also therof neades folowe, that the sacramente is not hys naturall
bodye. For they do eate the sacramēte as all men knowe. Besydes that the
faythfull do not eate Christes bodye with their teth. And therfore it
muste folowe that the wycked do not eate it with their teth. The
antecedēt or fyrst parte of the reason is proued by the wordes of
Christe which sayeth, [Sidenote: Ioan. 6.] that the fleshe profyteth
nothynge at all, meanynge that it doth not profyte as they vnderstode
hym: that is to saye: yt profyteth nothynge to be eaten carnallye with
their teth and bellye, as they vnderstode hym. For els it profyteth
moche to be eaten spyrytuallye, that is to saye: to beleue that through
hys bodye breakynge ād bloode sheadynge our synnes are pourged. And thus
doth Origene, S. Austē, Bede, Chrisostome, ād Athanasius expounde it, as
appeareth in the boke before. And therfore Fryth sayeth, that onelye
faythfull men eate hys bodye: not with their teth and mouth, but with
their fayth ād harte, they dygeste it in to the bowelles of their soules
through beleuynge that it was broken on the crosse, to washe awaye their
synnes. And the wycked eate not hys bodye but onelye the breade and
their dampnacyon, because they eate him not spirytually, that is:
because they beleue not in hys bodye breakynge and bloode sheadynge.
¶ The thyrde poynte wherin Fryth dyssēteth frō your Prelates & their
proctoure.
The Prelates beleue that mē ought to worshyppe the Sacramēte, but Fryth
sayeth naye, and affyrmeth that it is Idolatrye to worshyppe it. And he
sayeth that Christ and hys Apostles taught vs not so to do: neyther ded
the holy fathers so teache vs. And Fryth sayth, that the autours of thys
worshyppynge are the chylderne of perdycyō which haue ouerwhelmed thys
worlde with synne. Neuerthelesse we muste receyue it reuerētlye, because
of the doctryne that it bryngeth vs. For it preacheth Christes death
vnto vs, & descrybeth it before our eyes, euē as a faythfull preacher by
the worde doth instyll yt in to vs by our eares and hearynge. And that
yt supplyeth the rowme of a preacher, is evydēt by the wordes of S.
Austen which sayeth. _Paulus quamuis portaret sarcinā corporis quod
aggrauat animā, potuit tamen significando predicare Dominū Iesum
Christum, aliter per linguā suam, aliter per epistolā, aliter per
sacramētū corporis Christi._ That is to saye: though Paule ded beare the
burthen of the bodye which doth honorate the soule, yet was he able in
sygnyfyenge to preache the Lorde Iesus Christe, one waye by hys tonge,
and another waye by a Ēpystle, & a nother waye by the Sacrament of
Christes bodye .&c. For as the people by vnderstondynge the sygnyfycacyō
of the wordes which he spake ded heare the gloryous gospell of God, & as
by the readynge of hys Epystle they vnderstode hys mynd, & receyued the
wordes of the soules health, so by the mynystracyon of the sacrament
they myght see with their eyes the thynge which they harde & red, & so
haue their sēces occupyed a boute the mystery, that they myght the more
earnestlye prynte it in their mynde. As by exāple: [Sidenote: Hier. 27.]
The prophete Ieremye beynge in Ierusalē in the tyme of Sedechias Kynge
of the Iewes, prophesyed ād preached vnto thē, that they shuld be takē
presoners of Nabugodonosar the Kyng of Babylō. And the Iewes were angrye
with hym & wolde not beleue hys wordes. And therfore he made a chayne or
fetter of woode ād put thē a boute hys necke, ād prophecyed agayne, ād
preached that they shulde be taken presoners ād ledde captyue in to
Babylon. And as hys wordes ded certyfye their eares that they shulde be
subdued, so the chayn ded represēt their captyuite euē before their
eyes, which thynge ded more vehementlye worke in them then the bare
wordes coulde do, ād euen so it is in the sacrament. For lykewyse as the
wordes ded instyll it in to our eares, that hys bodye was geuen for vs,
ād hys bloode shedde for the remyssyon of our synnes, euen so ded the
mynystracyon of the Sacrament expresse the same thynge vnto our syght
and dothe more effectuouslye moue vs, thē the bare wordes myght do, and
make vs more attentyue vnto the thynge, that we maye whollye geue
thankes vnto God ād prayse hym for hys boūteous benefyttes. And therfor
seynge it is as a preacher, expressynge vnto our syght the same thynge
that the wordes do to our eares, you muste receyue yt with reverence ād
sober behavyoure, aduertysynge the thynge that it representeth vnto you.
And euen the same honoure is due vnto it which is geuē vnto the
scrypture that is the worde of God. For vnto that must a man devoutlye
geue eare, ād reverentlye take the boke in hys hande: yea, & yf he kysse
the boke for the doctrynes sake that he learneth thereout, he is to be
commended. Neuerthelesse yf he shulde go sense hys boke, men myght well
thynke that he were verye chyldyshe. But yf he shulde knele downe and
praye to hys boke, then he ded cōmytte playne Idolatrye.
Consyder deare bretherne what I say, and avoyde thys Ieoperdye. Which
thynge avoyded, I care not as towchynge the presence of hys bodye,
though you beleue that hys naturall fleshe be there in dede, and not
onelye in a mystery, as I haue taught. For when the Ieoperdye is paste,
he were a foole that wolde be cōtencyous for a thynge, as longe as there
commeth no hurte therbye.
The Germaynes which beleue the presence of hys bodye, do not worshyppe
it, but playnly teache the contrarye, and in that poynte (thankes be to
God) all they whome you call heretyckes do agre full well. Onelye avoyde
thys Idolatrye, and I desyre no more.
The cōclusyon of thys Treatyse.
Nowe deare bretherne I beseche you for the mercye that ye loke for in
Christ Iesu, that you accepte thys worke with a syngle eye ād no
contencyous harte. For necessyte hath compelled me to wryte it, because
I was informed both of my Lorde of Wynchester ād other credyble parsons,
that I had by the meanes of my fyrst treatyse offended many mē. Which
thynge maye well be true: For it was to slender to enstructe all them
which haue sens seane it, albeit it were suffycyent for their vse to
whome it was fyrst delyuered. And therfore I thought it not onelye
expedyent but also necessarye, to enstructe them further in the truth,
that they myght see playne euydence of that thynge, wherin they were
offended.
By thys worke you shall espye their blasphemyes ād venemous tonges
wherwith they slaunder not one ly thē that publyshe the truthe, but euen
the truth yt selfe. They shame not to saye, that we affyrme yt to be
onelye breade, and nothynge els. And we saye not so: but we saye that
besyde the substaunce of breade, it is the Sacrament of Christes bodye
ād bloode. As the yvye hangynge before the taverne doore is more then
bare yvye. For besyde the substaunce of yvye, it is a sygne, and
sygnyfyeth that there is wyne to be solde. And thys sacrament sygnyfyeth
vnto vs, and poynteth out before our eyes, that as verely as that breade
is broken, so verelye was Christes bodye brokē for our synnes: And as
that breade is dystrybuted vnto vs, so is hys bodye and frute of hys
passyon dystrybuted vnto all hys faythfull. And as the breade comforteth
the bodye, so doth the fayth in Christes death comforte our soules. And
as surelye as we haue that breade and eate it with our mouth and teth,
and knowe by our sences that we haue it within vs, and are partakers
therof; no more neade we to doubte of hys bodye and bloode, but that
through fayth, we are as sure of thē, as we are sure of that breade. As
it is suffycyentlye declared in my boke.
Agayne you maye perceyue how wyckedly they reporte vs which affyrme that
we dyshonour it which geue yt the ryght honoure that it ought to haue.
And you do playnlye dyshonoure it, which geue vnto it the honoure that
is onelye due vnto God. We geue yt the same honoure that we geue vnto
the holye scrypture ād worde of God, because it expresseth vnto our
sences the death of our sauyoure, and doth more depely prynte it within
vs. And therfore we call it an holye sacrament, as we call Goddes worde,
holye scrypture. And we receyue thys sacrament with greate reuerence,
euen as we reuerentlye reade or heare preached the holye worde of God,
which conteyneth the healthe of our soules. And we graunte that hys
bodye is presente with the breade as it is with the worde, and wyth both
it is verelye receyued and eaten through faythe. But if we shulde knele
downe and praye vnto the holye scrypture, men myght cownte vs foles, and
myght lawfullye saye, that we do not honoure the scrypture by that
meanes but rather dyshonoure yt. For the ryght honoure of a thynge is,
to vse it for that intent that was instytute of God. And he that abvseth
it to any other purpose, doth in dede dyshonoure it. And lykewyse it is
in the sacrament which was instytute to keape in memorye the death of
Christe, which yf we do any other wyse honoure, then we do the holye
scrypture (vnto the which we maye in no wyse make our prayers). I saye
that then we shulde vtterlye dyshonoure it. Avoyde therfore thys poynte
of Idolatrye, and all ys safe.
Fynallye we saye that they speake well and faythfullye, which saye that
they go to the bodye and receyue the bodye of Christ, and that they
speake vyllenouslye and wyckedlye which saye that they onelye receyue
breade or the sygne of hys bodye. For in so sayenge they declare their
infydelyte. For the faythfull wyll reaken that he is euell reported of
and reputed for a traytoure and a nother Iudas, yf men shulde saye of
hym that he ded onelye receyue the sacrament, and not also the thynge
whiche the sacrament doth sygnyfye. For albeit he onelye eateth the
breade ād sacrament with hys mouth and teth: yet with hys harte and
fayth inwardlye, he eateth the verye thynge it selfe whiche the
sacrament outwardlye dothe represente.
And of thys sprynge the maner of speakynges that the olde fathers do
somtyme vse, which at the fyrste syght mought seame contrarye to our
sentence. But yf they be well pondered, it maye soone be seane, how they
shulde be taken. For manye tymes when they speake of the sacramente and
outwarde eatynge, they applye vnto the sacrament and outwarde eatynge,
the frute and condycyons of the inwarde eatynge and thynge it selfe,
because that in a faythfull man they are so Ioyntlye Ioyned, that the
one is neuer without the other. As by example. Marye is named the mother
of God, and yet she is not the mother of hys Godhed, by the which parte
onelye he is called God, but because she is hys mother, as towchynge hys
manhode, and the Godhed is so annexed with the manhode that they both
make but one parson, therfore is she called the mother of God, whiche in
dede yf it be wyselye weyed, shalbe founde to be abvsed speache.
And yet neuerthelesse it maye verye well be vsed, yf men vnderstonde
what is ment therbye, but yf through the vse of thys speache, men shulde
fall in to suche an erroure that they wolde affyrme our lady to be in
dede the mother of hys Godhed, then necessyte shulde compell vs to make
a dystynccyon betwene the nature of hys Godhed and the nature of hys
manhod, and so to expounde the matter vnto them, and brynge them home
agayne in to the ryght vnderstondynge. As we are now constrayned to do
in thys sacrament, because you mysconstrue the sayenges of the scrypture
ād Doctours. Which notwythstondynge (yf a man vnderstōde them) saye
verye well.
And manye soche maner of speaches are contayned in the scrypture: As
where Christ sayeth in, Iohā in the .iii. chap. There shall no man
ascende in to heauen, but he that dyscendeth from heauen, the sone of
man whiche is in heauen.
Thys texte doth saye that the sonne of man was then in heauen, when he
spake these wordes vnto Nicodemus here vpon earth, whiche thynge all
wyse men consente to be vnderstonde, _propter unitatem personæ_: That is
to saye: for the vnite of the parson. For albeit hys Godhed was in
euerye place at that tyme, yet was not hys manhod (by the whiche he was
called the sonne of man) in heauen at that tyme. And yet Christe sayde
that it was in heaven for the vnite of hys parson. For hys Godhed was in
heauen, and because the Godhed and manhode made one parson, therfore it
was ascrybed vnto the manhod which was onelye verefyed vpō the Godhed,
as [Sidenote: August.] S. Austen ad Dardanum doth delygentlye declare.
And lykewyse in the sacrament of baptyme, because the inwarde workynge
of the holye Goste is euer ānexed in the faythfull vnto the outwarde
ceremonye: therfore somtyme the frute of the inwarde baptyme is ascrybed
vnto the outwarde worke. And so the scrypture vseth to speake of the
outwarde baptyme as though it were the inwarde: that is to saye: the
spyryte of GOD. And therfore Saynte Paule sayeth that we are buryed wyth
Christe through baptyme.
And yet as Saynte Austen expoundeth it, the outwarde baptyme dothe but
[Sidenote: Augustinus ad Bonifacium.] sygnyfye thys buryall. And agayne
Paule sayeth, as manye as are baptysed haue put Christe vpon them. And
yet in dede our outwarde baptyme doth but sygnyfye, that we haue put
Christe vpon vs.
But by the inwarde baptyme (whiche is the water of lyfe and spiryte of
God) we haue in dede put hym vpon vs and lyue in hym and he in vs.
Whiche not withstondynge is verye false for all the outwarde baptyme, in
them that receyue it not in fayth. And vnto them it is but abare sygne,
wherof they gette no profytte, but dampnacyon.
And here you maye evydentlye perceyue, howe it is sometyme in scrypture
ascrybed vnto the outwarde worke and ceremonye, whiche is onelye true in
the inwarde veryte. And this place shall expounde all the olde doctours
whiche seame contrarye to our sentence. And therfore marke it well.
Thus haue you my mynde further vpon the sacrament of the bodye and
bloode of Christe. Wherin yf you reaken that I haue bene to lōge in
repetynge one thynge so often, I shall praye you of pardone. But surelye
me thought I coulde not be shorter. For the worlde is suche now adayes,
that some wolde heare and can not: and some do heare and wyll not. And
therfore I am compelled so often to repete that thynge whyche a wyse man
wolde vnderstonde wyth halue the wordes.
❧ Praye Christen reader that the wordes of GOD maye increace, and that
GOD maye be gloryfyed through my bondes. AMEN.
The Artycles wherfore Iohan Fryth dyed, whiche he wrote in Newgate the
.23. daye of Iune, the yeare of our Lorde .1533.
I doubt not deare bretherne, but that it doth some deale vexe you, to
see the one parte haue all the wordes, and frely to speake what they
lyste, and the other to be put to sylence, and not to be harde
indyfferently. But referre your matters to God, whiche shortelye shall
Iudge after a nother fashyon. But in the meane seasō, I shall rehearse
vnto you the artycles for which I am condempned.
❧ They examyned me but of two artycles whiche are these.
[Sidenote: 1. Article.] Fyrste whyther I thought there were any
Purgatorye to pourge the soule after thys present lyfe. And I sayde,
that I thought there was none. For man is made but of two partes, the
bodye and the soule. And the bodye is pourged by the crosse of Christe,
whiche he layeth vpon euery chylde that he receyueth: as afflyctyon,
worldlye opressyon, persecucyon, emprysonment & cet. and deathe
fynysheth synne. And the soule is pourged by the worde of God, which we
receyue through fayth, vnto the healthe and saluacyon bothe of bodye and
soule.
Now and yf I ded knowe any thyrde parte wherof we are made, I wolde also
gladly graunt the .3. purgatory, but seynge I knowe none suche, I must
denye the Popes purgatorye. Neuertheles I cownte neyther parte a
necessarye artycle of our faythe, necessaryly to be beleued vnder payne
of dampnacyon, whyther there be soche a purgatory or not.
[Sidenote: 2. article.] The seconde artycle was thys, whyther that I
thought, that the sacrament of the aulter was the bodye of Christe. And
I sayde yea, that I thought that it was bothe Christes bodye and also
our bodye, as Saynt Paule sayeth to the Corynthyans. i. Cori. 10.
In that it is made one breade of manye graynes it is our bodye,
sygnyfyenge that we though we be manye, are yet one bodye: lykewyse of
the wyne in that it is made one wyne of manye grapes.
And agayne in that it is broken, it is Christes bodye, sygnyfyenge that
hys bodye shulde be broken, that is to saye: suffer deathe, to redeame
vs from our iniquitees.
In that it was dystrybuted, it was Christes bodye, sygnyfyenge that as
verelye as that sacramēt is dystrybuted vnto vs, so verelye is Christes
bodye and the frute of hys passyō dystrybuted vnto all faythfull men.
In that it is receyued, it is Christes bodye, sygnyfyenge that as
verelye as the outwarde man receyueth the sacramente with hys tethe and
mouthe, so verelye dothe the inwarde mā, through faythe receyue Christes
bodye and frute of hys passyon, ād is as sure of it, as of the breade
that he eateth.
[Sidenote: Another questyō.] Well sayde they, do you not thynke that hys
verye naturall bodye, bothe fleshe and bloode is reallye contayned vnder
the sacrament, and there actuallye present, besyde all symylytudes?
[Sidenote: ¶ An answere.] No sayde I, I do not so thynke.
Notwithstondynge I wolde not that anye shulde counte that I make my
sayenge (whiche is the negatyue) anye artycle of the faythe. For euen as
I saye that you oughte not to make anye necessarye artycle of the faythe
of your parte (whiche is the affyrmatyue). So I saye agayne, that we
make none necessarye artycle of the faythe of oure parte, but leaue it
indyfferent for all men to Iudge therin, as GOD shall open hys harte,
and no syde to condempne or dyspyse the other, but to nouryshe in all
thynges brotherlye loue, and to beare others infyrmytees.
[Sidenote: S. Austens texte.] The texte of Saynt Austē which they there
aleaged agaynste me, was thys: that in the sacrament Christe was borne
in his owne handes. Whervnto I sayde: that S. Austen dothe full well
expounde hym selfe. For in a nother place he sayeth. _Ferebatur tanquā
in manibus suis._ That is, he was borne after a certayne maner, in hys
owne handes. And by that he sayeth after a certayne maner, ye maye soone
perceyue what he meaneth.
How be it yf. S. Austen had not thus expounded hym selfe, yet he sayeth
ad Bonifacium, that the sacrament of a thynge, hath a symylytude or
propertye of the thynge which it sygnyfyeth. And for that cause it hath
manye tymes the name of the verye thynge whiche it sygnyfyeth. And so he
sayeth that he bare hym selfe, because he bare the sacrament of hys
bodye and bloode, whiche ded so earnestlye expresse hym selfe, that
nothynge myght more do it. If you reade the place of S. Austen ad
Bonifacium, whiche I alleage in my laste boke, ye shall soone see them
answered.
[Sidenote: Chrisostomus.] A nother place they alleaged out of
Chrisostome, which at the fyrste blushe seameth to make well for them.
But yf it be well wayed, it maketh moche lesse for thē then they wene.
The wordes are these.
[Sidenote: Chrisostomes wordes.] Doste thou see breade and wyne: Do they
departe from thē into the draughte as other meates do? God forbydde. For
as in waxe when it cōmeth to the fyer, nothynge of the substaunce
remayneth nor aboundeth: so lykewyse thynke that the mysteryes are
consumed by the substaunce of the body.
These wordes I expounded, by the wordes of the same doctoure Saynt
Chrisostome, which in a nother homelye sayeth on thys maner. The inwarde
eyes as soone as they see the breade, they flye over all creatures ād
thynke not of the breade that is baken of the baker, but of the breade
of euerlastynge lyfe, which is sygnyfyed by the mystycall breade.
Now conferre these places together ād you shall perceyue, that the laste
expoundeth the fyrste clerely. Fyrste he sayeth, dost thou see breade
and wyne? I answere by the seconde, nay. For the inwarde eyes as soone
as they see the breade, thynke not of it, but of the thynge it selfe
that is sygnyfyed therby. And so he seeth it and seeth it not. He seeth
it with hys outwarde and carnall eyes, but hys inwarde eyes seeth it
not. That is to saye: regarde not the breade or thynke not vpon it. Euen
as we commonlye saye, when we playe a game necglygentlye (by my truthe I
see not what I do) meanynge that our myndes is not vpon that thynge
whiche we see with our outwarde eyes. And lykewyse we maye answere the
nexte parte, where he sayeth.
[Sidenote: The exposycyō of S. Chrisosto, texte.] Do they departe from
thē in to the draughte, as other meates do? Nay for sothe sayde I. For
other meates do onelye come to nouryshe the bodye, and to departe in to
the draught: But thys meate that I here receyue, is spyrytuall meate,
receyued with faythe, and nourysheth vs euerlastynglye bothe bodye and
soule, and neuer entereth into the draughte. And euen as before the
outwarde eyes do see the breade, and yet the inwarde eyes do not regarde
that or thynke vpon it: So lykewyse the outwarde man dygesteth the
breade, and casteth it in to the draughte. And yet the inwarde mā doth
not regarde that nor thynke vpō it: But thynketh vpon the thynge it
selfe that is sygnyfyed by that breade.
[Sidenote: The true meanynge of Chrisostomes wordes.] And therfore sayde
Chrysostome euen a lytle before the wordes whiche they here alleaged.
Lyfte vp your mynde and hartes (sayde he) whereby he monysheth vs, to
loke vpon and consyder those heauenly thynges, whiche are represented
and sygnyfyed by the breade and wyne, and not to marke the breade and
wyne in it selfe.
Here they wyll saye vnto me, that that is not Chrisostomes mynde. For by
hys example he playnlye sheweth that there remayneth no breade nor wyne.
That I denye. For the example in thys place proueth no more but that ye
shall not thynke vpon the breade and wyne, no more then yf they were not
there, but onelye vpon that thynge whiche is sygnyfyed by thē. And that
ye maye euydently perceyue by the wordes folowynge where he sayeth,
thynke that the mysteryes are consumed by the substaunce of the bodye.
[Sidenote: Soluciō] Now whyther Chrisostome thought that there remayned
breade or none, bothe wayes shall our purpose be proued. Fyrst yf he
thought there remayned styll breade and wyne, thē we haue our purpose.
Now yf he thought that the breade and wyne remayned not, but were
chaunged, thē are the breade and wyne neyther mysteryes nor sacramentes
of the bodye and bloode of Christe. For that that is not, cā neyther be
mysterye nor sacrament.
[Sidenote: Conclusyon.] Fynalle yf he spake of the outwarde apperaunce
of breade: then we knowe that that remayneth styll and is not consumed
by the substaunce of the bodye. And therfore he muste neades be
vnderstonde as I take hym.
I thynke many men wonder how I can dye in thys artycle, seynge that it
is no necessary artycle of our faythe, for I graunte that neyther parte
is an artycle necessary to be beleued vnder payne of dampnacyon, but
leaue it as a thynge indyfferent, to thynke therin as God shall instyll
in euery mans mynde, and that neyther parte condempne other for thys
matter, but receyue eche other in brotherly loue, reseruynge eche others
infyrmyte to God.
[Sidenote: Beholde the cause of my death.] The cause of my deathe is
thys, because I can not in conscyence abiure and swere, that our
Prelates opynyon of the Sacramente (that is) that the substaunce of
breade ād wyne is verely chaunged into the fleshe and bloode of our
sauyoure Iesus Christ is an vndoubted artycle of the faythe, necessarye
to be beleued vnder payne of dampnacyon.
[Sidenote: Note.] Now thoughe thys opynyon were in dede true (whiche
thynge they cā neyther proue true by scrypture nor doctours) yet coulde
I not in conscyence graunte that it shulde be an artycle of the faythe
necessarye to be beleued, etc. For there are many verytees, whiche yet
may be no soche artycles of our faythe. It is true that I laye in Irons
whan I wrote thys, howbeit I wolde not receyue thys truthe, for an
artycle of our fayth. For you may thynke the contrary without all
Ieoperdy of dampnacyon.
¶ The cause why I cā not beleue their opynyon of transmutacyon or
transubstanciacyon whether ye wyll, is thys.
[Sidenote: 1.] ❧ Fyrste because I thynke verely that it is false and can
neyther be proued by scrypture nor faythfull doctours, yf they be well
pondered.
[Sidenote: 2.] The second cause is thys, because I wyll not bynde the
congregacyon of Christe by myne example to admytte any necessary artycle
bysyde our Crede, and specyally nonesuche as can not be proued true by
scrypture. And I say that the churche, as they call yt, can not compell
vs to receyue any soche artycles to be of necessyte vnder payne of
dampnacyon.
[Sidenote: 3.] The thyrde cause is, because I dare not be so
presumptuous in enterynge in to Goddes Iudgement, as to make the
Prelates in thys poynte a necessarye artycle of our faythe. For then I
shulde dampnably condempne all the Germaynes and Almaynes, with infynyte
moo, whiche in deade do not beleue nor thynke that the substaunce of
breade and wyne is chaunged in to the substaunce of Christes naturall
bodye. And surelye I can not be so folyshe hardy as to condempne soche
an infynyte nombre for our Prelates pleasures.