body he hath giuen thee in the sensible thinges the things which are comprysed by the spirite S. Ambrose in his booke of the Sacraments the 1. Chapter Thou doest receiue the Sacrament for the similitude of the flesh and of the bloud of Christ but thou obteynest the grace of his true nature And in receiuing the bread in that meate thou art partaker of his deuine substaunce c. And he sayth afterward Euen as thou hast receiued at baptisme the similitude of death so likewyse thou hast drunke in that Sacrament the similitude of the precious bloud of Christe c. Bede vpon the .22 chapter of S. Luke After he had ended the solemnitie of the ancient Passeouer the which he made in remembraunce of the auncient deliueraunce out of Egypt he passed foorth to the newe solemnitye the which the church desireth to celebrate in remembraunce of her redemption to the ende that putting the Sacrament of his flesh of his bloud vnder the likenesse of bread and wine in steede of the flesh and of the bloud of the Lambe he sheweth himself to be him vnto whome the Lord hath sworne and wyll not repent thou art a priest for euer c. It followeth after bicause that the breade doth fortefie the flesh and that the wine causeth the bloud in the flesh the bread is referred mistically to the body of Christ and the wine to his bloud c. Druthmarus Monke of S. Benet in his commentary vppon Saint Mathew The wine refresheth and augmenteth the bloud for that cause the bloud of Christ is not vnproperly figured by the same in asmuch as all that commeth vnto vs from him doth make vs glad with a true ioye and increaseth all our goodnesse c. A little before he sayth The Lord gaue vnto his disciples the Sacrament of his body in remission of theyr sinnes and for to keepe loue and charitie to the end that hauing remembraunce of that deede he would doo alwayes in a figure that which he ought to doo for them and shoulde not forget that charytie This is my body that is to say in Sacrament c. Origen vpon Leuiticus in the .7 homely Knowe that these are figures which are wrytten in the holy bookes and therefore they ought to be examined as spiritually and not as carnall and to vnderstand the thinges which are sayd For if you doo receiue those thinges here as carnall they doo hurt you and not nourish you for the letter which killeth is not only found in the old testament but also in the Gospell in the new testament The letter killeth him which considereth not spiritually the thinges which are spoken For if thou follow according to the letter that whiche is sayd except that you doo not eate my flesh and drinke my bloud that letter killeth Wylt thou that I doo aledge vnto thee an other letter of the Gospell which killeth He which hath not a sword saith he let him sell his coate and buy one Doest thou see that letter is of the Gospell but it killeth truely if thou receiue it spiritually it kylleth not but in the same is the quickening spirite and therefore receiue spiritually the thinges which are spoken be it in the Lawe or in the Gospell For the spirituall man iudgeth all thinges but he him selfe is iudged of no man c. Denys in the ecclesiasticall Hierarchia Saith The Byshoppe after that hee shall haue ended by preaching the heauenly giftes he consecrateth and blesseth the holy misteryes and that which he before hath preached he setteth before euery one couert and hidde by venerable signes and tokens And after that he hath shewed his heauenly gyftes in all reuerence he turneth him selfe to the holy communion of them admonishing all other to communycate and after that the holy communion is receyued of euery one rendring thanks vnto God he maketh an end of the mistery Obiec Hoc est corpus meū this is my body Aunswere When God gaue the circumcision to Abraham he made his couenant before the circumcision and yet he called the circumcision his couenant or alliance saying Hoc est pactum meum This is my couenant S. Paule expoundeth the same saying Abraham hath receyued the signe of circumcision as a seale of the righteousnesse of fayth God sayd to the Prophet Ezechiel thou sonne of man take a tyle stone and laye it before thee and describe vpon it the citie of Ierusalem after he saith this same is Ierusalem Hoc est corpus meum Augustine vpon Leuiticus 9. .7.57 also he wryteth agaynst Adamant The thing whiche signifieth hath of custome bene called of the name of the thing which is signified As it is wrytten the seuen eares are seuen yeeres The Scripture sayth not that they signifie seuen yeeres And the seuen kyne are seuen yeeres and many such thinges In lyke manner sayth S. Paule that the Rocke was christ and not that it signified Christ but as if it had ben him in very deede the which notwithstanding was not Christ by substance but by figuration c. Augustine wryting to Boniface Epistle 23. If the Sacraments haue no certayne similitude or agreeing with the things of which they are sacramentes they shall be in no maner of wyse Sacramentes For they take oftentimes the names of the things themselues by reason of that similitude As the Sacrament of the bodie of Christe is after one fashion or maner the bodie of Christ and the sacrament of the bloude of Christ the bloude of Christ Also the Sacramente of Fayth is the fayth Irenaeus agaynst the heretike Valens in his 4. booke 34. Chapter The breade with the which wee render thanks vnto God although that it be of the earth yet neuerthelesse when the name of God is inuocated and called vpon it is not the common breade but of giuing of thankes hauing two things in it the one earthly and the other heauenly c. Gelasius writing against Eutyches and Nestorius and also to the Counsell of Rome in the Chapter Comperimus de consecrat Distin. 2. The Sacramentes of the bodie and of the bloude of the Lorde Iesus Christe which we take they are heauenly things whereby we are made partakers by them of the diuine nature And yet neuerthelesse the substance of the breade and of the wine remayne there still and trulye the image and the similitude of the bodie and of the bloude of Christ are celebrated in the doing of the mysteries Then that is euidently shewed vnto vs which we must fele in Iesus Christ our Lorde yea the same which we protest celebrate and are in his image to the ende that euen as the natures are conuerted and chaunged into the diuine substance by the meanes of the holye spirite and yet neuerthelesse they abyde in their natures Also the same principall ministerie whose efficacie and vertue is trulye represented vnto vs by the things whereof it consisteth whiche abide
of this breade hee shall liue for euer the breade that I will giue is my fleshe which I will giue for the life of the worlde c. That which I deliuered vnto you I receyued of the Lorde to wit That the Lorde Iesus the same night in whiche he was betrayed tooke breade and when he had giuen thankes he brake it and sayd Take ye eate ye this is my bodie which is broken for you this doe ye in remembrance of me After the same maner also he tooke the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the newe testament in my bloude this doe as ofte as ye drinke it in remembrance of me For as often as ye shall eate this breade and drinke this Cuppe yee shewe the Lordes death till he come Wherefore whosoeuer shall eate this breade and drinke this Cuppe of the Lorde vnworthily shall be guiltie of the bodie and bloude of the Lorde Let a man therefore examine himselfe and so let him eate of this breade and drinke of this Cup. Is not the Cup of blessing whiche we blesse the Communion of the bloude of Christe Is not the Breade which wee breake the Communion of the bodie of Christ Bicause that we whiche are manye are one breade and one bodie in as muche as wee are all partakers of one breade Our fathers haue all eaten the same spirituall meate and did all drinke the same spirituall drinke for they dranke of the spirituall rocke that followed them and that rocke was Christ I am the breade of life he that commeth to me shall not hunger and he that beleeueth on me shal neuer thurst c. This is that breade which commeth downe from heauen that he whiche eateth of it shoulde not die Augustine in his 2. Quinqua vpon the 96. Psalme When the Lorde commaunded this he spake of his fleshe and sayde He that eateth not my fleshe shall not haue eternall lyfe And sayd The words that I speake vnto you are spirite and life Vnderstand spiritually that which I haue sayde vnto you you shall not eate that bodie whiche you do see you shall not drinke the bloud which shall be shedde by them which will crucifie me Augustine vpon Saint Iohn in the 27. treatise vpon the 6 Chapter If ye shoulde see the sonne of man ascend vp where he was before What is this By that he resolueth those whom he hath knowen of that he manyfested the thing whereby they haue ben offended For they did thinke that he would giue vnto them his body but hee sayth that hee will ascend vp into heauen all whole saying when yee shall see the sonne of man ascend vp where he was before at the least you shall see then that he doth not giue his bodie in the same maner as ye thinke and iudge at the least you shal then vnderstand that his grace is not consumed by morsels c. Augustine in his Sermon of the Sacramentes of the faithfull in the 2. ferie of Easter And for this cause as also the men of God haue vnderstoode it before vs our Lorde Iesus Christ hath recommended his body and his blood to the thinges which of many are reduced and brought into one thing For also the one of many Graynes is confecte and made into one and the other of many Grapes is reduced into one he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him Then to eate this meate and to drink this drinke is to dwell in Christ and to haue our dwelling in him And so hee that dwelleth not in Christ and in whome Christ doth not dwell without doubt hee eateth not the flesh and drinketh not the bloud although that he eate and drinke the Sacrament of so great a thing to his iudgement Augustine in his .3 booke of the christian doctrine If you eate not sayth he the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke not his blood you shall haue no life in you It seemeth that he doth commaund an vnlawful thing or a fault That is then a fygure commaunding that it must be communicated to the passion of our Lorde and gentlye and profitablye to put in memorye that his fleshe hath bene wounded and crucified for vs. Augustine of the words of the Apostle in his .2 sermon Saith If ye eate not my flesh and drinke not my blood ye shall haue no life in you c. The disciples were offended not all truly but many of them saying within themselues This is an harde saying who can abide the hearing of it What doth this signifie Doth this offende you Did you thinke that of this bodie here whiche you doe see I ought to make peeces and that I shoulde deuyde in peeces my members for to giue them vnto you What and if you shoulde see the sonne of man ascende vp where he was before Truly he which is ascended vp all whole cannot be consumed c. What is it to drinke this thing but to liue Eate the lyfe drinke the lyfe thou shalte haue lyfe and thou shalt be the whole lyfe And then this shall be that is to saye that the bodie and bloude of Christ shall be the lyfe of euerye one if that which they do take visibly in the sacrament be in dede spiritually eaten and drunke For we haue hearde the Lorde himselfe saying It is the spirite that quickeneth the fleshe profiteth nothing The wordes that I speake vnto you are spirite and life Augustine in his Decrees of penance in the 2. distinction Chapiter of Charitie To eate the breade and drinke the wyne that is to beleeue in Christ and in louing him to giue our selues vnto him Bede in his Collection These are also the wordes of Saint Augustine in his sermon made to the children at the aultar of the Sacrament The Cuppe of blessing c. That which ye see in the Aulter ye haue also seene it the night past But you haue not yet vnderstoode what it doth signifie and howe it conteyneth a Sacrament of a greate thing That then whiche ye haue seene is bread and wine the which your eyes doo demonstrate vnto you But that which your faith desireth to be instructed in the bread is the body of Christ and the wine the blood And that truly is brefly sayde in asmuch peraduenture that it suffiseth the fayth but the fayth desireth to be instructed for the Prophet sayth If ye beleeue not you shall not vnderstand Yee may then say vnto me thou hast commanded that we should beleeue expound it to the ende that we may vnderstand it For such cogitacion and thought may enter into the mindes and vnderstanding of euery one we doo know very well from whence our Lord Iesus Christ hath taken his flesh that is to say of the Virgin Mary he was nourished vp in his infancie he was brought vp he became great and came to the age of a young man He
suffered persecution by the Iewes He hath ben hanged on the tree and dyed on the tree and was buryed and rose againe the third day and ascended into heauen the day it pleased him There he eleuated his body and from thence he shall come to iudge the quicke and the dead there he sitteth now at the right hand of the father How then is the bread his body And the cuppe or that which the cuppe conteineth how is that his blood My bretheren therefore are these thinges here called Sacramentes because that in them one thing is seene and an other thing is vnderstoode That which we see in a corporall likenesse but that which we vnderstand to a spirituall fruite He that receaueth the mistery of vnity and keepeth not the bond of neace he receiueth not by him the mistery but receaueth a witnesse agaynst him selfe And no man ought in any thing to doubt but that then euery faithfull man is partaker of the body and of the blood of the Lorde As to baptisme he is made a member of Christ and is not depryued from the company of that bread and of that cuppe also when hee which is constituted in the vnitie of the body of Christ shall depart out of this world before he doo eate that bread and drinke the cuppe for also he is not depryued from the participation and from the benefite of that Sacrament whiche hath found that which the Sacrament dooth signifie Prosper in his booke of sentences He that abydeth in Christ and in whom Christ dwelleth hath taken the meate of lyfe and hath drunke the drinke of the eternitie For he whiche discordeth from Christ doth not eate the fleshe of Christ nor drinketh his bloud Although that he doe take euery daye indifferently the Sacrament of so great a thing according to his iudgement Innocent in his thirde booke of the holy Aultar 4. 13. 14. Chapter Iudas sayth he hath eaten the Lordes breade but he hath not eaten the breade which was the Lorde Saint Hilarie in his 8. booke of the Trinitie The breade which descended from heauen is not receiued but of him which hath the Lorde and which is the true member of him Augustine in his 49. treatise vpon Saint Iohn the 11. Chapter If fayth be in vs Christ is in vs For what other thing sayeth the Apostle Christ dwelleth in your heartes through fayth but that through the fayth whiche thou hast of Christ Christ is in thy heart Augustine vpon Saint Iohn in his 25. treatise and 6 Chapter This is then to eate the meate not that which perisheth but which abideth vnto eternall lyfe Wherefore make ready thou the teeth and the belly beleeue and thou hast eaten c. Saint Cyprian in his Sermon of the vnction of Christ. Our Lorde Iesus Christ hath giuen in the table in the whiche he hath made his last banket with his Apostles the breade and the wyne with his owne hands but he hath giuen his bodye for to be wounded on the Crosse by the handes of the souldiers c. Augustine vpon Saint Iohn in the 26. Homely Sayth All we haue very well this daye receyued the visible meate but it is another thing of the Sacrament and of the vertue of the same From whence commeth it that many doe come vnto the aultar and take to their condemnation that which they receyue For the morsell of breade which our Lord gaue vnto Iudas was poyson vnto him not for that it was euill but bicause the man which tooke it was euill he tooke it euill c. A little after he sayth the Sacrament of this that is to saye the spirituall vnitie whiche we haue with Christ is presented vnto vs at the Lordes table to the one to lyfe to the others to death A little before hee hath sayde He which shall eate shall not die but I doe vnderstande it of him whiche shall haue the veritie of the Sacrament and not the visible Sacrament whiche shall eate him inwardlye and not outwardly whiche shall eate him in the heart and not crashe him with the teeth In what sense the auncient Doctors of the Church haue vnderstoode this place Hoc est corpus meum This is my bodye S. Augustine wryting against Adamantius the disciple of Manichaeus in the 12. Epistle Saith after this manner I maye interpret that this commandement cōsisteth in a signe for the Lord hath made it no doubt to say This is my body when hee gaue the signe of his body In the same place he sayth these three thinges The blood is water Behold my body And the rocke was Christ He teacheth these thinges to be sayde as though he spake by figure in signe and by signification Tertullian in his .4 booke against Marcion Sayth after this sort Iesus Christ after he toke the bread and distributed it to his disciples made it his body in saying this is my body That is to say saith he the signe of my body Chrisostome vpon S. Mathewe in the .83 homily the .26 chapter called the symbole of the supper and signe of the body of Christ. Augustine in his first quinquagesima in his prologue of the 3. psalm Saith Christ receiued Iudas vnto his supper in the which he recommended and gaue the figure of his body and of his blood to his disciples Chrisostome vpon S. Mathew in the .83 homelye Saith When the Heritickes say how shall it appeare that Christ hath ben offered We wyll stoppe their mouthes thus if Iesus Christ be not dead to what ende shall that sacrifice be a signe Saint Ierome vpon the 26. Chapter of S. Mathewe After that he acomplished the mysticall Passeouer or Easter had eaten the flesh of the Lambe with his Apostles He toke the breade which comforteth the heart of man and passed further to come vnto the Sacrament of the true Easter That euen as Melchisedech the highe Priest of the souereygne God hath done in the figure of this in offering of breade and wyne Euen so he representeth the veritie of his bodie and of his bloude Saint Ambrose vpon the first Epistle to the Corinthians the 11. Chap. Forasmuch as we are deliuered by the death of the Lorde hauing recordation thereof in eating and drinking wee doe signifie the fleshe and the bloude the which haue bene offered for vs c. Chrysostome vpon the 22. psalme Christ hath ordeyned the table of his holye Supper to the ende that in that sacrament he doe shewe vnto vs daylye the breade and the wine for the similitude of his bodie and of his bloude Saint Ambrose in his 6. booke of the Sacramentes the first Chapter The Priest sayth Make this oblation to bee acceptable vnto vs the whiche is the figure of the bodie and bloude of oure Lorde c. Chrysostome in the 83. Homelie vpon Saint Mathewe If thou haddest bene withoute a bodie hee woulde haue giuen thee all his signes naked and bare but bicause that thy soule is ioyned to a
and remembrance of the fleshe of Christ which he offered for vs and of his bloude which he hath shed Augustine in his 10. booke of the Citie of god Chap. 5. The visible sacrament is the testament that is to saye the holy signe of the inuisible sacrifice Chrysostome in the 7. homilye vpon the Epistle to the Hebrues We doe offer in deede but that which we doe offer we doe it in remembraunce of his death for that which we doe is done in remembraunce of that which hath bene done For he sayth doe this in remembraunce of me we doe not make it any other sacrifice as the priest doth But wee doe alwayes the very same and for to tell you better we doe the remembraunce of the sacrifice which hath ben done The Apostle vnto the Hebrues we doe by him offer the sacrifice of laude alwayes vnto God that is to say the fruite of those lippes which confesse his name I beseche you therefore bretheren by the mercifulnesse of God that yee make your bodies a quick sacryfice holy and acceptable vnto God which is your resonable seruing of God. The prophet Oseas O forgiue vs all our sinnes receiue vs graciouslye and then wyll we offer thee bullockes of our lippes vnto thee S. Paule sayth I was filled after that I had receiued of Epaphroditus the which came from you an odour that smelleth sweete a sacrifice acceptable and pleasant to God. Lactantius Firmianus in his 6. booke the .24 .25 chapters Iesus Christ sa yt I haue pleasure in mercy and not in offring Math. 9. Mat. 12. Oseas .6 and the 1. of Samuel 15. Pope Gregory in his .16 decretall the .7 question Pope Gregory in his decretals adiudgeth him culpable of Idolatry which shall heare the masse of a priest that is a whore monger or which shall communicate at his Sacramentes and Sacrafices Francis Maro in his suffrages for the deade He which causeth a masse to be sayde by an vnchast or whore maister priest or which is in deadly sinne it profiteth nothing neyther to the liuing nor to the deade The Apostle to the Hebrues the lawe which hath but the shadowe of good things to come and not things in their owne fashion can neuer with the sacrifices which they offer yearely make the commers therevnto perfect Agayne it is impossible that the bloud of Oxen and of Goates should take away sinnes Also Lo I come to do thy will O God c. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the bodie of Iesus Christ once for all Moreouer This man after he had offred one sacrifice for sinnes sat him downe for euer on the right hand of God. Likewyse with one offring hath hee perfected for euer those that are sanctified Agayne theyr sinnes and iniquities wyll I remember no more And where remission of these thinges is there is no more offring for sinnes Also he sayth not that Iesus Christ doth offer him selfe often as the hie priest entred into the holy place euery yeere with strange bloud for then must he haue often suffred sence the world began c. That there is but two Sacramentes in the church of Iesus Christe Augustine in his .3 booke of the christian doctrine the .9 chapter But in this time hereafter that the manyfest iudgement of our liberty is reuealed by the resurrection of the Lorde wee are not ouermuch charged through heauy operacions and workinges of signes which we already doe vnderstand But the same Lord hath giuen by the doctrine of the Apostles a certayne little number in steede of many which are easye to doe and good to vnderstand and most chast to keepe As is the Sacrament of baptisme and the celebration of the body and bloud of the lord And when euery one doth vse them being instructed to what ende they serue he shall acknowledge them not with a carnall seruitude and bondage but to honor them in the liberty of the spirite And as it is a seruyle infirmytie to follow the letter and to take the signes for the thinges which are signified by them so is it an euill error to interprete vnprofitably the signes c. Augustine wryting to Ianuarius in the 118. Epistle I would that thou shouldest knowe that our Lorde Iesus as he him selfe saith in the Gospell hath submitted vs to an easie yoke and light burthen And therefore he hath ordayned in the christian church a fewe Sacramentes in number easie to be kept excellent in significacion as the Baptisme consecrated in the name of the Trinitie and the communication of the body and bloud of the lord And if there be any other thing commaunded in the Scripture c. Augustine vpon S. Iohn in the .80 homelye The word being adioyned to the Clement it shal be made a Sacrament How we ought to vnderstand this word Sacrament Sacrament Mystery Secrete is all one and is vnderstoode for an hidde and vnknowen thing the which notwithstanding is reuealed at a certayne time when it pleaseth the goodnesse of God. Reede Tob. 12. Daniell 2. Sapien. 2. 1. Cor. 4. Ephe. 5. Ephes 1. Ephes 3. Collos 1.1 Timoth. 3. Apocal. 7. Of confession to God and of auricular confession Dauid sayth in the .32 psalm I haue acknowledged my sinne vnto thee and mine vnrighteousnesse haue I not hydde I sayd I wyll confesse my sinnes vnto the Lord and so thou forgauest the wickednesse of my sinne Againe I acknowledge my faultes and my sinne is euer before me Agaynst thee only haue I sinned and done this euill in thy sight If we acknowledge our sinnes he is faythfull and iuste to forgiue vs our sinnes and to clense vs from all vnrighteousnesse Acknowledge your faults one to an other and pray one for an other Eccles 28. Ephe. 4. Collos 3. If thy brother trespasse against thee c. Reade Luke 17. Deut. 17. 1. Cor. 5.2 Cor. 13. Augustine in his 10. booke of confessions the 2. chapter What haue I to doe then with men that they should heare my confessions As though they should heale my griefes That is a curyous kinde of people to know another mans life and slowe to correct and amend their owne wherefore doe they demaund of me to heare what I am where they wyll not heare of thee what they are And how doe they know when they doe heare me wheather I doe speake true when in deede no man knoweth that which is done in the man but the spirit of the man which is in him c. Chrysostome in the 12. chapter to the Hebrewes 3. homily and in the 4. tome 41. homily I doe not say vnto thee that thou accuse thy selfe openly nor before others But I would that thou shouldest obay the Prophet which saith reuele vnto the Lorde thy way acknowledg then thy sinnes before God pronounce thy vnrighteousnesse with prayer to the true Iudge not with the tongue but by the
torment Be ye ioyfull and reioyce to be enrovvled in their bande for to beare vvith them the yoke of Iesus Christ perseuere valiantly in the doctrine that you haue already receiued for no man can hurt you Ought vve not greatly to reioyce of this that the persecuting tyrantes can doe our bodyes no more hurt then a vvolfe or theefe of the vvoods vvhich can but murther or kill vs Let vs reioyce for our names are vvritten in heauen VVe haue yet this good turne thankes be vnto our good God therefore that the persecutors can do vnto vs no vvorse then to to put and place vs vvith our good God in the company of Angelles and all the blessed soules in heauen VVhat is he that vvould not desire to goe playe vvith so happy a company eternally and vvithout ende Yea to be in glory vvhich the eye hath not seene and eare hath not heard neyther hath entred into mans minde the thinges vvhich God hath prepared to such as loue him Againe forasmuch as they esteeme and court vs so vvicked and abhominable and crye so spitefully after vs as after the vvickedest people of all the vvorld to make vs and our doctrine odious vnto the people They commaund them not to heare or harken vnto vs they make the simple people beleeue vvhen they haue them vnder confession that if they doe not accuse vs they shall be damned Their craft subtiltye and enuye agaynste the truth is to be maruayled at In the meane time I vvould vvillingly that they vvould accord and agree vvith vs to conferre their doctrine vvith ours their crosse and persecution vvith ours their lyfe vvith ours theyr church vvith ours By that means vve should plainly see vvhether they be the childrē of God or vve First of all haue not vve the baptisme purely administred as vve doe reade that the Apostles haue administred it vvithout any inuentions of men but onely according to the vvord of God Let one reade the Scriptures and he shall see vvho it is that hath added to the Sacramentes eyther vve or they Furthermore let men behold the persecutions that they suffer for their doctrine the number is soone counted for there is not one vvhich hath suffred death for their doctrine neuerthelesse Iesus Christ hath promised that his church shal haue persecution in the vvorld saying ye shall be hated of all men for my name Hovv can they be hated of all men sith that they be in all places the best vvelcome Hovv commeth it that one shoulde thinke to doe sacrifice vnto God in putting them to death I did neuer knovve any I doe accord and agree in this that they are often times taken prisoners but it is in the good feastes and bankettes and in the best seates of the table and vvhereas the children of God are burned vvith fire they here are burned throughe the heate of VVine Their innocent fleshe is hevven and cut in peeces but it is at the table vpon their treachers They are rotten and consumed vvith the Goute of Naples insomuch that they fall in peces They are melted and melted againe many times in a yeere Besides all the dangers they put them selues into both day and night to runne after other mens vvyues in great danger of their life And yet some vvill say that they are not persecuted It appeareth that they be for one shall see a great many more among them to dye Martyrs of the paines that vve did speake of euen novv then of their naturall diseases or sicknesses They are then Martyres no man can denie yea but it is of the diuell and vvhat is he that doubteth of it And as concerning their life it is knovven vvell inough and manyfested vnto all men Their good vvorkes and godly fruites vvhat it bringeth in all places destroying and corrupting all the vvorlde asvvell spiritually as corporally This I am sure of that forasmuch as I haue touched and medled but vvith the doore of their kitchin they vvill say I am a vvicked Hereticke But vvhat then Shoulde I hold my peace for their menaces and iniuries No no God forbid but rather I vvill crye vvith open mouth after them bicause they haue so corrupted and destroyed the Lordes Vineyard Alas alas my God vvhat is he that ought not but to lament and vveepe vvith bloudy teares seeing all the vvorld to be so led into the bottome of hell so many poore soules led to perdition O Lord regard thy poore people haue some pitie and compassion on them for vvhom thy sonne our Lorde Iesus Christ hath offred to thee his body and bloud in a sacrifice and suffer not that thy poore sheepe be so put as a pray for to be deuoured of al beastes For vve are dayly assaulted vvith so many ennemyes that sathan riseth agaynst vs for to make vs forsake and abandon our Lord Iesus Christ and to renounce his Gospell One day vve haue vvarre agaynst the Heretickes Anabaptistes an other day agaynst Libertines Epicures Arians Dauidistes and agaynst dissemblers and consequently against the vvorshippers of the fathers through vvhose zeale the children of God are put to death Haue not vve then great neede of vveapons It appeareth yea if vve vvould not be taken in their snares as many at this day are through the iust iudgement of God. Therefore if there be any time to pray or to vvatch it is novve Let vs then vvatch and praye to the end vve may auoyde all those dangers and perseuer and continevve to the ende You haue bene the first of your citie dearely beloued I also doe hope in the Lord you shall not be the last But as you haue bene vntill novv the example and myrror of the poore ignorant people to dravve them to the true light of the spirite I doe hope through the grace of God that nothing shall hinder you to continevve vnto the end on so holy a vvorke For the poore ignorant people seeing the peace and vnitie and the promptnesse and good courage that is in you to receiue the holy doctrine are constrayned through your holy life and conuersation to come vnto the knovvledge of Iesus Christ and consequently to saluation Forasmuch then as the Lord doth vnto you dayly so much good or shevveth vnto you so much of his grace shevving vnto you from day to day his maruaylous vvorkes set to so your handes in the vvorke of the Lord so long as he giueth you time and life that you doe not leaue for your children that shall come after you an euill example of life but instruct them in that holy doctrine that you haue receiued to the ende they may knovve after your death that they had fathers and mothers that feared God and vvell instructed in his vvord and that they haue not receyued the gospell in their mouthe onely but also in their handes And that they vvere not dissemblers but true confessors of the name of God. Dispose and bestovve then vvhilest you haue time so vvell your affayres and
properly in their being doe demonstrate vnto vs that onely Christ abydeth altogither wholy and in his veritie The Councell of Nice Let vs not staye here belowe on the breade and wyne whiche are sette on the Lordes table but let vs lift vppe our spirites on high through fayth Let vs consider that the lambe of God whiche taketh away the sinnes of the world is in that holy table the whiche is not offered in sacrifice by the Priestes after the manner of beastes And in taking his precious bodie and his bloude let vs beleeue that they are the signes and tokens of our resurrection And for the same cause we eate not much but a little to the ende we may know that the same is not ordeyned for to fill our bellye withall but for to serue to sanctitie and holynesse c. Saint Ambrose in his booke of those which are dedicated to the mysteries Before the consecration one kinde or likenesse is named but after the consecration the body of Christ is signified Christe sayth that his bloud before the consecration is called an other thing but after the consecration is signified the bloud of Christe c. S. Ciprian in his sermon of penitent sinners Speaking of the mayd which did vomit out the Sacrament The drinke sanctified in the bloud of the Lord issued out of the polluted entrailes Chrisostome wryting to Caesar the Monke Before the consecration of the breade we doo call it bread but when the grace of God hath sanctified it by the priest it is deliuered from the name of bread and is exalted to the name of the body of the Lorde although that the nature of the bread abydeth alwayes and is not called two bodyes but one body of the sonne of GOD. Augustine vppon S. Iohn in his 80. homelye Iesus Christ sayth not that you are cleane bicause of the baptisme by the which you haue ben washed but he sayth it bycause of the word which I haue sayd vnto you That is for none other cause but that the word doth wash and clense you in the water If one doo take away the word what shall the water be but water Which if the word be ioyned to the element it shall be made a Sacrament and the word it selfe is made as visible from whence commeth so great vertue to the water that in touching the body it washeth the hart but by meanes of the word Not alwayes bicause that the word is pronounced but bicause that one beleeueth For in the worde it selfe truly there is a difference betwene the sound passing and the vertue abyding The Rubrycke wrytten in redde letters whiche is called cautela Missae If the body of the Lord be found within the armorye or pyxe to be rotten or mustye through to great moystnesse of the armorye or through to great negligence in not changing it If none can be founde which wyll receiue it that the sayd body of the Lorde be burned and the asshes put in a certayne halowed place Item if the sayd body of the Lorde be found within the sayd armorye to be eaten parte of it with Myce or Spiders if none can bee found which wyll receiue it that it be burned and the asshes put in a halowed place Item if any that is sicke who hauing receiued the sayd body of the Lord and through the infirmitie of his stomacke is constrayned to vomite it vp agayne if none can be found which wyll take that refection that the sayd body of the Lorde be burned and the asshes put into an halowed place S. Peter aunswereth to the same in his sermon Thou shalt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption S. Paule sayth asmuche in his sermon that he made to the people of Antioche saying He whome God raysed agayne sawe no corruption also God hath raysed him from death for to returne no more to corruption How our Lord Iesus Christ according to his Humanite cannot be but in one place S. Ambrose wryting vpon S. Luke in his 10. booke We ought not to seeke thee vpon earth nor in the earth nor according to the flesh if we wyll finde thee For we may not knowe now Iesus Christ after the fleshe S. Stephen did not seeke him vpon earth who did see him at the right hand of god But Mary which sought him in the earth had not the power to touche him Stephen hath touched him for he sought him in heauen Augustine in his 2. Quinquagesima psalme 54. Vntill such time as the heauen shal end the Lord shall be alwayes on high but the truth of the Lord is here with vs For it must nedes be that the body with which he rose agayne be in one certayne place but his truth is spread abroad euery where Augustine wryting to Dardanus in the 67. Epistle Doubt not that Iesus Christ as touching his manhod is not there where we doe looke for him And doe remember that which we confesse in our crede That he rose agayne and ascended into heauen and that he shall come from thence and not from any other place to iudge the quick and the dead And he shall come according to the witnesse of the Angell as they haue seene him ascend in that same visible form and in the same substance to the which he hath giuen immortalitie But he hath not taken frō him his nature according to the forme and substance of his body we must not think that he is dispersed euery where for we must take heede so to affirme his deytie that we destroy not his humayne nature Therefore it followeth not that all which is in God is God. Augustine vpon S. Iohn in his 30. treatyse The body of Christ is raysed vp from death and it must needes be that it is in one place If ye then be rysen agayne with Christ seeke those thinges which are aboue where Christ sitteth at the righ hand of god Thinke on the thinges which are aboue but not on those which are on earth Iesus Christ sayth I am yet a little while with you and then goe I vnto him that sent me Also the poore ye haue alwayes with you but me ye shall not haue alwayes My little children yet a little whyle am I with you ye shall seeke me and as I sayd vnto the Iewes wheither I goe thither can ye not come Again I go to prepare a place for you I wyll returne agayne and receiue you euen vnto my selfe that you may be there where I am also I tell you the truth it is expedient for you that I goe away For yf I goe not away that comforter wyll not come vnto you But if I depart I wyll send him vnto you I came out from my father and came into the world Againe I leaue the world and goe to my father Also the Angell sayde vnto the women I knowe that ye seeke Iesus whiche was crucified he is not
there were brought vnto him more than sixe thousande heades of little children whiche had bene cast in there for to couer and hide the whoredome of the Priestes and other Ecclesiasticall persons Wherefore Gregorie seeing the same was constrayned to saye condemning the decree that he had made against the maryage of the ecclesiasticall persons The Apostle saithe it is better to marye then to burne And I say also for my part that it is better to mary then to giue occasion of death This Epistle was founde in a library of the towne of Hollande called Aldwater Of vowes S. Ambrose vpon the fyrst to the Corinthians 7. Chap. NO man ought to be constrayned least hauing forbid things that are lawfull he doe fall into thinges vnlawfull The counsell of Toledo .8 did permitte to breake the vowes and othes made against the faith Dauid sinned in swearing that he would put to death Nabal and all his men hee did very well to breake that vowe whiche was against God And therefore he praysed greatly God for that he letted him to shead bloud by Abigail Herode made a vowe to giue vnto the daughter of Herodias that daunced before him whatsoeuer shee would aske And she being before instructed of hir mother said giue me here Iohn Baptist his heade in a platter And the king sorowed neuerthelesse for his othes sake for their sakes which sat also at the table he commaunded it to be giuen hir He did euill in fulfilling that vowe against God. Saule did euill to vowe to put to deathe his sonne Ionathas who was hindred to accomplishe his vowe by the people God hath sayde and commaunded thou shalt not kill Iephtha vowed a vowe vnto the Lorde and sayde if thou shalt deliuer the children of Ammon into my handes then that thing that commeth out of the dores of my house against me when I com home in peace from the children of Ammon shall be the Lordes and I will offer it vp a burnt offring After the wars were ended he came home and see his daughter came out against him with Timbreles and daunces And when he sawe hir he rente his clothes and sayde Alas my daughter thou hast made me stoupe and art one of them that trouble me For I haue opened my mouth vnto the Lorde and cannot goe backe c. And he killed his daughter against the commandement of God which forbyddeth to kill Saint Cyprian the Martyr of Iesus Christ. 11. Epistle fyrst booke If the virgins haue giuen them selues with a good wil vnto Christ let them perseuere in chastitie not dissembling being so strong and constant that they attend the rewarde of their virginnitie if they will not or cannot perseuere it is better for them to mary then to be throwne hedlong into the fire through their pleasures The counsel of Arausique or Orenge the 11. chapter hath decreed that we can vowe nothing rightly vnto God but that which we haue receiued at his hand In asmuch as all thinges which we can offer vnto him are gyftes proceeding from him The counsell of Gangres in Galatia in a Canon and rule saith if any of those which keepe virginitie for the loue of Iesus Christe doe eleuate them selues against those that are maryed let them bee excommunicated or giuen to the diuell In an other Canon it is saide when a man bicause of dissembling countenance vseth strange apparell beleeuing that thereby he hath righteousnesse in him selfe and despiseth others which with honesty and reuerence doe weare caps and other comely apparell that he be excommunicated Iohn le Maire of the difference of schismes and of the counsels of the Churche Pope Gregory the seuenth was the first which made a lawe that priestes shoulde not mary Platyna in the life of Pope Pius .2 or Aeneas Syluius The Pope Pius borne at Senee aforenamed Aeneas Syluius among other prouerbes which he was wont to speake was accustomed also to saye by good right and by good cause they haue taken awaye maryage from priestes but for better cause they ought to restore it vnto them againe Iesus Christ sayth in vayne they worshippe me teaching for doctrines whiche are but mens preceptes All plantes whiche my heauenly father hath not planted shall be plucked vp by the rootes It is better to mary then to burne Of the church and howe it may be knowen and of hir authorytie Chrysostome vpon S. Mathewe .48 homily .24 Chapter THere be some who doe greatly seduce althoughe that it be through liyng yet neuerthelesse they doe preache Christe they declare the faith For they also haue orders and priestes aswell as the faithfull They doe also reade the holy Scriptures Also they doe thinke that they do giue the same Baptisme and the same Sacramentes of the body and of the bloud of Christe likewyse they doe honor the Apostles Martyrs and thereby doe cause the thoughtes of men greatly to erre not onely of the meane and simple people but also of the prudent and wyse Who shall he be whom Antechrist will not moue partly doing the workes of Christe and fulfilling al the offyces of the Christans before the Christians excepte it bee paraduenture hee which considereth that which the Apostle hath sayde Forasmuch then as Sathan himselfe is changed into the fashion of an angell of light Therefore it is no great matter though his ministers fashion them selues as though they were the ministers of righteousnesse whose ende shall be according to their deedes and not after the fayning and forme of their christianitie Chrysostome vpon S. Mathew 9. Homilie Chapt. 24. All the Christians in this present time ought to conferre themselues in the holye Scriptures For sithence the time that heresie hath obtayned and gotten hir churches men can haue no certayne proofe or triall of true christianitie And there can be no other refuge for the Christians who are willing to know the truth of the faith but the holy Scriptures Afterwardes he sayth Whosoeuer then will knowe what the true church of Iesus Christ is howe shall he knowe it but onely by the Scriptures Saint Augustine 2. Tome 166. Epistle In the holy Scriptures we haue learned Iesus Christ and in the Church we haue commonly those holye Scriptures Wherefore then is it that in them we kepe and holde not altogither in common both Iesus Christ and his Church S. Augustine .7 Tome in the Epistle against Petilian a Donatist Chapter 2. 3. 4. Amongst vs and the Donatistes is a question where the Church is What is it then that we shall doe Ought we to seke it in our wordes or in those of our heade Iesus Christ Truly we ought to seeke it in the wordes of him whiche is the truth and which also knoweth his bodie Chrysostome vpon Saint Mathewe 49. Homilie Chap. 24. Heresies are the bandes and troupe of the souldiers of Antichrist chiefly those whiche haue obtayned the place
good than to make them such For the wicked do profite nothing but the good doe very muche empayre Afterwardes hee concludeth Beholde the murmuring and common complaynt of all Churches they doe crie out that they are cut in peeces and dismembred There are very fewe or almost none whiche doe not feare the stroke or wounde Doest thou demaunde what The Abbots are drawen away from their Bishops the Bishops from their Archbishops It is great maruayle if one can excuse the same In doing so you doe shewe very wel that you haue fulnesse of power but not of Iustice You doe the same bicause that you can doe it but the question is whether you ought to doe it You are there constituted and placed for to keepe and preserue vnto euery one his honour and his degree and not for to beare him enuie and malice In the 34. distinction Chapter Lector Glose and distinct 82. Chap. Presbyter Glose And in the Canon of the Apostles .17 quest 4. Chapt. And distinct 40. Chapt. Si Papa And distinction .96 Chapt. Satis And Chapter Simplici And Incipitis It is written in those Canons that the Popes haue such power and authoritie that they may dispence agaynst the Apostolicall doctrine and agaynst the right of nature and consequently agaynst the Gospell and the worde of god For the Pope hath all the rightes as well diuine as humane in the inwarde partes of his brest wherefore he ought to iudge euerye man and ought to be iudged of none Insomuch that though he should lead a great number of people into hell yet no mortall man ought to presume to rebuke his faultes For he is God which cannot be iudged of men Saint Paule aunswereth vnto the same saying Let no man deceiue you by anye meanes for the Lorde commeth not except there come a departing first and that that sinnefull man be opened the sonne of perdition which is an aduersary is exalted aboue all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he shall sitte as God in the Temple of God and shewe himselfe as God. Saint Hilary in his booke against Auxentius Whosoeuer denieth Christe to be suche as he hath bene preached by the Apostles he is Antechrist The property of the name of Antechriste is to bee contrary vnto Christe The Priestes doe saye that the Pope cannot erre neyther the counsels Iesus Christ hath sayde vnto S. Peter I haue prayed for thee that thy faith faile not Vnto the same their owne Canons doe aunswere in the .40 distinction Chap. which beginneth Si Papa If the Pope doe fall into an error in the in the faith and that he be an Hereticke one may very well rebuke and checke him in his faultes Pope Alexander the .6 speaking once vnto an Embassador of the king of Fraunce vnto whome he had these wordes this fable of Iesus Christe hath gotten vnto vs great riches Sanazarius an Italian Poet in his Epigrammes in the .2 booke Speaking of that Pope Alexander noting the inceste of him with his owne daughter Lucrecia and asking hir Lucrecia wil Alexander desire thee alwayes afterwardes aunswered O wicked case it is thy father Behold the witnesse whiche the writers of his time haue declared of that head of the churche Abbas Vrspurgensis reciteth of Gregory the .7 otherwise called Hildebrand That the common wealth of Rome and all the Churche hath bene vnder him in great danger through the error of newe schismes and not heard of and that he hath vsurped the Papall seate through tyrannye and not by lawfull election The counsell holden at Wormes in the yeere .1080 Affirmed of Gregory the seuenth that it is most true that he was not chosen of god but that hee exalted him selfe without all shame through disceit and money and that he hath turned vpside downe the ecclesiasticall order and that he hath troubled the kingdome of the Christian Empyre and that he hath attempted the deathe both of the bodye and soule of that Catholicke and quiet king and that he hath defended and holden vp the wicked and periured king and that he hath sowen discorde among those that agreed togither and strifes amongest the peace makers and offences amongest brethren and diuorcement betweene maryed folke and that he hath remoued and troubled all that was at reste quiet and in peace betweene the good lyuers We being assembled togither of God agaynst the sayde Hyldebrand preaching sacriledges and fires mayntayning periured persons and homycides or men slears putting in question or doubt the catholicke and Apostolicke faith of the body and bloud of the Lorde being an obseruer and keeper of diuinacion and coniuring and of dreames and a most manifest Necromancyer hauing familiar spirites and for that cause swaruing from the true faith we doe iudge that he ought to be canonically deposed driuen away banished and condemned perpetually if he doe not leaue of his seate after that he hath heard these thinges Benno Cardinall in the life of the sayde Gregorye Amongest many wickednesses that he alledged of him sayde that he alwayes vsed to beare about with him a booke of Necromancye the which was vnto him very familiar and that he did cast through his enchauntments the consecrated hoste into a fire that by that meanes he might faine to haue had a heauenly reuelation against the Emperor Henry Benno alledgeth for witnesse Iohn Byshop of Porta Secretary of the said Hildebrand Platyna in the lyfe of Iohn the 8. And Sabellicus lib. 1. of the 9. Ennead The woman called Iohn the eyght was borne in Englande and hir parents were of Mentz She followed in hir yong age a yong scholler in the studies of learning and profited so well at studie that she was esteemed at Rome amongst the wysest for which cause she was chosen to be Pope thinking that shee had bene a man and was chosen with as great consent as euer was Pope following still the studie that she had learned with hir studie felow At the time that she was chosen Pope she was founde with childe with one of hir owne seruants who perceiuing hirself big knewe so well to prouide for hir great bellye that none coulde perceiue it vntill such time as she trauayled of childe in the open streete and in the open procession vppon the shoulders of those that did beare hir dyed in the same trauayle the second yere after hir Papacie One maye nowe well see whether the Pope cannot erre Platyna in the life of Syluester And Sabellicus Lib. 2. of the 9. Ennead Syluester the 2. was a Monke in his youth afterwards did giue himselfe vnto the diuell as a right sorcerer vpon condicion that his bodie and soule should be his after his death Prouided that the diuell doe helpe to obtayne that that he desireth by which meanes he came afterwardes to be Pope Platyna in the life of Bennet 8. And Sabellicus lib. 2. of the 9. Ennead
woundes suche people haue more neede of Gods medicine or helpe c. Chrysostome vpon the .21 Chapter of S. Mathewe 39 homily And when he was come into the temple the cheefe priestes and the elders of the people came vnto him as he was teaching and sayde By what authoritie doest thou these thinges and who gaue thee this power They declared that there was some which did giue power vnto men be it corporall or spirituall As if they had said thus thou art not engendred of the sacerdotall family the Senat hath not permitted thee to doe this Ceasar hath not giuen it thee but if they had beleeued that all power is from God they woulde neuer haue asked who hath giuen thee this power knowing that euery good gift and euery perfect gifte is from aboue and commeth downe from the father of lightes and that a man can receiue nothing at all except it be giuen him from heauen Of the assemblies and congregations of the faithfull Saint Hilary against Auxentius I Praye you O ye Byshoppes whiche doe thinke your selues to be so what suffrages haue the Apostles vsed for to preach the gospell with what power were they ayded for to preache Christ and as it were to change all Gentils from images to God haue they taken any dignitie of the palace in singing of Himnes Psalmes vnto God in prison being in yrons and chaynes and afterwarde to be whipped and scourged Did Paule assemble the Churche of Christ by the Kings Edicte when he was as a spectacle in the theater He did defende himselfe as I beleeue by Nero or Vespasian or Decius through whose hatred and malice the confession of the heauenly preaching hath flourished they nourishing and keeping themselues with their owne handie labour in assembling themselues togither within chambers and secret places and by the stretes and villages did enuiron and compasse about almost all people by lande and by water against the decrees and ordinaunces of the Senators and Edictes of the Kings Tertullian in his Apologie against the Gentiles .29 Chapter This assemblie of the Christians should be very vnlawfull if it were like or equall vnto the vnlawfull things it shoulde bee worthilye condemned if it were complayned of as of a faction or sect But whome haue we endammaged or hurt by our assembling and meeting togither wee are the very same as when we were all dispersed asunder euerye one by himselfe not hurting any man When wyse men and good and faythfull people doe assemble themselues togither we must not call that a faction or sect but rather a court And on the contrary we must applye the name of faction vnto those which hate good mē that crie agaynste the bloude of the innocents vnder colour of their vnitie and for defence of their hatred forasmuche as they doe esteme and iudge that the Christians are the causes of all losses and common mishaps If the riuer Tyber mounteth or swelleth aboue the walles If the riuer Nylus doe not descende vppon the fieldes If the heauen doe stande still If the earth tremble If there be famine or pestilence by and by they crie after the Christians for to cast them into the lyons denne Saint Luke declareth in the Actes the order of the primitiue Church that the faythfull assembled themselues oftentimes in the fieldes saying thus On the Saboth day we went out of the citie besides a ryuer where they were wont to praye and wee sate downe and spake vnto the women which resorted thither c. They assembled themselues togither in the night within chambers for to preach the word celebrate the Lords supper as it appeareth by that which is written And the first day after the Saboth the disciples being come togither fo to breake breade Paule preached vnto them redy to depart on the morowe and continued the preaching vnto midnight And there were many lightes in an vpper chamber where we were gathered togither c. And when the dayes were ended we departed and went our wayes and they all brought vs on our way with their wyues and children till we were come our of the citie and we kneeling downe on the shore prayed c. Tertullian in his Apologie 39 Chapter We coming and assembling our selues togither doe pray for the Emperors for their seruants and for the magistrates for the estate of the worlde for peace c. We are assembled to make commemoration of the diuine scriptures we doe feede and nourishe the fayth with voyce and holye wordes we hope well we plant and graffe most stronglye our fayth and doe trauayle much to imprint in the hearts the discipline of the commaundements c. Tertullian in his Apologie 30. Chap. We christians haue our eyes eleuated vnto heauen and our handes streched out bicause they are innocente and the heade bare and vncouered bicause we are not ashamed and we doe it without bydding For we doe pray with the hearte we pray alwayes for all the Emperors that God would giue them long life and assured empyre and a trusty and sure house mightye in battayle a faithfull counsell good people a quiet worlde and all that man and the Emperour can desire I may not demaunde and aske these thinges but of him of whom I doe know I shal obtaine them for it is he onely that will giue it and I am he that ought to require it that is to say his seruant which doe honor him and which haue in reuerence him only which am killed for his doctrine and discipline and whiche doe offer the best and greatest sacrifice that he hath commaunded that is to saye the prayer that proceedeth from a chast body and from the innocent soule and from the holy ghoste Not with little graines of incence of small valew nor also with the teares of the tree of Arabie nor those two drops of wine neither the bloud of a wicked man that desireth his owne deathe c. Plinie in the .10 booke of his Epistles 317. Epistle The Emperor Traianus did sende him a commaundement commaunding him to make enquirye of the faithfull and of their manner of liuing and afterward to persecute them Plinie did write againe vnto the Emperor that after he had throughly enquired yea with most cruelty and tormentes vntill suche time as he deliuered them into the handes of the hangmen to see them executed he neuer did finde anye other thing but that the faithfull haue accustomed to assemble them selues togither at certayne times in the morning before daye and when they were come togither they did sing prayses and psalmes vnto Christe as vnto god c. If any wyll see more amplye these thinges let him reade the ecclesiasticall history and there he shall finde howe the faithfull did assemble them selues in the mountaines in caues and dennes for feare of persecutions As it is declared in the historye of Theodorite after this manner When that the faithfull