this cup c. Compelling the spirite of God in which the Apostle wrote with rashe and inconsiderate â—duise bee the names of breade and cup for wine to feede the erroure of the sense againste the truthe of faith if it were as they sâ—y not bread and wyne but the very body and blood of Christ. As is saide alredie page 13. in my seuent reason Secondlye in the wordes of our Sauiour I will drinke no more of the fruite of the vine they shape two monstruous figures leauing it indifferent to take which a man liketh best Either that bee the wine is vnderstoode the bloode of Christ vnder the shew of wine or else that the kingdome of God is the time of the gospell in the which we drinke the verie blood of Christ in the Sacrament Thirdelye the wordes of our Sauiour He that easteth my flesh and drinketh my bloode dwelleth in me and 〈◊〉 him They ar compelled either to mangle miserably or else to denye them and make the incredilous to eate the bodie of Christe which neither dwelleth in Christe nor Christ in them Fourthly the Article of our beleefe and the place of the Actes That the heauens must containe him vntil the 〈◊〉 that all thinges be restored They are driuen to seeke some defense bee hooke and crooke how Christ maye not onely bee in heauen at the righte hande of his father but also in the Sacramente betweene the handes of a gredie preiste reddie to eate him vp stoup and roupe These foure textes they are compelled to mangle to maintaine a literall sense in one But behoulde more absurditie Firste they will compell vs vnder paine of damnation to beleeue that the bodie of Christ hauing all properties of a humane bodie sinne onely excepted is handled and not felt eaten and not tasted looked on and not seene in the Sacrament Secondlye that the accidentes of bread that is sauour colour taste hardnesse moistnosse c are in the Sacrament without the substance of breade where to they are inseparablye anneâ—ed Thirdely that these same accidentes hauing no nature nor power to feede are ordained be Christ to bee the signe of the spirituall breade that feedeth our soules to life euerlasting Fourtlye that the substance of the breade is changed into the verie reall and naturall substance of Christs bodie that was borne of the Virgine Marye and suffered on the crosse for the sinnes of man Fistly that accidentes doth nonrish and feede the bodie because the substance doth nourish bee meanes of accidentes Sixtly that the bodie of Christe being finite and locall as it was when hee walked on the waters taught in the shipe and died vpon the Crosse is now in heauen at the righte hande of his father and also on all the altares in the worlde in the handes of all the prestes in the bellies of all that eateth him and in the coffers of al that will keepe him in store for an euill daye Seuently that in this mater of transubstantiation vnder paine of bothe deathes that is temporall and eternall we are bound to beleeue nether nature sense nor reason And that eightly heerefore how-be-it we see it to mould rott and consume we must bee persuaded in faith that it is the immortall bodie of our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christ. Nynthly when Aug. or anye other of the fathers calleth it a figure wee muste beleeue that it is bothe the figure of Christs bodye and Christes bodye it selfe Tenthly that the partes of Christes bodie are not distinguished as eie from eie hand from hande heade from foote or with reuerence bee it spoken taile from tongue but all confused together in the compasse of the rounde waâ—er Eleuenthly that the preist is the creatore of his owne creatore and eateth him when he hath created him Twelfthlye that Christe hauing but one bodie the people consumeth him as many bodies in one daye as communicantes receaueth the Sacramente in all the worlde Thirtenthlie that the substance of Christs naturall bodie maye be made of other substance then the substance of his mother the virgine Marie My wit can not comprehende the absurdities of this absurditie On manye they are not yet agreed among themselues Firste if an oulde wife or anye other superstitious bodie keepe that sacred breade for a neede and chance to lose it which may well fall out Thomas Aquinas Alexander de Hales and Gerson holdeth that a mouse hog or doge if they finde it and eate it findeth and eateth the verie body of Christ Bonauentura and sundry others counteth it more honest and reasonable that they eate it not But Peter Lumbard the grand maister of catholicke conclusiones leaueth it to God what they eate and with all thinkes that it may be saide that brute beastes eate not the body of Christ. Some will haue the mouse if shee can be gotten burnt aâ—d buried aboute the altar Others will haue her opened and some well stomached preist to eate that which is founde in her mawe or else to reserue it in the tabernacle till it naturallie â—nsume In this kinde one highlie commendeth one Goderanus a preist for lapping vp the vomet of a leper man who had not long before receaued the Sacrament Secondly in the wordes of the institution This is my bodye Gerson saith that the demonstratiue pronoune this demonstrateth the substance of the bread Occam saith that it demonstrateth the bodie of Christ. Thomas Aquinas saieth that it demonstrateth the thing contained vnder the forme of the breade Hokot saith that it signifieth a thing betweene the bodie of Christ and the bread which is nether this nor that but common to both Durand saith that it signifieth nothing but is set materialiter After all commeth Steuen Gardinar Bishope of Winchester and turning his iudgment for once hee thought it