THe first chiefe and pryncypall poynt of deceyte and so­phistry is, to ma­ke euery mā thīke of him selfe, fur­ther then is in dede in him, by this persuasiō, The deuell deceyuyth most crafte­ly when he pretendyth truth. that god graunteth true vnderstandinge and wisedome, to euery man, that wold haue it, hath nede of it, & asketh it, in his name, whiche hathe suche an euydente truth in it, as no man can dyrectly deny it, and gainesay it, for so god doth in dede, & yet not so as the vnlerned do take it, & thinketh it to be [Page] vnderstanded. For albeit god gi­ueth al knowlege, to fede the soule, as he giueth also all foode and nourriture to the corporall bodies, and it is for both, generally sayd, Iacta super dominum curā tuam, Psalm. 54. et ipse te enutriet▪ wherin god hath also, to shew his omnipotency giuē sodenlye, speche to them that could not speake, lerimae. 1. as to Ieremy, geuen the vnlerned, sodenly knowlege, to confound the great clerkes, Ioan. 2. chaunged water into wine in a moment, to make chere to gestes of the feast, and multiplied by his blessing, Math. 14. the fiue loues to the necessary releef of the hungry, Exodi. 16. fed his people with manna in desert, Exodi. 17. and geuen thē for releef, out of the hard dry stone water: Yet we may not hereof presu­me, that god, bycause he can al­waies, therfore also he wil alwaies contynually worke new myracles, and giue his giftes out of ordre [Page iiii] and make heruest in February, or children and rude ignorantes, ler­ned before they go to scoole. And in dede, we myght aswel and better aske our bodely foode without our labour, and sesonable time as aske the knowledge of lernynge, to in­structe the soule, without tyme or [...]ue endeuor, wherwith to attayne the same. It is goddes worke, that we come by it when we come by it with our labour and teachynge of other, I Cor. 3. for neque qui plantat est ali­quid, neque ꝗ rigat, sed qui incre­mentum dat, deus. And we that in our Pater noster, Math. 4. aske our daylye bread, knowledge it to come of god when we haue it, and yet no man bosteth him selfe to haue it, by cause he hath asked it, or loketh o­therwise for it, but by thapplyeng of his labour and industry thervnto, which persuasion if these symple vnlerned, had in the atteinynge of [Page] wisedome, they wold mistrust their owne iudgement and thinke themself (as they be) vnlerned, and with out longe exercise and diligent en­deuor, with a vessell mete and apte to receiue the same, not thinke thē selfe to haue obteined that gifte of god, ne be able for want therof, to discusse of lerning. This false per­suasion of lerning, wherewith the deuyll inueigleth the simple and ingendreth in them a pryde of con­ninge and vnderstandinge, whiche they haue not, is the foundacion & roote, wherupon is buylded and groweth false doctrine in the high misteryes of our religion, & specy­ally in the most blessed Sacramēt of thaulter, wherin diuerse haue of late peuersely reasoned, & vnlear­nedly spoken w ^t such presūptuouse pride, & intollerable arrogancy as declare plainly the same to procede of the spirite of the deuyl ful of er­rours, [Page v] & lyes, blyndenes, & igno­raunce, by reason wherof, they stū ­ble in the playne way, Chrisost. ho. 60 Non sunt hu­mane uirtutis hee opera, que tunc in illa ce­na confecit, iy­se nunc quo (que) operatur, ipse perficit, nosmi nistrorum or­dinem tenemus qui uero hec sā ­ctificat, & trās mutat, ipse est. & can not see in the mydde day. For what can be more euidently spoken of the pre­sēce of Christes natural body and bloud, in the most blessed sacramēt of the aulter, thē is in those wordes of scripture whiche our Sauioure Christ ones said, and be infallible truth, and styll sayth, in consecrati­on of this most holy Sacrament, by the cōmon ministre of y ^e church. This is my body. But againste this truth, the deuyll striueth, and fyghteth by his ministers, & lewde apostles, with sophistical deuyses, wherwith he troubleth the grosse imaginaciōs of the symple people. And hauynge ones enchaunted, the rude wyttes with this charme of presūptuouse knowledge (wher­of I spake before) wherby the ignoraūt, waxeth so arrogāt, as he [Page] maketh himself able to iudge and discerne, betwene playnnes and craft, bytwene reason and sophisti­cacion, betwene argument and ar­gument, exposition and expositiō, suche as be thus ouerthrowen in their iudgement, and so blynded in themselfe, the deuyll easely entan­gleth and byndeth fast to him, with carnall reasons, deceitfull exposi­tions, crooked argumentes, and counterfet cōtradictiōs, and ther­by leadeth them away, captiue and thralde, from the true catholtque byleefe in this moost holye sacra­mente, which sophystry and decep­tes, be diuersely tempered, after these sortes.

AND FYRST to the car­nall man, the deuyll bringeth carnall reasons, and for conforma­tion, and proufe of them calleth to witnes, the carnall senses, both of the bodye and soule. And streyght [Page vi] thyne eye sayeth, there is but bread and wyne. Thy tast saith the same. Thy felinge and smellynge agre fully with them. Herevnto is ad­ded the carnall mans vnderstan­dyng, whiche bycause it taketh the begynning of the senses, procedeth in reasoning sensually. And (as the Epicures dyd) concludeth that y ^e senses togither, can not be decey­ued. wherevpon also the Epicu­rians saide the sonne was but two fote brode, because theyr eye iud­ged it to be no bygger. And from this they wolde not be brought, but remayned as ferme, in that foly, as some heretiques do, in this mischeuous deuellysh misbeleefe, against the moost blessed Sacra­ment of the aulter. Wherefore all suche as ground their errour, a­gaynst this moost blessed Sacra­ment, vpon the testimonye of theyr sight, their taste, felyng, or smell, or [Page] otherwise vpon their carnall vn­derstandinge, bycause they can not by their carnall reason, comprehēd it, all such be bestly and blynd, and farre from the knowledge of the miseries of our religion, as wher­in our senses and reasō, be vy faith condempned and reproued, finally declare them selue to be suche men, as seme to require teachinge in the principles and begynnynges of our religion, wherin their grosse carnall reasons, yf they were truly mortified, they shulde not so stob­bernly and arrogantly meddle, in the discussion of the inscrutable misterye in the most blessed sacra­ment of thaulter. For yf theyr sen­ses were by true faith, ouerthro­wen & put to confusiō, in the bylefe of y ^e holy trinite, y ^e father of heauē, the son̄e, & holy ghost, to be insepa­rably deuided in thre ꝑsons, & diuisibly eioyned ī one godhed & essece [Page vii] which Gregorye Nazianzene spea­keth thus in greke. Grego. Naizan. [...]. [...] Wherein we knowe by faith, the truth, so to be, howe so euer our reason spurneth and ten­tech vs to the contrarye, If these mennes senses were tamed, in the beleuynge scripture of creation of the worlde, by god in time, and of nothynge, contrarye to the discussion of mans reason, whiche the phi­losophers coulde not temper, to agre, that of nothynge, was anye thynge made, If in the misterie of the incarnation of our sauioure Christe, the rebellion of mans sen­ses, were throughlye trode vnder fete, and brought in due subiecti­on, to gyue place to faythe, wher­by we byleue that the sonne of god (which we confesse truly) to be im­mensus, was yet conteyned in the holy virgins wombe, & a creature, [Page] to conteyne the creatour, and as the churche reioysing, doth daylye acknowledge, in worshypping the blessed vyrgin Marye.

Whiche to mannes reason im­plieth an insoluble contradiction, to saye that in her wombe, shulde be shut in, that al the world could not conteyne. And then further the true story of Christes gospel wherin is truely reported to vs howe Christ entred to his disciples, after his resurrection the gates beynge shut, and role out of his graue the same remaining styl shut, which to our vnderstandyng, maketh a sig­nification of two bodies to be in one place togither and occupie the same place, at one tyme, And is to mannes sensuall and carnal knowledge impossible, and is neuerthe­lesse in y ^e said myraculouse passage [Page viii] of our sauyour Christ moost truly verified. But if in these, and many other, the carnall man had in the foundacion of our faith fully ac­knowleged his weaknes, his blīd­nes, his imbecillitie & ignoraunce, the same wolde neuer presume a­gayne, Chriso. bo. 60. Credamus ubi ꝙ deo, ne (que) re­pugnem [...]s ei. etiam si sensvi & cogitacio­in nostrae absus Lum esse wide­tur quod dicit, superet (que) sen­sum & ratio­nem nostram quod in omnibus, & pr [...]pue imysteri [...] h [...] qu [...] ante nos iacent solum. mo [...]o spicien­tes sed uer [...] quo (que) eius to­dmentes. Nam uerbis eius de­freudari non possumus, sen­sus uero noster deceptu facilli mus est, illa falsa esse non pos­sunt, is saepius acsaepius deci­pitur. Quoni amergo ille di xit, Hoc est corpus meum, nulla teneamur imbiguitate, sed credamus [...] eyther to improue the pre­sence of the naturall body of our Sauiour Christe, in the most bles­sed Sacrament of the aulter, in fourme of bread & wine, by carnal deuyses, ne trauayle to be satisfied in consideration of the circumstaū ­ces of the same. For lyke as in the other misteries of the Trinite, the creation of the world, the incarna­tion of Christ, and also resurrecti­on of the fleshe, (wherof I haue not spoken, but may say, as I haue in the other) carnal reason is excluded, by certentie of faith: so shulde it be in all other mysteries, whiche all together, be the body of our re­eigion, [Page] wherein we haue the true knowledge of god, which the deuil laboureth to subuerte and ouer­throwe, and vseth therin the instrument of mannes presumptuouse arrogance, to know all as god doth, and to comprehēde in his capacite, the same, and what so euer excedeth it, or repugneth thervnto, to call that false folye, lyes, and vntruth. After whiche sorte, mans foolyshe wysedome, hath enterprised at sun­dry tymes, to impugne the secrete misteries of goddes hyghe wyse­dome, & incomprehensible workes, And so the deuyll by the Arrians, (as he doth by the Turkes at this daye) hath assaulted the castell and forte of our religion, by denyall of Christe to be very God, and with truthes falsly applied, gone about to make batterye and entrye, to ouerthrowe the same, lyke as he hath also attempted manye other [Page ix] misteries. But beinge in them by goddes power resisted, the deuyll assayeth to make entry nowe, by subuertinge the truthe in the most blessed Sacrament of thaulter, and to allure y ^e multitude of most carnall and rude capacities diuul­geth abrode, grosse carnall reasōs, and wolde persuade the vnlerned that their ignoraunce in the cir­cumstaunce (how,) should playne­ly proue to them, that the thing is not, & therwith whistleth in their eares, this enchauntment. If it were true that is taught in the sa­cramēt of thaluter, by the papistes (whiche terme serueth for a token to thē, to proue y ^e matter nought) such and such incōueniēces, should not to our senses folowe. Do we not se (saith the deuyll) the sacra­ment of thaulter that they call god their ydol, (o blasphemous tōgue) sometyme eaten of a mouse, some­tyme [Page] waxe grene moulde, redde moulde, and blue mould? and here the deuyll refressheth his yong­lynges with manye abhominable tales, suche as a scoffinge lestynge witte could deuyse, to haue benne done. Doth it not enter (sayth the deuyll) into the body, and so furth, and speaketh that lyketh him, more then honest eares can endure? And then the deuyll frameth the matter in fashion of lerninge, and firste with a counterfet religiō of mayn­tenaunce of gods truth, propoueth god, to be impassible, incorruptible and immortal, which is a most vn­doubted truth, & thē foloweth thin­tended lye, thus, That which these papistes make God, & call y ^e sacra­ment of thaulter, that is corrupti­ble, And here the senses beare wit­nes, The papistes god, (the deuyll sayth) is also passible. And here y ^e senses be also redy, & shall affirme, [Page x] they haue sene the mouse eate it, mans hande breake it, & mans teth teare it. It is also mortal (saith the deuyll) for the sēses beare testimo­ny, they haue sene it with a sodayn fire in a churche, cōsumed, Ergo then, (& with this the deuyl trium­pheth & [...]cludeth) there is not god, but it is an ydol, whiche wordes they vttermost blasphemouselye & falsely. But cōsider (christē reader) how far is it out of y ^e waye, to exa­myne mens senses or carnall reasō, what they can depose of god; or his high secrete workes. This reaso­ning might serue to proue y ^t eyther Christe was not God (whiche no christē eare can endure) or els not to be true (which is most true & certeine) that Christe dyed or suffered for vs. And thus the deuilles dis­ciple, wyll reason. God is impassi­ble, Christe suffred: Ergo he was not god. Or thus. God is impassi­ble, [Page] Christe was god: Ergo he suffered not. So as by these rea­sos, and reasonynges, wherin the senses serue for a proufe, or carnall reason frameth thargumēt: eyther we must with the Arryans denye Christ god blasphemousely, or consent moste folyshly, to other false dreames, that Christ suffred not at al. But as we be learned most tru­ly & certeynely in faith, that Christ was very God and perfyght mā, and without iniury to his godhed (whiche is impassible (suffered ne­uerthelesse naturall death, for he was naturall man without synne, and when we knowe this truth as­suredly by faith, regarde not what all our senses repugne to the con­trarye, ne we do not leane to their testimony in it: So in this high mystery of the sacrament of thaul­ter, when we knowe by faith the presence of Christes naturall body [Page xi] and bloud, by the mighty operaciō of his word, prouoūced in the con­secratiō by y ^e minister: what a ten­tation is it of the deuyl, to kepe a court w ^t our sēses & carnall reaso­ning (which be blind, & can not vn­derstāde it) & of thē to make an en­quest to knowe whyther my byleef therin be right or no? which senses, if they had bē enquired of christes body, being cōuersaūt in erth, theyr testimony had bē of christ, y ^t he was but a man, as other were, euen as they now affyrme the Sacrament to be but brede, as other brede is. Theyr capacite is no further, and therfore it is a madnes, and ouer rude grossenes, to commen with them in a matter (I knowe well) they can no skille of. But herin we shulde leane to our faith, groūded vpon goddes truth, and confesse all to be so, as god worketh by his omnipotēcy, and therwith acknowledge [Page] the weakenes of mans capa­cite, not able to comprehende it, & forasmuch as the plaine wordes of scripture, declare, and testifie vnto vs, the presence of y ^e most preciouse bodye and bloud of our Sauiour Christ, in the sacramēt of thaulter, we should not be shaken or altered from that byleef, what so euer oure sēses or carnal vnderstāding, shuld barke to the cōtrary. If myne eye, seeth the host cōsecrate broken (whiche is dayly done in the masse) or deuoured by a mouse, or otherwise percase abused (whiche happeneth rarely) is this a iust cause, why my faith, shulde by and by wauer, and mystrust the truth, by god declared vnto me? Or els must carnal reasō and vnderstāding be satisfied, how it commeth to passe, that standyng our faith in the most blessed sacra­ment of the presence of the natural body and bloude of our sauioure [Page xii] Christ, the same sacrament may be broken, the same may be deuoured of the mouse, the same maye be cor­rupte, or otherwise mysused? Whervnto fyrst I saye this, that if after the wordes of consecratiō, the hoste consecrate, were so by god preser­ued, from the iniuries, and violen­ces of other creatures, as it eoulde not be brokē, deuoured, or corrupt, it were such an outwarde myracle, to the open confusiō of our carnal senses, as wherby to take away the merite of our faith. For vnto the faithfull, suche myracles (as saint Paule saith) 1 Cor. 14. be not shewed but to the infidels. And a good true chri­sten beleuyng man, knoweth this by faith, that good is inuiolable, impassible, incorruptible, immor­tall, and that our sauyoure Christ, the seconde person in trinite, very god, hauynge the humayne na­ture, nowe vnite to the godhed [Page] and gloryfied, can not any more suffre in that bodye, violence or corruptiō, ne be violate or brought to mortalyte. Psal: 15. Quia nō dabis sanctū tuum videre corruptionem. And therfore what so euer mans senses affyrme of the violation, corrupti­on, or destruction of the hoste con­secrate, a christen mannes faythe knoweth most certeinly, that the most preciouse body of christ, there present in that host, is not violate, is not corrupted, is not destroyed, for the faithful is asserteyned, that Christus resurgens ex mortuis, Roma. 6. iam non moritur, mors illi vltra nō dominabitur. And therfore the same beynge truely taughte, and enfourmed of goddes omnipotēcie consydereth, that as Christ beynge conuersaunt in earth, amonge the maliciouse Iewes, before the tyme of his passion, and when the same was not yet come (as the gospell [Page xiii] saith) when the furiouse Iewes wolde haue precipitate him. Luc. 4. Tran­siens per medium illorū ibat. And whē Herode slew al y ^e rest of y ^e chil­dren, Christ beyng a child, Mat. 2. was preserued: So in y ^e most blessed sacra­mēt of y ^e aulter, how soeuer y ^e same be abused by mans malice or negligence, or otherwise broken in the mystical vse of it, yet the very body of our sauiour Christ there presēt, continueth inuiolate, impassible, and is beyond the reach of any vi­olence to be inferred by man, beste, or any other accidental occasion, of any other cause, ne y ^e true faithfull man can be induced by any world­ly demonstration, to departe or swarue from his true faith, & what so euer reasons may be made to the contrary, he taketh them onely as tentacions of the deuill, wherby to subuerte, and ouerturne his sted­fast faith, being so firme & stronge [Page] in a good christen man, as the ga­tes of hell can not preuaile against it, & muche lesse, worldely fansies, reasons or demonstraciōs, and spe­cially such, as be grounded, vpon the senses and carnal argumentes, whiche can not atteine the secretes of gods mysteries. The deuyl now a dayes, diuulgeth by his wycked mynysters, his leude tales, of the abuses of the host consecrate, when by to impugne the faith of the pre­sence, of the bodye of our sauyoure Christ. And here is made mention of moulding & mouse deuouryng, with such lyke mysuses, which the presēce of christes natural body, if it were there (as they say) shuld de­fende, wherein I wolde aske suche sorte of men, as be moued by these reasones, how moch these inconue­niences so abhomynably tolde, do excede and be more straunge, wherby to shake our fayth but the won­derynge and murmurynge of our [Page xiiii] senses, then those thynges whiche the churche doth daylye ordayne and openly do, wherewith the true beleuers haue not ben offended?

Doth not the preiste daylye in the masse, & hath done alwaye, breake the host consecrate, in the syght of the people, without offence or sclaū der, of suche as haue these xv.c. yeres and do at this daye byleue the presence of the naturall bodye of Christ? Haue not men of weake stomackes (fearing they could not cōteine, y ^e they receyued) vsed reuerētly to forbeare to receyue, y ^e most blessed Sacramēt, where they cer­teynly beleued y ^e presēce of christes natural body to be able & of power to heale body & soule? And haue eyther of these reuerēt vses amōge good mē, empayred y ^e beleef amōg thē, or good men ben inquisitiue, howe god could be broken, beynge impassible and presente in [Page] the sacrament of the aulter, or bencuriouse to aske, whye men shulde forbeare to receyue the sacrament, for feare of any weakenes of sto­mack, seinge god (whome they be­leue there present) is able to heale al: Good men were neuer offended, with brekinge of the host, whiche they dayly saw, beyng also perswa­ded Christes body to be present in the sacrament naturally and real­ly, whervnto with worshyppinge they lyfted vp their handes, and therewith nothinge doubted, but god was inuiolable, & impassible, when they saw the hoost broken in the masse, ne vsed not to my struste goddes immortalite, when they haue sene a sycke man receiue the sacramēt not a quarter of an houre before his natural deth, as though in that man, the host consecrate (wherein the body of Christ in pre­sent) shulde with goddes iniury [Page xv] moulde, or corrupt, wast and con­sume. And yet these right vses of the most blessed sacrament, cōteyne as straunge matter, to mans sēses and carnall iudgement, as do the leude and blasphemouse tales, de­uised and tolde wherby to inueigle mens vnderstādynges, and spoyle them of their true byleef. And yet also these breakinges and vses of the moost blessed sacrament, were neuer hyddē in the churche, ne kept secrete, as thoughe the true belefe shulde therby decay, or be dimi­nished. The churche hath not for­borne, to preache the truthe, to the confusion of mans senses and vn­derstanding, whervnto men faith­full and obedient, haue yelded, ac­knowleginge gods omnipotency, which mans reasō can not matche, The true churche hath taughte plainly, and teacheth that by the omnipotencie of gods worde, the [Page] substaunce of bred is conuerted to the substaunce of Christes natural bodye, whiche is there then by his myghty power, not by mutacyon of place, by leauynge of heauen, where he is euer present, but by his infinite power (wherby he can do all) and of a specyal fauour to war­des vs, worketh continually in his churche, this mysterye and mi­racle, and in forme of bread and wyne, exhibiteth and presenteth himself, to be eaten & drunken of vs, So as there is in the sacramēt of thaulter, none other substaunce, but the substaunce of the body and bloud of our sauiour christe, & yet remayneth the fourme and accidentes of bread and wyne, not altered by this myracle frō knowledge of the senses, wherwith they were be­fore known & also by gods suffe­raunce subiecte to the same passi­bilite, they were in before. And yet [Page xvi] here in this mystery and myracle wrought by gods power, we ac­knowledge, y ^t contrary to the comē ordre of nature, the substaunce of bred, beyng conuerted into the na­turall bodely substaūce of our sa­uiour Christ, the other accidētes of bred & wyne, as quantities & qualities remayne stil & without iniury of Christes most preciouse body, be (as we dayly se) altered & broken, and remaynīg & abyding without theyr owne fourmer substāce of the creatures of bred & wine, whervn­to they were by nature adioyned do now seruice theyr creatoure there present the very substaūce of all substaunces, vnder which acci­dentes, that is to say (as we truely speake) vnder fourme of bred and wine, the naturall body & receyued of vs, ī the sacramēt of thaulter, who so ordred himselfe to be eaten and dronken of vs, in his last supper, [Page] whiche continueth styll, Chriso. h ^o. 60. Illa nō alia mē sa est, hec nulla re minor (quam) uls est. Non enim illam Christus, hac homo quis piam facit, sed utran (que) ipse. tyll the worldes ende, with a perpetuall continuaunce also, of the merue­louse workynge of the same feste­maker & presence of the same most preciouse meate Christe him selfe ( cum ipse sit cōuiua & conuiuiū) wher w ^t he cōtinually fedeth, Hier ad [...]ebidiā such as come vnto hym in his churche, which church according to his commaundement, by special mynisters deputed thervnto, vseth and exer­ciseth the same fest, in the most holy masse, where vnto good christen mēhaue daily accesse, which most holy feste when men abuse, 1. Cor. 11. (as the Co­rynthians dyd) it is their condem­nation, and can be nothyng preuidiciall or daungerouse, to good mennes true beleef. Suche I saye as haue their faith established vp­on the true teachyng of the church, that after the wordes of consecra­tion, the substaunce of bread, is turned [Page xvii] into the substaunce of the na­tural body and bloude of our Sa­uiour Christe. Against which tea­chyng, good men kicke not, with howes, and whattes, for that is a token of incredulite, & if the chaū ­cell were with fyre, sodenly burned (as hath happened by diuerse cha­unces) they thinke not christ that is god immortall, there killed, be­cause he was there, in the hoste af­ter consecracion, or forbeare anye whyt lesse, to worshyp christ, whom with theyr eyes of faith, they se pre­sent in the sacrament of thaulter, because their bodely syght, percey­ueth not any visible alteracion of the host, before the consecracion & after, fynally such good mē, beleue most stedfastly, without sclaunder of theyr senies, that the breakynge of the most blessed sacrament, by the ministre in the masse doth no violaciō to christes most precious [Page] body there present, [...]e breaketh the most precyouse body, whiche is im­passible, but only the fourme of bread, vnder whiche it is cōteyned, and that the same most precyouse bodye, is after hooly in eche of the partes of the host broken, without any encrease in nūber: as thoughe there were thē many christes presēt, but alwayes one christ, & the same christ. But y ^e deuyl taketh his oportunite of mans carnall lyuynge, & whiles the bely hath the vpperhād among a great many of the world, by reason wher of the senses be had in estimation, sturreth vp this ab­hominable heresy, against the most blessed sacrament of the aulter, & vpon the senses maketh the chyefe groundes wherby now, that afore was passed ouer in sylence, when mennes senses were brought in obedience with true byleef, is que­stioned and enquyred of as a newe [Page xviii] matter. And nowe men be asked how a mouse can eate god, & howe god can corrupt, and waxe mo uld: & how god can be broken in p [...]eces, which be fondly framed questiōs, And to y ^e great prouocatiō of gods hygh indignation, blasphemously vttered. Answer me then (saith the deuyll by his apostels) wherunto a true aunswere is this, and the simplicitie required in a christē mā sufficient. Beleue, that a mouse can not deuour god, byleue that god can not corrupt. Beleue that god can not be broken, now after he is ones risē, and beleue also therwith, that Christ, god and man, is natu­rally presente in the sacrament of thaulter, For so Christe saith. So the church of god teacheth, So we be bounde to byleue. If thou beest further taughte of the deuyll, to replye, y ^t if there remayne in y ^e host no substaunce, but the substaunce [Page] [...] [Page xviii] [...] [Page] of the body and bloude of Christ, it must nedes be then, These be the doubtes of incredulite. that the same corrupteth, or elles when goth it a­waye? or where haue ye scripture, to declare the going away and de­partyng of Christ, from the hoost? And if Christ departe, then is there no substaunce remayning, & where is no substaunce, is nothynge, And so, thou wylte saye (as the deuell lerueth the,) that by this teaching, we shall haue nothynge somwhat, And in dede the deuyl hath taught the, to speake somewhat, that is in effecte nothynge, or worse then no­thynge, wherunto if men in these dayes can not aunswer probablye (as I doubt not a great number can) and yet in this tyme the world is rather occupied in garnyshynge the tonge with wordes, thē to entre the further consyderatiō of ītricate sophistication, wherby to be able to refell the same. Shall the true [Page xviii] faith of the churche, in this hyghe mystery perish in the, by the deuyls secrete tentation, bycause I, or such other, can not aunswer thy sophisticall argument. If mennes wordes do not persuade our faith, Non in persua­sibilibus humanae sapienciae uerbis, but only the power of god, shal the framing of an argumēt, wrested out of olde matter, 1. Cor. 2. subuerte the true byleef, by cause thou canst not be aunswered to thy satisfaction in it? whiche is as moch to saye, as thou wylt only byleue thy selfe: For if thou wylte not bileue more thē thyne owne ca­pacite can comprehende, then haste thou no byleef at all of god, which can not be of man comprehended, and haste only a vayne deceytfull ymaginacion of thyne owne, with­out grounde or foundation, redy to be turned as the wynde chaun­geth his cost, and bloweth slackely or straineably, as is occasioned by the ayre, And so is there fynally by [Page] thy conclusion, no stedfaste faith in our religion, but wauering opi­nion, whiche is the deuyls speciall craft wherwith to wype out al. For if it were necessarely requisyte, to satisfie mans senses and sensuall reasons, in the mystery of the most blessed sacramēt of thaulter, could the same carnall reason (trowe ye) staye there but wolde desyre y ^e lyke satisfaction in the mystery of Chri­stes incarnation, our resurrection, and the mysterie of the Trinite. Coulde the philosophers (beynge without true faith, as they were) staye naturall reason, but she wold penetrate al secretes, and for want of satisfaction, finally amonge a number, deny god which is thende for punisshement, of such curiosite, And therfore it is to be noted, that saint Austen saith in the D. August. de Trinitate .iii. boke, in his worke. De trinitate. Mihi omnino vtile est, vt meminerim [Page xix] viriū mearū, fratres (quam) meos admo­neā, vt & ipsi meminerint viriū su­arū, ne vltra (quam) tutū est, humana progrediatur infirmitas. It is expediēt for me (saith S. Austine) to remembre myne owne strength and to ad­monyshe my brethrē lykewise, that they remember theyr strength, that mans weakenes wade no further, thē it may with safetie. Accordinge wherunto Salomon saith. Scru­tator maiestatis, Prouet. 15. opprimetur a glo­ria. He that sercheth the maiestie, shalbe ouerwhelmed of the glorie. And it is written in Ecclesiastico. Eccle. 3. Altiora te, ne quaesieris, & fortiora te, ne scrutatꝰ fueris, sed quae preaeci pit tibi Deus, illa cogita sēꝑ, & in pluribꝰ operibꝰ eius ne fueris curiosus. Questiō not (saith Ecclesia­sticus) of these thynges that y ^u cāst not reach. Search not for thinges aboue thy strēgth & force, but what so euer thynges god commaunde [Page] the to do, thynke of them euer, and in many of goddes workes be not ouer curiouse, wherunto it may be sayd further (as sainte Augustyne Augustine. writeth) and specially gyue no cre­dence to thy sēses, and sensuall rea­sons, to impugne the mysteries of faith, howe so euer they presse the, and prycke the, to enterprise the same, wherin I trauayle not so moche with the (reader) bycause this thwarting of mannes carnall reason, were an harde obiection, which if thou markest, I haue be­fore ass [...]yled by the waye, or that I thought it any daūgerouse matter to be aunswered vnto, wherin as I wolde wishe no suche trifelynge argumētes in so hygh and graue a matter, to haue ben made, & thinke it a greate plage of god, to se so high preciouse misteries, so cōmen­ly, so rudely, and grossely spoken of: So I thynke the solucion very [Page xx] easy, I meane to senses exercised in knowledge and learnyng, (as S. Paule saith) beyng able to digeste strōg meate, and to discerne sophi­stery, in the mystakynge of speach, and conceyue the fyne differences in consyderation of the thynges whiche in dede excede the capacite of the rude people. And therfore when they heare it, beinge angry that they perceyue it not, improue it commenly, and call it sophistery, where in dede, they be already with this grosse carnal argumentes so­phistically entangled. But to the purpose shortly: First I saye this, (wherof I haue spokē before) that the deuyll in his vile examples, of the abuse of the most blessed hoste consecrate, although he troubleth the eye of the rude man, and the eare also, with matter of newe cir­cumstaunce, wherwith the simple witte, is sodenly cōfounded: where [Page] in dede the very matter in those tales depely consydered, is no stra­unger then the olde, and hath no cause to trouble or moue, but only bycause it is a newe facion, newly vttered and tolde. Fewe men (and those but rarely) haue seen a mouse deuoure y ^e host, or churches burnt, wherin the host was then reserued, and with the churche consumed to mans senses, or the hostes, by ne­glygēce moulded or other wyse a­bused. These haue chaunced sel­dome, & haue comen to the knowe­lege of few, but many haue knowē (as of Iudas specially we be lear­ned and taught) that euyll men ha­uing the deuyl in them in that they be euyll, haue yet receyued into theyr bodyes the hoste consecrate, wherin was then present the most precyouse body and bloude of our sauiour Christ. Many also haue seen good mē, being y ^e tēple of god, [Page xxi] receyue the most blessed sacrament in to theyr body, and dye shortelye after. Moreouer the hole churche hath seen, and dayly doth see (suche as forbere not to come to churche) the most blessed sacrament broken, by the mynister, both in the masse for a mysterie cōtinually, and some tyme when hostes haue wanted for cōmunion of other. In which cōsi­deraciōs, of y ^t al or many haue seen mās senses & carnal vnderstāding shuld haue ben asmuche astoyned, for the matter repugnaūt to theyr capacite then, as now in the deuils vile tales. wherfore this I say vn­to the for a solutiō, that yf the true churche of Christ hath so subdued theyr sēses, & carnal ymaginaciōs, as in it, good men haue with the true faith of the presence of the naturall bodye and bloude of our sauiour Christe, seen continually with theyr bodylye eyes, a notable [Page] repugnaunce, to their carnall sen­ses and vnderstandynge, and yet not be moued and altered in theyr faith therwith: why shuld the same matter tolde in a vyle tale & fylthy demonstratiō, moue any mā now? For why shulde any man thinke worse of the most blessed sacramēt, when he seeth a mouse take it, then when he heareth of a theef (as Iu­das y ^e deuilles mēbre) to haue takē it? Or why shuld he mystruste the presence of Christes naturall body in the hoste, beynge in the churche when the same is burnt, more then when he seeth the man incōtinently after he hath receyued y ^e host, dye, and wrapped vp in earth. And as for the breakynge, why haue not good men asmoche ben offended in theyr senses, in the ryght vse and mystery of the churche, whiche is dayly done in the masse, as in such new tales, as the deuyll now deui­sed, [Page xxii] to declare passybilite? Certeyn­ly, none other cause is there but this, that in thē true faith reygned, and had the senses in captiuite and bondage, and in godly simply cite, beleued gods omnipotency, farre excedynge the weakenes of mans capacite. And thus conclude I, one playne solucion to the matter. The churche of god testifieth and tea­cheth this to be the true byleef of the most blessed Sacrament of the aulter, that there is present the na­tural body and bloud of our saui­our Christe. Good men in the same churche with theyr bodylye senses haue seen and herde, as moch mat­ter repugnaunt to theyr senses, in the mysticall and deuoute vse of the blessed sacrament, as the deuyl now telleth in scoffynge tales, and yet therwith reteyned styl the same faith inuiolably, wherfore al good men shulde lykewise do the same [Page] nowe, without curiosite or serche, how the same myght be, whiche to good men shulde be a solucion for the hole matter: For true byleuers knowe that as the handes of the mynisters that breake y ^e sacramēt in the masse, the teeth also of them that receyue it, ne y ^e naturall heate of theyr body wherin it descēdeth, doth no violence of passibylitie, bringeth no corruption, alteratiō, or cōsumptiō to the most precyouse bodye of our sauiour Christe: no more can any beest y ^t shulde touche the host irreuerently, or any tempe­rature of the ayre and place, in the moulding or alteryng of the hoste. [...]. And further more I aunswer that beinge in the most blessed Sacra­ment of thaulter, two considerati­ons, one that it is a sacramēt, ano­ther y ^t it is also the thing it self of y ^e sacrament, that is to saye Christes most preciouse body & bloud, albe­it [Page xxiii] there is in y ^e host no substaūce of bread, but only the substaunce of y ^e most precious body & bloud of our sauiour Christ: yet there is (which appere to our bodelye senses) the forme of bread and wyne, vnder whiche, the most precyouse substa­unce, of the bodye and bloude of our sauiour Christ, is couered, and hidden, from our bodely eyes, for our weakenes and infirmitie as Theophilus Alexandrius sayeth. And when we call the Sacrament of the aulter, God, we vnderstand the substaunce of that sacrament, which is Christ, God and mā there present, and accordinge to that vn­derstandynge, attribute all godly honour vnto it, and in this speach, the worde (Sacramēt) sygnyfieth and gyueth vnderstandynge, by a speciall signification, and by excel­lencye (as learned men speake of it) the thynge signified there [Page] present, that is to saye, the bodye & bloude of our sauiour Christ, whi­che can not be broken with hande, can not be torne with teeth, or be altered, consumed, moulded, or de­uoured of beeste, or putrified, ne herein the bodely senses can beare any witnes to the contrarye, for they can not atteyne that. But whē we vse, the worde (Sacramente) or the worde (hoste) and apply the speache of it, to suche a matter as maye not be saide of the naturall body of Christ, then the speache is verefied in those fourmes of bread and wyne, vnder whiche, the most precious body of christ is couered. As when we say, that the sacramēt is broken or moulded, or altered, it is only vnderstanded of the sayde forme of bread and wine, beyng the outward accidentes, as the quali­ties, or dimensiōs, which god there preserueth not otherwise by out­ward [Page xxv] miracle, beyng thē susteined by his most preciouse bodely sub­staunce, then when they be natu­rally ioyned, to the substaunce of bread, wherof that god thus doth not, mannes senses (because those accidentes be sensible) may iudge, for we se it so, and those accydentes be perceptible, by the bodely sight and sence, and with the eye of the soule in fayth, we se the presence of the most preciouse body of our sa­uioure Christe, who there, is the only substaunce of the sacrament, so longe remaynynge vnder those accidentes, as the fourme of bread and wyne (vnder whiche (by the omnipotency of his worde) it plea­seth hym to exhibite hym selfe vn­to vs) doth remayne and cōtinue. Here the deuyll whyspereth: If god were there he wolde not suf­fre, thaccidentes corrupt, or be vi­olate by any outwarde violence. [Page] Wherunto (as I haue before tou­ched) I saye, this is verely the de­uils suggestion, to make the foun­dacyon of our sayth, not vpō god­ly teachynge, but vpon the conti­nuall outwarde myracle, and no­thynge to be in my [...]ery, whervnto mylde simplycite yeldeth, Sainte Au gustine saith outward signes draw to christ, which in them that [...] drawē be not necessa­ry but in al open violent signes, suche as the vnfaythfull, could not resiste. And yet yf the accidentes of the hoste, were by goddes power, for decla­ration of his presence, made impas­sible, and incorruptible, the deuyll wolde fur her require, that mans body receyuynge the same. shulde also be made impassible and incor­ruptible, by the myght of Christes presence, Exod. 7. For els Magi Pharaonis wolde presume to coūterfet the o­ther myracle, & call it witchecrafte, For the deuyl is calumniator, and laboureth to depraue all thynge. But good meane haue yelded to [Page xxvi] goddes true teachyng in his chur­che, and subduyng the carnall vn­derstandyng haue auoyded by his grace this tentacion of the deuyll, to requyre outwarde signes, as thoughe god shuld testify his pre­sence, in the moost blessed sacra­ment, with preseruation of thacci­dentes, in the sacrament and theyr bodely state, frome presente cor­ruption and immortalitie, that re­ceyue hym, and so the sycke manne by the holy communion, to attayne streyghte bodely helthe, wherin al though, god hath somtyme for en­creace of his glory, and to the edi­fication of his churche shewed his power, yet it hath not ben requy­red as necessary among good men and for the increase of our merite in faythe not expedient, so as the holy martyrs, who after they had, for theyr strength in martyrdome, which they sawe imminēt, receyued [Page] Christes moost preciouse body, in the sacrament of thaulter, conti­nued neuerthelesse in their bodies, subiecte to outwarde violence to be slayne (as they were by tiraun­tes) wherwith the reste of suche as truely beleued, were not offended. For if the carnall senses, shall haue suche a preeminence and preroga­true, as the want of a newe out­warde myracle to theyr satisfactiō, shall empayre the true faythe of goddes inwarde workynge with vs, and for vs: we maye worthely be called Gens incredula, Mat. [...]2. Ruc. 11. Eph. 6. quae si­gnum quaerit, & non dabitur e [...]. By suche mystruste the Caphar­naites, loste the fruite of Christes teachynge, but we shulde know­lege (as the disciples of Christe dyd that Christes wordes be lyfe, euerlastynge, And surely suche as beleue not symply oure Moyses chryste, and the holy prophetes of [Page xxvii] his churche, they wyll gyue small credence to any other newe myra­cles, though men rose agayne frō death to speake with them, but ra­ther study to dysproue all thynge, that repugneth to theyr opynion, who beyng lyfted vp by y ^e deuil in vayneglory, of knowlege, aboue y ^e pinacle of the temple, thynke they had more wytte & learning then al bysshoppes & priestes that be my­nisters of the temple But now cō ­meth the deuill, as a mediatour, in an other cote, and vnder pretence to satisfye all vnderstandynges, he wolde haue the beleef in the sa­crament in one poynt releaued, & wolde we shuld beleue, the remay­nynge, of the substaunce of bread, wherwith to assoyle the argumen­tes of the mouse, and yet graunte the substaunce of the body of christ to be there, for the substaunce and foode of christen men, which kinde [Page] of beleef good christē men, taugh by the spyrite of god, haue not re­ceyued, for it can not be mayntey­ued of Christes wordes, who spake playnely, Mat. 26. [...] 11. This is my body, ma­kynge demonstratiō of the bread, when he sayd, This is my body, by the myghte of whiche wordes of Christe that was demonstrate by the demonstratiō (this) which was the bread, was altered and chaun­ged into his body, wherby the sub­staunce of bread was conuerted in to the substaunce of his moste pre­ciouse body, wherin was declared, Christes meruelouse power, [...] wher­of Theophilus speaketh in this wyse. Our lorde condescendynge to oure infirmitie altered not the fourme of bread and wyne, but cō ­serueth them, & turneth the bread and wyue into y ^e truth of his fleshe and bloude, and this is the true vnderstādyng of Christes speach, [Page xxviii] whiche and yf we vnderstande so as the breade shuld remayne, then folowe many absurdyties, and chiefely that Chryste hath taken the nature of bread, as he toke the nature of man, and so ioyned it to his substaunce. And then as we haue God verely incarnate, for our redemption, so shulde we ha­ue God impanate, and then shuld we haue in Christe (besydes the diuine essence) two other substaū ­ces, abs (que) [...], and be com­pelled to fayne to the truthe, that christen eares abhorre, to the sub­uersion of the same, as we haue seen amonge other come to passe. Wherfore as the truthe, whiche the churche hath and dothe playn­ly and syncerely teache, is moost certeyne and sure, grounded vp­pon the playne wordes of oure Sauyoure Christe, in the moost [Page] blessed sacrament, so euery christen man shulde receyue it, and beleue it fyrmely, without wauerynge, or diuisyng any addition to the same. Let men forsake theyr carnal erth­lye senses, and the wycked kynred of malicious seducers, get the out thense good reader, and resorte to the company of true faythful men, and knowledge with them the re­uelation in the moste blessed Sa­crament, of the presence of the na­turall bodye and bloude of oure sauyour Iesu Christ, whiche, caro et sanguis, can not declare, but on­lye, Pater noster, Mat. 1 [...]. qui est in coelis, who hath declared it, and taughte it oure mother the churche.

ANother point of the deuelish sophistrie, is betwene y ^e wor­des and meanyng, wherein the de­uyl shyfteth y ^e matter thus. Where the wordes of scrypture, be playne, euydente, manyfeste, and confyrme [Page xxix] the catholique truth, there the de­uyll deuyseth an other meanynge, and aduertiseth his scholers, that the wordes be nothynge withoute the meanynge, and therfore (sayth he) we must vnderstande Chrystes wordes, as he ment them, and therfore (saith the deuyl) beware of the wordes, and take hede of the mea­nyng. Christ (sayth the deuyl) sayd This is my body, but take hede (sayth sathan) what Christ ment. O abhominable Sathan, full falsely doest thou meane. O good christen faythful man, marke thou this sophistrye. For it is in dede a true lesson, that the very worde of god is the true meanynge of scripture, and who hath that true mea­nyng (which is not taughe by mās wyt and deuyse of vnderstanding but by declaration from god, reueled to the churche) he hath goddes wordes, to hys comforte and con­solation [Page] and who hath the wordes of scripture peruersely taken, is therwith infected and poysened to his cōfusion, as the Arrians Sa­bellyans, and an infinite numbre of heretikes haue ben. So as it must nedes be graūted, that in the meaning of scripture is the marie, the carnel, the swetnes, y ^e fode, the hony of scripture, without whiche the wordes be a bytter shale, and an harde bone, without foode or sustenaunce. This must nedes be confessed of all men, as an euident truthe, whiche the deuyll abuseth by cauyllacion and sophistrie, to ouerturne the truthe in the moost blessed sacrament of thaulter. For openynge of which sophistrie it is to be consydered, that somtyme in scripture, the wordes be so placed and ordered, as the meanyng is vttered, and opened with the wordes at ones, and hath such lyght of the [Page xxx] wordes, as they appere bothe togyther, and without further serche, be streyght cōueyed to our vnder­standynge Somtyme agayne the wordes be such, or so vsed and pla­ced, as they brynge not theyr mea­nynge streyght with them in the same lyght, but more darkely, and as it were hydden vnder the wor­des. Nowe in the fyrste sorte of wordes, whiche brynge theyr sense with them yf we shuld in them cal for a meanyng, And when we rede, Humiliauit semetipsum dominus noste lesus Christus, Philip. 2. factus obe­diens vs (que) ad mortem. Our lorde Iesus Christe hath humbled hym selfe beynge obedyent to the deth, we shulde call for a meanyng and saye, we muste vnderstande these wordes, as sayncte Paule mente them, Can we meane any thynge by callynge soo for a meanynge, but to calle the certayne mea­nynge [...] [Page] (quam) aenigma sit, loēm Heliam esse, & intellectu opus, ad intelligen­dum, inquit. Qui habet aures ad audiendù, audiat. Ita inducens eos vt interrogent ac discant. Whiche wordes in latin be in englysh this sentence. And yf ye wyll receyue it, he is Helias, whiche shulde haue cōme. If ye wyll (sayth Theoph.) receyue it, that is to saye, iudge it ryghtly, and not with an enuiouse mynde, he is Helias whom the prophet Malachie sayd, shulde come. For saincte Iohn̄ that came before Christ and Helias. haue ben bothe allotted to one office. The one to go before y ^e fyrst comyng of christ, and the other before the laste com­mynge, And then shewynge howe this was a darke speache, y ^t Iohn̄ was Helias, & conteyned a secrete vnderstandynge in it, and requy­red therfore another sense to be perceyued, sayd, He that hath eares of [Page xxxii] hearynge, let hym heare, so indu­cyng them, to aske & learne. Thus saith Theophilacte, by whome we be learned of the circumstance, to note the meanyng, if it be hydden, and so not onely the wordes to be noted, in theyr common sense, but the meanyng to be asked and lear­ned, which lesson neglected, (as the deuyll medleth with such as mar­keth it not engendreth in y ^e know­ledge of truth, a greate perplexite, wherof the deuyl taketh opportu­nite to inueigle them, and somtyme preacheth, somtyme writeth to the vnlearned on this wyse: Christes wordes be true, when he sayde, This is my body, but as he mente them. For so he sayde, he was a waye, he was a vyne, he was a doore, but he was not a naturall vyne, he was no such way as men walke in, no such doore, as men cō monly entre into, but only a resemblaunce [Page] of all these, bycause he is our waye to heauen, oure doore to entre in to lyfe, our vynestocke, in whome, we as braunches be nou­ryshed & kepte in lyfe. And so lyke wyse (ꝙ the deuyll) when Christe saith, This is my body, he meaneth that it is onely a resemblaunce, a figure a tokē, a signe of his body, which semeth a stronge argumēt, to suche as haue not theyr senses exercised, Nob. 5. (as s. Paule saith) to dis­cerne good & euyll, that is to saye, truthe from falsehode, and sophy­stry from playnnes. But it is mere sophistry, for in those other places the matter sheweth, they be spoken in a parable, & bycause christ spake somtyme in parables we maye not saye, he speaketh alwayes in para­bles. And bycause when he sayde, Ipse est Helias, Mat. 11. (est) singified a re­semblaunce, & not the beynge, as the verbe substātiue properly doth [Page xxxiii] signifie) that therefore it signifieth so in Christes wordes, whē he said. Hoc est corpur meum, Mat. 16. in whiche (est) is declared the verye beynge. Mar. 14. And although when Christe sayd. Luc. 12. Soluite templum hoc, & in triduo reedisicabo illud, Destroye this temple and I shall in thre dayes, Io. [...]. buylde it agayne. The worde (tem­plum) signifieth not there a verye temple, but Christes bodye (which argument, one ignoraunte made) we maye not saye that therefore the worde (corpus) shall not here signifie Christes very body, when christ sayde, Hoc est corpus meum, Rom. 13. And when scripture saith, we must cloth our selfe w ^e Christ, in which is not signified Christes naturall body, but Christes teaching, & so the word (Christ) hath his sense hydden, we may not say, that therfore the same worde (Christ) shall not in another place, haue his owne open euident [Page] sense, of the signification of Chry­stes naturall person, These maner of argumētes, may circumuent the vnlerned, and vnstable, and suche as be prone to chaunge though it be ior the worse but lerned men, se thē trifles (such lerned mē I meane as vse thē not for pastime, as some haue done) [...] good men, can not be shaken or moued w ^t thē. But heare what s. C [...]pri [...]ā saith. Panis iste, quē dominus discipulis porrigebat, nō effigie, sed natura mutatus, omni­potentia uerbi factꝰ est caro, This bread whiche our lord gaue, to his disciples, chaunged in nature, but not in y ^e outward fourme, is by the omnipotency of gods worde made fleshe. Which misterie when christ spake of, Io. 6. before the vnfaithfull Capharuaites, They asked, howe god roulde giue his flesshe to be eaten, and went their waye, but the disci­ples, whō god had prepared by the [Page xxxiiii] formet myracle of fiue loues, and the miraculouse multiplication of them, to beleue this, they taried & confessed Christe, to haue the wor­des of lyfe. And where as in other places of scripture, where Christe spake in parables, the disciples de­sired Christ to open thē, Matt. 13. & said: Edis sere nobis parabolā. Shewe and declare vs this parable: So when Christe, consecrated his body, and gaue it vnto them to eate, y ^e demonstracion of the thynge, neaded no further explycation, to vnderstand it, but faith to beleue it. For christe takinge the breade in his handes, Mat. 26. blessinge it, and geuinge thankes, Mar. 14. said, Luc. 12. Take ye, eate ye, this is my body, 1. Cor. 11. What other meaninge shulde here be sought for, wher be so plain wordes, w ^t suche circumstaunce as can haue none other meaninge, to cōceiue which meaning (as I said) christe hadde prepared the myndes [Page] of his disciples, when he sayde. Pa­nis quē ego dabo vobis, caro mea est, Io. 6. pro mundi vita. The bread that I shall geue you, is my flesshe, for the lyfe of the world. So as in the very cōsecration, because it was y ^e exhibition of that, Christe had pro­mysed, and they had confessed hym to haue the wordes of lyfe, when they sawe him, and harde hum exe­cute the same, they vnderstode with his wordes, his meanynge, and be­leued hym. But I thinke it muche better to pretermytte further occasion, of that might be my praise, to expound vnto you, the scriptures, & omytrynge myne owne speache to lay before you, such exposition, and opening of the holy, and incōtami­nat mysteries of Christe, as other haue lefte wrytten, whych I do af­terwarde in a speciall place for it, & yet me thinketh here is offered an opportunitie, to write that Ihon [Page xxxv] Damascene sayth alone, For he a­lone openeth the matter, so plainly as he might alone suffise, for decla­ration of the thynge, and confuta­tion, of the deuylles sophistrye, de­uysed to impugne the same. This Ihon Damascene, was a greate clerke, and one of the greke church and wrote in greke, so as they nede not to be offended, that loue not y ^e latyn tongue. Two thinges in him shal offendsome. One, that he stout lye defended the maintenaunce of ymages, and vehemently inueyed against them, that brake them, and wold not haue them stand, wherin he wrote so vehementlye, as vpon false accusemēt for another matter deuised, & cōtriued against him, his ryght hande was striken of, & han­ged in the market place as y ^e hand of and offender, whych neuerthelesse after he had obteined incontinent­lye by grace, and fauoure, libertye [Page] to take it downe, the same hande was by myracle restored to his bo­dy, and ioyned agayne to his arme in perfitte vse, as it was before, for restituciō wherof, he prayed to our ladye, in wordes of this sentence. Domina & sanctissima mater, quae deum meū peperisti, amputata est dextera mea, ob sanctas & diuinas imagines, tu qua de causa Leo seui at non ignoras, proinde [...]iocius succurre, dextera enim altissimi, quae de te incarnata est, per tuas in tercessiones, multas facit uirtutes, sanet oro & hanc meam dexteram tuis praecibus. The englysshe of whiche prayer is this O Ladye and mooste holye mother, the whi­che hast brought forth my god, my ryghte hande, is cutte of for yma­ges, such as represente godlynes, & holynes vnto vs, thou knoweste for what cause, Leo (themperoure) is so fierce, & therefore helpe spede­ly, [Page xxxvi] The ryght hande of the highest whiche is incarnate of the, hathe wroughte manye vertues, by thine intercessions. I praye the therfore, that he may by thy prayers, heale this my right hand. Whereby ap­peareth, what opinion this man had of images, & praier to saintes & by his testimony also what was vsed in the church, in his tyme, whiche myghte releaue suche as can not abyde images, or allowe pray­er to saintes. For this we haue written of hym, and in greke, and translated by Oecolampadius the Germaine, and printed within these sixe yeares, in Basile in Germanye, where the contrary opinion, amōg the cōmon people, is mayneteined, so as no mā shal haue cause to dif­fame it, as set forth by any papist. But to y ^e purpose. This Damas­cene hath wryttē an excellēt worke vnder this tytle. De orthodoxa [Page] fide, of the right catholyque fayth, in the .iiii, boke whereof, the .xiiii, chapter, Damis. 4. li. de fide orthod [...]xa. ca. 14. he entreateth reuerentlye thinstitution of the most holy sacrament of the thaulter deducyng the conueniency therof, from the beginning of our participation of gods goodnes, and bicause it is worthye many readynges, I haue ben the rather persuaded, to write in, the o­riginall in greke, and therwith the translaciō, in laryn & also english. Ie shal not greatly augmente the boke, and bycause some children learne greake in this time, it maye serue them for a lessō wherwith to occupy their tender wittes, and con­ferme them againste the malyce of the deuyl. The chapter of greake be­gynneth thus.

[Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...].

[Page xli] BOnus ille, & omnibonus, ac omnem superans bonitarem, deus, cum totus sit ipsa bonitas, propter immensas diuitias bonita­tis suae, non tulit solam manere bo­nitatem, hoc est, suam ipsius natu­ram, a nemine participari, quinetiā huius rei gratia, nempe communi­candi boni, fecit primum quidē in­tellectuales & coelestes virtutes, deinde visibilem & sensibilē mū ­dum, post haec, qui ex intellectuali sensibili (que) constaret, hominē. Ita (que) omnia, quae ab ipso sunt facta, bo­nitatem ipsius, hactenus certè cō ­municāt, quatenus sunt. Ipse enim est esse, siue essentia omnibus, quandoquidem in ipso sunt, quae­cū (que) sunt, non ob id solum, quòd exnihilo in essentiam ea adduxit, sed quòd ipsa actio ipsius, quae ab eodem suntiam facta, cōseruat & cōtinet, praecipuè verò ea, quae sunt animalia, quae ita bono communi­cant, [Page] vt cū essentia, participent & vitam. Rationalia autem praetereà, etiam rationem, at (que) adeò hac par­te, dei bonitate, cōmunicantur multò magis. Sunt enim ista quodam­modo cōiunctiora deo, & propri­ora, qui tanto tamē interuallo, om­nia superat, vt nihil cum eo cōfer­ri, aut de eo ferri iudicium vllum possit. At verò homo, ratione iam praeditus, & [...] effectus, (hoc est) liberi arbitrij, facultate ea donatus est, qua se deo, iudicio & electione sua, perpetuò uniret, vi­delicet si in bono collato, hoc est, in obedientia creatoris permansis­set. Post (quam) autē transgressus man­datū eius, qui fecerat illum, morti & corruptioni succubuit, creator ille & opifex generis nostri, propo­ter viscera misericordiae suae, simi­lis factus est nobis, & extra pecca­tum, caetera omnia factus homo, nostrae eo modo naturae vnitus est. [Page xlii] Cum enim communicasset nobis, tum imaginem, tum spiritum suū, quem non adseruauimus: assump­sit ille pauperem iam & imbecillē naturam nostram, ut nos videlicet purgatos, & incorruptos redderet, ac in integrum restitutos, efficeret denuò participes suae diuinitatis. Oportebat autem non primitias solum, naturae nostrae, de meliori fore participes, sed & omnem uo­lentem quidem certè hominem, cum nasci secunda natiuitate, tum nouo nutriri cibo, huiusmodi na­tiuitati accōmodo, & competenti, at (que) ita adibito demū studio, as­sequi perfectionis modum. Perna tiuitatem ergo suam, id est incarnationem, per baptismum, passionē, & resurrectionem, naturā nostram a peccato primi parētis, reddidit, li berā, à morte praeterea, & corrup­tione. Resurrectiōis uerò primitiae factus, seipsum viam formā & ex­emplar [Page] cōstituit, vt & nos eius ve­stigia insequētes, id efficiamur ad: optione, quod est ipse natura, ni­mirum dei tum filii, tum haeredes, ipsius autem Christi cohaeredes. Dedit ita (que) nobis (vt dixi) natiuita tem secundam, vt quemadmodum ab Adam progeniti, illi similes ef­fecti, iure etiam haereditario, male­dictionem & corruptionem conse quuti sumus: sic ex christo nati, eū referamus, & haeredes efficiamur, incorruptionis, benedictionis, & gloriae eius. Cum verò Adam iste spiritualis sit, conueniebat etiam natiuitatem spiritualem esse, simi­liter & cibum. Porrò autem quo­niam nos duplices quodammodo sumus, & natura composita, opor­tet & natiuitatem similiter dupli­cem esse, & cibum etiam aeque cō positum, & duplicem. At natiuitas quidem per aquam & spiritum, da ta est nobis, dico vti (que) sanctū bap­tisma. [Page xliii] Cibus vero iste, est Domi­nus noster Iesus Christus panis vi­tae qui de coelo descendit. Subitu­rus enim spontaneam pro nobis mortem, eadem nocte, in qua seip­sum tradidit, testamentum nouum disposuit sanctis discipulis & apostolis suis, ac per ipsos, deinceps in omnes qui essent in eū credituri. Igitur in coenaculo sanctae & glo­riosae Syon, post (quam) cōmedisset ve­tus pascha, cum discipulis suis, & testamētum vetus idem implesset, lauit pedes discipulorum, symbo­lum in eo praebens, baptismatis sa­cri, deinde panem cum fregisset, dedit illis dicens. Accipite, cōme­dite, hoc est corpus meum quod frangitur in remissionem peccato­rum. Similiter & poculū, ex vino & aqua post (quam) accepisset, tradidit illis dicens, Bibite ex eo omnes, Hic est sanguis meus noui testa­menti, qui pro vobis effunditur, in [Page] remissionem peccatorum, Hoc fa­cite in meam commemorationem, Quotienscun (que) enim manducatis panem hunc, & calicem hūc bibi­ris, mortem filij hominis annuntia tis, & resurrectionem ipsius con fitemini, donec ueniat. Si igitur sermo del, uius est & efficax, & omnia quae cun (que) uoluit dominus fecit, Si dixit fiat lux, & facta est, fiat firmamētum, & factum est. Si verbo domini coeli firmati sunt, & spiritu oris eius omnis uirtus eorū. Si coelum & terra, aqua & ignis, et aer, & vniuersus ornatus eorum, uerbo dn̄t perfectus est, at (que) hoc adeò per celebratū animal, homo. Si deus ille verbum, sua voluntate factus est homo, & sanctae, ac per­petuae virginis, purum & immacu latū sanguinē, sibijpsi sine semine, carnē substituit: nunquid qui haec fecit, poterit panem suijpsius effi­cere corpus, ac uinū aqua, etiā [Page xliiii] sanguinē? Dixit in initio: Produ­cat terra herbam uirentē, & in hūc us (que) diem, cum fit pluuia, sua ger­mina producit, diuino uti (que) prae­cepto simul impellēte, uim at (que) uigorem subministrāte. Dixit de­us, Hoc est corpus meum, & hic est sanguis meus, & hoc facite in meam cōmemorationem, at (que) om­nipotenti illius praecepto, donec ueniat, fit. Sic enim dixit: donec ueniat. Fit autem nouae huic agri­culturae pro pluuia, sancti spiritus obumbrans uirtus, per inuocatio­nem. Quemadmodū enim omnia quaecū (que) deus fecit, cooperāte spi­ritu sancto, facta sunt: sic & nunc spiritus energia & actio est, quae haec operat̄ supra naturā, quae haud potest capere nisi sola fides. Quo­modo erit mihi hoc (inquit beata uirgo) quoniā uirū nō cognosco? Respōdit Gabriel archāgelus, Spiritus sctūs superueniet in te, & uir­tus [Page] altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Et tu itidem nunc quaeris, quomodo panis fit corpus CHRISTI, & uinum cum aqua, sanguis Christi? Respondeo tibi & ego. Spiritus sanctus accedit, & haec operatur, quae rationem superant & intelligē tiam. At uerò panis et uinum adsu­muntur. Nouit quippe deus humanam infirmitatē, quae plurima qui­dem usu & consuetudine, minus trita, & molestè fert & auersatur, ad nostram ergo consetudinē se demittens, quae nobis in natura as­sueta sunt, utitur, ut efficiat ea, quae sunt supra naturam. Et quemad­modum in baptismate, quoniam in more est hominum, tum lauari a­qua, tum oleo ungui, oleo simui & aquae gratiam adiunxit sancti spiritus, ac ipsum effecit lauacrum regenerationis: sic quoniam assuerunt homines, panem commedere & bibere uinum, adiugauit illis suam [Page xlv] ipsius diuinitatem, & eadem fecit corpus & sanguinem suum, videlicet, vt per assueta, & quae se­cundum naturam sunt, in hijs col­locemur quae sunt supra naturam. Corpus vere vnitum est diuinitati, illud dico, quod ex beata virgine est corpus, non quòd ipsum susceptum corpus, è ccelo descendit, sed quòd ipse panis & vinum transmutātur, in corpus & sanguinem dei. Quòd si modum quaeras, quomo­do fiat, sat sit tibi audire, ꝙ per spi­ritū sanctum ad eum modum fiat, quomodo ex beata deipara, per spiritum sanctum, sibiipsi & in se­ipso dominus carnem substituit, breuiter, plenius & amplius nihil cognoscimus, (quam) ꝙ verbum dei ve­rum est, efficax etiam & omnipo­tens, modus autem inscrutabilis. Quan (quam) haud perindè alienum fu­erit etiam illud dicere ꝙ quomodo panis per commestionem, vinū ve [Page] [...] & aqua, per potionē, in corpus & sanguinem edentis & bibentis, naturaliter mutantur, & aliud effi­ciuntur corpus, a priori suo corpo re diuersum, sic panis propositio­nis, uinum etiam & aqua, per inuocationem, & accessum sancti spiri­tus, transmutantur supra naturae modum, in corpus & sanguinem Christi, nec sunt iam duo, sed unū & idem ipsum, fit autem hijs qui cum fide dignè susceperint, in re­missionem peccatorum, & aeter­nam uitam, in custodiam porrò & tutelam animi & corporis. Incre­dulis uerò qui (que) minus dignè participauerint, in poenam & ultionē, non aliter ac Christi etiam mors, ijs qui eredunt, fit uita & incorruptio, in fruitionem aeternae beatita­tis, incredulis uerò, & domini oc­cisoribus, in punitionem & ultio­nem sempiternam. Non est panis & uinum, figura corporis & san­guinis [Page xlvi] Christi, Absit, sed est ipsum corpus domini deificatū, ipso do­mino dicente, HOC EST nō figura corporis, sed corpus, nō sanguinis figura, sed sanguis, qui i [...]ē ante dixerat Iudaeis. Quoniam ni­si manducetis carnem filij homi­nis, & sanguinem eius bibatis, non habetis uitamlin uobismetipsis.

Caro enim mea uerus est cibus, & sanguis meus uerus est potus. Et rursum: Qui manducat me, uiuer. Quapropter, cum omni timore, & cōsciētia pura, ac fide minime hae­sitabunda accedamus, & omnino erit nobis quēadmodū credimus, si certò credimus sine fluctuatiōe. Veneremur etiā illud omni puri­tate, animi uidelicet & corporis, quasi geminata ueneratione. Est enim & ipsū quod ueneramur, du­plex (Christi nimirū diuinitate, & carne cōstans) Accedamus ad illū ardēti desiderio, & manꝰ in crucis [Page] speciem formantes, corpus cruci­fixi excipiamus. Applicatis autē oculis, labijs, et fronte diuinum car bonem concipiamus, vt nostri de­siderij ardor, huius carbonis igni­tione arrepta, tum peccata nostra exurat, tū corda illuminet, deni (que) participatione diuini ignis, et igni amur ipsi et deificemur. Carbonē uidit Esaias. Carbo uerò lignum simplex nō est, sed unitum igni.

Sic et panis cōmunionis, non pa­nis simplex est, sed unitus deitati: Corpꝰ uerò unitum diuinitati, non una natura est, sed una quidem corporis, unitae uerò illi diuinitatis al­tera. Adeò ꝙ utrum (que) simul, non una est natura, Gene. 14. Heb. 7. sed due. Melchise­dech cum esset sacerdos dei altis­simi, pane et uino excepit Abrahā, à caede alienigenarum iam reuer­sum. Illa siquidem mēsa, mysticam hanc praefigurabat mensam, quem admodum etiam sacerdos ille, veri [Page xlvii] sacerdotis Christi, figuram praese­ferebat & imaginem. Tu enim (in­quit) es sacerdos in seculum, secū dum ordinem Melchisedech. Hūc autem panem, etiam panes propo­sitionis figurabant. Hoc praeterea est purum sacrificium & incruentum, quòd ab ortu solis, us (que) ad occasum, ipsi offerendum, per pro­phetam, dominus eloquutus est.

Corpus est & sanguis christi, ad a­nimi & corporis stabilimentū, sus­cepta à nobis, quae non consumū ­tur, non corrumpuntur, non uadūt in cecessum. Absit, sed in nostram substantiam, & cōseruationē per­tinent. Omnis autem noxae profli­gatio sunt, & sordis omnis purga­tio. Si enim aurū acceperint adul­terinum, ignitione illa sua (ut ita'di cam) censoria, quae purum a cor­rupto diuidit, omnino purgant, vt ne cum hoc mūdo in futuro dam­nemur. Purgat autē hoc sacramentum, [Page] morbos & incōmoda omnia, quemadmodū inquit diuinus apo­stolus. Vti (que) si nos ipsos iudicare­mus, non iudicaremur. A domino uerò iudicati, corripimur, ut nō cū mundo cōdempnemur. Et hoc est quod dicit, quoniam qui participat corpus & sanguinem dn̄i indignè, iudicium sibi manducat & bibit. Per hoc purgati, unimur corpori dn̄i, & spiritui illius, & efficimur corpus Christi, Iste panis est primitiae illius panis futuri, qui est [...] Varia nobis significat [...] uidelicet pro compositionis ratione, quam s [...]ab [...] & participio substantiui uerbi estimes: sonat quasi dicas imminens, quod autem immi­net etiam s [...] nō longe absit, nō est tamen prae­sens sed futu­rum est caete­rum quoniam proximum est graecis est crastinum. Sicen [...] legitur in act: Aposto. [...] i. postero die, hoc est crasti­no, a [...] quan rationē cōpyetēter sonat futurū Quod stuerbi cōpositionēab [...] et nomine [...] acci­pias, analogia deducti in adiectiuum sup substātiale uerteris, uelst [...] ābiguitatem praepositiōis liceret, insub­stātiale, quest dicas, insubstā tiāmigrās, & quod hic [...]pic expressit, sub­stantiā cōser­uans. Ergo in oratiōe domi­nica panē [...] [...] petimus, hoc est, futurū qui nun (que) desinet, & quae nostrā substantiā ua­re fulciat at (que) consernet. Illud enim [...], signifi­cat, uel panem futurum, hoc est pa­nem futuri seculi, aut panē ad con­seruationem nostrae substantiae susceptum. Siue igitur hoc, siue illo modo. Christi corpus conuenien­ter dicetur.

(S. [...] utra (que) ratione. Nam & in patris Christus nobis cibus futurus, est idem, qui nunc pascit in uia, & uere cum hic, tum ibi, co [...]seruat nostram sub­stantiam Est enim uita nostra in Christo abscondita)

Spiritus enim uiuificans est, caro [Page xlviii] domini, quoniam ex spiritu uiuifi­cante, cōcepta est. Quod enim na­tum est ex spiritu, spiritus est Hoc autem dico, non auferens naturam corporis, sed ꝙ hoc & uiuificū & diuinum etiam sit cupiam ostendere. Quod autem panem & vinum exemplar dominici corporis qui­dam appellarunt, quemadmodum deifer Basilius, locutus est, non id post consecrationem dixerunt, sed ante sanctificatam oblationem, sic nominarunt, Participatio dicitur, quoniā per hoc diuinitatis domini nostri Iesu reddimur participes. Dicitur praeterea communio, & est reuera, quoniam per hoc Chri­sto communicamus, & eius carnē, ac diuinitatem participamus, communicamus etiam dum inuicem vnimur, hac communione. Quan­doquidem enim ex vno pane participamus omnes, unum Christi corpus, & vnus sanguis: & concorpo­rei [Page] christo existentes, mutua inui­cem membra efficimur. Omni igi­tur cautione obseruandum est, ne ab hereticis participationē admit­tere sustineamꝰ, sed nec illis dare. Et enim ne detis sancta canibus, Matt. 7. (dn̄s inquit) ne (que) proijcite marga­ritas uestras, ante porcos, ut non participes erroris, & malae eorum fidei, efficiamur, & condempnati­onis. Si uerò omninò est unio no­bis ad Christum, & inuicem nobis cum est, deni (que) omnibus omninò eadem nobiscum consentionem et uoluntatem participantibus etiam unio est. Ipsa enim unitas ex libera animi electione fit, non abs (que) no­stra sententia & uolūtate. Omnes enim unum corpus sumus, quod ex uno pane participamus, vt in­quit diuinus apostolus. Exempla­ria uerò futurorū dicuntur, nō tā (quam) uere non sint, [...]. Cor. 10. corpus & sanguis Christi, sed ꝙ nūc per illa partici­pamus, [Page xlix] Christi diuinitatem, tunc autem intellectualiter, per solam uisionem.

THe good, and all good, (saithe Da­mascene) and t [...], ex­cellyng good god, beynge altogether goodnes, wolde not suffre the same goodnes, that is to saie, his verye nature, to re­maine sole withoute participation made thereof, by other. And there­fore god, firste made the intellectuall and heauenlye vertues. After that, the visible and sensible world, and then man of a nature that hath both sense and vnderstandynge.

So all thinges whiche be made of god, be so farre forth partakers of his goodnes, in that they haue all a beynge, for of hym, and in hym selfe, all thynges be, not onely for [Page] that he brought thē from nothing, to haue a beinge, but also for that his operation continuynge lyke­wise conserueth and mainteineth all thinges that he made. But in this participation suche thinges aboue other participate, as haue lyfe, which communicate of gods goodnes, not onely in that they be partakers of their beinge, but also of their lyfe. Reasonable creatures forsoth besides beinge and lyfe, furthermore participate of gods goodnes in that they haue reason, which reasonable creatures, be somewhat more nere and familier vnto god then the other, and yet god so excel­leth all, aboue all proportion, as neither can there be comparyson with hym, nor iudgemente of hym. Neuerthelesse man a reasonable creature, and constitute in fredome with the gyfte of free wyl, receiued therwith also power and facultie, [Page l] through his owne choyse and elec­tion, to be vnited to god continually, yf he had remained and perseuered in that goodnes, that is to say, the obedience of hym, that created hym. But after man had transgressed the precepte of hym that made hym, and was thereby subiecte to death and corruption, God vnited to oure na­ture in christ. the maker and workeman of mankynde (such is the tendernes of his mercy) be­ynge made in all thinges lyke vn­to vs, was made man withoute synne, and so vnited to our nature, And bycause he had delyuered vn­to vs, his owne image and spirite, whiche we haue not preserued and kepte he hathe taken vpon hym oure nature, thenne poore and weake, to the intente he shoulde pourge vs, and make vs incor­ruptible, and restore vs alsoo a­gaine, to be partakers of his god­hed & deitie. It behoued moreouer [Page] not onely the fyrste fruytes of our nature, Christ is the first fruites of oure na­ture. to be brought to be parta­ker of the better, but also all y ^e hole kynde of man, The better that is to say the deite suche as are wel willyng both to be borne againe, with a newe natiuitie, and nourysshed with a newe meate agreable to y ^e natiuite, and so with endeuoure to attayne the measure of perfection. wherfore by Christes natiuite that is to saye, his incarnation and ba­ptisme, passion and resurrection, he hath delyuered our nature, frome the synne of our firste father, from deathe also and corruption. And beinge hym selfe made the cheife and first, and (as it were) the firste frui­tes of resurrection, he hath appointed hym selfe to be the waye, forme, and example, to this ende, that we folowynge his steppes, shulde by adoption, be made the chyldren & heyres of god, as he is by nature, and so become coheretours with [Page li] hym: for which purpose (as I haue saide) he hath geuen vs the seconde natiuite, whereby as we beynge borne of Adam, resembled Adam, & enherited thereby curse and corruption: So beinge borne of god, we shulde resemble hym, and shoulde atteyne by enheritaunce, incorrup­tion, blessynge, and his glory. And bycause Christe is the spiritual A­dam, it is semely that oure natiui­te shulde be spirituall, and lyke­wyse also our meate. In asmusche also as we be doubble, that is to saye, of body and soule, and so not of one single nature, Double of byrth of the water & ho­lye ghoste. but compoun­ded, it was mete oure byrth shulde be doubble likewise, and our meat A dubble also. Our birth then, Double meate, that to Chrystes flesh vnitied to be diu [...]itie. is gi­uen vs by the water, and the holye ghoste. The meate forsothe, is the foode of lyfe, our lord Iesus christ, that descended from heauen. For our lorde Iesus Christe, when he [Page] shulde take on hym his death, wy [...]lyngly for vs, in the nyght in whi­che he gaue hymselfe, he ordred a newe testamēt to his holy disciples and apostels, & by them to al othe [...] y ^t bileue in him. In a chambre ther [...]fore of y ^e holy & gloriouse Syon, eatynge the olde paschall with his disciples, and fulfillynge the olde testamente, he wasshed his disci­ples feete, giuinge them therin a token of holye baptisme. Afterwarde breakynge bread gaue it to them, sayeng, Take ye, eate ye, this is my body, that is broken for you, in remyssion of synne: Lykwyse ta­kynge the cuppe of wyne and wa­ter▪ deliuered it vnto them sayeng, Drinke of this al, this is my bloud of the newe testamēt, that is shedde for you into remissiō of synnes, Do B this for remembraunce of me, For as often as ye eate this breade & drinke this cuppe, ye do shew forth [Page lii] the death of the sonne of man, and confesse the resurrection of him, whiles he cōmeth. If the worde of god, be lyuely and effectuall, and all thing y ^t our lord wold, he made, If he saide, Be y ^e light made, and light was made. Be the firmamēt made, and the firmamēt was made If the heauens be establyshed by y ^e wo [...]de of god, and also the strength and vertue of them, is lykewyse establyshed by the breathe of his mouth: If heauen and earth, wa­ter fier, and ayre, and all thourna­mente of them, be perfited by the worde of our lorde, and not onelye these, but also man him self, a beast of al other most renowned & spokē of: If the essentiall word, very god (wyllyng so to be) was made man, and made the pure and vndefyled bloud, of the holy and perpetuall virgin to be hys flesshe, withoute any seede of man: Can not he make [Page] the breade his body? And the wine and water his bloude? He saide in the beginning. Let the earth bring forth grene grasse, And vnto thys day the earth when it raineth, bringeth forth his owne buddynges, beynge by goddes precepte styred & strengthened to do the same. God sayde: This is my body and this is my bloud, and doo this in remem­braunce of me, whiche by his pre­cepte that is omnipotente, is done vntyll he commeth. For so he sayde vntyll he came, vnto whiche newe kynde of tyllage the vertue of the holye ghoste ouershadowyng it, is by speciall inuocation, in the stead of raine, for lyke as all thyng that god hathe made, is made, by the operation of the holy ghost: So nowe the efficacye of the same ho­lye ghoste, worketh these thyn­ges that be aboue nature whiche can not be comprehended, but by [Page liii] faith onely. How shall this be (said the holy virgin) seinge I know no man? The archeangel Gabriel an­swered. C The holy ghost shall come downe to the, and the vertue of the higheste shall shadowe the. And nowe thou askest, howe this bread is made the bodye of Christe, and the wyne and water the bloude of Christ? Wherein I aunswere also vnto the. The holye ghoste com­meth and worketh these thinges a­boue reason and vnderstandynge. The breade and wyne be taken to this mysterye. For god knowethe mans weakenes whiche with some displeasure eschueth many thinges that be not before by vse, made smothe & familier vnto hym, wherfore our sauiour Christ so condes­cendeth to our infirmitie, as he v­seth thinges to vs accustomed and agreable, wherewith to make thinges that be aboue nature. And [Page] lyke as in baptisme, seinge men commonlye vsed to wasshe them selues in water, and annoynte thē selues with oyle, Christe added to the oyle and water, the grace of y ^e holy ghoste, and made it the was­shynge of regeneration: So for that men were accustomed to eate D breade, and drynke wyne and wa­ter, Christe ioyned vnto them, The breade and wyne made bodye and bloude, after which makynge there is no more breade or witie, but the bodye & bloude. his godhed, and made them his body and bloude, that by thynges accu­stomed and agreable to nature, we myght be placed in thinges that be aboue nature. The body is ve­rely vnited to y ^e Godhed, I meane E the same body, that was taken of the holy virgin, not that the same body taken, descended from heauē but that the bread & wyne be transfourmed into the body and bloude of God. If thou doest aske me the maner how it is done? it shuld suf­fyce the to heare aunswered, that [Page liiii] by the holy ghost, lyke as of the holy mother of God, by the holye ghoste, oure lorde made to hym selfe flesshe, and in hym selfe, withoute seede of manne: In whiche matter we know no more, but that the worde of god, is true, of effica­cie and omnipotent, but as for the maner is vtterly inscrutable, and such as can not by serche be deprehēded & foūde. And yet it were not amisse to say thus, that like as the breade by eatynge, and wyne by drynckynge, is naturallye chaun­ged into the bodye and bloude of hym that eateth and drinckethe, & nowe are become another body, o­ther then their owne body whiche they had before, euen so the breade prepared to be consecrate, and the wyne and water, by inuocatyon and commynge downe of the holy ghoste, be aboue nature chaūged into the body & bloude of Chryste, [Page] F and be not two, but one, and the same. Whiche worke is wroughte and is to the, that worthely receiue it in fayth, the remyssyon of synne, for lyfe euerlastynge, and to be a safegarde for bodie and soule. And to them that be vnfaithfull and re­ceiue it vnworthely, to their punish mente and vengeaunce. For so is lykewyse the deathe of oure lorde. That is to say, to suche as beleue lyfe and incorruptiō, with the fruition of euerlastynge blesse, and on the other parte, to them that be vn­faithfull, and were murderers of our lorde, punysshement, and ven­geaunce G euerlastynge. The breade and wyne be not a figure of the body and bloud of Christ, That may not be sayde, but the very body of our lorde deified, that is to saye, made god. For our lorde saide, this is not the fygure of my body, but my body, and, not the fygure of my [Page lv] bloude, but my bloude. And before that, sayde to the Iewes, that yf ye eate not the flesshe of the sonne of man, and drinke his bloud, ye haue not lyfe in your selfe, For my fleshe is very meate, and my bloud is very dryncke. And agayne, he that eateth me, shall lyue. Let vs then come to it w ^t a fearfulnes, a cleane conscience, and stedfast fayth, and then in al thynges shalbe to vs as we byleue constantly. Let vs ho­nour H it with all clennes, bothe of the body and soule also, as it were with a double worshyppynge. For I the same we worshyp is also dou­ble, that is to say, the fleshe of our sauiour Christe, and godhed also. Come we vnto it with an ardent fyry desyre, and facyonynge oure handes in the figure of a crosse, let K vs so receaue the body of hym that was crucified, fynally approching with our eyes, lyppes and forehed, [Page] let vs receiue that godlye cole, so as the fyre of our feruent desyre, receyuynge the fierynes of that cole, maye burne vp our synnes, and lyghten our hartes, and by parte­takynge of that godlye fyre, be throughly enflammed and deified Esaias sawe a cole, A cole is not wood onely, but woode vnited vnto fyre. So the foode of our com­munion is not foode onelye, but foode vnited to the godhead. The L body vnited to the godhed, is not to be sayed one nature, but the na­ture of the body is one, and the nature of the godhed vnited vnto it, is an other. So as both together, be not one nature, but two. Mel­chisedech M the preist of god that is highest, receiued and chered Abraham, Gene. 14. with bread and wyne, when he returned from the slaughter of the foraine straungers. Heb. 9 That ta­ble fygured this mysticall table, [Page lvi] lyke as that preiste was y ^e fygure and ymage of our true prest christ, Thou arte (sayth god) a preist for euer, Psal. 109. after the ordre of Melchise­dech. Those loues whiche in the olde lawe, were called the breades of proposicion, Exod. [...] that is to saye, the breades appointed to an holy vse, were a figure of this bread. This sacrifice is the pure & vnbloudy sacrifice, Bycause bloud is not shedde, it is called vn­blouddy. which god sayde by his prophet, shuld be offered vnto hym, from the east to y ^e west. The bodye and bloude of Christe, for the esta­blyshmente of body and soule re­ceiued, be not cōsumed or corrup­ted, nor passeth with our corrupti­ons through vs, into y ^e vyle place N (fy on y ^e speach) but encreaceth our substaunce, and preserueth it. It is tharmour of defence, frome all maner of annoyaunce, and lykewise the purgation and cleansynge of all fylthe. Certaynlye if it fyn­deth [Page] the golde adulterate, that is to say, corrupt with any other met­tall, it purgeth it, by the same ver­tue whiche is apprropriate to fyre, wherby it disceuereth frō the gold, and putteth away that is corrupt, to thintent we shulde not be con­demned in the worlde to come. It purgeth diseases and all sortes of annoiaunce. And as saith the god­ly apostle, If we iudge our self, we shall not be iudged, when we be here iudged of our lord, we be therby chastised, that we shulde not be condempned with the worlde. And thus it meaneth that he sayth, who so euer is partaker of the body & bloud of our lorde vnworthely, he eateth and drynketh condemnatiō vnto hym selfe. By whiche sacra­ment, beyng purged, we be vnyted to the holye body, and the holy spi­rite of hym, and be made the body of Christe. This fode is the fyrste [Page lvii] fruytes of the foode to come, which is called [...] in greke. For [...] signifieth eyther the foode to come, that is to say, of the world to come, or the foode we receyue, for the preseruation of oure sub­staunce. And bothe significations, may be aptly sayde, for whither it be taken in the one signification or the other, it maye well be sayde of the body of our lorde. For the flesh of our lorde, is spirite that gyueth lyfe, beynge conceyued of the holy ghoste, Ioh. 4. that gyueth lyfe, for that is begotten of spirite, is spirite. And thus moche I saye, not myndynge by these wordes to take awaye the nature of the body, out of this sa­cramente, but onely myndynge to O shewe, how the same gyueth lyfe, & is godly. And yf any call the sacra­ment the example or token, of the body and bloud of Christ (as saint Basyle sayde) they speake it not of [Page] thoblacion after the consecracion, but before the same be sāctified, It is also called participation, for by it we be made partakers of y ^e god­heade of Iesu, It is also called cō munion, and is so verely, for by it we communicate with Christ, and be partakers of his flessh and god hed, we communicate al by it togi­ther, in that we be thereby made one. For seinge we participate all of one breade, we be made thereby one body & bloude among our self & beyng of the same body with our sauiour christ be also to our selfe eche others mēbres. Let vs thē beware as much as we may, that we neither geue communion to hererikes, ne receiue it of them. Giue not your holy thynges, Matt. 7. to dogs (sayth our lord) nor cast not youre preci­ous stones before hogges, lest ye be made ꝑtakers of their euyll be­leef, and of their condēnation also [Page lviii] consideringe that being an vnitie throughlye, betwene vs and christ & also betwene our selues, we shal likewise be vnited throughly with all suche, as we shall chose to par­ticipate with vs. For this vnitie is made by oure choyce, and free wyll, not without oure mynde and determinacion, and we all one bo­dye, in that we participate of one breade (as the holy apostle saith). This sacrament is called also, the examples of that is to come, not in such an vnderstanding, as though the very body and bloude of christ were not present, but that nowe by this sacrament, we be made parta­kers of the godheade of christ, and in the worlde to come, shall parti­cipate with onely contemplacion, in the ful lyght of knowledge and vnderstandynge.

[Page] NOw ye haue hearde Damas­cene speake, who well hearde with the eares of hearynge, were sufficient for the matter too declare, howe christes wordes, as they were playne, for the substaunce and foū datiō of our byleef: So haue they in theyr playnnesse, maynteyned y ^e true byleef of the churche, as this author for .viii.C. and .xvi. yeares paste, declareth euidently, and te­stifieth playnely, yf thou wylt vse hym, for comfyrmatiō of that thou doest fyrste truely beleue, and not abuse hym, after the facyon of the worlde, to wrythe hym, & mystake hym, as some men do the scripture. And to thintent thou mayste be the more able, to mete with suche as wolde abuse them selfe in hym, and thy selfe the depelyer conceyue the godly lerned consideration, of this writer in the matter: I wyll note certayne thynges vnto the, worthy [Page lix] to be noted. Fyrste this man testi­fyeth, the presence of the naturall body and bloude, of oure sauyour Christe, in the sacrament of thaul­ter, and expressely reproueth the vnderstandynge of them that wolde saye, there shulde be but a figure, as at this letter G. in the margyn thou shalte fynde, so as thou hea­rest by this author, truth affirmed and falsehed cōdemned. This man testifyeth also the worshyppyng of the sacrament, with inward & out­ward clēnesse, deuotiō of the soule, & outwarde gesture of the body, as thou mayest se, in y ^e letter H. wher­in thauthor declareth a cōgruence, and conuemency, that as the meat, which we receyue and worshyp, is dubble, and conteyneth Christes flesshe and godhed, so shulde oure worshyppyng be dubble, that is to say, of our two partes of body and soule, whiche bothe be nouryshed, [Page] by this precious meat. And where thou findest this letter. A. the au­thor sheweth that as we be dubble and of two partes, y ^t is to say, body and soule: so shulde we haue a dubble natiuite, & a dubble meat. The dubble natiuite, is of water and y ^e holy ghoste, of water agreable to our body, as corporall, and the ho­ly ghost to our soule, which also a­greeth, with that Gregory Naziā zene writeth, [...]. As he was spirite & flesh: so god perfiteth w ^t water & the holy ghost. And as for this precious meat, y ^e author sheweth that it is a meate dubble & not one, as where thou findest this letter. L. where he saith. The bodye vnited to y ^e godhed, & deitie, is not made one nature, but remaineth .ii. natures. And bicause y ^e natures be two he calleth christes body our meate [Page lx] in y ^e sacramēt, a dubble meat. And yet thou maist finde in the letter. F y ^t he calleth it but one, as where he saith y ^t the bread & wyne, chaūged by gods myghty word into the body & bloud of christ, be not two but one, and so there remayneth the only substaunce of the body & bloude of christe, where as yf the nature of breade remained also, he wolde haue called it in that respecte, two as he doth in the other places in two natures vnited. And so thou seest where remaine two natures vnited, they be called in y ^t respecte two & double, and not one, and yet againe bicause in the consecration there is not an vnion of breade to the body of christ, but transmutation, & as the worde transmutatiō expresseth an alteratiō of substaūce the sacrament is not called two, but one. And concernynge wor­shyppinge, this is to be noted that [Page] this great clerke was not ignorāt of the wordes of the gospel. Io. iiii. that Veri adoratores adorabūt pa­trem in spiritu & veritate. True worshyppers shall worshyp in spi­rite and truth. And yet speaketh this author of worshyppyng with the body, for by the texte of the go­spell, is not denyed outwarde ado­ration with the body, whiche body is with the soule created of god, & shalbe hereafter glorified with the soule, but the sense of that texte de­clareth the true order of adoratiō, whiche must be rooted, grounded, and directed by the spirite & truth, and from thence it must procede, & where that fayl [...]th, the reste is hy­pocrysye. But els y ^t the body shuld not folowe and obey the soule, and be affected as y ^e soule is, and with outward semely gesture represente the same, that we myght not say as Dauyd dyd, Psal. [...]8. Cor meum & caro [Page lxi] mea exultauerunt in deum viuum, My harte & my flesh hath reioysed in the lyuinge god, there is no such scripture, but Christes hauoure in y ^e tyme of his prayeng teacheth the contrary, for he fell downe on his face and praied. And the pub­licane commended in the gospell, knocked on his breste and prayed. And in this auctor thou seest an exhortacion for men to laye their handes on crosse. And good men haue taken greate comforte in, the signe of the crosse, wherewith they haue blessed them selfe, and haue bene glad to receaue the blessinge of o­ther with the token of the crosse▪ And therevpon Tertullian in his worke, Tertulian. De resurrectione carnis, saith: Caro signatur, vt anima mu­niatur. The flesshe is marked that the soule may be defended. But to returne to my purpose to note vn­to y ^e that is notable in Damascene [Page] in the letter C. to thē that aske, and humbly question, how these miste­ries be wrought? lyke aūswer may be made, as Gabriell made vnto our Lady, by occasiō wherof thou mayest marke two sortes of questi­ons, wherof one proceding of pride arrogancie, doubtfulnes and my­struste, declareth incredulitie, such as the Capharnaites made when they said, I [...]an, 6. How can this man gyue vs his fleshe to eate? And another in mekenesse and humilite, with desyre of so moche knowlege only, as the secrecie of y ^e thinge permitteth, wherin y ^e hole is remytted to god­des power and omnipotencie▪ with which our Lady contented herself, & sayde, Ecce an [...]illa dn̄i, fiat mihi secundū verbū tuū. Lo the hand­mayd of our lord, be it to me, accor­ding to thy word, which was god­des worde, by the omnipotencie of which whē we se, how many thīges [Page lxii] aboue mans capacitie haue bene wrought, why shulde it not suffice to stay men from further arguing and reasonynge, in the most blessed sacrament of the aulter? Another thing thou maiest marke in the let­ter D y ^t this auctor testifieth howe Christ made the breade and wyne with water, his body & bloud, wherby thou maist perceiue how it hath ben taughte in the churche constātlye, that after the consecration the substaunce of bread remaineth not and yet it is called breade, for it is called that it was, as I shal speake hereafter. And albeit when thau­thor alludeth to the cole sene by E­saye, as thou mayest se in the letter K. he maketh thys resemblaunce, that as the cole is not wood alone, but wood with fyre, so the foode of communion whiche is in latin, pa­nis communionis, and in greake, [...] hath y ^e dietie adioi­ned vnto it, thou maiest perceiue, [Page] by that streight foloweth, howe he vsed the worde Panis, to signifye the body and flesshe of Christ wher [...]vnto the deitie is annexed, whiche body and flesshe, is the substaunce of the nourriture in this holy meat accordynge as Christe sayde. Io. 6: Panis quem ego dabo vobis, caro mea est, and, Caro mea vere est cibus, whiche flesshe, hauyng the godhed annexed vnto it, is of two partes as the cole is, and remayneth two natures, and so is a dubble meate▪ to fede the body and soule of man, whiche be lykewise two partes of man. And when he sayde in the let­ter. D. the breade hath the deitie annexed vnto it, he signifieth the bo­dy and flesshe of Christ into which by goddes omnipotency, the bread is conuerted, as thou mayest plainly see declared by hym, in the place, where thou fyndeste the letter F. and the sentence before, in whiche [Page lxiii] he speaketh so playnely and open­ly, as can not be desyred more euy­dence for the matter. I can not pretermytte also to note vnto the this, that maye serue for a lesson to such as be captiouse of wordes, and by the outwarde apparaunce of them note contradictions, thou shalte fynde in the letter M. that the sacramēt is two, and not one, and in the letter. F. one and not two which be no contraries. Fyrste in that place, where he sayth they be not two, is signified that there is not two substaunces, of the breade and the bo­dy of Christ, but onely of Chrystes substaunce. Againe, there be not two bodyes of Christe, one in hea­uen, anothere in the sacrament, for as he saythe after in the letter. E. the body of Christ descended not, but as we truely beleue in the arti­cle of our Crede, he sytteth on the ryghte hande of the father, and thē [Page] yf thou askest, how can it be so? the aunswere is, goddes worde is om­nipotent, & the maner inscrutable: In the other place, where he saith the sacrament is two & dubble, as in the letter F, there he declarethe him self, that he speaketh of two natures, the humanitie & the godhed. Thou maiest note also, that albeit in one place, he sayeth, Christes body is verely in the sacramēt, & it is not a figure: yet in the latter parte, he sheweth how it may be called a figure, not so, but there is the very body of christ, but y ^t it is in y ^e sacra­ment a pledge of the glory to come, and his feadinge vs here, a fygure of that feadynge we shall haue in heauen, whiche in the thinge is all one, for Chryste is the feaste here and there, but the maner differeth. For then we shall haue full fruytyon by knowledge and contempla­cion, in the steade of oure faythe [Page lxiiii] and hope, wherby we receaue frutefully Christes feadyng here. Thou maieste note also in the letter. O. howe afraied he was, to be mysta­ken, bycause he spake of the generacion, of the spirite, whereof Chri­stes flesshe was conceiued, leste he shulde be sene to agree w ^t the Marcionistes, and deny Christes natu­rall bodye. So captious haue noughtye men euer ben, that study to make of truthe, matter of con­tentiō. In the letter. N. thou shalte se the carnal reasons aunswered in fewe wordes, with a ( [...]) in greake, whiche sygnyfyeth a dete­stacyon of the speache before, as we speake wyth one syllable in en­glyshe, fye. And fye & worse on thē, that so say, and amend not. And of the cōpany of suche, he amonisheth all to beware in thende, and note his reason whye, with that also saynt Paule alleged of the ethnike [Page] author. Corrumpunt bonos mores colloquia praua. Euyll talke cor­rupteth good maners. I wryte now, to the multitude in whiche be manye to whom I neaded not, to haue made these notes, onlesse I wolde for formalitie, gather notes as lawiers do in their lessons, but yet I take, my selfe, suche pleasure in redynge of the author in thys place, who so lyuely & godly setteth forth this matter, and so fully aunswereth al thwartinges to the con­trary, that I my selfe delyte to tary in him, and wolde haue the reader do the lyke. For thauthor is nota­ble, and of a great auncientye, that is to say, viii.c. and, xvi. yeres, and he writeth in the greake tonge, for a furder testimonye, & vnder title, De orthodoxa fide, of y ^e right ca­tholique faith, whiche hath nowe bene troubled, in this the hyghest mysterye. And herein they can not [Page lxv] tel what they meane, nor what they wolde haue: they begyn to speake of an other meanynge in the vnderstandynge of Christes playne wor­des, when he sayde, This is my bo­dy, whych be the foundation of our fayth in their right catholique vn­derstandynge, as the churche hath taught, and good chrysten men be­leued hitherto.

THe deuyll hath another peece of sophistrye, whiche is in coū terfette contradictions, wherein he vseth for a preface and introducti­on, a most certayne truth, which is, that truthe agreeth in it selfe, and hath no parte contrarye to another Wherfore seing the worde of god, is an infallyble truth, it hath no cō trarieties in it selfe. All the worlde muste assent herevnto. But thus y ^e deuyll procedeth to his cauyllaciō ab euidenter ueris, per breuissimas mutationes ad euidenter falsa.

[Page] From thinges euydently true, by lyttle chaunginges to thinges euidently fals, Heauē and earth haue a kind of contradictiō, Christ is in heauen, where saint Steuen sawe hym, Ergo he is not in earth, Act. 7. in the sacramente of the aulter. A rehersall of the dy­uylles so­physme. Christe ascended into heauen▪ Ergo he ta­rieth not here. Act. 1. He syttethe on the right hand of the father, Hebr. 1. Ergo he is not in the sacrament of thaulter. Hebr. 1. He is the creature, Io. 1. for Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, All thinges be made by hym, Ergo he is not a creature made of breade. He dwelleth Act. 17. not in temples made with mans hande, Ergo he is not in the boxe vpon the high aulter. Christ shall descende from heauen to iudge the quycke and the deade, 1. Thes. 4. Ergo he cō ­tinueth there and is not in the sa­crament of the aulter. And these be taken for notable contradictions and insoluble sophismes, and in ef­fecte, [Page lxvi] in all these argumentes, there is no contrarite or contradiction in y ^e thinges, but only a repugnaūce and impossibilitie to mans carnall capacite. And therefore here is oc­casion to admonish men by the wordes of the prophet, Nisi credideri­tis, nō intelligetis. yf ye beleue not, ye shall not vnderstande. [...]as. 7. In this hygh mysterye where god worketh his secrete speciall worke myracu­lously, it is suffycient to know it is wroughte, thoughe I can not tell howe it is wroughte ne howe it a­greth with other of his workes, and yet it agreeth. But in this so­phistrye the deuell maketh a man forget goddes omnipotencye, exce­dynge our capacite, and causeth vs to measure goddes doinges by our naturall imbecillite. Because we can not be in two places at ones, distaunte one from an other, we iudge the same repugnaunt in god [Page] but christes beyng in heauen, whi­che saint Steuen truely confessed, Act. 7. was nothinge contrarye to saynte Paules true affirmatiō that christ 1. Cor. 15. was sene after thascention, to hym in earth. It repugneth not to chri­stes power, to syt on the right hand of the father in heauen, and yet fede the infinite number of his people with the same his moost precyouse body in erth. It is no repugnaūce, to goddes goodnes, being creator of al, therw ^t in the fourme of bread to fede vs his creatures, In which we say not, god is become the crea­ture of bread (as y ^e deuyl inspyreth his mēbres to report blasphemous­lye) but that christ familiarlye, and of a merueilouse entier loue towardes vs, consecrateth him selfe, in those formes of breade and wyne, to be so eaten and drunken of vs. Hier. 2. God fylleth heauen and earth, & is not comprehēsible, to be conteined [Page lxvii] in temples made with mans hand, Act. 17. ne man can lymitte goddes dwel­lynge place. God hath power ouer man, but man hath no power ouer God. And therefore Salomons godly temple, Mat. 4 [...] 9. 26. was no habitation to restrayne goddes presence from other places. Mar. 14. And yet scripture tel­leth vs howe our sauyoure chryste Luc. 13. 21 god and man, hath taught in tem­pels, Ioan. 7. taried in temples, Io. 10. made with mannes hande, and that he dwel­leth with good men, and also in tē ­ples made with mans hande, for the assembly of good menne, where good men truste to be releiued w ^t common prayer, and refresshed w ^t the mooste precyouse foode of hys bodye and bloude, he presenteth and exhibiteth hym selfe to be receiued and eaten, and there is present, and tarieth in the hoste consecrate, not by mans ordinaunce (as the deuyll inuyously, and spytefullye [Page] speaketh it) but by his owne institution, to be a continuall and daylye foode, wherwith beinge nouryshed we maye strongely walke tyll we come to the mounte of god, where is euerlastynge lyfe. And thys be­ynge of Christe in the most blessed sacrament, repugneth nothinge to the continuinge of Christ in heauē tyll the daye of iudgemente, whose most preciouse humaine body, now glorified and vnited to the diuini­tie, is not diuisible, by time or place ne by multiplication of tyme or place can be multiplied in number, but remaineth in the same number and in variacion of tyme▪ or alteration of place, kepeth styll thappel­lacion, to be called the same. And notynge this well to be true, al­thoughe we can not discusse it by oure reason, we shall easely auoide the deuylles sophystrye in thys behalfe, wherevnto we maye be [Page lxviii] somewhat induced, by considerati­on of y ^t god worketh otherwise in vs, who by his gifte of imaginaciō and thinkinge in our soule, may represent our selfe, althoughe not in oure grosse bodye, whiche is corporall, yet in our mynde (I saye) we may represent our selfe, in dyuerse places at ones, and one distante farre from another, The philoso­phers that sayde. Anima was tota in toto, and tota in qualibet parte, the hole in the hole, and the hole in euery parte, they coulde not se how it was, and neuertheles toke it so to be, and yet what a contradiccion is it, to call the parte the hole? And furder, do not the wordes spoken of men, to a multitude, passe holye to euerye one of the hearers eares indifferētly, that stand with in the compasse of hearyng? And if y ^e matter be intelligible to thē al, do not eche one heare and vnderstand [Page] one as moche as another, beynge the speache but one, and not dimi­nished, by the participation of the multitude? These similitudes, do nothing atteine to expresse the high mysterye of the most blessed sacra­ment, and in many thinges vnlike and specially in this, that in al these similitudes be no corporal thinges spoken of, and in the sacrament is presēt christes very body, but these similitudes only serue to declare y ^t in these lower workes of god, whi­che we may call Posteria eius, there be many thinges excedyng our ca­pacities to discusse thē how they be y ^t we know very certainly to be, & yet because they be common & quo­tidian, maruaile not at thē, & much lesse doubt of them, & such fondnes hath mans curiositie, as was no­ted by this sayenge. Quod ante pedes est non vident, coeli scrutantur plagas, that is afore the feete, they [Page lxix] se not and serche the costes of the heauen. The deuyll tempted christ in a rare miracle, to make of stones directly breade, Matt. 4. whiche to be the power of god, the deuill then confes­sed, and yet god dyd it not, bycause it shulde not haue furthered his glorye to the deuyl, who was indurate. Neuertheles god, whose po­wer ruleth, gouerneth and tempe­reth the workes of nature, doth cō tinuallye in the worke of nature, make of stones breade, when corne is nouryshed of the stones, and stones altered and resolued into erth, whiche nourisheth the corne sedes, and encreaseth the same, and lyke­wyse in other workes of nature, sheweth dayly manifold wonders of his power, whiche we consyder not, because they be commēly done and onely for raritie and newenes maruayle, when we maruayle at y ^e is done, and not for the thinge.

[Page] And herein the deuill vttereth his sophistrye, and maketh vs forget that is continuallye done before our eyes, and by impossibilite of our carnall imaginacions, in thinges aboue our capacitie, seduceth vs, and deceiueth vs, in the beleef of goddes high mysteries, and specially in the misterie of the sacra­mēt of thaulter, wherby to hynder vs, and depryue vs, of oure great comforte and consolation, in the same, wherein God instituted, Memoriam mirabilium suorum & escā se dedit timentibus eum, that is to say, a memorie of his maruailes & gaue hym selfe mete to them that louingly feare hym.

THere resteth now to open the deuils sophistrie, in the per­uerse, croked & craftie expositions of dyuers places of scripture, y ^e saienges of holy writers, and of such wordes, as be attribute to singifie [Page lxx] and name that moost blessed sacrament vnto vs, wherin hathe ben moche paine taken, & moch craftie imaginacion deuised, to abuse the simple vnlerned wyttes, and vp­holde in errour, the maliciouse, arrogant and newe fangled iudge menetes. As touching scriptures, These fond fooles were caled amōg the garmaynes Touti­stes for no­table folye obteinethe names for memorye of reproche as wysedome doth honor and glorye I wyl passe ouer, the fransies of them, who writhe the principall theife texte, ( This is my body) frō consecration of the sacrament, to the demonstration of Chrystes body, there sittinge, and then my­nistringe vnto the apostels, where in they declare their malyce, that they care not to chaunge the right sense, with any other, were it neuer so fonde and false. The truth they abhorre, and seke vtterly for lyes, & them they embrace, who so euer bring them and leane to suche exposycions of the scriptures, as helpe to the subuertion of the [Page] truth. But let vs consyder how sophistically they handle the wordes that Christ sayde. 1. Cor. 11. Do this in remē braunce of me, for here is made a greate matter of the word (remembraunce) whiche (they saye) decla­reth, that Christe him selfe is not presente in the sacrament, and that the sacrament is but a memorye of hym, but a remembraunce of hym. And here the deuyll lurketh in a litle worde (but) for in often repetition of remembraunces, the but is taken in, and the speache goethe rounde as though the wordes im­ported, that the sacramente is but a remembraunce of Christ. In whiche speache if (but) were lefte oute (as the scripture hath it not) the worde (memory or remembraunce) is nothinge repugnaunt to Chri­stes presence in the most blessed sa­cramēt. For seing christ is the eternal word of god, and descēded frō [Page lxxi] heuen into earth not only to suffre for man, but also to declare the wil of god to be obserued, folowed, and obeyed vnto of man, whiche wyll of god beyng taught vs by Christ we shulde not forget, but day and nyght w ^t the benefites also of chri­stes passyon, remember therw ^t the wil of god, taught vs in the same passion: can there be so effectuall a memoryall of Christes death & teachynges declared and taught in y ^e same death, as if with the eyes of oure faith, we se present the natu­rall body of our sauiour christ, the selfe same body that suffered? If y ^e hearing of christes death, entringe at a mannes eares, or the seyng of a picture or image grauen, repre­senting christes deathe to y ^e bodely eyes, doth styrre vp mans memory to haue remembraunce of that is done by christ for hym: how moche more doth the liuely presence of [Page] christes natural body styr such as perfytely beleue the p̄sence of the same, to the remēbraūce of christes passion? And if among men, where honest loue reigneth as betwene y ^e man & wife, such as be godly con­ioyned in maryage they vse to leaue for memory of eche other in their absence, an image of thē sel­ues, as lyuely set forth, as mans crafte can attayne, knowynge by experience that y ^e image styrreth vp the memorie most effectually: Shulde we not thinke that oure sauiour Christ moch more affected and ioyned in loue to his spouse, the chyrch, than any man is to his wife, hath lefte the same churche his spouse, a most perfitte image of him selfe, that is to say, hym self for a memorye, who by his omni­potencye, can exhibite and present hys very ymage, hys owne verye bodye without chaunge of place, [Page lxxii] or leauynge his seate in heauen, when & as oft as it pleaseth hym? Who also so loueth his churche, as we haue cause to thīke, he wold do it, and by scriptures maye vn­derstand (yf we close not our owne vnderstandynges) that he doth it in dede in this moost blessed sacrament, wherein his presence dothe most effectually styrre vp in good mens hartes, such a remembraūce of hole Chryst hys benefytes, and preachynges together, as in thys mooste holye communyon good men be so comforted, so strengh­tened, so confyrmed in Christes doctryne, as thereby shall in their manours, theyr hauyours, theyr conuersation and lyuynge, shewe and sette forth in them selues, chri­stes deathe with hys resurrection also, whyles the day of iudgement when shall be Chrystes seconde commyng in maiestie and glorye, [Page] And thus the holy vertuous man Basile, expoundeth the wordes of saint Paule. As often as ye eate this bread, and drink the cuppe of our lord, ye shall shew the death of our lorde tyl he cometh, which wordes of s. Paule declare the strēgth of this heuēly foode to worke this effecte, and brynge forth such frute in vs, not that euerye man recey­uyng the sacrament, shulde with his tonge then make a sermō, how Christ dyed for vs, whyche the pre­sence of the sacrament it self, prea­cheth, yf men vnderstande who is there present, and this poynt shuld be learned at ones, and so perfitly beleued, as it neaded not to be learned againe. For it is the grounde, foundacion, Heb. 6. and begynnyng. But the sermō preaching, and shewing of Christes deathe, of suche as re­ceaue thys mooste blessed sacra­mente worthely, shulde be in their [Page lxxiii] maners and lyuynge, theyr loue and charitie, theyr contempt of the worlde and desyre to be with god, wherby shuld appere that by receiuing this most preciouse fode, we remember christes death & passion for vs, & practise it effectually, and frutefully in vs. For suche only, celebrate this holy communiō, with an effectual remembraunce of him And yet euyll men do receaue the same, to their owne condemnation whiche good men do with a perfit remembraunce of christ, whose be­nefites w ^t his preceptes, they haue in effectual remembraunce. Wher­in forasmuch as the Corinthyans abused them selfe, Saynt Paule threteneth them with gods sharpe iudgement, whyche euerye manne procureth hym selfe, when he recei­ueth the blessed sacrament vnwor­thely, not consyderinge nor vnderstandynge, that there is in that [Page] feast, the very naturall bodye and bloud of our sauiour christ, which s. Paul signifieth in those wordes non dijudicans corpus domini.

Whiche wordes be translate in englyshe, 1. Cor. 11▪ puttynge no difference be­twene the lordes bodye. And this place by suche as presumynge of their owne knowlege, frame also a sense of their owne makynge, or folowinge suche as willingly abuse their knowledge to subuerte the truth, hathe ben mystaken, and of some so taken, as though the Co­rinthiās were in those wordes blamed, because they (which is a fond imaginacion, and yet men that wā der alone go easely farre wide out of the right waye) toke the sacra­ment, to be the very body of christ, and put no difference, betwene it & breade. But saint Paule contrarywyse (as tholde authors expounde that place) declareth in those wor­des, [Page lxxiiii] non dijudicans corpus domi­ni, 1. Cor. 11 howe suche as eate vnworthely do not acknowledge, whom they receiue. For if they dyd, they could not so abuse them selfe, and there­fore the worde ( dijudicans) signifieth not, puttinge no difference, but not vnderstandynge, not con­syderynge, as the greake interpre­ters say. [...], not considerynge, not vnderstandynge who is in that feast to be receiued, whose presence if men considered, they shoulde neade none other admonyshment, howe to prepare them self to come thither, and howe to vse them sel­ues at the same. And other scrip­ture, is lykewise misconstrued and crokedly expounded. Spiritus viuificat caro non prodest quic [...], Io. 6. As thoughe it were to be vnderstan­ded, that the presence of the natu­ral bodye and bloude of our saui­our [Page] our christ, were not fruteful to vs, & therefore by theyr reason shulde not be there, where in dede our sa­uyour Christ, refelled in those wordes the grosse vnderstandinge of y ^e Capharnaites, as though oure sauiour christ had ment to distri­bute his natural body in lumpes of flesshe, and so make them a feest of it, and thervpon gaue a gene­rall lesson vnto them, whiche ser­ueth for y ^e true vnderstandyng of our hole relygion, which is that our godly lyfe is engēdred in vs, not of the flesshe, but of the spirite, for quod natum est ex carne, caro est, quod autē ex spū spiritus est, Ioan. 6. y ^t is borne of the flesshe, is flesh, and that is borne of the spirite is spi­rite, and the faithfull men be not borne of the flesshe, nor the flesshe reuealeth not the truth of god, for the flesshye manne can not se god­des mysteries, and they that dwell [Page lxxv] in the flesshe can not please god, Rom. 8. and thus scripture speakethe of the flesshe, the carnal parte of man not illuminate by y ^e spirite of god, and the Capharnaites fansied of Christes flesshe grossly to be cutte as buchers do in the market, whi­che so cōsidered, profiteth nothing, but onely the spirite giueth lyfe. And so spiritus viuificat, caro non prodest quicquam, the spirite gy­ueth lyfe, and the flesshe profitethe nothing. By which maner of spech the fle [...]she of our sauyour christes moost precious bodye, beinge caro viuifica, lyuely flesshe, and whiche hath the holy spirite inseparablye annexed vnto it, is not improued but as it is by goddes hygh po­wer ministred vnder fourme of breade & wyne, is also most holsom & most confortable vnto such, as receyue it worthely, of which christ spake Caro mea vere est cibus & Io. 6. [Page] sanguis meus uere est potus, & pa­nis quem dabo uobis caro mea est, My flesshe is verely meate, and my bloude verely drinke, and the breade whiche I shall geue you is my flesshe. And the speache of this scripture. Caro non prodest quic [...] is in such wise to be taken as whē saint Paule saith, Scientia inflat, charitas edificat. 1. Cor. 8. wherein knowe­ledge is not vtterlye condemned, but onely suche knowledge as wā ­teth, and is not tempered with charitie. And lykewise, littera occidi spiritus viuificat. 1. Cor. 3. wherein not all letters and wrytinges, be noted to do hurte, but onely suche as be de­stitute and want right & spiritual vnderstandinge. And after y ^e same fourme said christ. Spiritꝰ viuificat caro nō prodest quic [...] The spirit giueth lyfe, Io▪ 6. y ^e flesshe profiteth no­thyng, whiche is as muche to saye after the order of vnderstāding, in [Page lxxvi] the former speaches, that the flesh porfiteth nothynge, where the spi­rite of god wanteth, whiche in the most blessed body of our sauiour Christ, is alway present, & can not be seperate from it. Thus I haue somwhat trauailed in thexpositiō of this text Caro non prodest quic [...], whiche in dede ꝑteyneth not to y ^e purpose of y ^e matter, but only as the deuil wrangleth with it, as he doth in susteining heresyes with many other, and amonge other in this matter, these. If I go not from you (sayth Christe) the holy ghoste shall not comme to you. And in an other place: ye shall not se me, for I go to my father. And also in an other place. I leaue the worlde, and go to my father. With suche lyke, whiche sounde to im­proue the presence of Christes naturall body and blood in the sa­crament of thaulter, but sounde [Page] so onely to suche, as before they marke this soūde of wordes, wold haue them to sounde so. For that meane the deuyl vseth to inueigle men, fyrste to allure them by▪ some worldelye temptation, to be incline able rather to this or that opinion and in many men, not for anye re­specte they haue to any truthe or falseshed, but onelye bycause they had rather haue it vnderstanded so, as they fansye, then otherwyse. And beynge so waywardlye affec­ted, they conceaue then of the scripture, as they do of a confuse soūde of belles, that is to saye, the selfe same sentence and meaning which they wolde haue taken, and este­med for truth, and none other. And to such men, so inueigled by the deuyll, it is harde to induce the per­suasion of truthe, for they care not for it, or be maliciouse and euyl [Page lxxvii] wyllynge against the truthe. Sapi. l. And therfore wysedome (as y ^e wyse man saith) can not entre into them. The deuyl, Io. 7. 8▪ 11 14. 16. for mayntenaunce of his er­rour, he ceasseth not to note to the simple reader, how Christ speaketh of goynge his waye, and goyng to his father, Ioh. 14. and in an other place of leauynge the worlde, & in an other place, that he wyll be seene no more of thē. And when y ^e spouse is gone then we shall wayle and faste. Ioā. 16. Matt. 9. All whiche in the true vnderstandyng, signifie to vs the absence from vs of Christe, in his bodely cōuersatiō among vs, in such sorte as he was before his passyon, and before his ascention (that is to saye) to speake to vs, and companie with vs, as he dyd with his apostelles and disci­ples, Io. 20. or to be felte of vs, as he was of saynte Thomas, to the satisfac­tion of oure bodely senses, whiche absence of Christe in conuersation [Page] repugneth not to y ^e truth of our catholyke faith, whiche is that christ presenteth and exhibiteth vnto vs, his natural body and bloud in the sacrament of thaulter. For the di­uersyte, in the maner of beynges present, taketh away the cōtrariet [...] that shulde seme in the matter. Now as touchyng the myscōstru­ynge & wronge takynge, and som­tyme false bearing in hand, of that the good holy fathers of Christes churche, haue written of the most blessed sacrament o [...] thaulter. First I shall saye this, that howe so euer the same holy doctours do agre, in the most certeyne truth of our be­leef moche labour hath ben taken to p [...]ke out wordes and sentences, and dis [...]eueryng them out of theyr places, by cyrcūstaūce, wherof they had theyr true vnderstandynge to make them sound, to such as wold haue it so, to the cōfirmatiō of their [Page lxxviii] vntrue and false doctrine, in this most blessed sacrament. And lyke as suche as labour, to cōfound the truth, be the chyldren of darkenes: So in the scriptures and doctours also, they resorte to serche the truth ī obscure darke places, where they maye haue opportunite to iuggle and deceiue the symple reader. For where the doctors speake playnly against theyr falsehead, they fare, as though they knewe not y ^t place, or had not redde it, and then resorte to an other place not so open and playne, and there fall to cōiectures and constructions of theyr owne, and labour in exposition of those obscure places, as thoughe they could there more certeynly declare the mynde of the doctours to con­ferme theyr lyes, then the doctours thē self do in another place of theyr owne workes, where they playnly, openly, manifestly, and without [Page] ambiguite, declare them selfe to a­gre with the truth. And where as the truth grounded in scriptures, and opened more clerely by holy writers, hath ben in Christes chur­che▪ after discussion and triall sette forth in a holsome fashion, and cō ­uenient ordre of wordes, whiche wordes, the true meanyng and vn­derstandyng purged from all am­biguities, whiche mans busy witte hath also in holy wordes engen­dred, to thintent as we beleue one truth, we myghte also in wordes & speache, vniformely agree in the same truthe. Suche as labour to breake this godly agremēt in har­te and tonge, they neuer ceasse, tyll by speache, they maye brynge the truth agayne in a corner and with pretence they meane well & speake symply without obseruation, euen as they haue redde forsoth, in that holye man, for example, (& in dede [Page lxxix] a holy martyr) saint Cipriane, for hym they alledge. Whiche sainte Cyprians speche as it was by hym deuoutly vttered, Ciprianus. not disagreyng from the truth, so is it by these men maliciously brought forth, wherby to interrupte the consente truely a­greed on, bothe in the speache and vnderstandyng. I wyll somwhat speake of this one speach of saynte Cypriā particularly, wherby thou mayest esteme (good reader) the de­uyls sophystrie, in handelyng of y ^e reste. We beleue truely as the ca­tholyke church teacheth, that there remayneth no substaunce of bread in the sacrament of thaulter, but y ^e onely substaunce of the body and bloud of our sauiour Christe. And yet sainte Cyprian, speakynge de­uoutly of the food and nourriture, whiche good Christen men receyue in the communion of this mooste holy Sacrament, whereby the bo­dy [Page] and soule, be conioyned with Christe, vseth the worde Panis, Panis. and calleth y ^e blessed sacramente, sacramentalē panem, whiche wordes be not perfitely expressed in englysh, if in trāslatiō it were termed sacra­mētal bread (as malicious fayned simplicitie pretendeth) but rather sacramētal fode, for Panis in latyn is a general word, & signifieth not only bread, wherew ^t mē be fed, but al­so al other nourriture, wherw ^t man is susteined, which the word (bread) doth not in englysh, but soundeth to vs a name of special nourriture & foode made of corne. Now if any man shall vnder pretence of sym­ple playne speache, cal always that breade, in english which he findeth in laten, called panis, he myghte of well, wheresoeuer he founde sella in latyn, call it in englysh a saddell and then in translatinge some pla­ces oute of latyn into englyshe, he [Page lxxx] shuld somtime set sodenly on horsebacke in englysh, him that he redde in latyn sitting in a seat on y ^e groūd Herin the ignoraunt, that perceiue not this, wyll saye, I vse sophistrye but I open the deuyls sophistrye herein, wherwith he doth abuse the people in speache, and entangle them so in it, as they for want of o­ther knowlege, can not wade out, & therfore alloweth him, that whē he readeth in saint Cypryan y ^e sacra­mente of the aulter, called sacramē talem panem calleth it in englisshe sacramentall bread. And here he spurneth, and wyll ye make me be­leue (sayth he) that panis signifieth not breade? & then for confirmaci­on, adde this, Say we not in oure Pater noster, Panē nostrū quotidianem da nobis hodie? Matt. 6. whiche is translate in englisshe. Gyue vs to day, our dayly breade? And in dede if I wolde replye throughly here­vnto, [Page] I muste saye more, then it were necessarie now to entreate, & yet I may not passe it all ouer. For I muste saye that panis in our Pa­ter noster, signified not only bread but all foode, bothe for the body & soule, and is so well knowen by the exposition that in thenglysh, when it is translate bread, we may easely conceyue by a parte, the reste, and by signification of some parte, the hole. But where as there is an ex­tour spredde by the deuyll abrode against Christes myracle, in consecration of his moost preciouse bo­dy, in the sacrament of the aulter▪ whiche errour is, that there shulde after y ^e consecraciō remaine bread, in this time of errour to translate in euery place the word panis, that signifieth in some place (foode) into the english worde (bread): can that be without a maliciouse purpose to aduaunce the deuilles enterprise [Page lxxxi] with his sophistrie, cloked vnder pretence of plaines? After whiche sorte of outwarde simplicite, wher­with to cloke malice: Some when they shulde speake of the blessed sacrament, & with the catholike churche confesse the truth therin plain­ly & openly, then they say, they will speake as saint Paule spake, & his wordes they wyl vse, whiche were writtē by the holy ghost, and for so muche they say true, and herewith they wyll aske disdainefully, why­ther any man wyll correcte saynte Pauls teachinge? as though there were any suche sacrilege intended against gods scripture, where in dede this is onely desyred, and ne­cessary in Christes church, that one shulde vnderstand another, & al cō ceiue one true meaning of S. Paul whose moste holy true wordes, di­uers (as s. Peter sayth) 2. Pet. 3. haue for y ^e hardnes of thē, peruerslye vnder­standed [Page] them, for the exchewynge whereof, it is necessarely requisite, that preseruyng the wordes of S. Paule inuiolable, as they be most holy, we shuld in other wordes & fashiō of speche truely agreed on in y ^e church, confesse in all tonges, the truth playnly, in such wyse as such as haue their beleef establyshed in one vnderstandynge, shuld also vtter the same in one maner of spech, wherby the speache whiche is or­dered of god, to do seruyce to ex­presse the inwarde meanyng of the harte, to the knot and coniunction of men in vnitie, be not by the variaction & diuersitie in it, matter and occasion of discorde and confusion, wherin the deuyll by his membres trauayleth by all meanes, to disse­uer that christ hath congregate, & to dissolue that christ hath knyt to­gether. But to returne to the doc­tors and fathers of y ^e church, who [Page lxxxii] lefte most playne, and euydent te­stimony in their writinges, of their beleef in the sacrament of thaulter euen the verye same that amonge good men continueth styll. Hathe not Fryth for all that, in a detesta­ble boke remaynynge after hym in Englysshe, defamed Tertulian, Chrisostome, and saynt Austen in that matter? And hath not before hym Oecolampadius in our tyme most maliciousely and vntruelye, in falsely reportynge those holy mē attempted the same? And hath not this ben their crafte herein, to seke out places of derkenes and ambi­guitie, wherewith to deceyue them selue & other also. As for example. If they redde any doctour in anye place of hys boke, cal the sacramēt of y ^e aulter, a fygure, or a signe, that place they brought forth, and they put to the deuylles syllable (but) and sayde, those doctours take [Page] it to be but a signe, but a figure, & but a memorie, herein the but, hath done moche hurt, for it is sleighly brought in, and a smal sillable, For this is in dede cōuenient that christ in his body lyuing, shulde be a fy­gure, signe, and memory of his bo­dy deade vpon the crosse for vs, & Christ in the sacrament of thaulter to be a figure of his misticall body the churche, whiche he vnitethe to him in that sacrament, and of that effecte, the sacrament of thaulter is named the holy communion, Vnus panis [...]num corpus multi sumus qui de uno pane & uno ca­lice participamus. and because the maner of Christes be­inge in the sacrament, differeth frō his maner of beynge as he satte at the borde with his disciples, 1 Cor. 10. al­thoughe the selfe same body was in the sacramente, that satte at the boorde, and the selfe same body is now in the sacrament, that is nowe in heauen, not by shyftynge of places, but by omnypotencye where­by [Page lxxxiii] god maye do all, for these consi­derations in all these respectes, the speache hath not ben abhorred to call the sacrament of thaulter a fy­gure, and to call it a signe, and a memoriall, Beware of the exclusy­ues, that they exclude the not frō the frute of the truthe, for so it is, but not only a fygure, not onelye a signe, not onlye a memoriall, but therewith the thynge it selfe, as the same doc­tours that haue vsed, those wor­des (sygne) and (fygure), do plainely testyfye. Nowe yf mans wytte, by the deuylles instygacyon, shall trauaile with sophisticacion in wordes, to subuerte the truthe: what can remaine vntouched, of that we shoulde haue moost sure? We be­leue truelye, that Chryste is the same substaunce with his father, to the condemnacion of tharrians. And yet saint Paule in his epistle to the Hebrewes, calleth christe, the image of his fathers substaunce. Heb. 1. Then (saythe the deuyl) yf Chryst [Page] be but the ymage of his fathers substance (do ye not se howe (but) crepeth in) then is he not the same substaunce. Nowe bycause Christe sheweth vs the father, as he sayde to Philip, Ioh. 14. Philippe qui videt me, uidet & patreim, Phylyppe, he that seeth me, seeth my father, and in a­nother place. Luc. 10. Nemo nouit patrem nisi filius, et cui voluerit filius re­uelare, No mā knoweth the father but his sonne, and to whom he wil reueale it. Et deū nemo uidit un­ [...] vnigenitus filius, ipse ennarra­uit. Io. 1. Neuer man sawe god, his one­lye begotten sonne, hathe shewed him forth: For these effectes, christe is the ymage of the fathers sub­staunce and we may not therfore, make the deuyls addition of (but), or make the captious sophisme of Me [...]demus. This was a notable sophiste. Alterum ab altero, alterum est, The image is not the thing wherof it is y ^e image, as mā [Page lxxxiiii] is not god, of whom he is y ^e image Ergo Christ, is not the same sub­staunce with the father, beyng (as Saynte Paules wordes before rehersed purport) the ymage of his substaunce. And as this argumēt is folysshe in this pointe, and yet captious to deceiue the vnlearned: So be the argumentes, made a­gainst the sacrament of the aulter, of the worde (fygure) or the worde (sygne) or the worde (memorye) or the worde ( Symbolum) token, whiche wordes for a certeine relatition, may be spoken of it, withoute preiudice of the true substaunce, there present, Luthers secte in wordes graunte the presēce, and yet in dedes deny it, whē they forbyd the worshyp­pynge of it. of y ^e body and bloude of Christ, besydes those relations. And thus Luther, and all that fo­lowed hym haue defended against Oecolampadius, and enforced Bucer, by declaration of the pla­ces, to yelde vnto hym in it, and to confesse the presence of the [Page] natural body of our sauiour christ, notwithstanding those termes of (figure, signe, and memorie) the misconstruynge wherof, was but mere cauillacion & sophistrie. So as to cōdemne the madnes of such as folowe Frith, or Oecolampa­dius, or swinglius, or amonge vs, Ioye, Bale, Turner, or such like, y ^e deuils lymmes: the truth of Christes church hath thayde of al Lu­thers secte, But w ^tout their ayde the truthes strength is sufficient. & bycanse thou mayst se (reader) how playnly y ^e holy fathers haue spoken of y ^e most blessed sacramēt, wherby the more to abhorre the blasphemy of some, such wretches, as most vyllainously write, speake (and as they dare) iest at this day: I wyl of certaine notable writers, such only as were before one thou­sand yere past take out theyr playn confession of this most blessed Sacrament, [Page lxxxv] by redyng wherof, good men may cōceiue as much ioyfull pleasure, to the confirmation of their beleef, and swete meditation therin, as lewde, lyght persons, take wanton delite to here scoffing & [...]estinge, to the deprauation of the same, non diiudicātes corpus domini. 1. Cor. 11. And fyrst, I shall reherse, y ^t hath bē spoken of this preciouse sacramente, by one of the first since christ, D: Andreas. Apo. as of saint Andrewe thapo­stle, who continuing cōstantly, in the true confession of christ, and abhorryng ydolatry, when he was moued therunto, by Egeas, said in this wise. Omnipotenti deo, qui unus & uerus est, ego omni die sa­crifico, nō thuris fumū, nec tau­rorū mugiētiū carnes, nec hircorū sanguinē, sed immaculatum agnū, quotidiè in altari crucis sacrifico. cuius carnes, post [...] omnis populꝰ credentium, manducauerit, & eius [Page] sanguinem biberit, agnus qui sacrificatus est, integer perseuerat & v­nus, Et cum verè sacrificatus sit, & verè carnes eius manducatae sint a populo, & verè sanguis eius bibi [...]us: tamen (vt dixi) integer perma­net, & immaculatus & vnus. I do euery day (sayd saint Andrewe) sa­crifice to God almyghty, Here is ea­tinge & dri [...] king, which to our sen­ses is as­muche to saye, as tearing and cōsuming, ioyned with the true cō ­fiss [...]on of Christes imp [...]ssibilite immortaly­tie. whiche is the true and one god, not the smoke of incense not the flesshe of lowing bulles, not the bloude of gootes, but I sacrifice dayly in the aulter of the crosse, the lambe withoute spotte, whose flesshe after all the faythfull people haue eaten it, and droncke the bloude of it, the lambe that is sacrificed, He saith not in fy­gure, but verely eaten [...] v [...]rely dronken. contynueth hole and on lyue. And all be it this lābe is verely sacrificed, and the fleshe of it verelye eaten of the people, and the bloude of it verelye drun­ken: yet, as I sayde, it remay­nethe hole, without spotte, and styll [Page lxxxvi] on liue. These be the wordes of the holye Apostle and martyr sainte Andrewe, who knewe the truth of that is written by the euangely­stes, before the Euangelyes were wrytten, and he knewe it taughte of our sauiour Christe, and spea­kethe herein consonantlye, to the wordes of scrypture and the faythe of the catholyque churche, where­in yf thou wylte spurne, because Saynte Andrew speaketh of day­lye sacrifice, and Sainte Paules true doctryne is that, Christ was but ones sacrificed on the crosse, & then it was (as saint Paule sayeth to the Hebrewes) perfited for euer, Heb. 8. beynge a hole and sufficient sacry­fice, for all the synnes of the world: Thou doest herein reherse a true sayeng of saynt Paule, suche as all the worlde must confesse. For the sacrifice of Christe, is eternall and is one, perfyte, consummate, suffy­cient, [Page] auayleable sacrifice, and ne­deth no repetitiō, or iteracion, for the more validitie of it. And yet this truth, is nothing touched or preiudicate, with y ^e dayly sacrifice of Christ in the aulter, whiche to him y ^t beleueth is easely declared, & to hym that will wrāgle against all truthe, is in vayne entreated of, and (as Hylarius sayth (Non est humano aut seculi sensu, Hilarius. in re­bus dei loquendū. Godly matters shulde not be commened of, after carnall vnderstandynge▪ But as saynte Andrewe spake, so y ^e church doth practyse it. For Chryste is daylye offered and sacryficed on the aulter. If thou askest by what auctorytie, it may be aunswered, by thauctorytie of Chrystes word, who said, Luc. 22. [...] 11. Hoc facite Do this, and saynte Paule as Damascene no­teth it, sheweth howe longe, in the wordes donec ueniat, tyl he come, [Page lxxxvii] & hath from the beginning taught his church so to vnderstande hym▪ If thou askest, howe can (ones) & (manye tymes) stande togyther? This (howe) declareth, yf if it be contencyous, thou doest not yet be­leue, but arte in mystruste of the churche, that teacheth the, and if thou askest in humilitie. Sainte Chrysostome in expoundinge that place of s. Paule to the Hebrewes, where he ones offeringe is spoken of, D. Chrisost. sup epistl. ad He­breos. openeth and dyscussethe thy doubte, as foloweth. Nonne per singulos dies offerimus? Offerimꝰ quidem, sed ad recordationem fa­cientes mortis eius. Et una est haec hostia, non multae. Quomodo vna est, & non multae? Et quia semel oblata est illa, oblata est in sancta sanctorum: hoc autem sa­crificium, exemplar est illius, id­ipsum semper offerimus. Nec nūc quidem alium agnum, crastina aliū [Page] sed semper idipsum. Proinde un [...] est hoc sacrificium. Aliquin hac ra­tione, quoniā in multis locis offer­tur, multi Christi sunt? Nequaquā, sed unus vbi (que) est Christus, & hîc plenus existens, & illic, plenus, u­num corpus. Sicut enim qui vbi (que) offertur, vnum corpus est & non multa corpora: ita etiam & unum sacrificium. Pōtifex autem noster ille est, qui hostiam mundantem nos, obtulit, ipsam offerrimus & nunc quae tunc oblata est, consumi non potest. Hoc autem quod nos facimus, in commemorationem quidē fit eius, quod factū est. Hoc enim facite (inquit) in meā cōme­morationē. Nō aliud sacrificiū, si­cut pontifex, Heb. 9. sed idipsum semper facimus, magis autem recordatio­nem sacrificij operamur. Sed quia sacrificij huius mētionem feci, uo­eo pauca ad vos dicere, quae recor damini, pauca quidem mensura, [Page lxxxviii] magnam autem habentia virtutē & vrilitatem. Non enim nostra sūt, sed diuini spiritus, quae dicuntur. Quae ergo sunt. Plurimi ex hoc sacrificio, semel accipiunt in toto anno, alij bis, alij saepius. Ad omnes ergo nobis sermo est, non ad eos qui hîc sūt tantum, sed etiam ad e­os qui in eremo sedent, Illi enim semel in anno perticipantur, fortassis enim & post duos annos. Quid er­go est? Quos magis acceptamus? Eos ne qui semel, an eos qui saepi­us, an illos qui rarò accipiūt? Ne (que) illos qui semel, ne (que) qui saepius, ne­ (que) qui rarò, sed eos qui cum mun­da cōscientia qui cum mundo corde, cum uita irreprehensibili, istùc semper accedunt. Qui verò tales nō sunt, ne (que) semel. Quid ita? quia iuditium sibi accipiunt, & damna­tionem & supplicium. Et nō mireris. Sicut enim cibꝰ, naturaliter nutritorius [Page] extans, si in eum qui pra­uis cibis corruptus est, incidat, omnia perdit & corrūpit, efficitur occasio morbi: sic etiam ista quae ad haec terribilia pertinent sacramen­ta. Frueris mensa spiritali, mensa regali, & iterum polluis coeno os tuum, perungis vnguento praecio­so, & iterum foetoribus illud im­ples. Dic mihi rogo, post annum, perceptionem participaris, quadraginta dies putas tibi sufficere, admundationem peccatorum totius temporis, & iterum septimana transeunte, trades teipsum scrdibꝰ pri­mis? Dic enim mihi, si saluus factꝰ quadraginta diebus ab egritudine longa, iterum te illis morbificatoribus cibis tradas, nonne & primum laborem perdes? Si enim naturalia sic mutantur, quanto amplius uo­luntaria? Vt puta ueluti quid dico. Naturaliter uidemus, & sanos ha­bemus oculos, secundum naturam [Page lxxxix] sed aliquando ex mala quadam af­fectione, leditur noster obtutus, Si igitur naturalia mutantur, quanto amplius quae ad voluntatem perti­nent? Quadraginta dies, tantum tribuis saluti animae tuae, arbitror autem quia neꝰ quadraginta dies, & speras propitiari deum. locaris magis. I wyl trāslate al this place for it maye edifie the reder, in this, & other matter. Do we not (saith s. Chrisostome) offer daylye? We do in dede offer, It is specially to be marked how s, Chrisostom [...]al­leth it the same sacri­fice, but in remēbraūce of his death. And it is one sacrifice & not many? Howe is it one, and not many. For being ones offered, it is thē presēted, in y ^e inward most holy place, wherof this our sacrifice, is a represētaciō, so as we offer alway the same, not one lambe now, & another at another tyme, but at all ty­mes y ^e same. So as it is but one sacrifice, or els by the same reasō, by­cause christ is offred in many pla­ces [Page] we myght saye there were ma­ny Christes, The same one Christe offered in euery place. whiche is not to be al­lowed, for in eueryplace of offering is but the same one Chryst, here ful & hole Christ, and there full & hole christ, The circū ­staunces of tyme and place en­crcase [...] acompte in nūber whē wa speake of the sacryfice of christ and euery where, y ^e same one bodye, And as the sacrifice, euerye where, where it is offered, is one body, and not many bodyes, so it is also, but one sacrifice. And our chiefe byshop, is he that offred the hoste, that clensed vs, and the same hoste, we offer also nowe, whiche beinge then offred, could not be consumed For that we do, is in remembraūce of that was done. For Christ saide Do this in remembraunce of me: Wherein we do not make another sacrifice, as the byshop of the olde lawe dyd, but make alwaies the same sacrifice, or rather worke the represētatiō of y ^e same, But because I haue made mention of this sa­crifice. I wil speake a fewe wordes [Page xc] to you, whiche ye remember, a fewe wordes in measure, but contey­nynge greate pyth and commodite for you. That I shal say, procedeth not of my selfe, but of thinstigatiō of gods holy spirite. What wyll I say then? This it is, that many be partakers of this sacrifice ones in the yere, This is to be noted for the vse of the churche in his time some twyse, and some oftener. My speache is directed to all, not only to those that be here, but also those that syt in wyldernes. For such be houseled ones in the yere, peraduenture not in two. What is the matter then? Whome do we moost allowe? Those that receyue ones in the yeare, those that receiue oftner, or those that receiue seldome. Neither those that receiue ones, nor them that receiue oftner, nor them that receyue seldome, but those that alwayes comme to be partetakers of thys sacryfyce, with a cleane conscience, with a [Page] clene harte, and a lyfe wythoute reproche. And those that be not suche, He required not onelye faythe, but faith with a company of manye vertues, I allowe them not to come ones, Why so? Bycause they re­ceyue iudgement, damnacion and punishment. And hereof maruaile not. For as meate beinge natu­rally nourishynge, when it hap­peneth to come into hym, that is corrupted with euyl meates, mar­reth and corrupteth all, and is oc­casion of a sycknes and disease: So lykewise, y ^t is cōteined in this dredful sacramēt, where thou hast fruition of spirituall foode, He callethe it a dredful sacramente haste fruition of the kynges table, and after defylest thy mouthe againe w ^t fylthy mire, y ^u art throughly anoynted with y ^e precious anoint­mēt, and fyllest thy selfe againe, with euyl sauering stēches, I pray the tel me. Ones in the yere, thou reparest to this holy communion. Doest thou thinke .xl. dayes suffi­cient, [Page xci] to clense thy synnes of all that tyme past, Thus was the lente spent in the prymatyue church, and nowe some wold vse it like other tymes. & within a weke after, returne to thy former filthy­nes? How saiest thou to me, If y ^u wart in .xl. daies, healed frō a long bodely disease, & shuldest returne to that meate, that was cause of thy disease, haddest thou not lost thy former labour? If the natural partes of man, be so sone altered, with moch lesse, the partes of mās wyll, may be chaunged, wherein I mene this, that as we naturally se, and haue by natures ordre hole eyes, yet by some alteration oure syghte is hurte. And yf thynges y ^t be natural in vs, be so sone chaū ged: moch more that is ordred by our wyl & is voluntarie. Sparest thou onelye .xl. dayes to to prouyde for thy soule helthe? I thinke not al togither so muche, and yet thou hopeste, to haue god pleased with the. Thou doest rather tryfle. Hi­therto [Page] I haue translate Chrysosto­mes sentence, and to note vnto the these fewe wordes, laste spoken.

What wolde Chrisostome saye, to the state of this worlde, nowe? in whiche a nombre do not onelye ne­glecte, to appoint so much tyme, as the lente is (whiche Chrisostom meneth) to attayne goddes fauoure againe, but thinke it al superfluous and not necessarie. And bost onlye the mercy of god, without feare of his iustice. Marke this place of Saynte Chrisostome and com­pare it to onely faith, marke this place of saynte Chrisostom, & note how the .xl. dayes in y ^e lēt, were spēt not by the byshoppe of Romes or­dinaunce, but by directiō of y ^e true discipline in christes church, in whiche, Misecordia & veritas, Ps [...]. 34. abuia uerūt sibi, iustitia & pax, osculatae sūt As wherin mercy was so preached, as y ^e truth of gods iustice, was not [Page xcii] neglected, & iustice in due order of al thinges, was so decētly obserued as peace and concord remained in christes church. But this matter is besides the principall purpose, and yet not out of al purpose, for this time. In s. Chrisostoms interpretation concernyng daily sacrifice of christes body & bloud, thou maist se (reader) how the church hath obserued this most preciouse continual sacrifice of Christ hym selfe, by him­selfe the high preist for euer, after the order of Melchisedech offred on the aulter, where the minister of the church by Christes commaun­demente executethe the same, whi­che commaundement (as Chryso­stome saythe) is conteyned in these wordes. Hoc facite, Nowe I re­turne to reherse other, Luc. 22: 1. Cor. 11. that haue spoken of the moost blessed sacra­ment of the aulter, among whome Ignatius, a gloriouse martyr and Ignatius. [Page] [...] [Page xcii] [...] [Page] nexte vnto the apostles, in an epi­stle that he writeth to y ^e Romaines saith in this wise, Panem dei uolo panē coelestem uitae, qui est caro Iesu Christi, filij dei uiui, qui natus est in nouissimo, ex semine Dauid & Abrahae, & potum volo sangui­nem eius, qui est dilectio in corruptibilis, & vita aeterna. I desyre, saith Ignatius, Christes doctrine is foode & cal­led panis, but in the sacrament of thaulter in the flesshe of Christe, & therefore he speketh here of the sacra­mente. the fode of god, the heauenly foode of lyfe, whiche is the flesshe of Iesu Cyrist, the sonne of the lyuynge god, who was borne in the laste tyme, of the sede of Da­uid and Abrahā, and I desyre for drincke the bloud of hym, who is loue without corruption, and lyfe euerlastinge. And to thintent thou mayest perceiue, reader, that this nourriture is vnderstanded of the body and soule togyther, so as in this holy communion mans flessh is also comforted herewith: Note what Ireneus sayth. Iron [...]us. Quomodo [Page xciii] negant carnem capacem esse donationis dei, qui est uita aeterna, quae & sanguine & corpore Christi nu­tritur, & membrū eius sit? quēad­modum Apostolus ait, in ea quae est ad Ephesios epistola: Quoniā membra sumus corporis eius, Ephe. 5. de carne eius & de ossibus eius, non de spirituali aliquo & inuisibili, homine dicens haec. Spiritus enim ne (que) carnem ne (que) ossa habet, Luc. 24 sed ea dispositione quae est secundum hominem, quae ex carnibus & neruis consistit, qui de calice, qui est san­guis eius nutritur, & de pane qui est corpus eius augetur. Whyche may be englyshed thus. Howe cā it be denied that mans flesshe may be partetaker of the gifte of god, Mans flesh partaker of the gifte of god. who is lyfe euerlastynge, consyde­rynge it is nourysshed wyth the bloude and body of Christe, as the apostle sayth in his epystle to the [Page] Ephesians: For we be membres (saith the apostle) of his bodye, of the flesshe of hym and of the bones of hym, Ephe. 5. whyche thynges thapostle speaketh not of anye spirituall or inuisible man, for a spirite hath neither flesshe nor bones, but it is spoken of suche an habitude, disposicion and composition, as man in his owne nature hathe, whiche consy­steth of flesshe and senewes, be­ynge nourished of the cuppe, which is Christes bloude, and encreased of the breade, whyche is his bodye. This sayth Ireneus. And Tertu­lian as foloweth. Tertull. Videamus nunc de propria christiani nominis for­ma, quanta huic substantiae friuolae ac sordidae, apud deum praerogati­ua sit, etsi sufficeret illi, ꝙ nulla omnino anima salutem possit adipiscinisi dum est in carne, crediderit, adeò caro salutis est cardo, de qua [Page xciiii] cum anima deo alligatur, ipsa est quae efficit, vt anima alligari possit Sed & caro abluitur, ut anima emaculetur. Caro inungitur, ut anima consecretur, Caro signatur, ut ani­ma muniatur. Caro manus imposi­tiōe adumbratur, ut anima spiritu illuminetur. Caro corpore & san­guine christi uescitur, ut & anima de deo saginetur. These wordes be writtē in a worke made by this author for confirmation of the ar­ticle of oure belefe for resurrection of the fleshe, whereby to refel such as denied the same, and in englysh they haue this sense. Let vs nowe (saith Tertulian) consider the platforme of a christen mans state, and se what preeminence is gyuen by god, to the brykle & vyle substaūce of the flesshe, althoughe to it this prefermēt myght suffice y ^t no soule can attaine euerlasting lyfe, onles [Page] it beleue, whiles it is in the fleshe, so euident is it, that the flesshe is (as it were) the groundeselpece of mannes saluacion. In whiche, when the soule is knytte to god, This is verified in the sacramente of baptisme In the sa­cramentes of cōfirma­tion, ordre and extreme vnction. As with the crosse in benediction. In confyr [...]mation and ordres. The sacrament of the aulter. it is the flesh that bringeth to passe, that it maye so be knytte, yea also the flesh is wasshed, that the soule may be clensed of her spottes. The flesh is annoynted, that the soule may be halowed. The fleshe is marked, that the soule maye be de­fended. The fleshe by imposition of the mynisters handes is shado­wed, that the soule may be illumi­nate with the spirite. The fleshe is fedde with the body and blood of Christ, that the soule may be made fatte of god. In these wordes be conteyned many good thynges, declarynge the vse of the visible sacramentes, in the begynnynge of the churche, such as in these da­yes some [...]este and rayle at com­menly, [Page xcv] besides the intollerable presumption agaynst the most bles­sed sacrament, wherof how this man speaketh it is euident, how so euer, the deuyll vsed Frith as a mynystre, to depraue him, in this behalfe. And yet this nourriture that mans flesshe hath by christes precious body, is after an other maner as sainte Augustine saith, then our cōmen nourriture is, for non digeritur in carnis nostre, substantiam, sed ipse nos in corporat sibi. Christes body is not digested into the substaunce of our flesshe, but it incorporateth vs vnto it, And note y ^e word digested appro­priate to other common meates This most preciouse foode conser­ueth our substaunce, & as Damas­cene sayth, maye therfore be called supersubstantialis, but it is by in­corporation of vs into it, wherof here what Saint Cyprian saith, [Page] that holy martir, who expounding the ( Pater noster) and declaringe the fourth petition in it, Panē no­strum quotidianum da nobis ho­diè, vnderstandeth it to conteyne a desyre of the holy communion in the blessed sacrament, and saythe. Ideo panem nostrum id est, christū dari nobis quotidiè petimꝰ, ut qui in christo manemus & uiuimus, à sanctificatione & corpore eius, non recedamus. Cyprianus Therfore we aske our daylye breade, that is to saye Christe, to be gyuen vnto vs, that we which abyde and liue in Christ go not backewarde, from the state of holynes, and communion of the bodye. Here Saynte Cypryan, calleth the sacrament, Chryste, as he is in deede, there present really, and shewethe therewith an effecte of this holy communion, that be­ynge so partakers, of his most precyouse naturall body, we maye be [Page xcvi] preserued, in the continuaunce of our sanctificacion, and not depart frō the felowshyp of Christes my­sticall body, the churche, whiche churche Christ vniteth to him, not onely spiritually, by faith and charitie, but also corporally: by eating of his precious body, & drinkinge of his bloude, declarynge that he loueth his churche, as his flesshe, as Saynte Paule writeth to the Ephesians, Ephe. 5▪ where admonishinge the husbādes, to loue their wiues as their owne bodies, he sayeth. No mā euer hated his owne flesh but nourisheth it, as Christe dothe his churche, for we be membres, of his bodye, of his flesshe and of his bones. To whiche purpose, Cirillus, Cyrill. vpon the .xv. of Saynte Iohn, writeth against an heretike as foloweth. Non (inquit) nega­mus recta nos fide charitate (que) syncera, Christo spiritualiter coniūgi [Page] sed nullam nobis coniūctionis rationem, secundum carnem cum illo esse id profectò pernegamus, id (que) a diuinis scripturus, omnino alie­num ducimus. Quis enim dubita­uit Christum etiam sic uitem esse, nos palmites, qui vitam inde nobis acquirimus? Audi Paulum dicen­tem, quia omnes, vnum corpus su­mus in Christo, Quia & si multi su­mus vnum tamen in eo sumus, 1: Cor. 10. omnes enim vno pane participamus: An fortasse putas ignotā nobis, misticae benedictiōis virtutē esse, quae cum in nobis fiat, nonne corporali ter quo (que) facit, communicatione carnis Christi, 1. Cor. 6. Christū in nobis ha­bitare, cur enim mēbra fidelium, mēbra sūt christi Nescitis (inquit) quoniā mēbrav [...] ̄a mēbra sūt christi mēbra igitur Christi, meretricis fa­ciam membra? Absit, Saluator eti­am, qui manducat carnem meam, & bibit sanguinem meum, in me [Page xcvii] manet, & ego in eo. We deny not (saith Cyril against the heretique) but we be spirituallye ioyned, to christ, we be con­ioyned to Christe not onelye by faith & cha­ritie, but also by participation of his flesh in the sacra­ment of the aulter. by faith, and sincere charitie but that we shulde haue no maner of coniunction, in our flesshe with christ, that we vtterlye denye, and thinke it vtterlye discrepant from goddes holy scriptures. For who doubteth but christ, is so the vyne tree and we so the braunches, as we get thence our lyfe. Here what S. Paule saith: we be al one body with Christe. 1. Cor. 10. For though we be many, we be one in hym. All we participate in one foode.

Thinketh this heretique, that we know not the strength and vertue of the mystical benedictiō (so this autor expresseth the holy sacramēt of thaulter, Cyryll cal­leth the sa­crament of the aulter the mystical benediction calling it the misticall benedictiō) which when it is made in vs, doth it not make Christ, by cōmunicacion of his flesh to dwel [Page] corporally in vs? Whye be the mē bres of faithfull mens bodyes, called the membres of Christ? Christ doth cōmunicate his flessh in the sacra­ment of the aulter, and so dwelleth corporallye in vs. knowe ye not (saith S. Paule) that your mēbres be the members of Christ? And shal I make the membres of christ, partes of the hores bodye? God forbydde. And oure sauyour also saith: He that eateth my flesh, & drinketh my bloud, dwelleth in me, and I in him. Hitherto be Ci­rylles wordes, whereby is decla­red our corporall habitacion, in christe, by this precious sacrament wherein is present christ him selfe▪ Hilarius. 8. li. De trinitate. wherof here what Hilarius Pictauiensis, an olde author in christes churche, in the .viii. boke, de Tri­nitate, vpon discussion of this question, whither chryste be in vs, by the veritie of nature, or cōcorde & agreaunce in our will, aunswereth in this wise. Si enim uerè uerbum caro factum est, & nos uerè uerbū [Page xcviii] carnē, cibo dominico sumimꝰ: quo modo non naturaliter manere in nobis existimandus est? qui & naturam carnis nostrae, iam insepara­bilem sibi homo natus assumpsit, & naturam carnis suae ad naturam aeternitatis, sub sacramento nobis cōmunicādae carnis admiscuit? Ita enim omnes unum sumus, quia & in christo pr̄ est, & christus in no­bis. Quisquis ergo naturaliter pa­trē in christo negabit, neget prius nō naturalit (er) uel se christo uel christū sibi inesse, quia in christo pr̄, & christus in nobis unū, unū in hijs esse nos faciūt. Si uerè igitur carnem corporis nostri chrūs assūpsit, & uerè homo ille, (qui) ex Maria natꝰ fuit, chrūs ē, nos (que) uero sub misterio carnē corporis sui sumimꝰ, & per hoc unū erimꝰ, quia pater in eo est & ille in nobis, quomodo volūtatis unitas asseretur, cū naturalis per sacramentū proprietas perfecta, sacramentum [Page] sit unitatis? If the worde was made verely fleshe, and we verely receyue the worde, beinge fleshe in oure lordes meate: how shal not christ be thought to dwell naturally in vs, who being borne man, hath taken vnto him, the na­ture of our flesshe, that can not be seuered, and hath put together the nature of his fleshe, to the nature of his eternitie, vnder y ^e sacrament of the communion of his flesshe vnto vs, For so we be al one, by cause the father is in Chryste, Note the mysterye of the sacra­ment of the aulter. and Christ in vs. Wherefore who soe­uer wyll deny the father, to be na­turally in Christe, he muste deny fyrst, eyther hym self, to be natu­rally in Christe, or Christ not to be naturallye in hym, for the being of the father in Chryst, and the being of Chryste in vs, maketh vs to be one in thē. And therefore, yf Chryst hath taken verelye the flesshe of [Page xcix] oure body, and the man that was verelye borne of y ^e virgyn Mary is Christ: & also we receyue vnder the true mysterie, the fleshe of his bodye, by meanes wherof we shal be one (for the father is in Christ, and Christ in vs) how shal that be called the vnite of wyll, when the natural propriete brought to passe by y ^e sacramente, is the sacramēt of vnite? I haue thus translate this holy fathers testimony, farre exceding the capacite of the symple vnlearned, and yet most euidently declaringe the mysterie of the sacra­ment of thaulter, not to be thinuention of mā, as these beastes now a dayes fayne, but the godly tradicion of the truthe, expressed in Christes wordes, plainly & truely receiued, also taught and continued in the church, syns the beginning, & by this mans testimony, aboue .xii c. yeres past. And were it not, that [Page] I thinke good men wyll delyte to reade the truth: I wolde esteme it labour loste, to suche as be obsti­nate. For they be (as saint Paule saith) ouerthrowen in their owne iudgement, and so full of malyce, as nothinge els, can entre. But I wyll not omytte for them to prose­cute my purpose, And nowe shall ye here what Theophylus Alexandrinus, a noble author in christes churche, Theop. Alex. super Marc. and in the begynnynge of christes churche saieth, who decla­ringe the gospel of s. Marke, and expoundyng the wordes of christe writeth in this wise, Benedicens fregit. i. gratias agens fregit, quod & nos facimus, Mar. 14. orationes super addentes, & dedit eis dicens, Sumite hoc est corpus meum, hoc scilicet quod nunc do, & quod nunc sumitis. Non autem panis figura tantū corporis christi est, sed in propriū Christi corpus transmutatur. Nam [Page c] Dominus ait, Panis quem ego da­bo, caro mea est, sed tamen caro christi, non uidetur, propter nostrā infirmitatem, panis enim & uinum de nostra consuetudine est, si uerò carnem & sanguinem cerneremus sumere non sustineremus, propter hoc. Dominus nostrae infirmitati condescendens, species panis & vini conseruat, sed panem & uinū, in veritatē conuertit, carnis & sanguinis. Thenglysshe whereof is this, Christe blessinge, brake, that is to saye, gyuynge thankes, brake, whiche also we do adding praiers thervnto, and gaue it thē saieng, Take this is my body, the same that is to say, that I nowe giue, & you nowe take. For the breade is not an only figure of the body of christe, but it is chaunged into Christes verye bodye. For oure lorde saide, The breade whiche I shall giue, is my flesshe, & yet the flesshe of christ, is [Page] not sene, Note this. in respecte of oure infirmitie, for the breade and wine, be accustomed vnto vs, but if we shuld se the flesshe and bloude, we shulde not endure to receiue it, and ther­fore our lorde, condescendynge to our infirmitie, conserueth the fourmes of breade and wine, and tur­neth the breade and wyne into the veritie of his flesshe and bloude.

Thus testifieth Theophilus, and who can desire, a more playne testimonye, in whiche thou may­est also note, howe the fourme of breade and wyne, by goddes goodnes remaineth in respecte of oure infirmitie, and yet the breade and wyne is turned, in to the bo­dy and bloude of oure sauyoure Christe, whiche speache, implyeth a difference betwene the substaūce of breade and the fourme, that is to say, apparaunce of breade whi­che euery symple wytte can not [Page ci] cōceiue, but euery witte shuld humbly & reuerently beleue. For Christ sayde. This is my body, as appea­reth testified by suche as I haue rehersed, being witnesses of tholde worlde, when there reigned in chri­stes churche, simplicitie, faith, cha­ritie, mekenes, deuotion, with fer­uent religion, when goddes worde dwelt in mennes hartes, and came neuer abrode to walke in mennes tunges, but with maiestie and re­uerence, accompanied with all vertuous lyuynge, where as nowe ie­sters, raylers, rimers, players, ian­glers, pratelers, and simperinge parettes, take vpon them to be admynystratours and officers, to sette forthe goddes worde, whereof they make a plurell number of wordes without all fruyte and effecte. But I wyll leaue these, and praye god amende them, and adde the deuout writinges of saint Austen, saynte [Page] Iherome, and sainte Chrisostome, touchinge the moost preciouse sa­crament of the aulter. And fyrst of saynte Chrisostome, that he writeth vpon the .vi. chapter of s. Chriso super 6. ca. Ioannis Iohn in this matter. Necessariò dicendum quam admiranda mysteria, & cur data sint, & quaenam eorum vtili­tas. Vnum corpus sumus, Ephes. 5. & mēbra ex carne & ossibus eius. Quare initiati, eius praeceptis parere debent, Vt autem non solum per dilectio­nem, sed re ipsa in illam carnē con­uertamur, per cibum id efficitur, quem nobis largitꝰ est. Cum enim suum in nos amorem indicare uel­let, per corpus suum se nobis com­miscuit, & in unum nobiscum redegit, ut corpus cum capite uniretur. Hoc enim amantium maximè est. Hoc Iob significabat de seruis à quibus maximè amabatur, qui su­um amorem praeseferentes dice­bant. Quis daret nobis ut eius car­nibus [Page cii] impleremur? Quod Chri­stus fecit, ut maiori nos charitate ad stringeret, & ut suum in nos ostē deret desiderium, non se tantum uideri permittens desiderantibus, sed et tangi, & manducari, & den­tes carni suae infigi, & desiderio sui omnes impleri. Ab illa igitur men­sa, tan [...] leones ignem spirantes, surgamus diabolo formidolosi, & caput nostrum intelligamus, & quam in nos praesetulit charitatem Parentes saepenumero, liberos su­os alijs alendos dederunt, ego au­tem, mea carne alo, me hijs exhi­beo, omnibus faueo, omnibus op­timam de futuris spem praebeo.

Qui in hac uita ita se nobis exhi­bet, multo magis in futura. Vester ego frater esse uolui, & commu­nicaui carnem, propter uos & san­guinem, & per quae uobis con­iunctus sum, ea rursus uobis exhi­bui. It is necessarye to shewe, [Page] howe maruelouse these mysteryes be, why they be gyuen, and what profit is of them. We be one body and membres of his flesshe and bones. Wherefore suche as be recei­ued into this religion, muste obeye his preceptes. And to the intente we shulde not onely by loue, but also in dede, be turned into that his flesshe, it is brought to passe by the meate, whiche he hath gyuen vnto vs. For when he wolde shewe his loue towardes vs, he hathe myn­gled hym selfe with vs, by his bo­dye, and hath brought it, to be one with vs, that that bodye, myght be vnited with the head, whiche is a speciall point of suche as loue to­gether. And that Iob signified of suche his seruauntes as moost lo­ued hym, Iob. [...]1 who for declaration of their loue sayde. Who can graunte vs that we may be fylled with his flesh? whiche Christe hath done, & [Page ciii] to bynde vs with the more charitie to him and to declare his desyre towardes vs, hath not onely suffered hym selfe to be sene, of such as haue desired to se, but also to be touched and eaten, and the teth to be thrust, into his flesshe, and so all to be fyl­led with desire of him. Wherefore lette vs ryse from this table, snuf­fynge fire with oure nosethrilles, lyke lions, lette vs rise both feare­full and terrible to the deuyll, con­siderynge who is our head, & what loue, he hath shewed vs. The fa­ther and mother, many times haue giuen their chyldren to other, to nourse and be brought vp, but I (saith Christ) feede them with my fleshe, I exhibite my selfe vnto thē I fauour all, and giue all mooste beste hope, for that is to come.

And he that in this lyfe, shewethe him selfe, so to vs, he wyll muche more do it in the lyfe to comme. I [Page] haue (saith Christ to vs) wyllyng­ly ben your brother, and for youre sake, The same flesh christe toke of the virgin, the same he gy­ueth vs in the sacra­mente of the aulter. communicate in flesshe and bloude with you. And wherein I am knytte & conioyned vnto you, I do agayne exhybyte the same vnto you. Thus sayth Chrisostome (the mouth of gold) of this matter more preciouse then gold, and swe­ter then hony, and hony combe, of whiche holy man, yf thou haddeste asked (howe) he wolde haue aun­swered, as he writeth in the same place. Idem Chriso Io. 3. Quando subit quaestio (quo­modo aliquid fiat) simul subit & incredulitas. Ita & Nicodemus perturbatus est, inquiens. Quomodo potest homo, in uētrem matris suae iteratò introire? Itidem & hij nūc, Quomodo potest hîc nobis carnē suam dare, Matt. 14. Mar. 6 Luc. 9▪ ad manducandū? Nam si hoc inquiris, cur non idem in quin (que) panum miraculo dixit, quo modo eos, in tantum auxit? Quia [Page ciiii] tunc, tantum saturari curabant, non considerare miraculum. Sed res ipsa tunc docuit, (inquiens,) Ergo ex eo & haec credere opor­cuit, ei facilia factu esse. Propterea id prius fecit miraculum, vt per il­lud, non essent amplius increduli, hijs quae postmodum diceret.

When so euer this question com­meth to mynde (howe anye thynge shuld be done?) there entreth ther­with vnbel fe and incredulite. For so was Nicodemus troubled say­enge. Howe can a man entre a­gayne into his mothers wombe? And lykewise the Caphernaites in this gospell nowe questioned with them selfe of Christe. Howe canne this man, gyue vs his flesshe to be eaten? But yf thou Caphernaite, askeste this question nowe, why dyddest thou not aske lykewyse in the myracle of the fyue loues, how he encreased theym so muche? I [Page] myghte aunswere for the thus, that then thou caredst only, to be fylled and dyddest not regarde the myra­cle. But thou Capharnaite, wilte percase say, the thyng there shewed it selfe. Wel by that then, thou shuldest beleue, that he that dydde that myghte easely do this, and there­fore he wroughte that myracle be­fore▪ that thereby they shuld not be myst rustynge, and withoute belefe of that he shulde afterwarde saye▪ which wordes of saynt Chrisostom well pondered and wayed, shulde not on [...]ly be sufficient, to stoppe y ^e mouthes of questioners and doubters, but also conuerte the hartes of those that hedlinge haue tunne downewarde, to the myserable pit of the deuyls blindnes, & become his ministers, [...] ad Hedibiam to persuade this ab­hominable falsehode, to the world. Let vs come now to S. Iherome who Ad Hedibiam, writeth thus. [Page cv] Nos audiamus panem, quem fre­git Dominus, dedit (que) discipulis suis, esse corpus domini saluatoris, ipso dicente ad eos, Accipite & comedite. Hoc est corpus meum, & calicem illum esse, de quo iterum loquutus est. Bibite ex hoc omnes hic est sanguis meus noui testamē ti, qui pro multis effundetur, lste est calix de quo in propheta legi­mus. Calicem salutaris accipiā. Matt. 26. Mar. 14. Et alibi. Calix tuus inebrians, quam praeclarus est? Si ergo panis qui decoelo descendit, corpus est domi­ni, Psal. 115. Psal. 22. Io. 6 & vinum quod discipulis dedit sanguis illius est noui testamenti, qui pro multis effusus est, in remissionem peccatorum: Iudaicas fa­bulas repellamus, & ascendamus cum domino coenaculum magnū, stratum at (que) mundatum, & accipiamus ab co sursum, Luc. 22. calicem no­ui testamenti, ibi (que) cum eo pascha celebrantes, inebriemur ab eo vi­no [Page] sobrietatis. Non enim est reg­num dei, cibus & potus, sed iustitia & gaudiū & pax in spiritu sancto: Rom. 14. Nec Moyses dedit nobis panem uerū, sed d [...] ̄s Iesus, ipse conuiua & conuiuium. Ipse comedens & qui commeditur. Illius bibimus sanguinem, & sine ipso potare non possumus, & quotidiè in sacrificijs eius, de genimine uitis uerae & uineae So rec, Mat. 26. Luc. 22. quae interpretatur (electa) ru­bentia musta calcamus, & nouum ex hijs uinum bibimus, de regno patris, nequa (que) in uetustate litte­rae, sed in nouitate spiritus, cantan­tes canticum nouum, quod nemo potest cantare, nisi in regno ecclesiae, quod regnum patris est. Lette vs here this, that the breade which our Lorde brake, and gaue to hys disciples, is the bodye of our lorde, our Sauyoure he hym selfe say­enge vnto them. Take ye and eate this is my body, And the cuppe is [Page cvi] that whereof he spake agayne.

Drynke of this all, This is my bloude of the nevve testamente, vvhiche shall be shedde for many This is the cup of whiche we rede in the prophete. Psal. 115. Psal. 22. I shall take the cup of the sauyour. And in another place. How excellent is thy cuppe, that is so plentifully filled. If thē the body of our lorde, be the breade that descended from heauen, and the wine that he gaue his disciples is his bloude of the newe testamēt whyche is shedde for manye in re­myssyon of synnes, lette vs putte awaye the Iewes fables, and lette vs ascende wyth oure lorde, Luc. 22. into the greate chaumber, strowed and clensed, and lette vs take of hym alofte the cuppe of the newe testa­mente, and kepynge our Easter let vs with him be made drunke, with the wine of sobernes. For the kyng dome of God, Rom. 14. is not meate and [Page] drinke, but iustice, ioy, and peace in the holy ghost, Nor Moses dyd not giue vs y ^e true foode, but our lorde Iesus him selfe, beynge the geste, & feast it selfe, him selfe that dyd eate & is eaten. His bloude we drynke, and withoute him can not drynke, & dayly, in his sacrifices, we presse out redde muste, newe wyne of the grape, of y ^e true vyne tree, the vyne of Sorec, whiche is interpretate, chosen, and hereof we drinke newe wine, of the kyngdom of the father, not in the oldenesse of the lettre, but in the newenes of spirite, syngyng the newe songe, that no man can synge, but in the kingedome of the church, which is the kingdome of the father. Nowe ye haue herde s. Iheromes wordes, full of mysteri­es, but so to the pointe to testify the misterie of the sacrament of thaul­ter, as the more coulde not be desi­red for our instruccion, in the true [Page cvii] vnderstandynge or rather, a true Eccho of that is truely vnderstan­ded. For the original truth, proce­deth of Christes wordes, the true sound wherof, redoundeth in good mens brestes, being apte and mete to receyue the same, & so rendre the noyse, as they receyued it frome the mountayne of truthe, oure sauiour Chryst, by y ^e holye ghoste, taughte, vttered & spredde abrode, by whom good men be ledde into all truthe, lyke as euyll men, by the deuyll & his aungelles, be ledde into all fal­sehed and lyes, Of whome beware, and regarde not Ioye, Bale, Tur­noure, Frith, whome theyr owne malyce, with the deuylles sugge­stion hath subuerted. Regard not, what peruerse obstinacie worketh in refusinge god, and resisting his powers of the worlde, thexample whereof hathe latelye appeared in such as suffered, who being ouer­come [Page] with intollerable presumpti [...] on and disperate malyce, obstinately continued in their peruersitie to thende openly. The deuyl hath his wytnesse as s. Austen saith, and frowarde obstinacye in falseheade, hath in the world, counterfeted the constancie of martyrs as vyce, with ypocrisy in many, hath resem­bled vertue. Therfore in Christes true martirs, not the paynes one­lye, wherein they were tormented, but therwith the cause, wherefore they were persecuted, was special­ly regarded. For els as werynes of this lyfe hathe wrought among many, a vehemēt desyre to be hence esteming no paines, to achue, their entente, and therefore haue mooste cruelly deuysed theyr owne death, & many times letted, haue wilfully cōtinued in prosecutiō of the same: so hath froward stubbernes mixte with vaineglory, done the lyke, as [Page cviii] [...]mong many in our tyme, hath manifestlye appeared. In whiche the Anabaptis [...]es, and Sacramenta­ries, haue with a deuelysh pertinacy mainteined their heresies, whose wilfull death in obstinacie, yf i [...] shulde serue for an argumente, to proue y ^e truth of their opinion: the truth of gods scriptures, shuld be brought in muche perplexite, and men drawen hither, and thither, as peruerse malyce shulde leade.

But god that is mercyfull suffreth not man, to be tempted with these argumētes more thē may be borne of mannes infirmitie, And yf suche as lately suffered, were seuerallye considered, there maye appeare to­kens sufficiente, besides the condi­cion of the matter, they suffred for, to declare their zeale, not to haue proceded of the spirite of god, but of arrogaunt pryde and presump­tion, & the spirite of y ^e deuyl, which [Page] is no tyme to speake on nowe, but I shall adde what sainte Austine saith, the readyng wherof is frute­full, and leaue the remembraunce, of these monstruouse proude peo­ple, whose doynges be vnfruteful, to them selfe and other. S. Austen saith thus vpon the .xcviii. Psalm, in thexposition of this text, Et ad [...]srate scabellum pedum eius, quoni­am sanctum est, worshyp y ^e fotestole of his seat, for it is holye. Quid ha­bemus adorare? Scabellū pedum eius, Suppedaneū dicit̄ scabellum, quod dicūt graeci ( [...]) dixe­runt Latini scabellum, & alij dixe­runt suppedaneum. Sed videte fra­tres, quid nos iubeat adorare. Alio loco scriptura dicit. Esa. 66 Coelum mihi sedes est, terra autem scabellum pedū meorum, Ergo terram iubet nos adorare, quia dixit alio loco, q sit scabellum pedum dei? Et quo­modo aborabimus terrā, cū dicat apertè [Page cix] scriptura, Deut. 6. Lut. 4. Dominum deum tuum adorabis, & hîc dicit, Adorate scabellum pedum eius? Expo­nens autem mihi quid sit scabellū pedum eius, dicit: Terra autem scabellum pedum meorum. An­ceps factus sum, timeo adorare tertam, ne damnet me, qui fecit coelū & terram. Rursum timeo, non adorare scabellum pedum domini meiquia psalmus mihi dicit. Adorate scabellum pedum eius. Quaero quid sit scabellum pedum eius? Et dicit mihi scriptura, Terra sca­bellum pedum meorum. Fluctuās conuerto me ad Christum quia ip­sum quaero hîc, & inuenio quomo do sine impietate adoretur terra, sine impietate adoretur scabel­lum pedum eius. Suscepit enim de terra, terram, quia caro de terra est, & de carne Mariae carnem ac­cepit, Et quia in ipsa carne hîc ambulauit, & ipsam carnem nobis [Page] manducandam, ad salutem dedit nemo autem illam carnem mandu [...] cat, nisi prius adorauerit, inuentu [...] est quemadmodum adoretur tal [...] scabellum pedum domini, & nō so [...]lū non peccemus adorādo, sed pe [...] cemus non adorando. What haue we to worshyppe? The stole of his feete, for so we call, that stayeth vnder the foote, That the greakes call ( [...], the laten men call Scabellum, But let vs see brethren what we be bydde to worshyppe. In another place, the scripture saieth. Heauen is my seate, and the earthe, is the stoole of my feete, Ergo then god byddeth vs to wor­shyppe the earth, for he tolde in a­nother place, what was the stoole of his feete. And how shall we worshyppe the earth, seynge the scrip­ture sayth euidentlye. Thou shalt worshyppe thy lord God, and here he sayeth, Thou shalte worshyppe [Page xx] the stoole of his feete. Expoun­dynge moreouer vnto me, what is the stoole of his feete, saith. The earth is y ^e stole of my fete, Here I am in a daubte, I am afrayde to worshippe the earth, least he shuld cōdemne me, that made heauen & earthe. Againe I am afrayde, not to worshippe the stole of my lordes feete, because the Psalme sayethe vnto me▪ Thou shalte worshyppe the stole of his feete. I aske what is the stole of his feete? and scrip­ture telleth me. The earth is, sayth god, the stole of my feete. Beynge thus tossed to and fro, I turne my selfe to Christ, for hym I seke here and fynde, howe without viola­tyon of goddes honoure, the earthe maye be worshypped, and so wythoute vyolacyon of goddes honoure, the stoole of his feete, maye be worshypped. Chryste tooke of the earthe, earthe, for the [Page] flesshe is of the earth, and he toke flesshe of the flesh of Marye, and because in that flesshe he walked here, Christ gaue thesame flesh to be ea [...] of vs. and gaue the same flesshe to be eaten of vs, for oure saluation, no man agayne eateth that flessh, but he fyrst worshyppeth it. It is so founde out how the fotestole of our lorde, shulde be worshypped, and therwith also this that not only we shulde not synne in worshippynge of it, but contrary wyse, we shuld synne, and we shuld not worshyp it. Thus speaketh saint Au­sten, of the Sacramente of thaul­ter, & thus speaketh he of the wor­shyppynge of it, so plainely, as the deuyll hath no poynt of sophistrye to iuggle in it, but to saye, sainte Austine was a man, whiche is one of the general shyftes in an extre­mite, & an other, that the worke (if the place make against hym) was not his, it is named to be. But this [Page cxi] worke is saint Augustynes with­out any suspicion to the contrarie. Mary a man, I muste confesse, he was, and so were all tho I haue spoken of before, whome I haue not brought to proue the truth of the natural bodye of Christ, in the sacrament of thaulter, For the few wordes of scripture spokē of christ him selfe, when he sayde, This is my body, to good men proue that sufficiently, and any other studied corroboration, to good men, nea­deth not, & to euell obstinate men, is superfluouse. Accordyng wher­vnto saint Basyll instructed hys scolers, with what feare, faith, and affection, they shulde come to the holy cōmuniō. B [...]. sillius. He bad them lerne feare of saynt Paule, sayenge to the Corynthyans: He that eatethe vnworthelye, 1. Cor. 11. eateth iudgemente and condemnatiou. He bad them learne fayth of Chrystes wordes, Matt. 26. [Page] when he sayde. Take ye, and eate ye, this is my body, And as for de­uotion and affection of mynde, he bad them loke of the loue Christe bare to his churche. And therfore I trauaile not herein to learne mē faith by authoritie of men, but by­cause I see, what a companye they be, that impugne oure true faithe, with lyes and sophistrye: I haue taken payne to reherse these, that ye maye reade of another compa­ny that mainteyned the true faith with the truthe, whiche were so no table clearkes, so greate learned men, so exercysed in scriptures, soo rychelye endued with the specyall gyftes and graces of god, as men shulde haue more comfort, to kepe companye with them, in the open lyghte of truth, goddes high way, then to lurke in darke corners, or folowe the leadynge of suche, as beynge blynde of the ryght eye, for [Page cxii] want of grace and learninge, and more blynde on the lefte eye, with malyce and enuye, fall them selfe in the pitte of goddes indignacion and drawe other after them. One thynge I wyll note, whiche is worthye notynge, that there hath not ben, in any tyme, any one Maister teacher, or otherwise, the deuylles stoute champion, to impugne our true beleefe in the sacramente of the aulter openlye, but he profes­sed therwith, some other opinion, so euidentlye abhominable, as he myght be knowen, by that other lye, to be sent from the deuyll, And fyrste that we reade of, be the Maniches, whose detestable opinion, is vniuersallye abhorred, Second the Messalyans, who sayde, the sacrament dydde neither good nor hurte, muche like Fryth, who after all his conflicte, wold gladly haue come to thys, neyther to graunte [Page] the sacramente, nor denie it. Now these Messalyans professed thys for truth also, that it was an euyll thinge to laboure with their han­des, and gaue them selfe onely to sleape, and called their visions in there dreames, prophecies, and pretended to be saued by onely prayer as Luther affirmeth by only faith Were not these men marked on both sydes (trowe ye) to be knowen for noughte? Wyclefe denied the Sacrament of thaulter, and on y ^e other syde affirmed, all thynges to come to passe, by mere and abso­lute necessitye, with whiche opini­on all suche be infecte at this day, as impugne the sacramente. And is not that an euident marke, that god hath suffered them to fall ( in reprobum sensum) so as they speake, Rom. 2. they wote not what, speci­allye when they waxe angrye, as some do, that men wyll not folowe [Page cxiii] them, when by their opynyon, the same necessytie, that maketh them to speake so angerly maketh other also if they so do (and it be as they saye) by y ^e same necessitie to laugh them to skorne. And further if ab­solute necessite reigned ouer man, then shulde a thefe or a murderer, be as muche made of, and commē ­ded for playenge his parte, accor­dinge to his place of necessitie, as he that liueth soberlye. For bothe worke by necessite. And if they wil by this opinion, resemble god, to y ^e directour of a playe (as they do in dede) appoyntynge euery man a parte to playe, as lyketh him: then because to lyue viciously and ab­hominably, is more troublouse, & fuller of vexacion, and the busier part, then to liue wel & vertuously whiche hath lesse care in dede, be­cause he hathe a busier parte ap­pointed him, that is necessitate to [Page] liue euil, then he that is necessitate to lyue well, the same playenge his part aptely, as he can not do otherwise ledde by necessitie shoulde in that rule be more rewarded, then he that lyueth well if any thynge myght be called wel. And if there were any difference betwene vyce and vertue, vice shoulde be prefer­red vertue, and more rewarded be­caue it is the more laborouse part to playe, and so shulde all be ouer­throwen, as in deede all shall be, where the holy sacramēt of thaul­ter is neglected. Whervnto suche other opinions, suche malice, such enuy, such hatred is ioyned as worketh in it selfe the subuersion of al. Wherof god giueth euident mar­kes and tokens, yf men neglecte them not, and the deuyll shewethe him selfe so openlye, as al maye se him, that be not wilfully blynde. And muche more euidentlye, the [Page cxiiif] same shall appeare vnto you, by consideracion of these good vertuouse holy mens writinges, in this matter, whiche I haue reherced, & myndinge to be shorte, passe ouer the great number, that is to saye, in this place al, that syns these. Myeres, haue ben teachers, and written for the edificacion of Christes churche, besides a great manye of them that wrote before.

THyrdely let vs consider how the deuyl tosseth the wordes, and first theword, sacrament, wherby he wolde it semed, that by that name, it was euer mente, that it is onely a signe and tokē, of an inui­sible grace, and in as muche as it is a signe, it is not the thing it self, as the churche teachethe: For a signe, and a thinge, whereof the signe is, muste neades differre.

Wherevnto▪ I saye, that the worde (Sacramente), (as manye [Page] other wordes in speache, haue the like) hath thre significations, to oure vnderstandynge. One moste general, in whiche it signifieth any secrete hidden thyng, without dif­ference, whither the same hydden thing, be holy or no. And after that acceptiō, it is applyed to many se­crete matters and misteries, both godly, & natural. Another acceptiō is specyal, & is restrained to signifi the seuen special holy misteryes in our religion, which we cal and be, the .vii. sacramentes, vnto whiche y ^e name sacrament, is in the comen speache onelye applyed, whervnto this diffinitiō is truely attribute, a sacramente to be a visible signe of an inuisible grace. Another ac­ception, is in a most special signification, whē we speake of the sacra­ment of the aulter, whych doth vs vnderstande, a specyall difference of excellencye from the other sacramentes, [Page cxv] as wherein is present, the plentye of all grace, and the pur­chacer of all grace, receyued in the other sacramentes, Chryste hym selfe. Whereof when men be thus lerned and taughte, and the thing so set forth, truely (as it is in dede) it is then mere sophistrie, to resort, to disputacion of the word, wherwith, to ouerthrowe, the truth of the thynge. After whiche sorte they daly also, that make foundacion of argument to proue y ^e substaūce of bread, to remaine in the mooste blessed Sacrament, bicause S. Paule calleth y ^e sacrament, breade, and yet in dede saynt Paul calleth it this breade, whiche importeth a speciall vnderstandinge, and to suche as truely beleue, the myracle of christes cōsecration, of his most preciouse bodye, turnynge by the omnipotency of his myghty word the substaunce of breade, into the [Page] substaunce of his naturall bodye to suche men of true belefe, y ^e, thing remayneth as it is ne is in their conscience altered, with expression of y ^e name of that it was. And that whiche before the consecration was commen breade, with the na­turall substaunce of bread, is now by goddes speciall myracle, in his secrete operation omnipotent, the onelye substaunce of the bodye of our sauyoure Christe. And so maye be called with an addition wherewith to marke the mistery, this breade. But whye shulde the name, trauayle vs when we rede so ofte in scripture, thinges to be named not as they be, but as they were? and the rod turned in to a serpent, by gods miracle, before Pharao, styl to be called a rodde when it was a serpent, Exo. 7. but the rodde was conuerted by gods power into the serpent and styll [Page cxvi] called it a rodde, when it was not so. But why should men be so scrupulouse in names? After god had signified to the patriarche Iacob that he shulde be called no more Iacob but Israell, Gene. 32. yet afterward the same scripture testifieth howe god spake to Israel. ad puteum iuramenti, Gene. 46. and called Iacob, Ia­cob: Here if a man wolde trifle, in the sounde of the worde, Iacob, shulde he not make an argumente to improue the truthe of that god had spoken, wherewith the deuyll myghte inueigle the presumptu­ouse ignoraunt, that estemeth him selfe so muche, as he measureth al knowledge by his rude capacitie. But here thexercised senses in learninge, can consider how names be of two sortes, sometime they do onlye signifie anye litle token of the thynge, whervnto they be added, and then we may not make foun­dacion of the name as declarynge [Page] hollye the thyng signified, or to be demed the propre name, After whiche sorte, Chryst was called synne, bycause he dyed for synne, and yet had not synne in hym, as the word shold import. And when we speake thus, that Chryste saueth synners, we sygnify by the worde (synners) suche men as were synners, and be by Chryst, washed, & purged from synne, mete to be receyued to saluacyon. For as Saynte Paule sayth to the Ephesians, Chryst purgeth his churche, and leaueth neyther spot, ne wrincle. And when we call noughtye men, christen men, we signify not by the name, what they be now in dede, for they be the de­uyls men, and not Chrysten men, but callynge them nowe Christenmen, we signifie y ^t they were ones in the state of grace, at the tyme of their baptisme. We call a mans writinge also his hande, onely be­cause [Page cxvii] his hande wrote it. In whi­che sorte of naminges, the significacion extendeth no further, for de­claracion of the thinge named, thē the pointing or direction of a mās finger, with a parte of speache cal­led a pronowne, as this or that.

Mary other names that be added to geue lighte and knowledge of the substaūce, nature or chiefe qualitie of the thynge, those be so ioy­ned and knytte to the thynge, as they do not onely poynte it, but o­pen it also, and be not onely an out warde marke of the thinge, but presente to oure vnderstandynges, what is conteined in the thinge it selfe. And therf [...]re as the name Iacob, was onely an outward marke of the corporall man of the patri­arche. So Israel declared the spe­ciall fauoure of God, wherby Ia­cob sawe god wh [...]che the word Is­raell doth signifie the continuaūce [Page] whereof god promysed, saienge he shulde no more be called Iacob, but Israell. Accordinge whervnto after the breade is consecrate by y ^e preiste, goddes minister, and by the omnipot [...]cye of Christes myghtye worde is conuerted into the bodye of Christe, the name that [...]ignifieth the substaunce of that sacramente, is the body of Christe. And there­fore the same sacramēt, can no more be called breade, but the bodye of Christe, as Iacob shulde no more be called Iacob, but Israel. And yet as scrypture sayth in the hysto­ry o [...] Iacob, God called after that Iacob againe, by the name Iacob without preiudice of the truthe of goddes worde, spoken before, that he shulde be no more so called. So Saynte Paule calleth the same holy sacrament, breade, because it was soo, before the consecracyon, and yet so he calleth it, withoute [Page cxviii] preiudice of the truth, that it is in dede, beinge not breade, but the very body of Christ, at the time, when it is by hym neuerthelesse called breade, As Iacob was in dede Is­raell by goddes fauoure, when he was after by gods mouth againe, called Iacob whych latter callinge of Iacob, dydde nothynge pre­iudicate the truthe of gods worde vttered before. Forasmuch as this laste maner of callynge, was not a through namynge of hym, but on­ly, as it were a pointing to distinct outwardly the man, and because he was ones Iacob, is called Iacob againe, As the sacrament, because it was ones breade, is called bread againe. And now I returned to this that yf mens fayth were such, as is required of christen men, they wold be wiselye deefe, as the serpente, that stoppethe her eares; and no­thynge be altered, with the deuyls [Page] intricacions or incantaciōs in wordes and names euen as we beleue certainely, Esa. 5 [...]. Psal. 11. Apoc. 5. that Christ, is perfytte god, and perfyt man, what so euer names, be attribute in scripture vnto hym, as he is called a shepe, a worme, Ioan. 14. a lyon, and many other. And althoughe Christe saith hym selfe, his father is greatter then he, yet this is true, that his father & he be equall, and yet (equall) and (greater) be in apparaunce contrarye. And so beleuynge, as euerye good Christen man muste beleue, that Christ is equall to his father in substaunce and deitie, we beleue the contrary in apparaunce, to sen­ses vnexercysed of that Christ sayd hym selfe. But these notwithstan­dynge, howe so euer thapparaunce of wordes be in scriptures, we be­leue the truth taught vs by y ^e churche, & as euery man lerneth to spell that sometime (c) with a [...]yttell [Page cxix] spelleth, est, & in another place (e) with a title, spelleth / en/as when we write / Amē,/and another tyme e / with a tytle, spelleth / em/as / mē brum/whiche varietie, goeth by rule in place, whereunto an hum­ble scoler obeyeth, and not by rea­son, as an arrogant witte wolde requyre: So in all the secretes, and contractions (as we myghte call them) and misteries hydden of our religion, good men haue euer lea­ned to the rule of teachinge in chri­stes churche, and taken a title, some tyme for, n, and sometyme for, m, as they were taught the place to require, and not to spell after theyr owne iudgemente, as euerye man weneth it shulde be, after his vehement reason of his owne diuise.

Doth not s. Paule (saith he) call it breade? and be not these wordes of scripture? And be any words truer or better, then the wordes of scrip­ture? [Page] Of whome I aske this que­stion agayne. Hath not the churche had, and vnderstanded these wor­des of scrypture, that ye soo vehe­mentlye alledge? Hathe not the churche deliuered those wordes vnto vs? And hath not the same churche notwythstandynge, taughte thys truthe, howe the breade, by consecratyon, is conuerted into the precyouse bodye of Chryste? and condemned those that wolde affyrme, breade to remayne, and with that theyr condemnation, re­teyned and kepte in honoure, saint Paule who wrote these wordes, that ye make so greate matter of? The churche hathe condemned the Arryans, that denyed Chryste, to be equalle wyth his father, and yet the same churche, hathe stylle kepte in honoure the Euangelyst, that wrote howe Chryste sayde, his father was greatter then he.

[Page cxx] And yet the Arryans sayde, they spake none other, then the Euangelystes, testyfyed in playne wordes, Io. 14. as some wyll saye nowe a dayes, they speake none otherwyse then Saynte Paule dothe. But suche heretyques, wyll heddelye spell as they lyste, and not folowe the rule of ryghte vnderstandyng, without whiche, men muste neades wauer and swarue in their owne coniec­ture, beynge the coniecture, the rule of leade that men now a daies sensually folowe, plyable to theyr fansyes euē so fondely as some, like worshipful clerkes haue taken the wordes of scrypture, written by the euangelistes, for god him selfe, and those haue gyuen thankes, to the lord, for their hyghe knowledge, acheued by continuall readynge, by them selfe alone, and hauynge a newe testamente, by theyr gyrdell, wherby they haue bosted them self, [Page] deliuered, from the greatte igno­raunce, wherwith other were blin­ded for by their owne deuise, ī their wyse imagination, they had seene god, and harde god, euen face to face, by hearinge and seinge, the wordes of scripture, which they fansied to be god hym selfe, because of the wordes of sainte Ihons gospel where it is written. The word was god. Io. 1. I do not herein fayne, reader, but wrytte the matter in dede, and in dyuerse men deprehended and founde, whiche fonde errour hathe ben engendred of blynde arrogan­cye amongest those that thinke thē selfe able to wade throughe the scriptures, withoute direction of suche teachynge as the churche taught by y ^e scripture of god, hath gathered of y ^e same scryptures. Damascene, Defide orthodo [...] of whome I haue before spoken, hath this good lesson, that as it is signified to vs by scripture [Page cxxiii] that we shall be all taught of god, so by the same scripture we be ad­monished, to aske of our elders, Interrogama iores & dic [...]e ti [...]i. & they shall tell vs, whiche declareth a maner of reachyng, not to be cō ­tempned of men, who despisinge al other men for teachers, as they so­lysshly vnawares learne other to contemne them: so do they despise god, accordynge to Christes wor­des, Lui. l [...] Qui vos spernit, me spernit. He that despiseth you, despiseth me Here may come in percase in thys high matter a scoffe with, a questiō which you? And then, why shal not I teache you, aswell as you me? or rather I you, For doth not Chryst saye? I knoweledge to the father, thou haste hydden these thinges from the wise, Matth. 11. and shewed them to the yongelinges? And Paule saith the wysedome of the worlde, 1. Cor. 3. is fo­lysshenes afore god? And then an other question, in what vniuersitie [Page] was sainte Peter made doctoure, And so shall aryse the controuersy, whiche the deuyll engendreth, who shall teache other? who shall be the scoler, and who the maister? wyth­out eche man shulde playe bothe partes, as of some number eche mā nowe a dayes wolde playe alone al partes, and euery man be mayster to him self, & to himself scoler also, with requeste to god that he wyll vouchesaue to teache hym secrete­lye by often readynge and spelling after his fashion, for he may not be instruct by man, nor for shame sub­mytte hym selfe to hys felowe, to make his mate his maister, to haue power ouer hym, accordynge to Saynte Paules wordes (as he ra­keth them) where he is fashyoned to saye to the Corynthians, [...]. Co [...]. 12. I wyll be vnder no mans power. For soo thenglysshe hathe, althoughe the [Page cxxiiii] sence be otherwise. And this conclusion, do these questions engendre, where euery man muste be so aun­swered, as his sensualite may be cōtented, which is impossible. But to the purpose. The churche is a bo­dye distincte, as saynte Paule saith to the Corinthyans, 1. Cor. 1 [...]. wherein euery member, hathe not one office con­fuselye, but some be prophetes and some be pastours and teachers. &c. And where some be appointed to reache, Ephes. 4. some other muste also be appointed to be taught, howebeit to auoyde this contentyon, betwene this questyoner and me, and to es­chue all comparyson, for this time, I am contente to be with hym in y ^e place of a scooler, and aske wyth hym of other, that is to saye, of those that haue bene, before vs accepted and allowed for tea­chers, and of theyr scoolers alsoo, good christen people, who haue ac­cepted [Page] humblye their teachinge, in the truthe of the preciousenes and substaunce of the moost blessed sa­crament of the aulter, and take thē altogether, representynge Christes churche, for scoolemaisters in thys matter, And yet there is no cause to aske, whiche shulde seme to im­plye matter of doubte, but constantly to continue in that we haue here in truely receyued, without whyes, or whattes, whiche engendre alter­cation, without edificacion or fruit Shall we, after, xv.C. yeare, begin to enquyre, whither the state of our relygyon, be establyshed in meere ydolatrye, as they do now a dayes terme it blasphemouslye? Can we take suche a serche and examinaci­on, otherwyse, then to be a quarell moued to the hole, to prepare the way to Mahomete? of whose lawes some in some thinges write nowe abrode indyfferentelye. For (as I [Page cxxv] sayd before) if reason, or rather vn­reasonablenes, may nowe conquer oure fayth herein, the vyctory wyll hardely be stayed from conqueste in the reste, whiche punisshemente we may se in other, yf we haue grace to consyder it. Let vs stande ferme therefore in our fayth, receiued in the moste blessed sacramente, and kepynge our selfe in sauegarde, by the strength of the same faith, note howe the deuyll assaulteth the symple, to ouercome them, in the same. The deuyl (ye knowe) is but plaine (Iwys) and where playnnes maye deceyue, makethe his pretence to speake playnely, and professeth simplycytie, speakynge alwaye (as his postles saye) of this sacrament, as S. Paule spake, and call it bread. And albeit (as I spake before) of spellynge with one tyttle diuerse­ly: so lykewyse one worde is taken diuersely: yet the deuyll pretendeth [Page] symplycite, and wyl haue one word taken but one way, which is a craft to leade men out of the waye. For if in sainte Iohn̄s gospell, where it is written, that Chryste was in the worlde, Io. 1 [...]. the worlde was made by hym, and the worlde knewe him not, yf there the word (world) shuld haue one signyfycation, it shoulde engender a meruaylous confuse sense, And in the worde (bread) whē Christe sayde. He was the breade that discended from heauen, the worde, breade, maye not there signifie the same it dothe, where the gos­pell spake of fyue barlye breades. And therfore to the rude can be no­thinge more daungerouse, then to be entangled, Io. 6▪ with this the deuyls sophystrye, insygnificacyon of na­mes, the dyscussion whereof, requireth learninge, and the conceiuing of the true faith by gods gift only simplicitie to beleue, w ^tout howes, [Page cxxvi] as is preached vnto the by the churche of christ. But besides this point of sophistry, cometh in another of y ^e rude ignoraunt, & sodenly forget­tyng the name of the holy masse, only pretendeth knowledge, of y ^e lordes supper. And herein is muche a do, and the name of the masse reiected, all is applyed to the lordes supper, and yet they wolde steale away the precyouse foode, of the body of our sauyour Chryste, & in thende make it a bare drinking, of onely breade and wyne. And where they wyll passe noone of their owne priuate suppers, euen on the greattest fa­stynge day, without flesh for dein­tyes: yet in thys supper of the lord (as they call it) they deuyse a deitie without delicacies, to haue nothīg present but bread and wyne, A merueilouse matter of the inclination of mannes nature, for declaracy­on of instabilitie to be fonde of in­nouacions. [Page] nouacions. What the word (masse) meaneth they can not tell, and soo re [...]u [...]e they wote not what, by their owne confession. And the name (supper) they allowe, with a lytle knowledge what they saye, callynge it a supper, but only because it varieth from the name of the Masse. For that whiche in the fyrst institucion, was called, Coena domini, and the supper of oure lorde, by reason the worde ( Coena) because of the tyme, towardes euenyng, signified a supper, Nowe the churche hathe orde­red all men, to receyue theyr holye communion afore all other meates fastynge: it shuld nowe more con­ueniently be called in Englysshe, the feast of oure lorde, or the dyner, then a supper, wherwith the worde Coena, wyll agree, and requirethe not any suche translacion in specy­al to be called a supper, but coena domini may be called. Conuiuiū [Page cxxvii] sacrum, as the churche syngeth deuoutly, wherin Christ is receiued, and therwith a memorye celebrate of his moost blessed passion, and a pledge is lefte with vs, of lyfe euerlasting. And Gregory Nazi­anzene noteth, that albeit in this holy communion, y ^e churche chaungeth the tyme, yet the thinge is all one, whyche he speaketh after this sorte. [...] [Page] [...].

Quandoquidem & alia multa, aliter tum prodita fuere, (quam) ut nunc se habere conspiciuntur. Veluti Ieiunauit christus paululum ante tentationem, Matt. 4. nos verò ante Pascha [...] Quòd ad ieiunia attinet, utrobi (que) idem, temporum uerò utrius (que) ie­iunij, non modica discrepantia.

Christus enim ieiunium, tant (quam) propugnaculum adhibuit contrà ten­taciones, nobis uerò ad id ualet, u [...] Christo cōmorîamur, & itē purga­tio [Page cxxviii] quaedam est, quae festū praecedat Porro christus ieiunauit dies qua­draginta, erat enim Deus, nos ve­rò ieiunium, ad facultatis nostrae modum attemperauimus, etiamsi quidam zelo affecti, Mar. 14 [...] nōnihil supra uires conati sunt. Rursum christus sacra Paschae mysteria, cum disci­pulis celebrat in coenaculo, et post coenam & pridie (quam) pateretur, nos verò in aedibus orationis, & quidē ante coenam, ac post resurrectionē Surrexit item Christus post triduū nos autem post multum temporis, ne (que) tamen cōmittūtur cum illius nostra, sed ne (que) ad temporis ratio­nem coniungantur, quatenus uerò ad exemplum eorum quae nos age remus tradita sunt, exactā per omnia similitudinē effugerunt. The sense wherof is this in englysshe. There be many mo thinges, other wyse set forth, thē they appere to be now. Christ fasted a litle before his [Page] temptacion: we fast before Easter. As touchynge the fast, that is all one, but in the tymes of the fastes: there is a greate diuersitie. For Christe vsed fastinge as a defence and bulwarke against temptatiō, and in vs, fasting auayleth, that we myghte dye wyth Christ, and it is a clensynge & purgation byfore the feast. Christ fasted fourty day­es, for he was god, we haue mea­sured our fasting with our power, although some moued with zeale do attempt herein aboue their po­wer. Chryst kepte his pascal feast, with his disciples in a chambre after supper, and the daye before he suffered: we do the same in hou­ses of prayer, before supper, and after the resurrection. Chryste rose after, thre dayes, & we ryse ageine after a longe tyme. And yet that we do, in y ^e mysteries, repungneth not with Chrystes doynges, but [Page cxxix] they be not conioyned in tymes. And in asmuche as they were de­liuered vnto vs, to be our exāple, their through lykenes and simili­tude in euery part was not obser­ued. These be Gregory Nazianze­nes wordes, the sentence wherof I haue in this place, reherced, to this purpose, to shew howe the church hath altered the tyme, in the recey­uing of our holye communion, I myghte haue in fewer wordes rea­ported it, but because thauctour is very notable for learnynge and vertue, and a famouse clerke of y ^e Greake church, and of auncientie aboue .xii.c. yeres. I haue here in­serted his wordes at length, as they be in greake, and haue added a translation both of laten and englysh to thintent I myght note vnto the reader, suche frutefull lessōs, in other matters, as y ^e same conteyneth. Whereof one is of the [Page] auncientie of the feaste of Christes fast, in the tyme we call in englysh, Lent, which Christen men haue vsed to obserue, before Ester, wherwith to purge them selues against theaster. And I doubt not but in some mennes eares, it soundeth merueylouselye in this tyme, to call fastynge a purgation, whiche worde (purgation) shulde onelye appertaine to Christes bloude, wherein and wherewith men be purged, whereof this author was not ignoraūt, & therfore I note vnto y ^e, how he y ^t can tel what he saith speaketh thus, which hath a good catholyke sense & vnderstandinge where Christ is taken for the foundacion, whervpon & in whom, & by whose helpe, this fast is celebrate For in christes faith, it purgeth, & thervnto men shuld be so exhorted For there is a kind of deuils, Math. 7. chris [...] saide, y ^e is not cast out, but in prayer [Page cxxx] and fastinge, whiche good men, know by vnderstanding & experi­ence, but yet I can not pretermyt, what sophistry the deuyll hath v­sed to induce men to eate, and so to eate, as though men lyued to eate and so diligently as thoughe saint Paule had written affirmatiuely, Regnum dei, Rom. 14. esse escam & potum And then commeth in comparison and the true faste is extolled, to thrust out the bodely faste. Faste from sinne (ꝙ he) that is the true fast, that is the excellent faste, that god commaundeth. And so the de­uyll setteth good thinges at con­tention, one to face oute another and one to putte another oute of the dores: For he may abyde no cōpany of vertues in degrees, one vnder another, one seruing to and ther, one helping another, or belonginge to another, but he wyl haue all alone, accordinge to the foote [Page] of the songe, whiche was faithe a­lone. In fasting therfore, they shal extoll and commende moderacion, and worthelye, for it is the chiefe point of bodely [...]aste, but this mo­deracion shall be muche made of, whereby to dryue out at the dores abstinence from flesh. And so that whiche is done of knowledge, for an inductiō to sobernes: to abstain certaine dayes frome eatynge of flesh, that is called superstition, & by the name condemned. I cal fast (saith he) forbearinge of a mans pleasure and shall therein speake religiousely, but the conclusion is that fisshe faste may be done away and for declaration that the other were but pretences, to bring then­terprise to passe, where flesheating hath fre course, sobernes, modera­tion, and the faste of the soule, be clerely bannished and exiled, and the bely enioyethe the conqueste [Page cxxxi] without lette or interruption, and for a more triumphe therin, when we shuld specially dye with Christ (whiche this author saieth is thef­fecte of fastinge) some haue hadde vpon good friday, notable and speciall bankers, with pretence to re­ioyce in Christes mercy, wroughte with vs, that daye. And it is good in dede to reioyce in goddes good tydynges, but necessary therewith to remember his iustice, and with what tēperature thereof, he mini­streth his mercy, and whiles thou learnest one thinge, forget not another. God made al thing in weight number, and measure, & we shulde learne, how to vse them, after their estimation, withoute suche comparison and contencion, as the deuyl maketh, euer with one better, to expelle another, not so good, where­of must nedes ensue the confusion of all. Fast therefore the cheife fast [Page] of the soule, to abstaine from sinne with the bodely faste, to abstaine from meates, with moderation & sobrenes, takinge scarcitie of that is necessarye, in suche fourme also, of forbearinge certaine meates, as the churche hath without supersti­tion obserued and accustomed. Al whiche wyl agre together, if thou wilte agre with them, and so they will be profitable, and a purgatiō mete and requisite before the feast as Gregory Nazianzen wrytethe callynge it, [...]. In whom, I will also note vnto the howe at those dayes, their pla­ces of assembly (for whiche vse, we haue oure churches) were called, houses of prayer, and Christ when he kest out the byers and sellers out of the temple, he alleged scrip­ture to shewe it shuld be the house of prayer. Matth. 21. Domus mea, domus orationis uocabitur. My house shall [Page cxxxii] be called the house of prayer. I wyll not encrease my boke with accumulation of places, to conferme the commendation of praier, for I truste it nedeth not, but as saynte Paule saide, 1. Timot. 2. Volo viros in omni loco orate. 1. Ch [...]s. 5. And in another place, Orate sine intermissione, So Chrisostome noteth prayer is much ef­fectuall in the time of masse, where christ is present, by whose mediaci­on all our praiers be acceptable & hearde of god. This is not out of my purpose entended, to shewe in this pointe the deuilles sophistrye to diminishe and extincte praier, with temptacion of atteininge knowledge by study and sermōs. So as nowe amonge manye, the house of god, which Christ called the house of prayer, hath (as ma­ny practise it) chaūged y ^e name w ^t y ^t thing▪ For many yf they come to churche, either it is to heare one [Page] talke and rayle after theyr fansye in a pulpet, whiche they call a ser­mon, and learne onlye thereby o­ther mens faultes & care nothinge for their owne, or elles in readinge or musyng of that they vnderstād not, but wolde learne, they spende all the tyme they tarye there. A ser­mon is good, and so is studye also to atteine knowledge, but Grego­ry Nazian. sayd. [...] Good is not good, when it is not well done, to whiche well doing, tyme is a speciall circumstaunce, Eccl. [...]. Euerye thinge hath time saith Salamon. And in thactes of the apostles, it appea­reth they had their tymes appoin­ted to prayer. Act. 5 For Petrus et loānes ascendebant in templum, ad horā orationis nonam, Peter and Ihon ascended into the temple, at the .ix. houre of prayer, whiche destincti­on of tyme, hath no supersticion in [Page cxxxiii] it, but a conueniente ordre and di­stribution of the vse of tyme, whi­che with a certaine appointement, is necessarye in a body vnited and congregate, as christē men be, that we myght declare the same vnite, by conformitie of operation, at one tyme. Col. 2. Wherein saint Paules texte forbyddinge distinction of dayes. is not offended, who condemned onelye the supersticion, and lefte the vse of distinction, indifferente to be receiued for good ordre and semelines, with a signification, al­so of our mysteries. And therefore Gregory Nazianzene, hath his sentence, in his sermon, [...]. There be other thinges of y ^e Iewes, perfited with them in fy­gure whiche be restored againe vnto vs, in mysterye, So as all the [Page] thinges vsed in tholde lawe be not vtterly reproued and cōdempned, not to be doone, but not to be so done, for the figure ceassethe when truthe is come, and the lawe & prophetes were vnto saint Iohn bap­tistes tyme, as Christ saide, Neuer thelesse as Gregorye Nazianzene saith, y ^e same thinges may be nowe restored mistically, not at euerye priuate mannes pleasure and de­uise (as saint Augustyne writeth, ad Ianuarium) but by teachynge of the churche and orderinge y ^e same, Agust. ad Ianuarium. not for [...]uperstition, but direction, as thapostelies dyd in the begyn­ninge, when they decreed it by in­spiration of the holy ghoste, that men shulde abstaine, Act. 15. frome that was strangled, and bloude, whych repugned not wyth the vysyon to saynte Peter, that all t [...]ynge was cleane, Act. 10. to them that in cleannes receiued it, ne dissented from christes [Page cxxxiiii] teachinge, that not to defile the mā that entreth in at the mouthe, but it was a dispensacion of the truth, Math. 15. betwene the ceassynge of the lawe and springyng of the gospell, with such a tēperamēt, as the chaunge for compassion of weake conscien­ces, shulde not be sodayne and at ones, but by lytle and lytle, as the daye springeth and the night go­eth away. Upō which consideratiō y ^e same thinges were in the church of Christ forbydden, y ^t were before for another ende, forbidden in Moses lawe, onely the cause of prohibicion varied, but the thynge was alone. But to returne to the purpose whervpon this was broughte in. Distinction and ordre in tyme, is not supersticiouse, but necessarye, and therfore with sermons or stu­dye (whiche bothe be in their tyme good) to interrupte the tyme of praier, that is not good, & greatlye [Page] worse, when the sermons be suche, and so fashyoned, as they mayn­tayne talke and communication, and be not directed to stirre the peoples dulle and sluggy endeuor to folow vertue and flee vyce, and leauynge a parte matter of contention or reformacion, to be ordered by the high powers, to tell the au­dience of their speciall faultes; and to diswade them from the same, by alwaies and meanes. Such were the sermons, in the primatiue churche. So preached Sainte Chriso­stome. Sainte Augustine, Soo preached Gregory Nazianzene, & where in a sermon he made of the feast of Ester, he hadde entred to speake of the secrecye of god, lefte that matter with this speache.

[...] I purpose not, saith he to dispute or reason of god now but to dispense his truth, that is to [Page cxxxv] saye, distribute it conueniētly with al circumstaunces mete, of whiche office in cyrcumspecte distribution S. Paule calleth the cheife myny­stres, dispensatores, and him selfe sometyme, 1. Cor. 4. fedde them with mylke and sometyme with stronger mea­tes, which is not euery mans gifte and therefore hath ben in the chur­che cōmitted to few, and in respecte of the number, verye fewe, and of late ouer fewe, and ouer many also Ouer fewe of them that cryeth out of mens maners, and ouermany of those, that flatter the multitude, w ^t vtteringe suche matter, as the number of nature variable, is glad to here. Nowe many nowe a dayes be so trauayled in them self, with hea­ryng the sermon, as they wepe and waile, and saye. Quid faciemus ui­ri fratres? Act. 2. Ionas. 3. Who preacheth lyke Io­ [...]as to warne men of their destruc­tion, both in body and soule, if they [Page] amende not their maners and ly­uynge, In a miserable state of ini­quitie and synne, some wolde haue nothinge preached but mercy, with onely Christe, and howe he beareth all sinne, payeth all, purgeth all, and clenseth all whiche is true, and [...] of it can not be blamed, The diuinitie. but [...] hath a great faulte. The steward dshyp For albeit this be truth, & is good meate: yet it is not well distribute, for it wolde serue better at supper, then at dyner. To men lusty, drow­ned in the worlde, and ouerwhel­med with synne, and in the mydde daye, whiles there is tyme of wa­kynge the iustice of god, is to be cryed out. Christes second cōming to be beaten in peoples eares, hys terrible iudgement to be layde be­fore mens eyes which is a truth, as the other is, and profitable to be learned, taught, and thoughte on, wherevpon men shulde be exhor­ted [Page cxxxvi] to confesse their synnes to god and his mynyster, to do penaunce for synne, to fast for synne, to praye for synne, to do almes for synne, to wayle for synne. Dauyd confessed and felte goddes mercy and yet cried. Amplius laua me ab iniquitate mea & a peecato meo munda me, Psal. 50. quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco, & peccatum meum contra me est semper, and therewith saide, Psal. 6. turbatus est a furore oculus meus, his eye was troubled with goddes displeasure, at the tyme he mystrusted not goddes mercy, and therfore said. Laboraui in gemitu meo lauabo per singulas noctes lectū meū, Ibidem. he trauailed in wailing & wasshed his couche with teares. But nowe so be men enueigled by the deuylles sophistry, as mercy extolled and sette forthe, with onelye fayth, and onelye sauyour, and ommisufficiēt [Page] nisufficiēt sauiour, serueth to make men forget goddes iustice, & waxe wantons (as they be termed) babes and youngelynges, and clerely fal from dreade and feare of god, whi­che where it wanteth, synne muste nedes encrease and ouerflowe, and by custome mennes consciences so blynded, as they discerne them not to be synnes and faultes, And thus muche I haue spoken of sermons, whiche and they were neuer so well made and conceiued, yet so to vse them, as they shoulde occupie the tyme of prayer requisite, [...] S. Gre­gory in an Omilie noteth not good And therefore on Christemas day, when the churche hath thre masses, he said he could not spend so much tyme with his audience that daye, as he was wonte to do. And yet sermons at those dayes, as appeareth by y ^e sermons they made, were not longe. But longe or shorte, as they [Page cxxxvii] be good holesome and requisite, & in the churche, at their tyme neces­sary, so hauyng not theyr tyme, but with iusteling an other good thing out of ordre, that is not well, and moche lesse study to be vsed in time of prayer, whiche prayer and study as they haue a distincte nature: so they shulde be in tyme distinct.

And theunomians opinion, by contrary exercise reproued, to thinke that readinge, is the onely waye to heauen. But herein I haue taried ouer longe, as some wyll fynde faulte at me, and aske what is prayer and fastinge to the sacramente of the aulter? and muche lesse ser­mons or study in tyme of prayer? Wherevnto thus I aunswer, that hauynge occasion mynystred, by this greate clerke, Gregorye Nazianzene, I haue spoken of them.

And because the deuyll entendeth to subuerte all: I shewe also, his so [Page] phistrie in lower matters, then is the sacramente of thaulter, towar­des destruction whereof he made him self and entry, by ouerthrowing that might stande in his waye, and so the more facyly to assaulte the highest, as he hath done, and there­in (as I haue said) maketh a great matter of the name of the masse, & wyll haue it called our lordes sup­per, wherein he wyll haue all obserued, as christ ministred it, whiche this Gregory Nazianzene saith, is not necessarye. But we shulde here in gyue credite to oure mother the churche, the piller of truthe, & who truelye teacheth vs, that is truthe. Who forasmuche as with the obseruation of this feaste, in receyuyng eatynge and drynkynge Christes moost preciouse bodye and bloude, Malachi▪ 1. is also celebrate, the perpetual on­ly pure sacrifice, prophecyed by the prophet Malachie, to be obserued [Page cxxxviii] and kept, continually in the chur­che of Chryste, whiche sacryfyce, is the body and bloude of our sauy­our Christ. The same church hath receyued one worde of Hebrewe, to signifie altogether, and vsed in the latyn ( Missa) & in englyssh (masse) wherein besides the gloriouse pre­sence of the body & bloud of Christ the holy circumstaunces vsed, and ceremonies doone, be also manye godly and moost deuoute prayers, spoken and vttered by the preiste, as a common minister to the hole churche, for and in the name of the hole churche, by whyche churche, Christ, as heade is offered, and the churche also, as member of his mi­sticall bodye, is offered to god the father by hym, as Saynte Augu­stine sayethe. Ipsa per ipsum, & ip­se per ipsam, suetus offerri. The church by hym, and he by the chur­che, accustomed to be offered. So [Page] as the masse conteininge the hole supper, that is to say, the hole feast, with the continuall oblation of the churche, is by the deuylles inuention assaulted diuers wayes. Some deny the masse, because they reade not the worde masse in scrypture, whiche and it were a good cause of deniall, it shuld serue to renewe the Arryans heresye, and to put out of the crede, called Symbolum apostolorum (whiche all Christen men re­ceyue without contradictiō) where filius is called consubstantialis pa­tri. Other allow masse they say, but not priuye masses, as though there were two sortes of masses, where in deede the masse beinge but one, and alwayes executed in the name of y ^e hole churche, may by reason of the place, be called priuate, as it maye be by reason of saieng, called a low masse, and so differre from a masse sunge, but els, the churche by the [Page cxxxix] common mynystre the preist, executeth the masse her selfe, howe fewe soeuer, or howe manye be presente, and whyther it be done at churche before y ^e multitude, or in an oratory before fewe. And yet with the name of priuate masses, and deniall of them, the vnlearned be slaundered as some be also with requeste of cō munion vnder both kyndes, as ne­cessarye, and not to be pretermitted In whyche pointe the deuyll goth aboute, craftely to seduce the sym­ple, addynge a wordly instigation of enuye, as thoughe the preistes had withdrawen the one parte of y ^e Sacramente, of verye dysdaine to put a difference betwene the state of preistes, and the state of lay men where in dede, the obteyninge of communion vnder bothe kyndes, shulde serue the deuyll onelye, for an introduction, to subuerte y ^e true belefe, in the most blessed sacramēt [Page] Whiche matter only he entendeth, & leaueth nothing vntouched to obteine y ^e same. For where the church teacheth truely, y ^t vnder eche kind, is cōteined hole christ, & therefore now vnder the one kind, eche man receiueth as much as vnder bothe vpon which groūd good deuoute mē, haue abstained frō cōmunion vnder both kyndes, & cōtēted them selfe w ^t one king, of their good de­uout mind: if now vpon grudge of such as contente not thē selfe with the order they find in the churche, y ^e church shuld graunt communion vnder both kindes, to satisfye the false complaynt of necessite, it must nedes engender a slaunder in the truth of the faith, as thoughe hole christ were not vnder eche kinde, which by the denil is only intended And in this matter of cōmuniō vnder both kyndes, it was neuer denied but all states of men euer might [Page cxl] and al state of mē in the beginning haue communicate in both kindes and among them children also, n [...] there hath ben any lawe made to y ^e contrary, as the deuyll surmyseth. Onely this hath bene, that good christen men beinge certainely per­swaded vnder eche kinde of bread and wine, to be cōteined hole christ All suche christen men, aswell prei­stes as other, besydes the preiste that celebrate, haue bene con­tente to receiue their communi­on vnder one kynde, Whiche deuout custome, when the deuyll by his ministers hath gone aboute to improue, there was ones a lawe made to mainteine y ^e good custome againste the deuilles enterpryse, as in thys realme▪ the hole perlya­ment hath made the like, whereby those be onely put to silence, that say, communion vnder bothe kyn­des is necessary, whiche is an opi­nion [Page] damnable, and worthelye re­proued, but elles that by order of y ^e churche, all men might communi­cate vnder bothe kyndes, no man contendeth, For first in the deuout custome of communion vnder one kynde, wherein was professed the truth taughte by the churche in the sacramente of thaulter, onely cha­ritie was the rule, whereby good men were moued for a semelynes & decency in the church, and eschew­ynge that they sawe sometimes vnsemely chaunce, of th [...]mselfe, with­out constraint of a law, to forbeare that they mighte haue required, & no man by law expelled, from that he myght haue asked. Whiche cha­ritie, because it is now waxed cold and some men for singularite wold differre from the reste, it is for con­seruation of ordre well prouided by the lawe, that no man shall pre­sume to require furder then is ne­cessary, [Page cxli] to the slaunder and offence of his neighbour, but with humilitie conteine him selfe within the li­mit [...]es of common ordre, whiche is the beautie and comelye state or e­uery number assembled, beinge so muche regarded of sainte Paule, as he willed men to forbeare to cō ­panye with any brother that wal­keth out of order. But here will be replied that christes ordre is to be preferred all other deuises. And here commeth in the common place of scripture. Math. 14: Frustra colunt me do­ctrinis hominum, Mar. 7. They worshyp me in vayne with the teachynges of men. And these good me I spake of, shall be called good fooles, the whiche had, zelum dei, sed non se­cundum scientiam, Rom. 1▪ the zeale to god but not accordynge to true know­lege, whiche now appeareth (they wyll say) when men se clerely Christes institution of this sacrament, [Page] whiche when it is vsed accordynge to Christes institution is the sacrament, and otherwise as they saye, not. And this worde (institution) is often repeted, & yet y ^e same word (institution) is not in scripture by those syllables, but Saynt Paule speakethe of tradytyon, of the vse of this Sacramente, as he recey­ued it of oure lorde. Ego enim ac­cepi à domino, 1. Cor. 1 [...]. quod & tradidi uobis. I haue receyued of our lorde, whiche I haue by tradition dely­uered vnto you. Whereby and by that foloweth. when he saith. Cete­ra cum venero disponam. I shall ordre the reste when I come: Ibidem it ap­pereth he hadde taught the Corrinthians, the summe of this hygh mistery, and the vse of it, without writyng before, and wolde adde more whē he came, whichmore, he taught and yet we haue no wrytynge of it, but the churche hath not forgotten [Page cxlii] it, but hath taught it without wri­tynge, as she receiued it. And it ap­peareth in that epistle of S. Paule that rehersynge suche tradicion as they had receiued of hym, he bla­meth and reproueth them, for the not obseruation of it. And thus muche, for the worde (institution) that pleaseth, which scripture hath not and the worde, tradicion, ab­horred, that scripture hathe, so as wordes go but by fauour, as this matter is hādled. But y ^e matter of this obiectiō must be aunswered seriousely, which is grounded vpon the texte of scripture, Frustra colūt me doctrinis hominum, They worshippe me in vayne, wyth the doc­trine of men, the true sense wherof, is all oute of thys purpose, and the vse of thys scrypture, as it is mysvnderstanded, serueth to ouer­turne all, For the churche is con­gregate of men and women, why­che [Page] both be comprehended vnder that worde (men), And all the out­warde teachynge in this churche, hathe ben by men. All thappostles sent to teache the gospell, were mē. Saynt Paule at his conuersion frome darkenes to lyght, Act. 9: when it was said to him y ^t it shuld be tolde hym what he shuld do, then was Ananias by god ordred to go to Paule, and declare what he shuld do. Moyses, leader of y ^e synagoge y ^e figure of our church, was a mā. And the prophetes were men. So as if god be worshypped in vayne, by teachinge of men: Inanis est fi­des nostra, Rom. 10. our fayth is a vayne thynge, whiche is, ex auditu, of hearing, and taughte vs by men, men I saye, as ministres to god, wherof god is thauthor, à quo omne datum optimum Iacob. 1. et omne donum perfectum, & Christ sayd. Sine me nihil potestis facere. But [Page cxliii] hereby appereth y ^t this text, hath another vnderstandynge, and the worde (men) not to signifie the hole numbre of men, so as it shuld com­prehend eche man throughly, how so euer they be qualified, but onely the corrupte state of man, seuered from god and his church in christ, of whiche hole state not endued w ^t goddes grace, Psal. 11 [...]. it is sayde Omnis homo mendax. All men be lyers. That is to saye, all suche as haue not putte vpon them Christe, who is truthe. And frustra colunt me doctrinis hominū. They worshyp me in vayne, with the teachynges of suche as remayne in the state of men onelye, and then teache their owne, & of them selfe. For all suche teachynge is lyke the teacher, that is to say, carnall. For the carnall man, 1. Cor. 2: Io. 4. non percipit ea quae sunt spi­ritus, & deus est spiritus, & in spi­ritu adoratur, and therefore god [Page] is worshipped in vaine with the teachinge of men. For it hathe the pretence of worshyppe, and is not directed to hym, but onelye deuy­sed to vpholde worldelye polycye Suche deuises had Numa pompilius, with the Romaines, and afore him, Licurgus, with the Lacede­monians, and of late, Mahomete with the Turkes, and more lately all such as haue taken vpon them to vnderstande the scriptures a­lone, and them selfe alone deuised, howe they wold haue god worshipped, after their fashion, withoute noyse or brute, without the com­passe of our eares or eyes, only by readynge that they vnderstande not, sauyng some be so ful of knowledge, as they encombre the com­panye more with their harse rude voice in prattelynge, then the pa­rysshe clerke with his horse breste, [Page cxliiii] in singinge. Of all these sortes of mens teachinges, which be mens deuises, seuered frō Christes chur­che, maye be sayde frustra me colūt doctrinis hominum. But such men as be membres of Christes mysti­call body, in his churche, and haue the place of ordering and teaching in the same, vnto whome other, are bounde to obeye and gyue eare vnto them, suche men be comprehen­ded in this text. Frustra colunt me doctrinis hominum, But he that cōtemneth those thinges that they teache, agreablye to the truthe re­ceyued: 1, Thes, 4. Heb, 13, 1 Reg, 15, non hominem spernit, sed deū, who saith, Obey such as haue the ordre of you, and obedience is preferred al other sacrifices, wher­w ^t god is worshipped not invaine, but meritoriouselye. And therefore that texte alledged, agaynste the teachinge in christes churche, is as [Page] grossely abused, as a key to cleaue logges. For if the doctryne be not repugnaunt to the scripture, or the custome suche as hyndreth not gods glory, it can not be in vaine that maketh to oure edificacion, & procedeth from authoritie, which hath power to rule and leade vs, whereby we be all directed, to do one thyng, to declare & sette forthe, that we be one bodye, wherein god is glorified, accordynge as Chryst sayd. Matth. 5. Vt videāt opera vestra bona, & glorificent deū, qui in coelis est. And so when S. Paule ordered the women to be couered in y ^e churche, 1 Cor. 11. to signifie her subiection, and that she had ones offended, in her preuarication agaynst her husbād and god, and with presumption to haue knowledge, was the ruine of mankynd, and furder ordered her, to kepe sylence in y ^e congregation: this text of frustra colūt me doctrinis 1. Timot. 2. [Page cxlv] hominum, yf it had bene then written, wold not haue serued the women to replye and saye, These were small matters, whyche god regardeth not, and therfore sayd. Frustra colunt me, doctrinis ho­minum. They worshyppe me in vayne, with the doctrines of men. For saint Paule was not in the numbre of these men (as I sayde before) and his authorite was of god, and the thynges ordered for a godly purpose, wherwith god is in the decente semely ordre of his people, duely worshipped and also pleased. This matter I haue now spoken, wyll be called a digressiō, and out of the matter of the sacra­ment, & in dede, it is not all togy­ther in it, but toward it, for I trust hereby, that commen weapō shall be layde asyde, of frustra colunt me, doctrinis hominum, whiche manye had in their mouthe, as [Page] they haue a blunt dagger by their syde, to be sene to speake scripture, though it be nothing to the pur­pose. And now I wyl com to the institution of christ of the holy sa­crament. And here men must take heede that they be not deceyued, in the word (institutiō) as signifieng furder vnto them, then the scriptu­res do testyfye. For yf by the worde (institution) shulde be signyfyed a precise ordre, sette forth with all the circumstaunce in the nature of a precyse lawe, signifienge that it muste be frome thenseforth, so ob­serued and none otherwise, whych matter, the worde (institution) se­meth to include, and soundethe so in common reason: there appea­reth not in scripture, any instituti­on of this nature, For we rede not in scripture, that Chryste dydde prescribe, any suche precyse ordre of receiuing or ministryng▪ but as [Page cxlvi] in his supper he in dede consecra­ted both kindes, & ministred bothe kyndes, Luc, 24, whereby appearethe that all myghte receaue bothe kindes, as all sometime haue done: Soo lykewise when he mynystred the sacrament to his disciples in E­maus, Act. 2 [...] and other amonge the apo­stles, who vnderstode Christe: we reade of the ministracion of the one kynde, wherby appeareth, that the one kynd vnder forme of bread may be ministred alone. And therefore of any suche institucyon, as y ^e worde (institution) doth sounde at the first hearing, is not testified in scriptures. But yf we meane, by institution, the firste consecration of it, when by goddes mighty worde the miracle was wroughte in the conuersion of breade and wyne, in to the body and bloud of christ, w ^t commaundemente to the churche, [Page] to do the same tyll he comme: Of this the euangelistes beare wyt­nesse, which the church hath recei­ued. And as s. Paule saide. Ego accepi à domino, quod & tradidi vobis: So the hole churche may saye the same wordes, with lyke credite by whose mynystery, the same feast is dayly prepared for y ^e hole church with consecracion of the body and bloude of Christe, whereof good men reioysynge them self, with the presence of the hole mystery, which they se in the masse, at which tyme good mē also spiritually eate and drynke the same, with the common mynystre, and beleuynge the hole to be in eche kynde: haue by exam­ple of christes disciples in Emaus Luc. 24▪ contented them self in the sacra­mental communion with the one kynde, not repelled as vnworthie to receyue the other kynde, but forbearynge of them selfe reue­rently, [Page xlvii] for the more semelye distribucion, and ordre amonge them, whiche the churche hath allowed, as our mother and nourse, who contynually feadeth vs, with the foode of truth. And therfore seing we be assured, that as Chryst dyd institute the sacrament, so he insti­tuted the church, to be fedde with the same sacrament, and to haue the ministracion, distribution, & ordre of it, tyll he came. And vnto this daye, we be onely ascertayned by tradicion of the church, in the true vnderstandyng of theuāgely­stes, of our ordre in cōsecracion of the said sacrament, and the cyrcumstaunce of the pronunciation of chrystes wordes, wherby the same is wrought. What can it meane but confusion, to wrangle with the church in this matter, & by cauilaciō of wordes, trouble y ^e symple vnderstandynges? What a worde is [Page] (institution) with the vnderstan­dyng they geue it, to astoine the rude eares? For who can suffre, to here spoken that Christes institu­tion, shulde be broken or altered? considering the word carieth with it a sonnde of precysenes, and commaundemente in Christe of this or that ordre, whiche can not be verified, speakynge of the institution of the sacramente, and the worde well vnderstoode, maye be suffred sygnifienge the fyrste exhibicion and ministracion of it, And so some wryte, that as Chryste dydde in the syxte of Iohn̄, promise the institu­tion of the sacramente, sayenge.

Panis quem dabo uobis, caro mea est, pro mundi vita. Ioā, 6. The breade I shall gyue you, is my flesh, for the lyfe of the worlde: So dydde he institute the same in his laste supper of whiche institucion men wolde [Page xlviii] nowe make a precise lawe, as the ordre shulde be taken awaye from the churche mother of truthe, whi­che folowynge Christes example, and the apostels, hath suffered cō ­munion vnder one kynd, and hath reiected suche, as wolde improue the same, as men onely studiouse to impugne an establyshed ordre, whiche faulte is now moche spred abrode, both in this high matter, & also in ceremonies, and namelye suche as garnisshe Christes religion, wherein the deuyl vseth a mer­ueilsouse point of sophistry, by diuision, and examininge partes alone whiche partes so considered seue­rallye, Note this difference, howe thyn­ges may be called & be necessary in relatiō, whiche els might be omytted. be nothynge, and yet ioy­ned togither, be somewhat, and verye necessarye, and here I saye necessary for our estate, although not necessarye, in respect of the pryncypall thynge.

I wyl open this point of sophistry [Page] whyche consystethe in dyuysyon, in whiche the smalenes of the part deuyded from the reste, and con­sydered alone, is in respecte of the hole, called nothing. And in comen speache it hath obteined to cal that nothinge, which by comparison of a farre greater, is very lytell. As yf one were asked, whither a far­thinge wolde make a ryche man? A simple man wolde aunswere.

Naye, and in dede a farthing con­sidered alone is nothinge regar­ded, and yet of suche lyttell farthinges, in numbre set togither, ryches cōsysteth, & by the same disseuered, is induced pouertie. A quantitie maye be so minutely deuided, that his partes be accompted nothinge & yet those same together ioyned, make the greate masse, and haue an estimation. And therfore in the dyscussion of ceremonies, semely­nes, and orders, the deuyl frameth [Page cxlix] his questions by diuysion, and as­keth of eche thynge alone, disseue­red from the reste. As for example. Whither a shauen crowne maketh a preiste? where vnto a man muste aunswere, as he wolde do to the question of a farthinge before moued, and saye, Naye. Well ꝙ the deuyll, then awaye with youre crowne, and calleth it a fleshmarke because he wyl with a nycke name deface it. Then he asketh whether a longe gowne maketh a preist, of that colour or that fashyon, & then it must be aunswered, Naye. And then there must be a songe made of it, with awaye with it. Then the deuyll commeth to the ceremo­nies in ordres geuinge, and asketh of ceremonies seuerallye alone, whervnto as he disseuereth them, y ^e aunswere must be no, whervpon he concludeth. Ergo they be no­thinge requisite, After whyche [Page] sorte, he shall also diuide you the sacramentall wordes, and aske of euery worde of them alone, And as it is graunted, how that one word doth it not, that worde is layde a­side, And so he wyll peruse all, and by sophistrye in deuision wipe out all, as nothinge. And in other matters lykewise frame this question, for example. Shall forbearinge of meates saue a man? The aunswer must be. No. And then, Ergo eate all daye longe. Dothe watchinge bringe a man to heauen? Naye, Ergo slepe and spare not. Is y ^e place cause why a mans praier is good? The aunswere muste be, Nay, And what nedeste thou comme to chur­che then, sayth the deuyll, onles it be to heare my false teachynge set forthe. And thus by these subtle questions the deuyll robbeth sim­ple men, euen of the substaunce by degrees of true religion, as para­sites [Page cl] and flatterers robbe wanton heyres of their worldlyge substaūce, by alluring them to prodigall and wastefull distribution of their go [...] des and landes, in seueral litle portions, with these questions to the wise yonge mā, what is this to you sir? a small matter in your purse, and nothinge to youre substaunce But by suche nothinges, we haue sene yonge heyres, sodēly brought to nothinge, and made verye beg­gers, As we se lykewyse, by the de­uylles sophistical entisementes by seueral inquisitions, of the validi­tie of this or that ceremony alone, ceremonies so contempned of ma­ny, as the substaunce of oure reli­gion, is amonge manye prodigall chyldren, wasted and consumed, & by contempte of the preist and his garmentes aparte, by small re­garde to the place, and other ceremonyes neglected: Chryste hym [Page] selfe in the sacramente of the aul­ter is despised mocked & skorned, with suche toyes and termes, as the Iewes deuised not more spite­ful, euen when they saluted him, w ^t Aue rex Iudeorum, Matt. 27. Mar. 15. Ioan. 19. and spette in his teeth: But after the same sorte reuerence decaieth towardes all e­states and innocencye, as one wri­teth, departeth from man by de­grees, no man begynneth with the greatest abhominacion, but where small faultes be not duely correc­ted, the greate and abhominable shall neuer be eschewed. The mar­chaunte that wyll thryue, estemeth his farthynge, & is therin throughlye wyttie to matche with the de­uylles sophistry, and can espy that althoughe a farthinge considered alone is nothinge, yet he is there­in as wyse as Hesiodus, who for a lesson of thriuinge sayeth, Lytle to litle, maketh a great heape. So [Page cli] wyse be the chyldren of this world in theyr generation, to ordre y ^e wic­ked Mammona, And for conserua­tion of our religion, whiche shulde for euer conserue vs: we be so foo­lysshe, to be deceyued with the de­uyls false sophistrye in diuision, and call all nothinge, that conteine not the hole sūme, wherof ensueth the dissipation of all amonge ma­ny to the destruction of body and soule, for euer, as we haue latelye sene in a few y ^t died most miserably, to the terrible example of other, to beware by them. The wrath of god hath lighted on them, but they onelye were not in faulte. Esa, 55, Derelinquat impius uiam suam & uir iniquus cogitationes suas. Beleef hath ben so moch talked on, & with talking, men fallen into suche ydelnesse of workes, that the deuyll hath taken his opportunitie, to spoyle men of their true beleef, for onelye beleefe [Page] wāteth that hath ben so much trat­teled of, onelye to suffyse. Cato the Romaine as a worldely, wyse man vttered a prudent sentence, that he feared the youth of the Romaines, shulde leaue their valyaunte actes after they beganne ones so muche to talke of them. The speache was not the cause thereof, for then we shoulde saye, learninge were not good, but yet we often see them concurre togither, wherby appearethe suche corruption in manes nature as speache in a cōmon welth, shuld be committed to fewe, and the mul­titude in sylence, to speake of ver­tue with their dedes. Accordinge wherevnto saint Paule said. 1, Cor, 14 [...] Two or thre of the prophetes, shoulde speake in the cōgregacion, and the reste holde their peace, and none speake agayne, onlesse he hadde a newe reuelacion, If men waxe as wanton in their speache, as wemen [Page clii] why shulde not suche, be vnder the precepte of scylence, aswell as we­men, and if they be desirouse of knoweledge, ascende to the moun­tayne, where it is placed by suche degrees, as Gregorye Nazianzene speaketh of, very necessarye to be obserued? For els in the tonge and knowledge, is moche loosenes and temeritie, oneles the same be orde­red and stayed by the feare of god. For where is the feare of god, there is keping of his comaundemen­tes, Where the comaundementes be kepte the carnall parte is pur­ged, Eccle 2. whiche elles maketh mannes soule cloudye, and suffreth it not to se clearely, y ^e beame of godly light. Where is suche purgynge: there is clearenes, whiche causeth muche desyre euermore to ascende. frome vertue to vertue, which is the stay of knowledge, and confirmaciō of it, and so by these degrees, doinge [Page] is the waye to knowledge. But this ordre is pretermytted, Doynge is the meane [...]waye to knowledge 1, Cor, 8. wherof foloweth suche effecte of knowlege as sainte Paule speaketh of. How knoweledge swelleth and puffethe vp mennes stomackes, the faulte whereof is not in learnynge, but in the indisposiciō of such, as presume vnto it, which fault, god of his in­finite mercye amende, for he onely can and wyll, when his pleasure shalbe, whiche our behauyour to­wardes hym maye haste or delaye. If requeste, intercession, & desyre to all, enterlaced, with sharpe pu­nyshmente to some, and mercye plentifullye mynystred to other, can refourme y ^t is amysse, all hath ben assayed and attempted on the kynges maiesties behalfe. As he is a prynce furnyshed with know­ledge and power, goddes specyall gyftes and great: so he hath vsed both for the reformacion of his people. [Page clv] The conseruation of true be­lefe is only desyred, for the mayne­tenaunce of gods glory, wherin y ^e deuyll also pretendeth to laboure and trauayle, but deceytfullye and also sophistycally, as I haue purposed to declare vnto you, whiche howe I wold haue done for the re­leif of other, I knowe, and howe I haue done, shal leaue it to youre iugement, which god direct, to the atteyninge of al truth, which is on­ly in our sauiour Iesus christ, and by hym, whom all good christen mē haue from the beginning, & do still beleue, most assuredly, to be present really, in the sacrament of thaulter, without leauinge his seate in hea­uen, where he is also continuallye our aduocate, to relieue our infir­mities, as he is in the sacrament of thaulter, to fede our weake bodies & soules, wherby to make vs strōg to come to him, & liue without end.

Amen.