sayeth. _Qui manducat carnem meā & bibit meum sanguinem in memanet & ego
in illo. Hoc est ergo manducare illā escam & illū bibere potum, in
Christo manere & illum manentē in se habere, ac per hoc qui non manet in
Christo & in quo non manet Christus proculdubio non manducat eius carnem
nec bibit sanguinē, etiā si tanterei sacramentum ad iudicium sibi
manducet & bibit._ That is to saye, he that eateth my fleshe and
drynketh my bloode, abydeth in me, and I in hym. This is therfore the
eatynge of that meate and drynkynge of that bloode, to abyde in Christe
and haue hym abydynge in vs. And therfor he that abydeth not in Christe,
and in whome Christe abydeth not, without doubte he eateth not Christes
fleshe nor drynketh not hys bloode, although he eate and drynke that
sacramēt of so greate a thynge vnto hys dampnacyon. And euē the same
wordes [Sidenote: Idē Beda super Cor. 10.] hath Bede vpon the Corynthyās
1. Corin. 10. Thys one place is suffycyent for to proue my purpose
though he sayde not one worde more. For here he doth playnelye
determyne, that he whiche abydeth not in Christe: that is to saye: he
that is wycked or vnfaythfull, doth not eate hys fleshe nor drynke hys
bloode, although he eate and drynke the Sacramēt of so greate a thynge.
And so muste it neades folowe, that the Sacramente is not the verye
naturall bodye of Christ. For then the vnfaythfull shulde eate hys
fleshe, seynge he eateth the Sacrament of hys bodye. But that doth S.
Austen denye, wherfor it muste neades folowe, that it is but onely a
token of a remembraunce, ād a sygne of hys bodye breakynge, and a
representacyon of hys passyon, [Sidenote: Rom. 5.] that we myght keape
hys facte in memorye, and geve hym thankes for hys tender loue and
kyndenes, whiche when we were hys enemyes toke vpon hym to suffer moste
vyle death, to reconcyle vs vnto his Father, and make vs hys frendes.
Thys sayenge hath S. Austen in a nother place also, [Sidenote: Augusti
deciuita: dei lib. 21.] where he wryteth on this maner. _Qui non in me
manet, & in quo ego non maneo, non se dicat aut existimet māducare
corpus meum, aut bibere sanguinem meum. [Sidenote: capi. 25.] Non itaq;
maneat in Christo qui non sunt eius membra: non sunt autem membra
Christi qui se faciunt membra meritricis._ That is to saye, he that
abydeth not in me, and in whome I abyde not, let hym not saye or thynke
that he eateth my bodye or drynketh my bloode. They abyde not in Christe
which are not hys mēbers. And they are not hys membres whiche make them
selues the membres of an harlote. And these are also the verye wordes of
Bede. Here is it playne proued agayne by the auctoryte of S. Austen and
Bede, [Sidenote: Beda super. 1. Cor. 6.] that the wycked and vnfaythfull
(whiche are not the membres of Christe) do not eate hys bodye nor drynke
hys bloode, and yet they do eate the Sacramēt as well as the other.
Wherfore you muste neades, graunte, that the Sacramēt is not the
naturall bodye of Christ but a fygure, tokē, or memoryall therof. Now
good Christē people counte not thys new learnynge which is confyrmed by
suche olde doctoures and faythfull fathers.
Now were thys ynough for a Christē man that loued no contencyon. But
because there are so manye sophysters in the worlde whiche care not what
they saye, so they holde not their peace, I muste neades sette some
bulwarke by this holy doctoure, to helpe to defende hym, for els they
wyll shortelye ouer rone hym (as they do me) ād make hym an heretyck
also. Therfore I wyll alleage hys master saynt Ambrose. Saynte Ambrose
sayeth [Sidenote: Ambrosi de sacra.] _Non iste panis qui uadit in corpus
a nobis tā anxie queritur, sed panis uitæ æterne que anime nostre
substanciam fulscit, qui autem discordat a Christo non manducat carnem
eius, nec bibit sanguinem eius, & si tante rei sacramentum iudicium sue
perdicionis accipit._ That is, this breade that goeth in to the bodye ys
not so gredelye sought of vs, but the breade of euerlastynge lyfe which
vpholdeth the substaunce of our soule. For he that dyscordeth from
Christ, doth not eate hys fleshe, nor drynke hys bloode, although he
receyue the sacramente of so greate a thynge vnto hys dampnacyon and
destruccyon. Furthermore, the greate clarke Prosper confyrmeth the same,
sayenge. [Sidenote: Prosper in libro sentenciarum.] _Qui discordat a
Christo nec carnem Christi manducat, nec sanguinem bibit, etiam si tantæ
rei sacramentum ad iudicium sue presumptionis quotidie indifferenter
accipiat._ That is, he that dyscordeth from Christ, doth neyther eate
hys fleshe, nor drynke hys bloode, although he receyueth indyfferently
euery daye the sacrament of so greate a thynge vnto the condempnacyon of
hys presumpcyon. And these are also the very wordes of Bede [Sidenote:
Idē Beda super 1. Cor. 11.] vpō the xi. Chapiter of the fyrste Epystle
to the Corynthyans.
Now you may see, that it ys not saynt Austens mynde onely, but also the
sayēge of many mo. And therfore I truste you wyll be good vnto hym. And
yf ye cōdempne not these holye Fathers, then am I wrongfullye punyshed.
But, yf you condempne them, then muste poore Iohan Fryth be contente to
beare the burthen wyth them.
The mynde & exposiciō of the olde doctours upon the wordes of Christes
maundye.
[Sidenote: More.] And where master More sayeth, that yf Chryste had not
ment after the playne litterall sense, that both the hearers at that
tyme, and the expositours sens, and all Christen people besyde thys
xv.c. yeare wolde not haue taken onelye the litterall sens beynge so
straunge and mervelous that yt myght seame impossyble, ād declyne from
the letter for allegoryes in all suche other thynges, beynge (as he
sayeth) and as in dede they be, so manye farre in nombre mo.
[Sidenote: Fryth.] ¶ As towchynge the hearers they were deceyued and
vunderstoode hym not (I meane as manye as toke hys wordes fleslye as you
do). And they had their answere of Christe (when they mourmured) that
hys wordes were spyrite and lyfe: that is (as S. Austen sayeth)
spirytually to be vnderstonde & not fleslye, as ys before declared. And
as for the exposytours, I thynke he hath not one of the olde fathers for
hym, but certen newe felowes: as Dominicus, S. Thomas, Occam, ād suche
other which haue made the Pope a God. And as I haue shewed S. Austen
maketh full for vs, and so do all the olde fathers. As Oecolompadius
hath well declared in hys boke. _Quid ueteres senserint de sacramento
eucharistiæ._ And some of their sayenges I shall alleage a none. And
where you saye that all Christen people haue so beleued this .1500.
yeares, that is very false. For there ys no doubte, but that the people
thought as holye Saynt Austen and other faythful fathers taught thē.
Which as I sayde, make with vs. Notwithstondynge in dede syth oure
prelates haue bene made lordes and haue sette vp their lawes and decrees
contrarye to the prerogatyue of all Prynces, and lyke moste subtle
traytours, haue made all men beleue that they may make lawes & bynde
mens cōscyences to obeye them: and that theyr lawes are Gods lawes,
blyndynge the peoples eyes wyth two or thre textes wrongfully wrested,
to avaunce their pryde, where they ought to obeye Kynges & Princes & be
subiect to their lawes, as Christ & hys Apostles were euē vnto the
death. Syth that tyme I say, they haue made mē beleue what they lyst, &
make artycles of the faythe at their pleasure. One artycle must be that
they be the church, ād cā not erre. And this ys the grounde of all their
doctryne. But the truth of this artycle ys now suffycyently knowē. For
yf quene Katheryne be Kynge Hēryes wyfe, thē they do erre, & yf she be
not, they haue thē erred. It is nowe become an artycle of our fayth that
the Pope of Rome must be the hede of the churche ād the vycar of
Christe: & that by Gods lawe. It is an artycle of our fayth, that what
soeuer he byndeth in earth, is boūde in heauē, in so moche that yf he
curse wrōgfully, yet yt must be feared, ād infynite suche other which
are not in our crede, but blessed be god that hath geuē some lyght in to
oure Prynces harte. For he hath lately put forth a boke called the
glasse of truth, which proueth many of these artycles very folysh
fātasyes, ād that euē by theyr owne doctours, and so I truste you shall
be proued in this poynt of the sacramēt. For though it be an artycle of
our fayth, yt is none artycle of our Crede in the .xij. artycles, whiche
are suffycyent for our saluacyon. And therfore we may thynke that you
lye without all Ieoperdye of dampnacyon.
Neuerthelesse seynge hys mastershyp sayeth that all make for hym, & I
say cleane contrarye, that allthe olde fathers make agaynste hym, it
were necessarye that one of vs shulde proue hys purpose. But in dede in
this poynte he wolde loke to haue the vātage of me. For he thynketh that
mē wyll sooner beleue him which is a greate mā, thē me which am but a
poore mā, ād that therfor I had more neade to proue my parte true, thē
he to proue hys. Well, I am content, and therfor geue eare dere reader
and iudge betwene vs.
[Sidenote: Tertullianus libro. 2. cōtra Marcionem. Tertullianus libro 4.
cōtra Marcionem.] First I wyll begynne with Tertulyan, because he is of
moste antiquyte. Tertullyan sayeth. _Ipse (Christus) nec panem
reprobauit quod ipsum corpus suum representat._ That is to saye: Christ
hym selfe ded not reproue or discōmēde breade which doth represent hys
bodye. For the vnderstōdynge of thys place, you must know that there was
an heretyke called Marcyō, which ded reproue creatures, & sayde that all
maner of creatures were euell. This thynge doth Tertullyā improue by the
sacramēt & sayeth. Christ ded not reproue or dyscōmende breade the which
doth represēt his bodye: as though he shulde say, yf Christ had counted
the breade euell, then wolde he not haue lefte yt for a sacrament to
represent hys bodye, meanynge that it is a sacramente, sygne, token, and
memoryall of hys bodye, and not the body ytselfe. And that this is hys
mynde, doth playnly appeare in his fourth boke, where he sayeth.
_Christus acceptū panē et distributū discipulis, corpus suū illud fecit:
hoc est corpus meū dicēdo, id est figura corporis mei. Figura autē non
fuisset, nisi ueritatis e ēt corpus. Vacua res quod est phātasma,
figuram capere non posset._
That ys to saye: Christe takynge breade and dystrybutynge vnto hys
discyples made yt hys bodye, sayēge. This ys my body. But thys breade
coulde not haue bene a figure of yt, excepte Christ had had a true
bodye. For a vayne thynge or a fantasye can take no fygure. For the
vnderstondynge of this place, you muste marke that this heretycke Marcyō
agaynst whome thys auctoure wryteth, ded holde opynyon that Christ had
no naturall bodye, but onelye a fantastycall bodye, ād this opynyon doth
thys doctoure improue by the sacrament of the aulter sayenge. The
sacrament ys a fygure of hys bodye: ergo Christ had a true bodye, ād not
a fantastycall bodye: For a vayne thynge or fantasye can take no fygure.
Loo, here doth this olde father which was longe before .S. Austen or .S.
Hierome, expounde these wordes of Christe. This is my bodye: that is to
saye, a fygure of my bodye. Therfor ye are to blame to call it new
lernynge. Nowe because they shall not of temeraryous presumpcyon reiecte
this olde father, I shall establyshe hys wordes by S. Austen, which
commendeth Christes meruelous pacyence for sufferynge so lōge that
traytour Iudas, as though he had bene a good man, and yet was not
ignorāt of hys wycked thoughtes. [Sidenote: Augusti.] _Adhibuit (inquit)
ad cōuiuium in quo corporis & sanguinis sui figura discipulis
commendauit ac tradidit._ That is to saye: [Sidenote: in prefa. Psalm.
3.] he admytted hym sayeth S. Austē vnto the mandye wherin he dede be
take and delyuer vnto the dyscyples the fygure of hys bodye and bloode.
Here doth thys holye father .S. Austē call yt the fygure of hys body.
And I am sure there is no mā so chyldyshe, but that he knoweth that the
fygure of Christe ys not Christe hym selfe, the fygure of .S. Peter ys
not saynt Peter hym selfe. And yet we do neuerthelesse commōly call
those fygures by the name of the thynge that they do represente. As I
maye saye when I see the fygure of .S. Peter, thys ys S. Peter to whome
Christe delyuered the keyes of the kyngdome of heauē. And yet he were a
foole that wolde thynke that fygure to be S. Peter hym selfe. For yt is
onelye a representacyon of hym. Besydes that S. Austen sayeth.
[Sidenote: Augusti in prefa. Psalm. 98.] _Non hoc corpus quod uidetis
estis manducaturi, nec bibituri illum sanguinem quem effusuri sunt qui
me crucifigent. Sacramentum aliquod uobis commendaui, spiritualiter
intellectum uiuificat nos, caro autem non prodest quicquam._ That ys to
saye: you shall not eate thys bodye that you see, nor drynke that bloode
which they that crucyfye me shall shedde out. I haue geuen a certayne
sacramente vnto you, yf yt be spirytually vnderstonde, yt quyckeneth
you: but the fleshe profyteth nothynge. What thynges can be more
playnely spoken?
Furdermore S. Austen sayeth. _Sepe ita loquimur ut Pascha appropinquante
crastinam uel perendinam Domini passionem dicamus: cum ille ante tam
multos annes passus sit, nec omnino nisi semel illa passio facta sit.
Nempe ipso die dominico dicimus bodie dominus resurrexit cum ex quo
surrexit tot anni transierunt. Quare nemo tam ineptus est, ut nos ita
loquentes arguat esse mentitos, quia istos dies secundum illorum quibus
hæc gesta sunt similitudinem nuncupamus: ut dicatur ipse dies qui non
sit ipse, sed reuolucio ne temporum similes eius: & dicatur illo die
fieri propter sacramenti celebrationem, quod non illo die, sed iam olim
factum est. Nonne semel immolatus est Christus in seipso? & tamen in
sacramento non solum per amnuas Paschæ solennitates, sed omni die pro
popuslis immola tur: nec utique mentitur qui interrogatus, responderit
eum immolari. Si enim sacramenta quandam similitudinem earum rerum
quarum sunt sacramenta non haberent, omnino sacramenta non essent. Ex
hac autem similitudine plerumque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt.
Sicut ergo secundum quendam modum sacramētum corporis CHRISTI corpus
CHRISTI est. Et sacramentum sanguinis CHRISTI sanguis CHRISTI est, ita
sacramenta fidei fides est, Nihil est autem aliud ud credere, quam fidem
habere, ac per hoc respondetur fidem habere propter fidei sacramenta. Et
conuertere se ad Deum propter conuersionis sacramentum. Quia & ipsa
responsio pertinet ad celebrationem sacramenti. Sicut de ipso baptismo
Apostolus dicit. Consepulti (inquit) sumus Christo per baptismum in
mortem, Non ait sepulturam significauimus, sed prorsus ait, consepulti
sumus. Sacramentum ergo tantæ rei non nisi eiusdem rei uocabulo
nuncupauit._
That is to saye: We often vse to saye, when Easter draweth nyghe, that
to morow or the nexte day is the Lordes passyō, ād yet yt is many yeares
sens he suffered, and that passyon was neuer done but ones. And vpon
that sondaye we saye, thys daye the Lorde ded ryse agayne, and yet yt ys
many yeares sens he rose. Now ys there no man so folyshe to reproue vs
as lyers for so sayenge, because we name these dayes after the
symylytude of those in which these thynges were done, so that yt is
called the same daye, which is not the verye same, but by the reuolucyon
of tyme lyke it. And yt is named to be done the same daye through the
celebracyon of the sacramēt (through kepynge the memoryall of the thynge
ones done) which ys not done that daye, but was done lōge before. Was
not Christe ones crucyfyed in hys owne parson? ād yet in a mysterye
(which is the remembraunce of hys very passyon) he ys crucyfyed for the
people not onely euery feaste of Easter, but euery daye. Neyther doth he
lye which (whē he is asked) answereth that he is crucyfyed. For yf the
sacramentes, had not certayne symylytudes of those thynges wherof they
are sacramentes, then shulde they be no sacramentes at all. And for thys
symylytude for the most parte they take the names of the very thynges,
and therfore after a certayne maner the sacramente of Christes bodye ys
Christes bodye, & the sacramēte of Christes bloode, is christes bloode,
so the sacramēt of faythe, is fayth. For yt ys nō other thyng to beleue,
thē to haue fayth, & therfore whē a mā āswereth that the infante
beleueth which hath not the affecte of fayth, he answereth that yt hath
faythe for the sacramēt of fayth: And that yt turneth yt selfe to GOD,
for the sacrament of conuersyon. For the answere yt selfe perteyneth
vnto the mynystrynge of the sacrament. As the Apostle wryteth of
Baptyme: we are buryed (sayeth he) wyth Christ through Baptyme vnto
death. He sayeth not, we sygnyfye buryenge, but vtterlye sayeth, we are
buryed. He called therfore the sacrament of so greate a thynge euen wyth
the propre name of the verye thynge it selfe. & ce. If a man wolde
avoyde contencyon and loke soberly vpon those wordes of Saynte Austen,
he shall soone perceyue the mysterye of thys matter. For euē as the
nexte good frydaye shalbe called the daye of Christes passyon: and yet
he shall not suffer death a gayne vpon that daye, for he dyed but ones
and is nowe immortall, euē so is the Sacrament called Christes bodye.
And as that daye is not the verye daye that he dyed vpon, but onelye a
remembraunce therof: So the Sacrament is not hys very naturall bodye,
but onelye a remembraunce of hys bodye breakynge and bloode sheadynge.
And lykewyse, as the nexte Easter daye shall be called the daye of hys
resurrectyon, not that it is the very same daye that Christe ded ryse
in, but a remembraunce of the same: Euen so the Sacrament is called hys
bodye: not that it is hys bodye in dede, but onely a remembraunce of the
same. And furdermore, euē as the Preste doth offer hym, that is to saye,
crucyfye hym at Masse, euē so is the sacramēt hys bodye. But the Masse
doth but onely represent hys passyon. And so doth the Sacrament
represent hys bodye. And yet though the Masse dothe but represent his
crucyfyēge, we maye trulye saye he is crucyfyed, euen so though the
Sacrament do but sygnyfye or represent hys bodye, yet may we trulye saye
that it is hys bodye. Why so? verely (sayeth he) for the sacramentes
haue a certayne symylytude of those thynges wherof they are sacramentes.
And for thys symylytude for the moste parte, they take the names of the
verye thynges. Blessed be God which hathe so clearelye dyscussed this
matter by thys faythfull Father. Notwithstondynge he doth yet expresse
it more playnelye sayēg: After a certayne maner the sacrament of
Christes bodye is Christes bodye. Beholde deare bretherne he sayeth,
after a certayne maner the sacramēt is Christes bodye. And by that you
maye soone knowe that he neuer mēte that it shulde be hys verye naturall
bodye in dede, but onelye a token and memoryall to keape in memorye the
death of hys bodye, and so to nouryshe our fayth. Besydes that, hys
symylytude which he after allegeth of Baptyme, doth througlye expoūde
this matter, for (sayeth he) the Apostle sayeth not, we sygnyfye
buryenge: but he sayeth, we are buryed, & yet in dede the Baptyme doth
but sygnyfye it. And therevpon .S. Austen addeth, that he called the
sacrament of so greate a thynge euen with the name of the verye thynge
it selfe. And lykewyse it is in our sacrament. Fynallye to be shorte, I
wyll passe ouer many places which I haue gathered out of this holye
father, and wyll towche but this one more. Saynte Austē sayeth.
[Sidenote: Augusti cōtr. adamantū.] _Non enim Dominus dubitauit dicere,
Hoc est corpus meum, cum daret signum corporis sui. Et in eoden capite
exponit. Sic est enim sanguis anima, quomodo petra erat Christus, nec
tamen petra (ait) significabat Christū, sed ait petra erat Christus._
That is to saye: The lorde doubted not to saye, this is my bodye, whē he
gaue a sygne of hys bodye. And after in the same chapyter he expoundeth
it. For trulye so the bloode is the soule, as Christe was the stone. And
yet the Apostle sayeth not, the stone ded sygnyfye Christ, but he sayeth
the stone was Christ.
Here S. Austen sayeth playnelye, that Christe called the sygne of hys
bodye, his bodye, and in this chapyter doth compare these thre textes of
scrypture, this is my bodye, the bloode is the soule, and Christe was
the stone: And declareth them to be one phrase, and to be expounded
after one fashyō. Now is there no mā so madde, as to saye, that Christe
was a naturall stone (excepte he be a naturall foole) whose Judgemēt we
neade not greately to regarde. Therefore we may well cōclude that the
sacrament is not his naturall bodye, but is called his bodye, for a
symylytude that it hath, wherin it sygnyfyeth & representeth his bodye.
And that the sacramēt of so greate a thynge is called euē with the name
of the very thynge it selfe. As s. Austē sayde. Thys were prove ynough
to conclude that all the olde Fathers ded holde the same opynyon, for
who wolde ones surmyse (seynge we haue. S. Austen so playne for vs which
is the cheafest amonge thē all) who wolde ones surmyse I say, that they
dyssented in thys greate matter frō the other faythfull fathers, or they
from hym? Neuerthelesse I dare not lett hym stōde post alone, leaste ye
dyspyse hym. And therfore I wyll shewe you the mynde of certayne other
also: and fyrste of hys master Saynt Ambrose.
[Sidenote: Ambrosi super illud mortē domini annuncia.] S. Ambrose
wrytynge vpon the Epystle of Paule to the Corynthyans in the .xi.
Chapter sayeth. _Quia enim morte Domini liberati sumus, huius rei in
edēdo & potādo, carnem & sanguinem qui pro nobis oblata sunt,
significamus._ That is to saye: because we be delyuered by the death of
the Lorde, in eatynge and drynkynge of thys thynge, meanynge of the
Sacrament, we sygnyfye the fleshe and bloode which were offered for vs.
Here doth S. Ambrose saye ynough, yf men were not sophysters, but wolde
be content with reason. For he sayeth that in eatynge and drynkynge the
Sacramēt of Christes bodye, we sygnyfye or represent the fleshe and
bloode of our sauyoure Iesus. Notwithstondynge be cause you are so
slyppery, we shall bynde you a lytle better by thys mās wordes.
[Sidenote: Ambrosi de sacra.] S. Ambrose sayeth. _Sed forte dices
speciem sanguinis non uideo, sed habet similitudinem. Sicut enim mortis
similitudinem sumpsisti, ita etiam similitudinem preciosi sanguinis
bibis._ That is to saye. But perauenture thou wylte saye, I see no
apperaunce of bloode, but it hathe a symylytude. For euē as thou haste
taken the symylytude of death, euen so thou drynkest the symylytude of
the precyous bloode. Here maye ye see by the conferrynge of these two
Sacramentes, what .S. Ambrose iudged of it. For he sayeth, euen as thou
haste taken a symylytude of hys death in the sacramēt of baptyme, so
doste thou drynke a symylytude of hys precyouse bloode in the Sacrament
of the Aulter. And yet as S. Austen sayde before, the Apostle sayeth,
not we sygnyfye buryenge, but sayeth, we are buryed. And lykewyse here
Christe sayde, not this sygnyfyeth my bodye, but this is my bodye,
callynge the Sacrament, a sygne, token, and memoryall of so greate a
thynge, euen with the name of the verye thynge it selfe. Thus doth S.
Ambrose choke our sophysters.
Neuerthelesse I wyll alleage one place more out of Ambrose, where he
sayeth. [Sidenote: Ambrosi lib .3. de sacramē.] _Dicit sacerdos fac
nobis hanc oblationē scriptam rationabilem, quod est figura corporis
Domini nostri Iesu Christi._ That is: the Preste sayeth, make vs this
oblacyon acceptable. & ce. For it is a fygure of the bodye of our Lorde
Iesus Chryst. Here he calleth it playnelye a fygure of Christes bodye,
which thynge you can not avoyde. Therfore geue prayse vnto God and lette
hys trouth sprede, which is so playnelye testyfyed, by these holye
Fathers. Now lette vs see what S. Hierome sayeth.