IN my moste har­ty wyse I recōmed me to you, & sende you by thys bryn­ger the wrytynge agayne whyche I receyued from you / wherof I haue ben offred synnys a couple of co­pyes mo in the meane whyle, as late as ye wote wel it was. wherby men maye se how gredyly y ^t these newe named bre­therne wryte it out, and secre­tely sprede it abrode. So that where as the kynges gracy­ouse hyghnes lyke a moste faythfull catholyke prynce, for the auoydynge of suche pestylente bokes as sowe suche poysened heresyes amōge his people, hath by hys open pro­clamacyons vtterly forboden [Page] all englysshe prented bookes to be brought into thys lande from beyonde the see, lest our englysshe heretykes that are lurkynge there myghte there enprent theyr heresyes amōg other maters, & so sende them hither vnsuspected, & therfore vnperceyued tyll more harme were felte thā after were well remedyable: the deuyll hath now taught hys dysciples the dyuysers of these heresyes, to make many shorte trea­tyses, whereof theyr scolers may shortly write out copyes / but in theyr treatyses to put as mych poyson in one wrytē lefe, as they prented before in fyftene / as it well appereth in thys one wrytynge of thys yong mānes makyng, which [Page] hath I here saye lately made dyuerse other thynges, y ^t yet ronne in huker moker so close amonge the brethern, y ^t there cometh no copyes abrode.

And wold god for hys mercy that syth there can nothing refrayne theyr study from the deuyse & compassyng of euyll and vngracyouse wrytynge, y ^t they coulde and wolde kepe it so secrete, y ^t neuer man sholde se it, but suche as are all redy so farre corrupted, as neuer wold be cured of theyr cāker. For lesse harme were it yf o­nely they that are all redy by myred, Apoca. 22. were as the scrypture sayth myred on more & more, thanne that they sholde caste theyr dyrt abrode vpon other folkes clene clothys. But [Page] alak thys wyll not be. For as saynte Poule sayth, [...]. Timo. 2 the cōta­gyon of heresye crepeth on lyke a canker. For as the can­ker corrupteth the body fer­ther and ferher, and turneth the hole partes into the same dedely sykenesse: so do these heretykes crepe forth among good symple soulys / and vn­der a vayn hope of some hygh secrete lernynge, whych other men abrode eyther wyllyngly dyd kepe from them, or ellys coulde not teche theym / they dayly wyth suche abomyna­ble bokes corrupte & destroye in corners very many before those wrytynges comme vnto lyght, tyll at the laste y ^e smoke of that secrete fyre begynneth to reke oute at some corner / [Page] and somtyme the whole fyre so flameth oute at onys, that it burneth vp whole townes, and wasteth whole coūtrees, ere euer it can be maystred / and yet neuer after so well & clerely quēched, but y ^t it lyeth lurkynge styll in some olde roten tymber vnder cellers & celynges, that yf it be not wel wayted on and marked, wyll not fayle at lengthe to fall on an opē fyre agayne / as it hath fared in late yeres at mo pla­ces then one, bothe the tone fyre & the tother, And therfore I am bothe sure and sory to, that those other bokes as wel as this is now of thys yonge mannes, wyll ones come vnto lyght / and thā shall it appere wherfore they be kept so close. How be it a wors than this is [Page] though the wordes be smoth & fayre / the deuyll I trow can not make. For herein he ron­neth a great way beyond Lu­ther / and techeth in few leuys shortely, all the poyson that wyclyffe, Huyskyn, Tyndale, and zuinglius haue taught in all theyr longe bokes before, concernynge the blessed sacramēt of the aultare / affermyng it to be not onely very brede styll as Luther doth, but also as those other bestes do, saith it is nothyng els, & that there is neyther the blessed body of Cryst, nor his blode, but for a remēbraūce of Crystes passyō onely bare brede & wyne. And therin goth he so farre in con­clusyō, y ^t he sayth it is all one vnto vs ī a maner whyther it be cōsecrated or vncōsecrated [Page] And so that blessed sacrament that is and euer hath in all christendom ben holden of all sacramentes the chyef, & nat onely a sacramēt but the very selfe thynge also whych other sacramentēs bytoken, & wher of all other sacramentes take theyr effecte and strength: he maketh in maner (takyng the consecracyon so sleyghte and so lyght) no maner sacrament at all wherein he runneth yet beyond Tyndale and all the heretykes that euer I remembre byfore.

And now the mater beyng of such a meruelouse wayght it is a great wonder to se vp­pon howe lyght and sleyghte occasyons he is fallen vnto these abominable heyghnouse [Page] heresyes.

For he denyeth nat nor can nat say nay, but that our sauy our sayed hym selfe. Ioh [...]. [...] My flesh is veryly mete, and my blode is verily drynke.

He denyeth nat also that Chryste hym selfe at hys laste sowper takyng the bred into hys blessed handes, [...]. 14. after that he had blessed hit sayde vnto his visciples, Luce. 22. Take you this & eate it, thys is my body that shalbe gyuen for you. And in lykewyse gaue them the cha­lyce after hys blessynge and consecracyon, and sayde vnto them, Thys is the chalyce of my bloude of the newe testa­mente, whyche shalbe shedde out for many / do you thys in remembraunce of me.

[Page]The yong man denyeth nat nor can deny, but that our sa­uyour here hym selfe sayed y ^t hit was hys owne body, and sayed that hit was hys owne bloude / and there ordeyned y ^t it shulde be in remembraunce of hym contynually consecra­ted. So that he must nedes cō fesse, that all they whyche by­leue that it is hys very body and hys very bloude in dede, haue y ^e playne wordes of our sauyour hym selfe vpon theyr syde, for the grounde and fundacyon of theyr fayth.

But now sayth thys yong man against all this, that our sauyoure in other places of scripture, Iohā, 15. called hym selfe a very vyne, and his dyscyples very braunchys. And he cal­leth [Page] hym selfe a dore also / nat for that he was eny of these thynges in dede, Iohā. 10. but for cer­tayne proprietes for whyche he lykened hym selfe to those thynges. As a man for some propretees sayth of his neyghbours horse, thys horse is myn vppe and downe / menīg that it is in euery thynge so lyke. And lyke as Iacob byelded an aultare and called it y ^e god of Israel, Gene. 35. and as Iacob called the place where he wre­steled wyth the angell the face of god, and that the pascall lambe was called the passing by of the lorde, wyth infinite such other phrases as he saith natte for that they were so in dede, but for certayne simili­tudes in the propretees: soo [Page] sayeth thys yonge man, that Cryste though he sayd by hys playne wordes, Thys is my body, and thys is my blode / yet for all that he ment not yt it was his body and his blode in dede, no more than that he ment that hym selfe was a very dore or a very vine, in dede / though for certeyne, ꝓpertees he called hym selfe bothe. And he sayth y ^t Cryst ment in lyke wyse here / not that it was or shold be his owne body & hys blode in dede, but y ^t it shold be to them & vs as a remēbraūce of hym in hys absence, as ve­ryly as though it were his ve­ry body and his very blode in dede / as y ^e pascall lambe was a token and a remembraunce of the passynge by of the lord / [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] and as a brydegrome gyueth his bryde a rynge yf he happe to go into a farre coūtre from her, for a remēbraunce of hym in his absence, and as a sure sygne y ^t he wyll kepe her hys faythe and not breke her hys promyse.

In good fayth it greueth me very sore, to se thys yonge man so cyrcumuented and be­gyled by certayn olde lymmes of the deuyll, as we nowe se y ^t he is / when he is fayne for the defence of thys errour, to flyt in conclusyon fro the fayth of playne and open scrypture & so farre falle to the newe fan­gled fantasyes of folysshe he­retykes, that he wyll for the allegorye dystroye y ^e trewe sense of the letter, in mayntenaunce [Page] of a newe false secte, agaynste the hole trew catholyke fayth so fully confyrmed and conty­nued in Crystes whole catholyke chyrche thys .xv.C. yere togyder. For these dregges hath he dronken of wyclyfe & Ecolampadius, Tindale and zuinglius / and so hath he all that he argueth here besyde. whiche .iiii. what maner folke they be, is metely well perceyued and knowen / & god hath in parte with his open venge­aunce declared. And euer hath god and euer wyll, by some waye declare his wrathe and indygnacyō agaynst as many as fall into suche damnable opynyons agaynst the blessed body and blode of hys onely begotten sonne. From whych [Page] perylous opinyon and all his other errours / y ^e great mercy of our swet sauiour call home agayne, and saue thys yonge man in tyme.

As for hys allegoryes I am not offended wyth, nor wyth symylytudes neyther where they maye haue place, though he take one of his neighbours hors as he doth, and another yf he lyste of hys owne cow. Prouyded alwaye for a thyng whyche he lyste to call lyke, he myscōstrue not the scrypture, & take awaye the very thynge in dede as he doth here.

Now his ensample also of hys brydegromys ryng, I ve­ry well allow. For I take the blessed sacrament to be lefte wyth vs for a very token and [Page] a memoryall of Cryst in dede. But I saye that whole sub­staunce of the same token and memoreall, is hys owne bles­sed body / where as thys man wolde make it onely brede. And so I say that Cryst hath left vs a better token thā this man wolde haue vs take it fore / and therin fareth lyke a man to whom a brydegrome had delyuered a goodly gold rynge with a ryche ruby ther in, to deliuer ouer to his bryde for a token / and than he wold lyke a false shrew, kepe away that gold rynge, and gyue the bryde in the stede therof a proper rynge of a rysshe, and tell her that the brydegrome wold sende her no better / or els lyke one that whan y ^e brydegrome [Page] had gyuen suche a gold rynge to hys bryde for a token, wold tell her playne and make her byleue that the ryng were but coper or brasse, to mynysshe y ^e brydegromys thanke.

If he sayed that the wordes of Cryste myghte besyde the lytterall sense be vnderstandē in an allegorye / I wolde well agree wyth hym. For so maye euery worde almoste thorowe the whole scrypture / callynge an allegorye euery sense, wherby the wordes be translated vnto some other spyry­tuall vnderstandyng, bysyde the trewe playne open sense y ^t the letter fyrste entended. But on the other syde bycause that in some wordes of scrypture is there none other thynge entēded [Page] but an allegorye, to go therfore and in another place of scrypture to take a waye wyth an allegorye, the very trew lytterall sense as he doth here / thys is the faute that we fynde in hym. whyche yf it maye be suffered, muste nedes make all the scrypture as towchyng any poynt of our fayth, of none effecte or force at all. I meruayle me therfore mych y ^t he is not aferde to afferme y ^t these wordes of Cryste, of hys body and hys blode, must ne­des be vnderstanden onely by waye of a symylytude or an allegorye as the wordes be of the vyne and the dore.

Now thys he woteth well, that though som wordes spoken by the mouth of Chryste [Page] wrytten in scripture, be to be vnderstanden onely by waye of a similitude or an allegory: it foloweth nat therupon that of necessite euery lyke worde of Christ in other places was none other but an allegory. For suche kynde of sophisticacion in arguyng, was y ^e very cauillaciō and shyfte that the wykked Arrians vsed. whych lyke as thys yong mā taketh away now fro the blessed sa­crament y ^e very body & blood of Christ, by expounynge hys playne wordes wyth an alle­gory vnder colour of some o­ther places where such allegoryes muste nedes haue place, & were none otherwese ment: so dyd they take frō Christes blessed person hys omnipotēt [Page] godhed, and wolde nat graūt hym to be equale wyth al­myghty god hys father / but y ^e playne textes of scrypture whyche proued hys godhed, they expouned wrōge and frowardly / nat onely by some o­ther textes that semede to say otherwyse, but also as thys yonge man doth here by some allegories / affermyng that he was called god and the sonne of god in holy scrypture, by suche maner of speking, or as thys yonge man calleth it, by suche a maner of phrase as the scrypture for som proper­tie calleth certayne other per­sones goddes and goddes sō ­nes in other places. As where god sayth to Moyses, Exodi. 7. I shall make the the god of Pharao. [Page] And where he saith, Exodi. 22 thou shalt nat bakbyte the goddes. And where he sayeth, Psal. 81. I saye you be goddes and y ^e sonnes of the hygh god be you all.

And thus agaynste that y ^e Cryst was god and the sonne of god / such cauyllaciōs these Arrians layed in expownyng the playne places wyth false allegoryes / resemblyng them to other places in whych lyke allegorye [...] muste nedes haue place / as thys yonge man by the necessary allegoryes of Crystes wordes, vsed in the vyne and in the dore, wolde in lyke wyse wyth lyke cauylla­cyons as the Arryans vsed a­gaynste Crystes godhed, pull away the trewe lytterall sense of Crystes wordes, cōcernyng [Page] the trouth of hys very body & blode in the blessed sacramēt.

And surely yf this maner of handelynge of scrypture may be receyued and broughte in vre, that bycause of allegory­es vsed in some places euery man maye at hys pleasure draw euery place to an allegorye, and say the letter meneth no thynge ellys / there is not any texte in all the scrypture, but a wylfull person may fyn­de other textes agaynst it, that maye serue hym to tryfle out the trouth of goddes wordes, wyth cauillacyons grounded vppon goddes other wordes, in some other place. wherin yf he maye be herde as longe as he lyst to talke be it but a wo­man: yet shall she fynd chatte [Page] Inough for all an hole yere. And so dyd those old Arriās / of whome god forbede y ^t thys yong man shulde folowe that euyll ensample.

If euery man that cā fynd out a new fonde fantasye vpō a texte of holy scrypture, may haue hys owne mynd taken, and hys owne exposition byleued, agaynste the exposicions of the old holy cunnyng doc­tours and sayntes: than may ye surely se that none article of the christen fayth can stand and endure long. Hierony. aduersus Luciferia­nos. For as holy saynte Hierom sayth of hym selfe, if the exposition of other interpretours and the cōsente of the commune catholyque church, were of no more strē ­ghte, but that euery new man [Page] myght be byleued that coulde bryng som textes of scrypture for hym expouned as it plea­sed hym selfe / than could I sayth thys holy man brynge vp a new secte also, and saye by scripture that no man were a trew christē man nor a membre of the church that kepeth two cotes. And in good fayth if that way were allowed / I were able my selfe to fynd out fyften newe sectes in one fore none, y ^t shulde haue as moche probable holde of scripture as thys heresy hathe. Agaynste which, beside the comon fayth of all catholyque christen re­gyons, the expositions of the old holy doctours and saītes be clere agaynste thys yonge mannes mynd in thys mater, [Page] as whole as agaynst any he­resy that euer was hytherto herd of. For as for the wordes of Chryst of whyche we speke touchyng y ^e blessed sacramēt / though he may fynd som olde holy men that byside the lytterall sence doth expoune them in an allegory, yet shall he ne­uer fynde any of thē that dyd as he doth now after wicliffe, Ecolampadius, Tyndale, & zuynglius, deny the lytterall sence / and say that Chryst mēt nat that it was his very body and hys very bloude in dede / but the olde holy doctours & exposytours byside all suche allegories, do playnly declare & expoune, that in those wor­des our sauyour as he expressely spake, so dyd also well & [Page] playnely mene, that the thing whyche he there gaue to hys dysciples in the sacramente, were in very dede hys very flesh and bloud. And so dyd neuer any of the olde exposy­tours of scripture expowne any of those other places in whych Christ is called a vyne or a dore. And therfore it appereth well, that y ^e maner of spe­kyng was nat lyke. For if it had / than wolde nat the olde exposytours haue vsed suche so far vnlyke fashyon in y ^e ex­pounyng of them.

And ouer thys, the very circumstances of the places in y ^e gospell, in which our sauiour speketh of that sacramēt, may well make open the difference of hys speche in thys mater & [Page] of all those other / and that as he spake all those but ī an allegory, so spake he thys playnly menyng that he spake of hys very body and his very bloud besyde all allegories. For neyther whanne oure lorde sayed he was a very vyne, nor whanne he sayde he was the dore / there was none that herde hym that any thynge merueyled therof. And why? for bycause they perceyued well that he ment not that he was a materyall vyne ī dede, nor a materyall dore neyther. But whan he sayed that hys flesshe was very mete, & hys blood was very drynke, and that they sholde not be saued but yf they dyd eate hys flesh and drynke hys blood / than [Page] were they all in suche a won­der therof, that they coulde not abyde. And wherfore? but bycause they perceyued well by his wordes and his maner of cyrcūstances vsed in y ^e spe­kynge of them, y ^t Cryst spake of hys very flesshe and his very blood in dede. For ellys the straungenesse of the wordes wold haue made thē to haue taken it as well for an allegorye, as eyther hys wordes of the vyne or of the dore. And than wold they haue no more merueyled at y ^e tone than they dyd at the tother. But nowe where as at the vyne and the dore they merueiled nothing / yet at the eatyng of his flesshe and drynkynge of hys blood, they so sore merueyled, and [Page] were so sore moued, & thought the mater so harde, & the won­der so greate, that they asked how coulde that be, and went almoste all theyr waye. wher­by we maye well se, that he spake these wordes in suche wyse, as the herers perceyued that he ment it not in a para­ble nor an allegory / but spake of hys very flesshe and hys very blood in dede.

Many other playne pro­ues myghte a man gather vppon the cyrcumstances of the very textes, where this thyng is spoken of in the scrypture / but that it is not my purpose now to stycke in argumente of thys mater, that is of it self so clere out of all questyon / but onely a lytle to towche it, [Page] that ye may se how lytle pyth and substaunce for hys mater is in all those ensamples of allegorye, whyche wyclyffe, Ecolampadius, Tyndale, & Suingliꝰ haue brought out agaynst the blessed sacramēt / & wherwith those old shrewes haue wyth theyr false symy­lytudes pytuously deceyued, eyther the symplycyte or the lyghtnesse of thys sely yonge man / whych myght yf he had not eyther of lyghtnesse ouer ronne hym selfe, or of symple­nes ben deceyued, or of pryde and hygh mynde in puttynge forth heresyes wyllyngly be­gyled & blynded / easely haue perceyued hym selfe, that the mo suche allegoryes that he foūde in the scrypture in lyke [Page] maner of phrases or speche, y ^e wurse is his parte / & the more clere is it that these places spekyng of the blessed sacramēt, were playnely ment as they were spoken besyde all suche allegoryes. For ellys hadde neuer bothe the herers at the tyme, & y ^e exposytours synnes and all chrystē people besyde thys .xv. C. yere, taken onely in thys one mater the playne literall sense beyng so straūge & meruelouse that it myghte seme impossyble, and declyne from the letter for allegoryes in all suche other thynges, be­ynge as he sayth & as in dede they be, so many farre in nomber moo.

How be it as for this poynt that an allegory vsed in some [Page] place, is not a cause suffycyēt to make men leue the proper sygnyfycacyons of goddes worde in euery other place, & seke an allegorye and forsake the playne comon sense and vnderstandynge of the letter / thys perceyued y ^e yonge man well inough hym selfe. For he confesseth that he wolde not so do saue for necessyte, by­cause he seeth as he sayth that the comon lyterall sense is impossyble. For the thynge he sayth that is ment therby, can not be trewe / that is to wytte that the very body of Chryste can not be in the sacrament, bycause the sacrament is in many dyuers places at onys / and was at the maundy, that is to wytte in the handes of [Page] Chryste and in euery of hys apostels mouthes / and at that tyme it was not glorifyed. And than he sayth that Chry­stes body not beynge glory­fyed, coulde no more be in two places at onys, than hys own can. And yet he goth after for­ther, and sayth that no more it can neyther when it is glory­fyed to. And that he proueth by y ^e sayeng of saint Austayn / whose wordes be as he sayth, that the body wyth whyche Chryste rose, muste be in one place, and that it contynueth in heuen, and shall do tyll he shall come to iudge bothe quycke and dede. And yet at the laste he proueth that the body of Chryste can not be in many places at onys. For yf [Page] it myghte be in many places at onys, thā it myght he sayth be in all places at onys. But in all places at onys he sayth it can not be / & therof he con­cludeth that it can not be in many places at onys. And thus for thys impossybylyte of the thynge that ryseth vp­pon the comon lytterall sense of Chrystes wordes, he is he sayeth of necessyte dreuen to fall from it vnto some allego­rye / whyche he confesseth that he wolde not do, yf the playne lyterall sense were possyble. But alas for the dere mercy of god, yf we sholde leue the letter and seke an allegorye wyth the destruccyon of the lytterall sense, in euery place where we fynde a thynge that [Page] [...]eason can not reche vnto, nor s [...] whyche waye it were possy­ble and therfore wolde take it for impossyble: fayne wolde I wytte what one artycle of all our farth thys yonge man coulde assygne me spoken of in the scrypture from whyche hys reason shall not dreue away the strength of hys profe in makynge hym leue the lyt­terall sense / wherin hys profe sholde stande and sende hym to seke an allegory that maye stande wyth reason and dreue awaye y ^e fayth, where he shold byleue the leter and make his reason obedyent vnto fayth.

I meruayle me very mych why the consyderacyō of this impossybylyte, sholde of necessyte dreue this yonge man frō [Page] the playn open lytterall sense of Chrystes wordes spoken of the blessed sacrament / syth so many good and holy men so longe to gyther thys .xv. C. yere, haue byleued the lyterall sense well & fermely, & coulde not be dreuen from it for any suche consyderacyon of suche impossybylyte / and yet beyng as naturall men, as wyse me, as well lerned men, as study­ouse in the mater, and men of more age, & more sure, sadde and substancyall iudgement, than thys yonge man is yet, and men at the leste as lykely to se what were possyble and what were impossyble as this good yonge man is. And therfore as for all his reasōs gro [...] ded vpon impossybylyte, syth [Page] I may be bolde to thynke as all those olde holy men haue thought, and as all wyse men I wene yet thynke, that no thynge is impossyble to god: I esteme all those reasons very lytle worth.

How be it one thynge he bryngeth in by the waye, that I wolde he hadde shewed in what place we myghte fynde it, that is to wytte the sayeng of saynt Austayn. For why to seke out one lyne in all hys bokes, were to go loke a nedle in a medew. But surely yf we maye se the place where the yonge man found it / we shall I dowte not make a clere an­swere to it. And yet euyn as hym selfe hath rehersed it / y ^t sayenge maketh nothynge for [Page] the profe of hys purpose. For saynt Austayne sayth no more but that the body in whyche Chryste arose, muste be in one place, and that it contynueth in heuen, and shall do tyll the daye of dome. As helpe me god excepte thys yonge man in these wordes of saynt Au­stayn se forther with his yōge syghte, than I can see wyth myn olde eyen and my specta­cles / I merueyle me myche y ^t euer he wolde for his purpose onys brynge thē in. For whan saynt Austayne sayth that the body in whyche Chryst arose, muste nedes be in one place / he myghte mene by those wordes for any thynge that here appereth to the contrary, not that hys body myghte not be [Page] in two diuers places at onys / but that it muste be in one place, that is to saye in some place one or other / or that he muste haue one place for hys specyall place, and that place must be heuen / as we say god must be in heuen, and angels muste be in heuen. He speketh no thynge of the sacrament, nor sayth not hys body wyth whyche he rose must nedes be so in one place, that it can by no possibilite in ony mo.

Also thys worde (muste) whyche is in the laten tonge called oportet, whych word saīt Austayne here vseth as thys yong mā reherseth hym / doth not alwaye sygnyfye suche a necessyte, as excludeth all possybylyte of the contrary. For [Page] our sauyours sayde hym selfe to the two discyples, Nonne haec oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam? Luce. 24. was it not so that Chryste muste dye, and so en­tre into hys glorye? And yet hym selfe sayde also, that he myghte for all that haue cho­sen whyther he wolde haue dyed or no. Ihō. [...]. For hym self sayth that to departe with his soule and to take hys soule agayn, bothe twayne were thynges put in hys owne power. And the prophete Esay sayeth of hym, Esai [...]. [...]. He was offered vppe by­cause he so wolde hym selfe. And therfore thys latyn word oportet, whyche saynt Austayn hath in that place / is many ty tymes in the latyn tonge takē not for full and precyse neces­syte, [Page] but for expedyent and cō uenyēt. And therfore it is trāslated also into englysshe, not onely by thys worde (muste) whyche yet sygnyfyeth not al waye an impossybylyte of the contrary / but often tymes by thys worde (it behoueth) whi­che worde sygnyfyeth that it is to be done for our behofe & commodyte, & not that it can in no wyse be auoyded but y ^t it must nedes be. And therfore syth all y ^e dreueth this yonge man from the lytterall sense, is as he sayth the impossyby­lyte of Chrystes body to be at onys in dyuers places, & pro­ueth that thynge impossyble by y ^e wordes of saīt Austayne / that sayth no more but that it muste be in one place, & sayth [Page] not y ^t it maye be in no mo but one, nor speketh not of any such necessyte wherof he put­teth the contrary for impossy­ble, nor speketh no worde at all there of the sacramente: syth saynte Austayne I saye sayth no forther than thys / I meruayle mych in myne hart, what thynge thys yonge man seeth in hys wordes, worthy y ^t bryngynge in for any profe of hys purpose.

And that ye may the more clerely se that saynt Austayne speketh here of no necessyte / he not onely sayth that y ^e body of Chryst wyth whych he rose must be in one place / but also he determineth that one place in whyche he muste be yf thys yonge mā reherse hym ryght, [Page] that is to saye in heuyn, there to contynue styll vyto the day of dome.

But now I trow thys yong man thynketh not, that saynt Austayne for all hys determy­nynge that Chrystes body in whyche he rose muste be styll in y ^t one place, y ^t is to wytte in heuyn vntill the day of dome / he meneth for all that that it is so faste bounden to abyde onely there, but that he maye whan it pleaseth hym in the self same body, be byneth here in erth an hundreth tymes before the daye of dome. And good storyes are there testyfyenge that he so hath bene dy­uerse tymes ere thys, synnys the tyme of hys ascensyon. And therfore thys yong man [Page] may perceyue playnely, that saynt Austayne in those wor­des, thowgh he say that Chrystes body wyth whych he rose muste be in one place, that ys to wyt in heuyn, yet he mente no suche precyse necessyte as sholde dreue thys yonge man from the lytterall sense of Crystes wordes vnto y ^e allegory. He ment not by thys worde, it muste be in one place, that is to saye in heuen, that it muste so be in that one place tyll do­mes daye, that it myghte in y ^e meane whyle be in none other besyde, and that it muste be so of an immutable necessyte by no powre chaūgeable, wherof the cōtrary were by no power possyble. And therfore as for these wordes of saīt Austayne [Page] to thys purpose here / I mer­uayle mych in good faith / but yf he shewe more hereafter, y ^t euer thys yonge man wolde speke of them.

Now as for hys naturall reasons be not worth the rea­sonynge. For fyrste that the body of Chryste vngloryfyed coulde no more be in two pla­ces at onys thanne hys awne can / bycause he is a naturall body as Christes was, & Christes body a naturall body as his is: I wyll not examyne any cōparysōs bytwene theyr two bodyes. But yf Chryste wolde telle me that he wolde make eche of bothe theyr bo­dyes too be in fyftene pla­ces at ones, I wolde byleue hym I, that he were able to [Page] make hys worde trewe in the bodyes of bothe twayne / and neuer wolde I soo myche as aske hym whyther he wolde gloryfye them bothe fyrste or not. But I am sure gloryfyed or vngloryfyed, yf the sayde it he is able to do it. whan our sauyour sayde, that it was as possible for a camel or a great cable rope to entre thorowe a nedles eye, as for a ryche man to entre into the kyngdome of heuen, and after tolde hys a­postles that though those two thinges were both impossyble to men, yet all thyng was possyble to god: I thynke that he ment that neyther the sam­ple nor the mater was to god impossyble. Now syth than at the lest wyse y ^t it is not impos­syble [Page] for hym to conuaye the camel or y ^e cable rope thorowe the nedels eye / what shall me nede to study now whyther he can brynge them thorow such as they be, or ellys muste of fyne force be fayne to gloryfye the camel or the cable fyrste / as thys yong mā sayth of hys body, y ^t it were impossyble for god to brynge aboute to haue it in two places at onys suche as it is now, bycause it is yet somwhat groce and vnglory­fyed / and than by the compa­ryson of his owne, he argueth the lyke of the blessed body of Chryst, beyng lyke his at his maundye no more gloryfyed that he. But I say yet agayn of theyr bodyes both twayne, yf he sayed that he wold do it / [Page] I wold not dowt but he could do it. And yf he coulde not do it but yf he glorified thē fyrst / than were I sure that he wold gloryfye them both. And ther fore yf it were trewe, that he coulde not make hys owne body to be in two places at o­nes at maundy, but yf it were than gloryfyed / than syth I am sure that he there dyde it, I am therby sure also that he than for the tyme glorifyed it. For that thynge was in hys owne power to do as ofte as he wolde, as well before hys deth as at hys resurreccyon / & yet to kepe hys gloryfycacion from perceyuynge, Marci. 1 [...] as he dyd from his two dyscyples, why­che for all his gloryfyed body toke hym but for a pylgryme. [Page] And therefore as I saye, yf Chryste sayd vnto me that he wolde make bothe hys body and this yong mannes to, ech of them to be in a thousande places at ones / I wolde putte no dowte therin, but that by some maner meanes he were able inough to do it.

But here wolde thys yong man peraduēture saye, ye say very well yf god so sayed, and by hys so sayenge so mente in dede. But ye wote wel I deny that he so mente though he so sayed. For I saye that in so sayenge he ment but by an al­legorye, as he dyd whanne he called hym selfe a vyne and adore. But nowe muste this yonge man consyder agayne, that hym self confesseth y ^t the [Page] cause for which hym self saith that Chryste in so sayeng dyd not so mene, is bycause that if he shold haue ment so, it was impossyble for god to brynge hys menynge aboute / that is to saye y ^t Crystes body myght be in two places at onys. And therfore but yf he proue that thynge impossyble for god to do, ellys he cōfesseth that god not onely sayd it, but also mēt it in dede.

And yet ouer this, yf Cryst had neuer sayde it / yet dowte I no thing but that he is able to do it / or els were there som­what that he coulde not do, & than were god not almyghty.

Nowe yf thys yonge man wyll saye that to make one body to be in two places, dothe [Page] imply repugnaunce, and that god can do no suche thynge: I dare be bolde to tell hym agayne, that many thynges maye seme repugnant both to hym and me, whyche thynges god seeth how to make them stande to gyther well inough.

Suche blynde reasons of repugnaunce induceth many men in to greate errour, some ascrybynge all thynge to de­styny wythout any power of mannys free wyll at all / and some gyuynge all to mannes owne wyll, and no forsyghte at all vnto the prouydence of god / and all bycause the pore blynde reason of man can not se so farre, as to perceyue how goddes prescyence and man­nes free wyll can stande and [Page] agre togyther, but seme to thē clerely repugnant.

And surely yf the semyng of our owne feble reason, may dreue vs onys to thynke that one man to be at onys in two places, is a thynge so harde & so repugnaūt, and therfore so impossyble that god hym selfe can neuer brynge it aboute / y ^e deuyll wyll within a whyle set vs vppon suche a truste vnto our owne reason, that he wyll make vs take it for a thynge repugnaunt and impossyble, that euer one god sholde be thre persons.

I wote well y ^t many good folke haue vsed in thys mater many good frutefull exāples of goddes other workys, not onely myracles wrytē in scrypture, [Page] but also done by y ^e comō course of nature here in erthe, and some thynges made also by mannes hand / as one face beholden in dyuers glassys, & in euery pyece of one glasse broken in to twenty, and the meruayle of the makynge of the glasse it selfe suche mater as it is made of, and of one worde comynge whole to an hundred eares at onys, and the syghte of one lytle eye pre­sent and beholdyng an whole greate countrey at onys, with a thousande suche other mer­uayles mo, such as those that se them dayly done and ther­fore meruayle not at thē, shall yet neuer be able, no not thys yonge man hym selfe, to gyue suche reason by what meane [Page] they may be done, but that he maye haue suche repugnaūce layde agaynst it, that he shall be fayne in conclusyon for the chyefe and the moste euydent reason to saye, that y ^e cause of all those thynges is bycause god that hath caused theym so to be done is almyghty of hym selfe & can do what hym lyste. And also I can not se why it shulde be more repug­naunt that one body maye be by y ^e power of god in two pla­ces at onys, than that two bodyes may be to gether in one place at onys. And that poynt I thynke thys yonge man de­nyeth not. And I verily thyn­ke there is vnto mannes rea­son neyther more seblaūce of difficulty nor of repugnaūce, [Page] neyther in the beynge of one body be it neuer so groce and vnglorified in twenty dyuers places at onys, than in y ^e ma­kyng of all that whole world, in whyche all the bodyes both gloryfyed and vngloryfyed haue all theyr romys and places, to make I saye all that hole world of ryght nought. whyche artycle of oure fayth we shall fynde folke wythin a whyle not greately force to denye, yf men fall to this poynt, that for impossibylytees of nature, they thynke the thynges impossyble also to god that is the mayster and the maker of nature / and that they wyll vppon that ymagynacyon do as thys yong man doth, flee fro the lytterall sense of the scrip­ture, [Page] and seke some allegorye in the stede, and saye they be dreuen therto by necessyte, bycause of the impossybylyte of y ^e mater. For thus shall as ye maye wel se, by thys meanes none artycle of oure faythe stande.

Now hys laste argument wyth whych he proueth it im­possyble for one body of Cryst to be in two places at onys is thys. you can sayeth he shewe no reason, why he sholde be in many places at onys and not in all. But ī all places he can not be / wherfore we muste cō clude that he can not be in many places at onys. Thys is a meruelous concluded argu­ment. I am sure a very chylde maye sone se that thys conse­quent [Page] can neuer folowe vpon those twoo premysses of hys antecedent. For he can no for­ther conclude vpon them, but that we can shewe no reason why he sholde be in many pla­ces at onys. Now yf I sholde graunte hym y ^t no man could shewe a reason why he shulde be in many places at onys / what had he wonne by that? myght he then conclude there vpon y ^t he could not be in many places at onys / as though that it were not possyble for god to make hys body in two places at onys, but if we were able to tell how, and why, and wherby, and shewe the reasō? Now in thys argument he begynneth wyth (sholde) in the maior / and than in the minor [Page] and the conclusyon turneth in to (can) and so varyeth his extremytes, that the argument can neuer be good yf it were but for that. If he wolde en­duce the conclusyon whych he concludeth here / he must haue rather haue argued thus. If it myghte be in many places at ones, than myghte it be in all places at onys. But in all places at onys it can not be / & therfore it can not be in many places at ones. Thus or in some suche maner must he ar­gue, yf he wyll awghte proue. But here nowe bothe the partys of hys antecedent be very weke. The fyrste is thys, that yf the body of oure sauyoure maye be in many places at onys, it may be ī all places at [Page] onys. Though I wold graūt thys causale proposycyon for the trouth of the second part / yet wolde I denye it hym for y ^e forme. For though I graūt it to be trewe / yet y ^e fyrst parte is not the profe of the second / but rather contrary wyse the seconde inferreth well y ^e fyrst. For y ^e reason is good: he may be in all places, ergo he maye be in many. But argue the cō trary wyse as thys yong man argueth, and than is y ^e forme very faynt. For this hath lytle strength: he maye be in many places, ergo he may be in all, many men rōne, ergo all men ronne, men rōne in many pla­ces, ergo men ronne in all places / but yf the mater mayn­teyne the argument, eyther by [Page] the possybylyte of the antece­dent or by the necessyte of the consequent / as one man is a stone, ergo all men be stones, one mā is a lyuyng creature, ergo all men be lyuyng crea­turs. But let thys fyrst proposycyon passe and come now to the seconde, vppon whych all hys argument hangeth / that is, that the body of Chryste can not be at onys in all pla­ces. Thys he sayeth / but how dothe he proue it. If he wyll byd me proue y ^e affyrmatyue / I maye answere that I nede not, for it is not the thynge y ^t we haue in hande. For we do not saye that he is in all pla­ces / for the sacrament is not at onys in all places. And we be not bounde for thys mater [Page] to go any forther / & y ^e poynte for so far I proue by the go­spell that sayth it is so. And therfore thys yonge man that sayeth it can not be / lette hym proue that it may not be. For yf it maye be / he than confes­seth that the wordes of Cryst do proue that it must be. But bycause it can not be sayth he / therfore he is dreuen to con­strue these wordes by ani alle­gorye. And now that [...]t can not be in many places / he proueth by y ^t that he can not be in all places / and therfore muste he proue that, or ellys gyue ouer thargement.

How be it as for me though I be not bounden to it / I am content yet to proue that god maye make the body of Cryst [Page] to be in all places at onys. And bycause thys yonge man coupleth y ^t proposycyon with y ^e tother / so wyll I do to. And I proue therfore that god can make hys body be bothe in many places at onys, and in all places at onys / by that y ^t he is almyghty, and therfore can do all thynge. And nowe muste thys yong man tell vs eyther that thys is nothynge, or els denye that god can do all thynge. And than muste he lymyte goddes power howe farre he wyll giue god leue to stretch it. But whā this yong man shal come to that poynt / euery wyse man wyll I wene suppose and thynke in thē self that this yonge man hath yet in hys youth gone to lytell [Page] whyle to scole, to knowe all y ^e god can do / but yf he brynge good wytnesse y ^t he hath ler­ned vppe the vttermoste of all goddes cōnyng / which thyng the apostle Poule for all that he was rauysshed vp into the thyrde heuyn, rekened yet so farre aboue hys reche, that he cryed out, Roma. 10 Oh the altytude of the rychesse of the wysdome & the connynge of god.

But yet thys yonge man goeth about to proue y ^• poynt by scrypture. For excepte we graunte hym that poynt to be trewe / he sayeth that ellys we make the angell a lyar, that sayd he is not here / and also y ^t ellys we make as though Cristes body in hys ascencyō dyd not go vp in the cloude in to [Page] heuē from the erth, but onely hyd hym selfe in the clowde, & played bo pepe and taryed by­neth styll.

I am in good fayth sory to se thys yong man presume so farre vpon his wytte, so soone ere it be full rype. For surely suche lykynge of theym selfe maketh many wyttes waxe roten ere they waxe rype. And veryly if it do decreace and go bakwarde in thys fasshyon, it maye not last longe. For euen here in the ende he forgetteth hym selfe so fowle, that whan he was a yonge sophyster he wolde I dare saye haue bene full sore ashamed so to haue ouersene hym selfe at Ox­forde at a peruise. For ye wote well that thynge whiche [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] he sayth and whiche he muste therfore proue / is that y ^e body of Chryste can not be in euery place at onys, by no meane y ^t god coulde make. And the textes that he bryngeth in for the profe, saye no ferther but that he was not in all places at onys / and saye not that by no possyble power of his god hed it coulde not be in euery place at onys. And therfore thys poynt is as ye se well of thys yong man very yongely handeled. And therfore ought euery mā abhorre as a playne pestylence, all suche vnreaso­nable reasōs made for nature by more then naturall folys, agaynst y ^e possybylyte of god­des almyghty power. For we maye knowe it veryly, that [Page] agaynst these folyes hath specyally a place y ^• good gostely counsayle of saynte Poule / where he warneth vs & sayth, Collo. 2. Beware that no man begyle you by vayne phylosophy.

God forbede that any man sholde be the more prone and redy to beleue this yong man in thys great mater, bycause he sayth in the begynnynge y ^t he wyll brynge all men to a cō corde and a quyetenesse of cō ­scyence. For he bryngeth men to the wurste kynde of quyet­nesse that can be deuised, whā he telleth vs as he dothe, that euery man may in thys mater wythout parell byleue whych waye he lyst. Euery man may in euery mater wythout any coūsayle of his, soone set hym [Page] selfe at reste, yf he lyste to take that waye to byleue as he lyst hym selfe and care not how. Cor. 11. But and yt that way had ben sure / saynt Poule wold neuer haue shewed that many were in parell of sykenes and deth to, for lacke of dyscernyng re­uerently the body of our lorde in that sacrament, whan they came to receyue hym.

And agaynst thys doctryne of thys yonge brother, is the playne doctryne of the olde holy fathers interpretours of the scrypture. And what fas­shyon is thys to saye that we maye byleue yf we lyste that there is the very body of our lorde in dede / and than to tell vs for a trouth that suche a faith is impossible to be trew / [Page] for god hym selfe can neuer brynge it aboute to make hys body be there.

I am very sure that y ^e olde holy doctours whyche byle­ued Crystes body & his blood to be there, & so taughte other to byleue, as by theyr bokes playnely doth appere / yf they hadde thoughte eyther that it coulde not be there, or that it was not there in dede / they wolde not for all the good in thys worlde haue wryten as they haue done. For wolde those holy mē wene you haue taught that men be bounden to byleue that the very body & blood of Chryste is there, yf them selfe thought they were not bounden therto? Or wold they make men honoure and [Page] worshyppe that thynge as the very body and blood of Cryst, whyche theym selfe thoughte were not it? Thys gere is to chyldysh to speke of.

yet one greate pleasure he doth vs, in that he putteth vs all at lybertye, that we maye wythout perell of dampnacyō byleue as we byleued before / that is to wytte that in y ^e bles­sed sacrament the whole sub­staunce of the brede and the wyne is transmuted & chaun­ged into the very body and bloode of Chryste. For yf we may without perell of dāpnacyon byleue thus as hym selfe graunteth that we may / than graunteth he y ^t we maye also without any perell of dā ­nacyon byleue that hym selfe [Page] lyeth / where he sayth y ^e trouth of that belyefe is impossyble.

And therfore I shall therin conclude wyth hym, as oure souerayne lorde the kynges hyghnes in his most famouse boke of assercyon of the sacrament concludeth in one place agaynste Luther / whyche in hys Babilonica confessed y ^t though men in the sacrament of the aulter byleued after the comon fayth as they dyd be­fore, there was no perell ther­in. well than sayd the kynges grace, ye do your selfe graūte that in our bylief is no perell. But all the chyrche byleueth that in your waye is vndow­ted dāpnacyon. And therfore yf ye wyll as wysdome wolde ye sholde, dele surely for your [Page] selfe / ye shold rather leue your vnsure way whych ye byleue, and come your selfe and counsayle all other whom ye wold dyd well, to byleue as we do. Lo thys reason of the kynges grace clerely concludeth thys yonge man vppon hys owne confessyon / and playnely pro­ueth that excepte he leue hys bylyefe whyche all good chrysten folke holde for dampna­ble, and come home agayne to hys olde fayth y ^e comon fayth of all the chyrch / in whych as hym selfe agreeth there is no perell: I wyll not for courte­sye saye he is starke madde / but surely I wyll say that for his owne soule, the yong man playeth a very yonge wanton pageaunt.

[Page]Now where as for an other quyetenes of euery mannes conscyence, thys yonge man byddeth euery man be bolde, and whyther the blessed sacrament be consecrate or vncon­secrate (For though he moste specially speketh for the wyne yet he speketh it of bothe) and byddeth care not but take it for all that vnblessed as it is, bycause the preste he saith can not deceyue vs nor take from vs the profyte of goddes institucyon, whyther he altre the wordes or leue theym all vn­sayd / is not this a wonderfull doctryne of thys yonge man. we wote well all that y ^e preste can not hurte vs by hys ouersyghte or malyce, yf there be no faute vpon our owne part. [Page] For that perfeccyon that lac­keth vppon the prestes, parte the great mercy of god dothe as we trust of hys own good­nesse supply. And therfore as holy saint Chrysostome saith, no man can take harme but of hym selfe. But now yf we se the thynge dysordered our owne selfe by the preste, & Crystes instytucion broken / yf we than wyttyngly receyue it vn­blessed and vnconsecrated, & care not whyther Crystes in­stytucyon be kepte and obser­ued or no, but reken it is as good wythout it as wyth it / than make we our selfe parte­ners of the faute, and lese the profyte of the sacrament, and receyue it with dampnacyon / not for the prestes faute but [Page] for our own. How be it as for hys bylyefe that taketh it no better but for bare brede and wyne, it maketh hym lytell mater consecrated or not / sa­uyng y ^t the better it is conse­crate y ^e more is it euer noyous vnto hym that receyueth it, hauyng hys conscyence com­bred wyth suche an execrable heresye / by whyche well appereth that he putteth no dyffe­rence bytwene the body of our lord in the blessed sacrament, and the comon brede that he eateth at his diner / but rather he estemeth it lesse / for y ^e tone yet I thynke ere he begynne yf he lacke a preste he wyll blesse it hym selfe, the tother he careth not as he saith why­ther it be blessed or no. Frome [Page] whych abomynable heresye & all hys other, our lorde for his great mercy delyuer hym, and help to stoppe euery good mā ­nes eares from suche vngra­cyouse incantacyons as thys mannes reasons be / whyche are vnto such symple peple as wyll be with y ^e wynde of euery newe doctryne blowen about lyke a wethercok, myche more contagyous a greate deale, than was that euyll doctryne whyche saynte Poule so sore reproueth, Gala. 3. wyth whyche the false prophetes had bywiched the Galathyes. But as for those that are good and faste faythfull folke, and haue any grace or any sparke of any reason in theyr heddes / wyl (I veryly thynke) neuer be so farre [Page] ouersene as in thys artycle (y ^e trouth wherof god hath hym selfe testifyed by as many opē myracles as euer he testyfyed any one) to byleue thys one yonge man vpon his barayne reasons, agaynste the fayth & reason bothe of all olde holy wryters, and all good christen people thys .xv.C. yeres. All whyche without any dowt or question, byleued agaynst his doctryne in thys blessed sacrament, vntyll Berengarius began to fall fyrst vnto thys er­rour. whyche when he better consydered he fell frō it agayn and forsoke it vtterly / and for bycause he had ones holdē it, the good mā dyd of hys owne good minde vncōpelled grete penaunce wyllyngly all hys [Page] lyfe after, as ye maye rede in Cronica cronicarū y ^e .cxc. lefe. And also frere Barns, albe it that as ye wote well he is in many other thinges a brother of thys yonge mannes secte / yet in thys heresye he sore ab­horreth hys heresye / or ellys he lyeth hym selfe. For at hys laste beynge here, he wrote a letter to me of hys own hand / wherin he wryteth that I lay that heresye wrōgfully to his charge / and therin he taketh wytnesse of god and hys con­scyence / and sheweth hym self so sore greued therwyth, that any man shold so repute hym by my wrytyng, that he sayth he wyll in my reproche make a boke agaynst me, wherin he wyll professe and proteste hys fayth [Page] cōcernyng thys blessed sacra­ment. By whych boke it shall he saith appere, y ^t I haue sayd vntrewly of hym, and that he abhorreth thys abomynable heresy. whyche letter of his I forbere to answere tyll y ^e boke come. By whyche we maye se syth he forsaketh thys heresy, what fayth he wyll professe, whyther y ^e trew fayth or some other kynde of heresy. For yf he wyll professe the very ca­tholyke fayth / he and I shall in that poynt be very soone a­greed / and I shall than make hym suche answere therin, as he shall haue cause to be well contented wyth.

But in the meane tyme, it well contenteth me that frere Barns beynge a man of more [Page] age, and more rype dyscressyō and a doctour of diuinyte, & in these thynges better lerned than thys yonge man is / ab­horreth thys yonge mannes heresy ī this poynt, as well as he lyketh hym in many other.

And so I truste wyll euery wyse man / and not be so en­chaunted wyth such chyldysh reasons as hys be, that they wolde therby do as the herers of Chryste dyd / that for mer­uayle of thys mater as thys yonge man doth now, Johā. 6. refused our sauyour and wente theyr waye from hym / but wyll ra­ther let them go that wyll go, and abyde them self with our sauyour stylle / as wyth hym that hath in the stede of thys yong mannes vayne childysh [Page] folosophy, not false apparaūt sophystrye, but the very wor­des of eternall lyfe. whyche wordes I beseche our lord gyue thys yonge man the gxace, agaynste hys owne frowarde fantasyes to byleue / and to y ^e same lyfe brynge hym and vs both / where we shall wythout the vayle or coueryng of any maner sacrament, behold our blessed sauyour face to face / & in y ^e bryght myrrour of trouth the very one godhed of y ^e thre lyke myghty & eche almyghty persons, clerely beholde & perceyue both that it may and in dede is, and also how it maye be, that Cristes one body may be in many places at onys. whych thyng many that wyll not come there of folysshe fro­wardnes [Page] afferme to be playne impossyble.

Lo in stede of a letter haue you almost a boke, lōger than I truste good chrysten folke shall nede in so clere an arty­cle of the fayth, and to all fast faythfull peple so farre out of all dowt / sauynge that in sen­dyng you your copy agayne, me thoughte I muste nedes wryte you somwhat what I my selfe thoughte of his wry­tyng. In whych whā I onys began, all be it not very well at ease / y ^e abomynaciō yet of y ^e pestylent heresye & the parell of hys colorable handelynge, drew me forth ferther and fer­ther / & scant coulde suffer me now to make an end, but that I was half in mynde to haue [Page] towched also the scisme of the Bohemys, whyche he setteth forth here in hys wrytyng / sa­uynge that it requyreth some length, & that I am in mynde to make answere onys in that mater vnto frere Barns, whiche hath made therin ye wote well an hole treatyce / wherin I wonder yf hym selfe wene he haue sayde well. And as for that holy prayour y ^t thys deuout yong man as a new Cryst, techeth to make at the receyuynge of the blessed sacramēt all hys cōgregaciō / I wold not gyue y ^e paryng of a pere for his prayour though it were better than its is, pul­lynge a waye the trewe fayth therfore as he doth. How be it hys prayour there is such de­uysed, [Page] and penned, & paynted with laysour and studye / that I truste euery good chrysten woman maketh a mych better prayour at the tyme of her howsell, by faythfull affeccyō and goddes good inspyracyō sodaynly. For she besyde god­des other goodnes, thanketh hym I thynke for hys hyghe s [...]ngulare benefyte there pre­sentely gyuen her, in that it lyketh hym to accepte & receyue her so symple and so farre vn­worthy of her self, to syt at his owne blessed bord / & there for a remēbraūce of his bitter passyon suffred for her synne, to suffer her receyue & eate not brede thoughe it seme brede, but his owne very precyouse body in forme of brede, bothe [Page] hys very flesh blood & bonys, the selfe same with whyche he dyed & wyth whych he rose a­gayne, & appered agayne to hys apostles, & ete amōge his dyscyples, & with whyche he ascēded into heuyn, and wyth which he shall descend agayn to iudgemēt, and with which he shall reygne in heuyn with his father and theyr holy spy­ryte in eternall glory, and all hys trewe faythfull byleuyng and louyng peple with hym / whom as the mystycall mem­bres of hys gloryous body he shall than, & from thens forth for euer pleasauntly nurysh & fede and sacyate theyr insacy­able hunger wyth the behol­dynge of hys gloryous god­hed. whose hunger to heuyn­ward [Page] [...] [Page] [...] [Page] he comforteth & fedeth here by hope, and by the sure token and sygne of saluacyō, the gyuyng of hys owne very blessed body vnder the sygne & lykenesse of brede to be eate & receyued into our bodyes / y ^t our soulys by the fayth there of, & our bodyes by the recey­uynge thereof, may be spyrytually and bodily ioyned & knyt vnto hys here in erth / & wyth his holy soule & his blessed body, and his godhed both with his father & theyr holy spyryt, gloryously lyue after in heuē.

Thys lo in effecte though not in wordes, can chrystē women praye, and some of them peraduēture expresse it mych better to. For god can as the ꝓphete sayth, make not onely [Page] womē y ^t haue age, faith, & wit, but the mouthes also of infaū tes & yong soukyng chyldren, Psal. 8. to pronūce his laude & prayse / so y ^t we nede not this yong mā now to come teche vs how & what we shall pray, as Cryste taught his disciples the pater noster. Fryth is an vnmete mayster to teche vs what we shold praye at the receyuynge of the blesed sacramēt, whan he wyll not knowlege it as it is, but take Crystes blessed body for nothing but bare bred / and so lytell esteme the recey­uynge of the blessed sacramēt, that he forceth lytell whyther it be blessed or not. I praye god blesse these poysened er­rours out of hys blynd harte, and make hym hys faythfull [Page] seruaunt / and sende you har­tely well to fare.