his maiestie and glorie but yet we put hym here in the SacrameÌ„t inuisible And than as concernyng suche thynges as bee obiected of Sainctes and Martirs folowinge Christe thei saye that it is al true as touching Christ so fâ—rrefoorth as he is visible in heauen in his glorie maiestie But this aunswer standeth vpon a weake rotten foundacion for it supposeth that the bodye of Christe beyng but one bodie maie bee in many places at one tyme whiche thing the auncient fathers writers denie It presupposeth also that Christe is with vs as touchyng his bodye and fleashe whereas Christe sayed that as touchyng those thynges in that behalfe he would sende another in his stede meanyng the holy ghoste Neither can thei by their reason auoyde but that Christe had two bodyes The .xxvii. argumente For at the Supper when he had taken breade in his handes if thesame breade had by transubstanciation ben chaunged into the substance of Christes body than should it folow and bee true that himselfe should with his owne bodye haue borne and caried his owne bodye How Christ beareth him elâ—e in his owne hades and how he eateth himselfe and so should ye nedes grauÌ„t that one and the selfesame body it was that did beare and holde it in his handes and that was borne and holden in his handes and yet can it not by any reason or possibilitie be true that one and thesame bodye is bothe the doer and the sufferer in respect of one thyng An obieccioÌ„ of the aduersaries and bothe at one tyme. And thus we see into what â—nconueniencies thei cast themselfes The aâ—sweâ— Thei bee woont to bryng for their parte the woordes of Austen vpon the Psalmes whiche wordes of Austen are that Christe bore himselfe in his owne handes But if that place bee well considered whiche is vpon the threescore and thirtenth psalme It is there writen that he bare hymself in his own handes quodam modo that is to saye after a certaine manier or after a sorte or fashion so much do we graunt For he bore and helde in his handes the Sacrament of his bodie but he did not beare ne hold his verai true bodye proprie et reasiter that is to saye properly and really And here might one bryng in agayne these menne also that by their reason forasmuche as Christe receiued the SacrameÌ„t and communion with his Apostles it should folowe that Christ didde eate hymselfe â—n obieccioÌ„ But herunto this was wount to be their auÌ„swer â—he answer These thinges are exercises of our feith But we saie vnto them againe that we haue ferre other manier seÌ„teÌ„ces of the scripture wherin our feith may exercise it sâ—lfe The true exeâ—cises of ouâ— feith rather then in such thinges as are of mannes fantasticall deuise and inuencion We beleue that the soone of god was incarnate of a virgin that he was borne of a virgin that he suffered for vs that he died that he was raised vp from death to life again that he ascended vp into heauen with many thinges more of suche lyke sorte in which our feith dooeth sufficiently and aboundauntly exercise it selfe And forasmuche as this chaunge from substauÌ„ce to substaunce can not with our senses be altered vnto The .xxviii. argumente neither mannes reason can vnderstande it neither experience dooeth teache it how shall it be perceiued I knowe that ye will saye that it maie be vnderstaÌ„ded coÌ„preheÌ„ded or conceiued by feith But in case the matier must go by feithe that same feithe cannot bee had without gods word iÌ„ gods word ye haue not one iot for you Morouer wheras Christe made this sacrament of twoo partes The .xix. argumente that is to wete his bodie for one parte and his bloud for the other parte it doeth by thesame thyng appere plainly enough that the matier muste not bee taken or vnderstanded by this kynde of transubstanciation For in the realâ— and carnall bodye of Christ these twoo partes be not deuided or soondred the one from the other An obieccioÌ„ But a poore shifte thei haue and a stertyng hole thei saye that there is as muche conteyned in any one of these two partes as ther is in yâ— other parte In dede we heare theim thus affirme this to holde but the wordes of scripture doe not teache any such matier Another obieccioÌ„ but onely at the bread there is mencion made of the body onely at the cup there is bloud perticulerly meÌ„cioned specified but thei haue yet a ferther aunswere to obiâ—ct against vs which is as touchyng the bread that by the strength and vertue of the wordes The answer there is a transubstanciacion of bread into Christes body or iÌ„to Christes fleashe merlye and really and of it selfe and then that bothe the bloud and the soule the deitie or godheade of Christ do folow after euen as a shadow is wonte to go with the body in the Sunshyne Per coâ—comitanciam And than also concerning the cup thei saye that by the strength and vertue of the wordes there is first of all and properlye a mere transubstanciacion chaunge of the wine into bloud but afterwardes the body foloweth withall Against coâ—comitaunce that the schoole men speake of to be of traÌ„substanciacion and is there also and the solle and the deitee or godhead euen by thesame reason and waye as the bloude and solle and godheade didde folowe with the transubstanciacion of the bread into Christes body as is afore sayed Whiche the schoolemenne in their terme dooe saye to bee dooen per concomitantiam Per concomitanciam as yf ye should saie in Englishe by a necessitee of folowyng after so that euen lyke as a bodye cannot goe into the Sunshine but that the shadow of thesame body must nedes folowe and goe withall so canne not the bodye saie thei bee but the bloud goeth withal nor the bloud be but that the fleash bodye goeth wtall And thus by this their subtill and fine sophisticall manier of speakyng thâ—i make Christ not so wyse nor prouident as he might or should haue been in that that he deliuered and gaue in twoo soondrie partes no more then is in either of thesame partes seuerally conteined And oute of their owne feynyng and imaginacioÌ„ it sprang that afterwardes thei deuided the sacrameÌ„t by ministring vnto the laye people the one parte of the Sacramente onely thei perswaded the same and made them beleâ—e that thei receiued as muche in that one parte as if thei had receiued both partes of the Sacrament according to Christes institucion It maie also ferther be saied against theim that by this their inuencion and imaginacion thei open a wyndoore and dooe minister occasion to many opinions of straunge feyned doctrine For there is none opinion nor no pointe of doctrine whereunto thei maie not tye and linke an infinite sorte of thinges with their terme
saieth that the bread is not a signe of Christes body this he sayeth vpon Mathewes Ghospell which thyng is well spoken if he mene that yâ— bread is not an emptye figure or a vain figure void of al streÌ„gth efficacy Neither do we saie that the bred is suche a signe or figure And we do nothiÌ„g doubt but yâ— this was his interpretacioÌ„ mening in dede for because that vpoÌ„ Markes gospel he saith that the bread is not a figure not onely For els if he shoulde vtterly denye that the bread is a signe or a figure of Christes bodi he should be contrary to the rest of the fathers and olde writers whom we haue alredy plainly declared to graunte and putte bothe a sygne and a fygure to bee heere in this sacramente He saieth also that the bread is transformed conuerted and chaunged from the elemente and matier that it was afore into an other Whiche maniers of speaking if he vnderstande and mene Sacramentally we dooe not abhorre from them For the breade and wyne become sacramentes they passe bee chaunged into elementes that is to saye matyers of heauenly thynges and they putte on as it were a newe garmente and shape to bee nowe the sygnes and tokens of an higher matier But saye they thys Theophylactus wryteth that the fleashe and the bloude for thys cause bee not seen leste oure stomackes shoulde stande agaynste the receyuynge of it But if thou what soeuer thou bee wilt so eagrely and so sore bynde vpon these woordes we for oure parte laye agaynst the agayne the wordes that the same Theophylactus wryteth vpon Markes ghospell whyche are that the kyndes or symylitudes of breade and wyne bee turned into the vertue or strength of the lordes bodye and bloud That if thou wilt allege that the sayd Theophylactus dooeth in all other places not saye into the vertue c. But into Christes boddye and bloud The kindes and similitudes of breade and wine coÌ„uerted into the vertue of Christes body bloude we aunswere that the interpretacion of these wordes is that these sygnes take vnto them the vertue of the thynges whyche they signyfye by reason of the whyche vertue the sacramentes bee of no lesse effecte then if the vâ—raithyng self wer there present And as I haue sayed the yrkesomnes and abhorrynge of it is taken away yf we putte that the chaunge is made not into the thinge but in to the vertue of the thing Hys other sentence semeth to bee somewhat more violeÌ„te and of some more force vehemencyeâ— whych he wroote vpon the sixth chapytur of Ihons ghospell where he thus sayeth As the breade that Chryste did eate whyles he lyued here in yearthe was chaunged into his fleashe by a naturall transubstanciation or chaungeyng after the common rate of foode and nourishement in mannes bodye so is this breade chaunged into Christes body here in the Sacramente Yet this similitude and comparison we graunte also to bee true yf it bee generally taken For in this sacrament also we dooe not denye but there is a chaunge Sacramentall that is to saye suche as in a Sacrament is required That if thou saye thou wylte nedes take this similitude euen plainly as it is made and as it souneth whiche is that the breade bee as verayly chaunged in the Sacramente of Eucharistia as breade was turned into Christes fleshe at suche tymes as he eate it whiles he here lyued than wyll there folowe an inconuenience cleane contrary to thyne owne sentence and determination For it wyll folowe that the accidentes of the signes cannot remayne or be reserued still in the Sacramente of Eucharistia For in thee foode and sustenaunce that Christe tooke frome time to tyme whiles he liued the acâ—identes did not remayne Besydes the premisses I wyll here allege for our purpose the woordes of the same selfe expositour vpon the sixth chapitur of Iohns gospell vpon these woordes he that eateth my fleashe and drynketh my bloude abideth in me and I in hym c. Upon whiche woordes Theophylactus expounyng them in the persone of Christ saith that this thyng is dooen whiles the partie is quodammodo that is to saye in a manier mingled and ioygned vnto me and is chaunged ouer into me Where thou seest agayne that Theophilactus holdeth as the reste of the fathers and wryters dooe holde that there is so great a chaungeyng of vs into Christe that he wryteth vs to bee chaunged ouer and dooe passe into Christe And thus muche I saye at this present for aunswere of that that was broughte in and allegedde agaynste vs out of Theophylactus Of the later wryters they bryng Anselmus and Hugo Anselmus and Hugo aunswered vnto and Rycharde whiche were in the tyme of Uictor But foraâ—muche as in the tyme of these menne the doctrine of transubstanciacion was now already perforce thrust into the lappe of the churche and the people compelled to receyue it the sayde wryters in suche woorkes as they made didde accordyng to the tyme so that the newe inuencion of suche ougâ—te not to haue place to the preiudice of the mooste aunciente opynyon of the churche and of the determinacion of the olde auncient fathers Iohn Damascene auÌ„swered vnto But one maÌ„ emong all others they seme to haue most highe in price and this is Iohn Damascene who in the fourthe booke and fowerteenthe chapitur of his worke of the right feith Hath verai largely wryteÌ„ of this matier But I fynd that this Damascene liueth vnder the Greke Emperour Leo Isanricus so that betwene the tyme of Gregorius Magnus bishop of Rome and thissame Ihon Damascene it was a full nye hundred and twentie yeares space at the leaste The time of Damascene whan he liâ—ed And wheras now alreadye in the tyme of Gregorie many poinctes of supersticion and manye thynges of maÌ„nes inuencioÌ„ wer come by heapes into the Churche the matier did euery daye from that tyme forward renue still headlong to wurse wurse By reason wherof it is no meruaile at al if this Damascene stumbled vpon many pointes that wer both vntru and also ful of supersticion The iugemeÌ„t of Damascene in diuerse Articles of docâ—trine And as for his iudgement how good and how great it was as well in arcticles and pointes of doctrine as also in expounyng of the holy scriptures we haue a sample good enough For he is a wonderous great fauourer of Images and susteyned both great and sore daungiers mo then one for vpholdynge and maynteining of them yea and in this selfsame fourth booke he wrote a seuerall chapitur of a sette purpose concernyng the same matier of Images where his mynde sentence is that Images not onelye are to bee made but also to be honoured and wurshypped Besides this he so highly estemed the reliques of sainctes and holy men whiche are now in rest that he appointed vnto them also a certayne chapitur for the nonce in whiche he feared not to
of the Latines and there they agreed as touchyng the discorde and controuersye that had been concernynge the holye Ghost And in the actes of the counsayle it is to be seen that after the Bisshoppes of the Easte parties and the Latines had agreed vpoÌ„ certain articles the Bishop of Rome than beyng would haue proceded ferther would haue driuen them to traicte of transubstanciation to receiue it as the Latines did beleue it But here the grekes stiffely with stode hym wold in no wyse traict of any suche matier Neither could they be moued nor induced by any argumentes to coÌ„sent therunto And whaÌ„ the letters or instrumentes of vnitie concord agrement betwene theÌ„ should be made publishedâ— the sayed Greke Byshops made a speciall prouiso that in no wyse ther should be any mencioÌ„ made of this matier of transubstanciation which was also obserued as appereth in the Bulle of Eugenius which begiÌ„neth Exultent caeli et letetur terra c. where in he reioyceth in the behalfe of Cristian nacions for this most happie chaunce that the churche of the grekes the churche of the Latines wer â—ome to a coÌ„cord vnytee agayn Wherof it foloweth that if the transubstanciacion had been a matyer of suche weyght effycacy the Romisshe churche woulde neuer haue come to a tonement and been coupled wyth the Churche of the Grekes not receyuing thesame For nowe of dayes they saye it is a veray pernicious and a detestable Hâ—resie not to admit transubstancioÌ„ Nor it is not to be thought nor supposed that the Latine churche would haue coupled her self with heretiques and been one with them By this also is the argumeÌ„t made voyde and of none effecte whiche they broughte of the vniuersal consent and agrement of the churche For it is not true which they affirme that all Christen churches did conspire and agree in this article of transubstanciacion For that same auncient churche which was in the tyme of the fathers as we haue shewed did neuer ymagine nor deuise any suche matier Also the Greke churche of the East parties was not in like opinion that we haue been in Besydes al this to their argumentacions they adde mooste hyghe prayses of the diuine and godly power To the Argument of â—he diuine power to induce the people to beleue so greate a myracle But this is an argumente moste weake and feble for the thynge whiche they ought chiefely to haue shewed they haue neuer yet hitherto truely proued whiche it is that god will dooe it and that the holye scriptures dooe promise suche a thyng vnto vs. For these woordes whiche they allege that is to wete This is my body thâ—se woordes I saye are the matier that is in controuersie maye haue another menyng wherefore the argumente is of no strength ne force And we shall declare the weakenesse of thesame by a certaine example The Lord said vnto Nicodeme Beholde a similitude of Nicodeme that no manne coulde â—ntre into tâ—e kyngdome of heauen excepte he wer borne of newe Than Nâ—codeme began to demaunde how can a maÌ„ whan he is old enâ—re agayne into his mothers woÌ„be It might haue been saied vnto hym Chryste hath euen now affyrmed that it shall so be whi dooest than doubte of the power of God by the whyche all thinges wer created By the same power of God maiest thou vndoubtedlye bee borne againe out of thy mothers wombe But the matyer was not so handeled But Chryste declared that all thys shoulde bee dooen by a spyrytuall regeneracyon For although he made mencion of the water whyche parteyneth to baptisme Yet did he most manyfestly teache that the regeneracion must be dooen by the spirite And euen so dooe we see it happen herein thys matier of the sacramente Chryst commaundeth vs to eate hys fleash and he takynge the breade in hys hande sayethe This is my bodye Now the transubstanciatours said It cannot bee that the bodye of Chryste shoulde bee to gether with the bread Wherefore it must nedes folow that the nature of the breade bee turned by transubstanciacyon into Chrystes body And that it is so transubstauncyated they wyll nedes parswade men by an argumente of the power of God Why the fathers speakinâ—g of this sacâ—amente dooe so magnifie the power of god because he is hable to doe it But in the meane whyle the transubstanciatours dooe thus obiecte agaynst vs We dooe not thys alowe say they for Chrysostome Ambrose Cyrillus whan they traict of thys mutacion the lykewyse remit vs to the power of god magnyfye the same power of god with wunderful high laudes praises But to thys we aunswer that the fathers speake veray wel for vndoubtedly it belongeth to the power of God so to chaunge breade and wyne that they bee made sacramentes whyche they wer not afore neyther is it the worke of nature that bread and wine should so mightely and so effectually signifie offre and represente the bodye and bloud of our lorde to bee comprehended wyth our myndes and wyth our feith Wherefore the holy ghoste dooeth here entremeole hymself the lordes institution and ordinaunce in this behaâ—fe is of great strength and vertue the wordes beeyng at the fyrst pronounced by the inspiracion of God and now repeated agayn by the ministre dooe weorke no smalle effecte Ye maye to the premisses putte our conuersion and chaungeyng into Christe whan we dooe receiue the communion all whiche thynges are ferre aboue the power strength of nature And now wher as the supernatural power of the lorde maye bee required to al these thynges these men applye the sayd power of God to transubstanciacion But thys is a muche lyke thyng as it we should make an argumente and should reason as the logicians termes bee ab vniuersiliore ad particularius that is to saie from the more general to the lesse general affirmatyuely that is by the waye of affirmyng a thyng to bee thus or thus whiche is the wourstkynde of argumente that can bee made as for exaÌ„â—le there can not bee a wourse arâ—umeÌ„te theÌ„ to saâ— Thissame is a tree ergo it is an applee tree For it maye bee a theritree or an oke tree or some other tree But contrarie wyse to saye this in an aple tree Ergo it is a tree is a veray good reason and a well framed argumente So to saye Goddes wyll is to dooe suche a thyng or suche a thyng ergo he can dooe it is a perfeicte good reason But theâ—e can not bee a lewder manier of arguyng then to saye God is of power to dooe suche a thyng ergo he wyl dooe it or dooeth it For God is of power euen now at this daye to heale all diseases and sicknesses of all men to make the dum to speake to restore sight vnto the blynde and to reuiue men that are dead as Christe reised Lazarus and as he wrought the thynges afore spokenâ— and many other miracles while he liued
ignoraunt that there be many ill folke which in the scripture be called fleshe bloud of whom neuertheles we be molested and vered haue a continual conflicte or wresting with the same But Paules menyng was of that same chiefe and especiall contâ—â—cion or striuyng from the which all these other striuinges take their begynnyng Paule sayed also in another place that there is in Christe neither he nor she neither bondeman nor free man c. Yet neuerthelesse these offices and these sortes of people are not reiected or put awaye from Christe or from the congregacion of Christians yea and commaundementes and rules of ordre wrytten in scripture seuerally of the sayde sortes of people But Paule ment that these thynges be not in Christe as touchyng regeneracion in Christ as touching forgeuenesse of synnes and as touchyng the obteynynge of euerlastyng lyfe which thynges are the highest and chiefest pointes in the profession of Christe And in distributing of the sayd thinges Christ hath not any parciall respecte to these states to these degrees of men The same Apostle wryteth these woordes The kyngdome of God is not in woordes and yet he would not for that cause bannyshe out of the congregaâ—ion or put awaye exhortacions admonicions and readynges whiche bee dooen with woordes but he had oâ—elye a respecte to that chiefe strength efficace of the holy ghostâ— whereby al thinges ought to bee ruled or gouerned in the congregacion And euen after thissame manier dooe the fathers and olde wryters speake whan they denye that the same nature or substaunce of the signes dooe styll remayne in the sacrament which thing as we haue said is not to bee vnderstanded as the plain wordes â—oune without any ferther addicion circumstaunce or consideracion but as touching our feith and as touching our thynkyng whiche our feith and thoughtes ought not ouer muche to leane or cleaue to the sayed signes or tokens Aman may ferther saye The seueÌ„th rule or vnderstanding of the Dâ—â—tours that feith is of suche vertue strength and efficacie that it can make thynges to be presente yet not onely really or in substaunce but spiritually For feyth doeth veraily comprehend suche thynges And in this sence or meanyng the Apostle sayd that Christe was crucified euen before the eyes of the Galathians The presence that feith causeth And after the same manier was Abraham sayed to haue sene the daye of the Lorde And after thesame manier the olde aunciente fathers of the olde testament had the same Christe in theyr sacramentes that we haue nowe in ours And thus ye see that to this presence it is not requisite that thynges dooen in their naturall constituâ—ion and beyng shoulde chauÌ„ge their place and come from place to place or that they should be present before our yies with all their materiall and naturall qualitees states condicions and all other appurtenaunces It is also to be obserued and marked The eighte reason how to vnderstaÌ„d the writinges of the fathers that thinges maie bee so spoken by alternacion that is to saye for the respect of a certayne enterchaungeablenesse of the propretee whiche is after suche sorte that such thinges as do properly belong to his godhead are some tyme applyed to the humanitie and contrarye wyse those thynges that belong to his humanitie are sometymes applyed and referred to his godhead and this I call alternacion and communicating of propretees and by this alternacion because the deitee or godhead of Christe is moste truely present with vs thesame self thyng maye be made commune to his humanitie also As when Christe beyng vpon earthe saide that the sonne of manne was in heauen and in so saying he applyed that thinge to his humanitie or manhoode which belonged to his deitie or godhead And after this fashion of speache I wold graunte that Christes manhode is present to vs when we receyue his body Albeit I wold than expoune it that it wer by the fore sayde communication of alternation of propretees Finally why the fathers dooe somtymes speak more then the truth is vsyâ—g the fygure Hiperbole yf you demaund why old wryters vsed suche maners of speche as some vnpossible it was for these causes partly that they wold folow the phrase or maner of speche read in scripture and partlye that they might moue mennes myndes with a greater zeale and also that they might declare that this signification of sacramentes was not like to thynges signifyed in a comediâ— or tragedie For in suche enterludes any of the players beyng disguised in his players apparell maye represente the persone of 〈◊〉 or Priamus but than getteth he thereby 〈◊〉 or nothynge els to speake of but whan he hathe placed his parte he is thesame man that he was before But in the receiâ—yng of Christes body the thyng beynge represented with the strength of the holy ghost is both geueÌ„ and emprinted in our hertes and our solles through faith and many giftes graces do folow and specially a secrete and an vnspeakeable knittinge and vnion of vs with Christe doeth folowe so that we are made one thing with Christ. The reasoÌ„s auoyded yâ— was broght for transuâ—â—â—anciacionâ—â—ut of the doctours Nowe the fyrste obiection was broughte out of Ireneus whiche sayeth that yearthly breade when it hath receiued another name is not common bread but it is made Eucharistia that is to saye a sacrament of thaÌ„kes geuyng We gladli graunt this to be true for we do not hold yâ— it is prophan and coÌ„mon bread suche as we vse daily to eate but that it is an holy breade and a breade appointed to an holy vse and purpose whiche at the receiuing of Chrystes bodye is made as Irenens saied Eucharistia but all the wordes that folow in Ireneus do muche make for our part For he wryteth that Eucharistia doeth consist of twoo partes that is to wete of an heauenly thyng and of an yearthely thyng And he did nat saie that it is made of the accideÌ„tes of an yearthely thynge and after wardes he wryteth our bodyes receyuyng the sacramente of Eucharistia to bee on thys condicion not corruptible if the same haue hope of resurrection And in case that so great a chaunge bee graunted and putte of hym to bee in oure bodyes that he made it equal with the chaunge of the breade for as that breade sayeth he is no longer CoÌ„mon bread so our bodies be no longer corruptible what nede shall it be to sette vp thys transubstanciatyon seyng he maketh the twoo chaungeynges on bothe sydes equall And a playne mattier it is that the substaunces of oure bodyes bee notte tratysubstancyated Secondartyly Tertullian was alleged Tertullian aunswer vnto And he also bryngeth a declaraâ—ion wyth hym to shew what he meneth for Tertullyan dooeth not onely speake in thys manyer Oure lorde tooke breade and made it hys bodye whan he sayed thys is my bodye but also Tertullyan putteth thus muche more to it to declare it and sayeth id est
thys manier The solle sometymes whyle it foloweth the appetite of the fleashe is called carnal and fleashely not yâ— it is chaunged into the nature of fleashe euen so the bodye is called spiritual not because it is chaunged into the nature of the spirite but because it wyll bee altogether obedient to the spirite to fulfille the desire wille of the spirite And Hierome in an epistle to Pammachius whyche epistle was made in defense of the trueth agaynst Ihon the bishop of Hierusalem who sayeth that the solles of suche as arose had euery one of theÌ„ a bodye of ayer whiche was not subiect neyther to touchyng nor to the syght and Hierome I saye in thys epystle dooeth by all possible meanes contente to proue that Christe after hys resurrection had a veray true bodye in dede and the same also visible And Hierome aunswereth to an obiection whyche obiectioÌ„ was thys If Christes bodye after hys resurrection was in suche sorte visible and was the same veray bodye that he had whan he was aliue afore Luke xxiiii Wherefore was it not knoweâ— at what tyme he shewed hymself lyke a pilgryme to the two disciples goyng to the castle of Emaus To this doeth Hierome thus make aunswer Because theyr yies wer holden that they should not knowe hym as if he should haue sayed as touchyng the nature of hys bodye it was bothe visible myght haue been knowen but the lette that was was in thesame veray epistle to the CorinthiaÌ„s Yet neuerthelesse our sacramentes haue many prerogatiues and many poyntes of dignite aboue the sacramentes of the olde lawe For fyrst and formoste they bee firme and stable and shall no more bee chaunged vnto the worldes ende secondly they dooe not shewe of a thyng that is to bee dooen and yet to come but of a thyng dooen alreadie Our sacramentes also bee more simple and plain and they perteine to a larger and a greatter noumbre of people And forasmuche as they bee more clere open then the olde sacramentes they stiere vp in vs a greatter feith and therof foloweth a more plenteous aboundance of the spirite And that they bee more clere and open dooeth not procede as the aduersaries imagyn to theymselfes in theyr braines of the outward prefiguracion of the â—ignes because that the same is more euident then the old was but of the nature of the woordes that are there ê“nounced For by the said woordes our redeÌ„ptioÌ„ is shewed to bee perfeict it is shewed with more clere more open wordes then the common sorte of people emong the fathers of the old lawe did vnderstaÌ„de Than if the thyng bee more clere expouned and declared in woordes the outward represeÌ„tacion is not so greatly to bee regarded Whâ—â—eâ— the Churche made â—awe been leaft in anecdout our of god Besides this they made it a matier of woondre how it might bee possible that the Churche should bee so long in an errour and that no light nor small errour if it should so bee as we saye Whiche thyng for all that they would not so greatly meruaill at if they would thynk on the woordes that Christe sâ—ake of hys last commyng Thynkest thou sayeth Christe that whan the sonne of man shall come he shall fynde feith vpon the yearth He doeth alâ—o shewe that there â—â—aâ— in tyme to come bee so great an errour in the Churche that if it bee possible euen the veray elect and chosen shall bee deceiued to and seduced And leat these men I beseche you tell vs what manier of Churche and in what state did Christe fynde the churche at hys fyrst coÌ„myng Had not the Scribes the Pharisees the Priestes and the Bishops corrupted all together had they not peruerted all true religion wyth theyr tradicioÌ„s Yet is it not to bee thought that the Churche hath at any time been vtterly forsakeÌ„ or leaft in errour For there hath been euermore from tyme to tyme many good people whâ— this geare hath muche myslyked that haue openly cryed out against it And lyke as at hys fyrst coÌ„myng there was SymeoÌ„ Anne the wedowe Ioseph and the virgin Marie Elizabeth Ihon the Baptiste whiche wer godly folkes deuout and had special good opinion of god so that the Churche could not bee saied to bee vtterly forsakeÌ„ euen so hath it been dooen in these last tymes For the wholle vniuersal Curche is not leauened wyth tradicions of men They saye morouer that as touchyng that it is ordeined but to signifie betokeÌ„ the selfsame betokenyng maye bee dooen by breade and wyne at al meates whan men dyne and suppe and therefore no cause to bee why we should so hyghly esteme the sacrament of Eucharistia But thys argumente is as weake and as feble an argumente as is possible to bee For at coÌ„mon repastes there is not the lordes institucion there is no ordeinaunce of a sacramente there is not heard the lordes woordes nor there is not there any promisse of god therefore bee not these twoo to bee compared together Lastely there was an argument brought of the vertue and efficacie of goddes woorde whyche as Algerius citeth and allegeth in the seuenth chapitur of his first booke is called of Ambrose uerbum operatorium as if ye should saye in englishe a word of workyng of operacioÌ„ as by the whiche worde the breade wyne whiche remaine stil in their natures are yet neuerthelesse chaunged into another thyng But as touchyng the woordes of Ambrose we accepte them with good wille For we also putte that the breade the wyne dooe remaine stil in their owne natures not as the traÌ„substaÌ„ciatours affirme as touchyng the accideÌ„tes or the lykenesses fourmes of breade wyne so that the chauÌ„ge is made by alteracioÌ„ remouyng away of the substaunce but that we affirme aduouche the propre natures of breade wyne to bee kept still the haungyng to bee onely sacramental through grace And in thys our assercion we dooe nothyng derogate or diminishe froÌ„ the efficacie of the lordes woordes but yet we dooe not thynke that it is to attributed vnto them as to a kynde of enchauntimente or coniuâ—yng that how soeuer or in what soeuer place they bee pronounced by a prieste or ministre ouer breade wine wyth a mynde and intencion to consecrate they shal by and by haue that effecte For the wholle matier depeÌ„deth of the lordes institucioÌ„ of the action or workyng of the holy ghoste Now as for Algerius he is a man not muche to bee passed on for he was after the tyme of Berengarius maketh mencion of Berengarius â—ecantacion in hys wrytyng Than morouer of what a great and good iudgemente he was it is manifest of a certain argumente that he maketh For in the one and twenteeth chapitur of hys fyrst boke he wyllyng and labouryng to proue that aswel the godly as the vngodly dooe receiue Christes bodye in the sacramente whyche in dede foloweth necessaryly if there wer