declared hym to be an euyll parson because he was slayne: I maye say
nay, and shewe euydēt examples of the contrarye. For somtyme God geueth
the vyctorye agaynst them that haue moste ryghtuouse cause, as it is
evydent in the boke of Iudicum, [Sidenote: Iudi. 20.] where all the
chylderne of Israell were gathered together to punyshe the shamefull
sodometrye of the trybe of Beniamyn, whyche were in nōbre but .25.
thousande. And the Israelytes were .CCCC. thousāde fyghtynge men, whiche
came in to Silo, and asked of God who shulde be their capytayne agaynst
Beniamyn. And they beynge but .xxv. thousāde slewe of the other
Israelytes .12. thousande in one day: Thē fledde the chylderne of
Israell vnto the Lorde in Silo, and made greate lamentacyon before hym
euen vntyll nyght. And asked hym counsell sayenge. Shall we go any more
to fyght agaynste the trybe of Beniamyn oure brotherne or not? God sayde
vnto them yes, go vp and fyght agaynste them. Then went they the nexte
day and faught agaynste them, and there were slayne agayne of the
Israelites .18. thousande men: Then came they backe agayne vnto the
house of God, and sate downe and wepte before the Lorde, and fasted that
daye vntyll euen, and asked hym agayne whether they shulde anye more
fyght agaynste theyr bretherne or not. God sayde vnto them yes, to morow
I wyll delyuer thē in to your hādes. And the nexte day was the trybe of
Bēiamyn vtterly dystroyed, sauynge .600. men which hydde themselues in
the wyldernes. Here yt is evydent that the chylderne of Israell loste
the vyctorye twyse, and yet not withstondynge had a iuste cause, and
faught at Godds commaundement. Besydes that, Iudas Machabeus, was
slayne, in a ryghtuouse cause, as yt is manyfest in the fyrst boke of
the Machabees. [Sidenote: Machabe. 9.] And therfore yt can be no evydent
argument of the vēgeaunce of God, that he was slayne in battayle in a
ryghtuouse cause, and therfore me thynketh that this manne ys to
malaperte so bluntly to enter in to Goddes Iudgement, ād geue sentence
in that matter before he be called to counsell. Thus haue I suffycyētly
touched hys preface, for those poyntes that he afterwarde towched more
largely haue I wyllyngly passed, because I shall towche them earnestly
hereafter. Nowe lette vs see what he proueth.
[Sidenote: Master More.] ❧ It ys a greate wonder to see vpon how lyght
and sleyght occasyons, he ys fallen vnto these abhomynable heresyes. For
he denyeth not nor can not say nay, but that our sauyour sayde hym
selfe, my fleshe ys verely meate and my bloode ys verely drynke. He
denyeth not also that Christ hym selfe at his last souper, takynge the
breade in to hys blessed handes, after that he had blessed yt sayde vnto
hys discyples. Take you thys and eate yt, thys is my bodye, that shall
be geuen for you. And lykewyse gaue them the chalyce after hys blessynge
and consecracyon, and sayde vnto them, thys ys the chalyce of my bloode
of the newe testament, whyche shalbe shedde out for manye, do ye thys in
remembraunce of me.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ It is a greate wonder to see howe ygnoraunte their
proctoure ys, in the playne textes of scrypture. For yf he had any
iudgement at all he myght well perceyue that when Christe spake these
wordes, my fleshe ys verely meate and my bloode ys verely drynke, he
spake nothynge of the sacramēte. For yt was not instytuted vntyll hys
laste souper. And these wordes were spoken to the Iewes longe before,
and ment them not of the carnall eatynge or drynkynge of hys bodye or
bloode, but of the spirytuall eatynge, which is done by faythe and not
wyth tothe, ād bellye. Wherof Saynt Austen sayeth vpon thys Gospell of
Iohan, why preparest thou other tothe or bellye? beleue and thou haste
eaten hym. So that Christes wordes must here be vnderstonde spirytually.
And that he calleth hys fleshe verymeate, is because that as meate by
the eatynge of yt & digestynge yt in our body dothe strengthen these
corruptyble membres, so lykewyse doth Christes fleshe (by the beleuynge
that yt taketh our synne vpon yt selfe and suffered the death to delyuer
vs) strengthen our immortall soule. And lykewyse as drynke when yt is
dronken, doth comforte and quycken our frayle nature, So lykewyse both
Christes bloode by the drynkynge of yt in to the bowells of our soule,
that ys by the belevynge and remembrynge that yt ys shedde for our
synnes, comforte and quycken our soule vnto euerlastynge lyfe. And thys
is the eatynge and drynkynge that he speaketh of in that place. And that
yt is so you may perceyue by the texte folowynge which sayeth. He that
eateth my bodye & drynketh my bloode dwelleth in me and I in hym, which
ys not possyble to be vnderstonde of the Sacrament. For it is false to
saye, that he that eateth the Sacrament of hys bodye and drynketh the
sacrament of hys bloode, dwelleth in Christe and Christe in hym. For
some man receyueth yt vnto hys condempnacyō. And thus doth .S. Austen
expounde yt sayenge. _Hoc est enim Christum manducare, in illo manere, &
illum manentem in se habere._ Thys is the very eatynge of Christe, to
dwell in hym, and to haue hym dwellynge in vs. So that who so euer
dwelleth in Christ (that ys to saye) beleueth that he is sent of God to
saue vs from our synnes doth verely eate ād drynke hys bodye and bloode,
although he neuer receyued the sacrament. Thys ys the spirytuall eatynge
necessarye for all that shalbe saued. For there ys no man that cōmeth to
God without this eatynge of Christ, that is the beleuynge in hym. And so
I denye not but that Christ speaketh these wordes, but surelye he ment
spyrytually. As S. Austen declareth, ād as the place playnely proueth.
And as towchynge the other wordes [Sidenote: Mat. 26.] that Christe
spake vnto hys dyscyples at hys laste souper, I denye not but that he
sayde so, but that he so steshely mēt as ye falsely fayne, I vtterly
denye. For I saye that hys wordes were then also spyrite and lyfe, and
were spyritually to be vnderstonde. And that he called yt hys bodye,
[Sidenote: Ioan. 6.] for a certayne propertye, euen as he called hym
selfe [Sidenote: Ioan. 15.] a very vyne, and hys dyscyples very vyne
braunches, and as he called hym selfe a dore: [Sidenote: Ioan. 10.] not
that he was so in dede, but for certayne propertyes in the symylytudes.
[Sidenote: Gen. 35.] As a man for some propertye sayeth of hys
neyghbours horsse, this horsse is myne vp and downe, meanynge that yt is
in euery thynge so lyke. [Sidenote: Gen. 32.] And lyke as Iacob buylded
an aulter and called yt the God of Israel, and as Iacob called the place
where he wrasteled with the Angell, the face of God, and as the pascall
lambe was called the passynge bye of the Lorde. [Sidenote: Ezech. 5.]
And as a broken potsherde was called Hierusalem, not for that they were
so in dede, but for certayne symylytudes in the propertyes, and that the
very name yt selfe myght put men in remembraunce what ys ment by the
thynge, as I suffycyently declared in my fyrste treatyse.
[Sidenote: More.] He muste neades confesse, that they that beleue that
yt ys the very bodye and hys very bloode in dede, haue the playne wordes
of our sauyoure hym selfe vpon their syde, for the grounde and
foundacyon of their faythe.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ That is very true, and so haue they the very wordes
of God, whiche saye a broken potsherde ys Hierusalem, and that Christe
is a stone, and that Christe is a vyne and a dore. And yet yf they shuld
beleue or thynke that he were in dede any of these thynges, they were
neuerthelesse deceyued. For though he so sayde, yet I saye hys wordes
were spirituall ād spiritually to be vnderstonde.
[Sidenote: More.] ❧ And where you saye that I flye from the faythe of
playne and open scryptures, and for the allegorye destroye the true
sence of the letter.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ I answere that some textes of scripture are onelye
to be vnderstonde after the letter: As when Paule sayeth, Christ
[Sidenote: Rom. 4.] dyed for our synnes & rose agayne for ourre
iustificacyō. And some textes are onely to be vnderstonde spirytually or
in the way of an allegory: As whē Paule sayth, [Sidenote: 1. Cor. x.]
Christe was the stone. And when Christe sayeth hym selfe. [Sidenote:
Johā. xv.] I am a very vyne. [Sidenote: Johan. x.] I ā the doore. And
some must be vnderstōde both lytterallye, and spirytuallye: As when God
sayde, out of Egypte called I my sonne, [Sidenote: Ozee. 11.] whyche
although it were lytterallye fulfylled in the chylderne of Israel when
he brought them out of Egypte with greate power and wōders, yet was yt
also mente ād veryfyed in Christ hym selfe, [Sidenote: Math. 2.] hys
very spyrytuall sonne, which was called out of Egygte after the death of
Herode. And agayne yt is very spiritually fulfylled in vs whyche through
Christes bloode are delyuered from the Egypte of synne, and from the
power of Pharao the devyll. And I say that this texte of scripture, this
is my bodye, ys onely spirytually to be vnderstonde, ād not lytterallye.
And that doth S. Austen also confyrme, which wryteth vnto Adamantus and
sayeth. These sentences of scripture, Christ was the stone, the bloode
ys the soule, and thys is my bodye, are fyguratyuelye to be vnderstonde
(that is to say) spiritually, or by the way of ā allegorye, & thus haue
I. S. Austē whollye vpon my syde, whiche thynge shall yet hereafter more
playnely appere.
[Sidenote: More.] ❧ Nowe hys example of hys brydgromes rynge I very well
alowe. For I take the blessed sacramēt to be left with vs for a very
token and a memoryall of Christe in dede. But I say that the whole
substaūce of the same token & memoryall, is hys owne blessed bodye. And
so I saye that Christe hathe lefte vs a better token then this man wolde
haue vs take yt for. And therin he fareth lyke a mā, to whō a brydgrome
had delyuered a goodly golde rynge with a ryche Rubye therin, to delyuer
to hys bryde for a token. And then he wolde lyke a false shrewe, keape a
waye that golden rynge and geue the bryde in steade thereof, a proper
rynge of aryshe, and tell her that the brydgrome wolde sende her no
better. Or els lyke one that when the brydgrome hadde geuen soche a
rynge of golde to hys bryde for a tokē, wyll tell her playne, ād make
her beleue, that the rynge were but coper or brasse, to mynyshe the
brydgromes thanke.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ I am ryght gladde that ye admytte myne exāple, ād
graūte that the sacramēt is lefte to be a very tokē and memoryall of
Christe in dede. But where you saye, that the whole substaunce of the
same token ād memoryall is hys owne blessed bodye, that is sooner sayde
than proued. And where you saye that we fare lyke a false shrewe that
wolde keape the golde rynge from the bryde, and geue her a rynge of a
ryshe, or tell her that her golde rynge were coper or brasse, to mynyshe
the brydgromes thāke. I answere that we deny not but that the ryng ys
most fyne golde, and is sette wyth as ryche Rubyes as can be gotten. For
that rynge (I meane the Sacrament) ys not onely a moste perfecte token
and a memoryall of the brydegromes benefyttes ād vnfayned fauoure on hys
partye, but yt is also on the other partye a thankes geuynge for the
gracyous gyftes which she vndoubtedly knowlege her selfe to haue
receyued. For as verely as that breade ys broken amōge thē, so verely
was Christes bodye broken for their synnes. And as verely as they
receyue that breade in to their bellye through eatynge yt, so verelye do
they receyue the frute of hys death in to their soules by beleuynge in
hym. And therfor they assemble to that souper, not for the valoure of
the breade, wyne, or meate, that ys there eate, but for the intent to
geue hym thankes commonly a monge them all, for hys inestymable goodnes.
But to procede vnto our purpose, yf a man wolde come vnto the bryde, and
tell her that thys goodly golde rynge were her owne brydgrome, both
fleshe bloode ād bones (as you do) then I thynke yf she haue anye wytte,
she myght answere hym, that he mocked, and the more he sayde yt, the
lesse she myght beleue hym, and saye that yf that were her owne
brydgrome, what shulde she thē neade any remēbraunce of hym, or why
shulde he geue it her for a remembraunce. For a remembraunce
presupposeth the thynge to be absent, and therfore yf thys be a
remembraunce of hym, than can he not here be present.
[Sidenote: More.] ❧ I meruell therfore moche, that he is not a frayde,
to affyrme that these wordes of Christe, of hys bodye and of hys bloode,
muste neades be vnderstonde by waye of a symylytude or an allegorye, as
the wordes be of the vyne and the doore. Nowe this he knoweth well, that
though some wordes spokē by the mouthe of Christe be to be vnderstonde
onely by waye of a symylytude or an allegorye, yet foloweth it not
thervpon, that euery lyke worde of Christe in other places was non other
but an allegorye, for suche was the shyfte and cauyllacyon that the
wycked Arryans vsed which toke from Christes parson hys omnypotent
Godhed.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ I graunte that the Arryans erred, for as Master
More sayeth, though in some place a worde betakē fyguratyuely, it
foloweth not therfor that in euery other place, it shulde lykewyse be
takē. But one questyō muste I aske hys mastershyppe, how doth he knowe
that there is any worde or texte in scripture that muste be takē
fyguratyuely, that is by the waye of a symylytude, or as he calleth yt a
necessarye allegory? I thynke (though some mē may assygne other good
causes ād euydences) that the fyrst knowelege ys by other textes of
scrypture. For yf other textes be cōferred vnto yt, and wyll not stonde
with the litterall sence, then I thynke yt muste neades be taken
spirytually or fyguratyuelye, as there are infynyte textes in scripture.
Now when I see that .S. Thomas whiche felte Christes woundes ād put hys
fynger in hys syde, called hym hys Lorde and God, and that no texte in
scrypture repugneth vnto the same, but that they may well stonde
together, me thynketh yt were foly to affirme that this word, God, in
that texte shulde be taken fyguratyuely or by waye of an allegorye: But
nowe in our matter the processe of scripture wyll not stonde with the
lytterall sence, as shall here after appeare. And therfor necessyte
compellethe vs to expounde yt fyguratyuelye, as doth also S. Austen and
other holy doctours, as hereafter shall playnely appeare.
[Sidenote: More.] ❧ If euery man that can fynde out a newe fonde
fantasye vpon a text of holy scrypture, may haue his owne mynd takē, and
hys owne exposicyon beleued agaynste the exposycyons of the olde
connynge doctours and sayntes, then may you surely see that none artycle
of the Christen fayth, can stonde and endure longe. And then he
alleageth .s. Hierome, which sayth, that yf the exposycion of other
interpretours, and the consent of the common catholycke churche, were of
no more strēgth but that euery mā myght be beleued that coulde brynge
some textes of scrypture for hym, expounded as it pleaseth hym selfe,
then coulde I (sayth this holy mā) brynge vpe a newe secte also, and
saye by scrypture, that no man were a true Christen man, nor a membre of
the churche, that keapeth two cootes. And in good fayth (sayth master
More) yf that waye were alowed I were able my selfe to fynde out fyftene
newe sectes in one fore none.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ Saynte Peter sayeth that the scripture is not
expounded after the appetyte of any pryuate parson, but euē as yt was
geuen by the spyrite of God, and not by mānes wyll: so muste yt be
declared by the same spiryte. And therfore I wyll not that any mā shalbe
beleued, by bryngynge hys owne mynde and fantasye. But yf he wyll be
beleued, let hym brynge eyther an other playne texte, which shall
expounde the fyrste, or els at the leaste he muste brynge suche a
manyfest sentence, as wyll stonde wyth the processe of the scripture.
Whye was Saynt Hierome alowed agaynst the determynacyon of the counsell
of Meldeley, syth he was alone, and they a greate multytude, but onely
because he brought euydent scrypture, which at the tyme of their
sentence, none of them remembred ād yet when yt was brought, they coulde
not auoyde yt. And lykewyse excepte I brynge euydent scripture which
they all shall expounde as I do, I desyre not to be beleued. And where
master More sayeth, that in good fayth he were able to fynde out fyftene
newe sectes in one fore none, he may thanke GOD that he hathe suche a
pregnaunte wytte: But yet I truste he shulde not fynde one (yf there
were any parell of dāpnacyō therin) but that we wolde with a playne
texte confute yt, which he shulde not be able to avoyde.
[Sidenote: More.] ❧ And ouer this, the very cyrcumstaunces of the places
in the Gospell in which our sauyour speaketh of that sacramente, may
well make open the defference of hys speache in this matter, and of all
the other, and that as he spake all those but in an allegorye, so spake
he this, playnely meanynge that he spake of hys very bodye and hys very
bloode, besyde all allegoryes. For when our Lorde sayde, he was a very
vyne, and when he sayd he was the dore, there was none that harde hym,
that any thynge merueled therof. And whye: For because they perceyued
well, that he ment not that he was a materyall vyne in dede, nor a dore
neyther: But when he sayde that hys fleshe was very meate, and hys
bloode very drynke, and that they shulde not be saued but yf they ded
eate hys fleshe and drynke hys bloode, then were they all in suche a
wonder therof, that they coulde not abyde. And wherfor, but because they
perceyued well by hys wordes and hys maner of circumstaunces, that
Chryste spake of hys very fleshe and hys very bloode in dede.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ It is openly knowen and confessed amonge all
learned men, that in the [Sidenote: Ioan. 6.] .6. chapytre of Ioan,
Christe spake not one worde concernynge the sacrament of hys bodye and
bloode (which at that tyme was not yet instytuted) but all that he there
spake was of the spyrytuall eatynge ād drynkynge of hys bodye, and
bloode, as I haue towched before. And the circumstaunces of this place
do in dede proue that they were fleshly mynded, and vnderstoode not the
spirytuall wordes of our sauyoure Christ, and therfor wondered and
mourmured. In so moche that Christe sayde vnto them, doth this offende
you: What wyll ye say then whē ye shall see the sone of man ascendynge
thyther where he was before: Thē (addeth S. Austen) you shall knowe that
he ment not to geue hys fleshe to eate with your teth: for he shall
ascende whole. And Christ addeth, it is the spirite that quyckeneth, the
fleshe profyteth nothynge, the wordes that I speake, are spirite ād
lyfe: that is to say, sayeth S. Austen, are spirytually to be
vnderstonde. And where Christ sayeth, that the fleshe profyteth nothynge
(meanynge of hys owne fleshe, as S. Austē sayeth) he meaneth that it
profyteth not, as they vnderstoode hym, that is to saye, it profyteth
not, if it were eatē. But it doth moche profyte to be slayne, that
through it and the shedynge of hys blode, the wrath of God our Father is
pacyfyed, ād our synnes forgeuen. And where his mastershyp sayeth that
the people perceyued well what he ment, and therfor wōdered so sore ād
coulde not abyde, because they perceyued well by hys wordes ād maner of
cyrcumstaunces what hys meanynge was. I wyll say as I ded before, that
they vnderstoode hym not. Nowe here he wyll saye vnto me, if it be but
your naye and my yea, then I wolde thynke to be beleued as soone as you,
and surelye that were but reason. Not withstondynge (thankes be to God)
I am able to brynge in auctoryte to Iudge betwene vs bothe, whose
Iudgemēt I truste hys mastershyp wyll admytte. Thys autoure is .S.
Austen which sayeth. [Sidenote: Augusti in sermo ad infan.] _Discipuli
enim eius qui cum sequebantur expauerunt & exhorruerunt sermonem non
intelligentes._ That is to saye, his dyscyples whiche folowed hym, were
a stoyned, and abhorred hys wordes, ād vnderstoode thē not. And because
your mastershype shall not thynke that he over schotte hym selfe, and
spake he wyste not what, we shall alledge hym sayenge the same wordes in
an other place. [Sidenote: Aug. 54.] _Cum diceret. Nisi quis
manducauerit carnem .& c. Illi non intelligentes dixerunt ad inuicē.
Durus est hic sermo, quis potest eum audire?_ That is, when Christ
sayde, excepte a man eate my fleshe and drynke my bloode, he shall haue
no lyfe in hym, they because they vnderstoode hym not, sayde to eche
other, this is an harde sayenge, who can heare hym? Thus I truste you
wyll geue place (although not to me) yet at the leaste vnto Saynte
Austen, and receyue the truth whiche is so playnelye proved.
And where hys mastershyp alleageth this texte for the Sacramente, that
excepte they ded eate hys fleshe and drynke hys blode they coulde not be
saued, yt seameth that he is fallen in to the erroure of Pope Innocēt,
which lykewyse vnderstōdynge this texte vpon the Sacrament (as master
More doth) caused yonge chylderne and infantes to receyue the Sacrament,
as though they had all bene dampned which dyed and had not receyued it.
And of thys Carnall mynde were many mo Byshoppes a greate whyle (as are
now the Bohemes, whome he after dysprayseth, and yet expoundeth the
texte as they do) but afterward they loked more spirytually vpō the
matter and confessed their ignoraunce, as I truste master More wyll. But
now wyll I shew you .S. Austens mynde vpō this texte, which shall helpe
for the exposycyon of all thys matter. [Sidenote: Augustinus libro 3 de
doctrina christiana.] S. Austen in the thyrde boke de doctrina
christiana the .16. chapytre, teachynge how we shall knowe the tropes,
fygures, allegoryes, and phrases of the scrypture sayeth. _Si aūt
flagitium aut facinus iubere uidetur, figurata locutio est. Nisi
manducaueritis (inqt) carnem filij hominis et biberitis eius sanguinē,
non habebitis uitam in uobis. Facinus uel flagitium uidetur iubere.
Figura est ergo precipiens passionis dominicæ esse comunicandū et
suauiter atque utiliter in memoria recondendum, quod pro nobis caro eius
crucifixa & uulnerata sit._ That is to saye: when so euer the scrypture
or Christe seameth to commaunde any fowle or wycked thynge, than muste
that texte be taken fyguratyuelye, and that it is a phrase, allegorye,
and maner of speakynge, ād muste be vnderstonde spyrytually and not
after the letter. Excepte (sayeth Christ) ye eate the fleshe of the
sonne of man and drynke hys bloode ye shall haue no lyfe in you. He
seameth (sayeth S. Austen) to cōmaunde a fowle and a wycked thynge. It
ys therfore a fygure, commaundyng vs to be partakers of hys passyon, and
swetely ād profytablye to prynte in our mynde that hys fleshe was
crucyfyed and wounded for vs. This truth (thankes be to God) doth S.
Austen declare vnto vs, which thynge besyde the openyng of thys texte
agaynst master Mores mynd, doth playnely shew what he thought in the
holye wordes of Christes souper. For syth he called yt a fowle and
wycked thynge to eate hys fleshe, than may you soone perceyue, that he
thought yt ys fowle and as wycked a thynge to eate hys bodye, seynge hys
bodye ys fleshe, and then consequently yt shall folowe, that eyther thys
worde eate (where Christe sayde take thys and eate yt) muste be taken
spirytually, or els that thys sayēge of Christe, thys is my body, muste
be fyguratyuely spoken, but this worde, eate, ys taken after the letter
(for they ded in dede eate the breade) therfore yt muste neades folowe,
that thys sentēce (thys is my bodye) muste be fyguratyuely spoken. Or
els ys .S. Austen not to be approued in thys place, which thynge our
Byshoppes I thynke, wyll not saye naye.
Besydes that .S. Austen sayeth. [Sidenote: Augustinus in sermone ad
infantes.] _Quando loquebatur dominus noster Iesus Christus de corpore
suo, nisi (inquit) quis manducauerit carnem meam et biberit sanguinè
meum, non habebit in se uitam. Caro enim mea uere est cibus, & sanguis
meus uere est potus. Intellectus spiritualis credentem saluum facit,
quia littera occidit, spiritus est qui uiuificat._ That is to saye: when
our Lorde Iesus Christe spake of hys bodye, excepte (sayeth he) a man
eate my fleshe and drynke my bloode, he shall haue no lyfe in hym selfe,
for my fleshe is verye meate, and my bloode is very drynke. The
spyrytuall vnderstondynge saueth hym that beleueth, for the letter
kylleth, but the spirite quyckeneth. Here may you playnlye perceyue,
that thys texte muste onely be taken spyrituallye. For he sayeth, that
to take it after the letter it kylleth and profyteth nothynge at all, &
therfor I wonder that we haue bene ledde so longe in this grosse
erroure.
[Sidenote: Orig. in leuiti. homi .7.] This sayenge doth that famous
clarke Origene, confyrme sayēg. _Agnosce, figuræ sunt que in uoluminibus
Domini scriptæ sunt: & ideo tanquā spirituales & non tanquam carnales,
examinate & intelligite quæ dicuntur. Si enim secundum litteram sequaris
hoc ipsum quod dictum est, Nisi manducaueritis carnē &c. Occidit hæc
littera._ That is to saye: Marke that they are fygures which are wrytē
in the scrypture of God. And therfore examyne them as spyrytuall men and
not as Carnall, ād vnderstonde those thynges that are spoken. For if
thou folowe after the letter, this thynge that is spokē: excepte ye eate
the fleshe of the sone of man and drynke hys bloode, you cā haue no lyfe
in you, this letter kylleth. Alas deare bretherne why shulde any mā be
offended with thys doctryne, seynge it is approued so playnelye, by
suche auncyent and holy Fathers.