yt that in the booke that the bretherne that are here haue sent ouer to prent Tyndale and hys felowes to bydylde the worlde wyth all purpose to make many chaunges and amende and aduaunce hys parte vnderpropyng yt wyth they re own proper lyes yet shal y e meanes be metely well founden to controll they re falshed I truste and to take awaye theyr clokes and lyue hys foly bare And than shall men playnely se that of one whome the bretherne boste for so wyse there neuer dyed in Englange byfore any false heretyque so folyshe ¶ But now as touchynge this new come ouer boke whyche the maker hath entitled The super of the lord though the man haue named yt the souper of our sauyour Chryste yet hathe the man made yt the souper of the deuyll ¶ The specyall effecte of all hys whole purpose is to fede vs wyth the moste poysoned heresye that laboreth to kyll the catholyque christen fayth concernynge the blessed sacra ment of the autare all be yt by the waye he putteth forthe dyuerse other heresye besyde ¶ Thys vsauerye souper of his withoute any corne of salte and spyced all wyth poyson he dyuydeth as yt were into two courses that ys to wytte into the treatynge and 〈◊〉 of two specyall thynges spe cyfyed in the gospell of Chryste wherby chrysten people playnely perceyue that in the blessed sacramēt of th aulter is the very blessed bodye of Chryste his very fieshe and hys bloude ¶ In the fyrste parte whych I call here his fyrst course occupyenge the tone halfe of his boke he treateth the wordes of Chryste spoken in the syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ why che wordes our sauyour speketh of the eatyng of his flesh and drynkyng of hys bloude ¶ In his secunde parte whyche I call hys secund course he treateth y e maundye of Chryste wyth hys apostles vpon shere thursday wherin our sauyour actually dyd instytute y t blessed sacrament therin veryly gaue his awne very fleshe and blood to his twelne apostles hym selfe ¶ I shal therfore diuyde this worke of myne into two partes in lyke wise of whyche twayne this shall be the fyrste wherin I shall detect make euery man perceyue thys mannys euyll coquery in hys fyrste course concernynge the treatynge of Chrystes wordes in the syxt chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ ¶ And all be yt y t I shall afterward send you forth my secunde parte also agaynst his secunde course yet shall I so handle thys mannes myscheuouse heresye in this fyrst part that though I neuer wrote worde more herafter of the mater yet to the perceyuynge of the trouth and deteccyon of his falsed this fyrst part might suffyse for all the whole mater ¶ In hys fyrste parte he forste expowneth the later parte of his syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ and by hys declaracyon laboreth to drawe men from the perceyuynge of the trouth and setteth forth also both his pryncypall heresye and ouer that dyuerse other ¶ Also in the same parte he argueth agaynste all men in generall that expowne any of those wordes of Crist there spoken to be ment by Chryste of the very eatynge of hys fleshe as the catholyque chyrch byleueth in the blessed sacrament ¶ In that fyrste parte also he argueth agaynste me by name in specyall and pretendeth to soyle such argumentes as I made in my letter agaynste the poysoned treatyse that John Fryth had before made in that mater agaynst the blessed sacrament ¶ In that parte also the man bryngeth in two placys all in great which he hath pyked out by longe leysoure amonge all my bokes in eyther of whyche two places he sheweth that I haue notably contraryed myn own wrytynge that I haue wryten my self in other places before sheweth also the places where ¶ I shall therfore good readers in thys fyrste parte of myne gyue you fyue bokes and some of them very shorte ¶ In the fyrst wyll I geue you the exposycion of the selfe same wordes of Chryste mencyoned in the syxte chapyter of saynt John by whyche who so conferre them and consyder them togyther shall I trust perceiue well the fashed of his exposycyon not be deceiued therby And for myne exposycyon ye shall not geue me the thanke For I haue but pyked it out here and there out of the wrytynges of dyuers olde holy menne ¶ The seconde shall shew you for a sample some of the fawtes both in folies and errours that the man hath made vs in his exposycyon ¶ The thyrde shal answere soyle hys wyse reasons wyth whyche he wolde make all men folys that haue expowned that place before cōtrary to hys here sye now that is to wytte all the olde holy doctours and saynte frome thapostses dayes vnto oure owne tyme. ¶ In y e fourth shall ye se what wyt and what sernyng he sheweth in soysynge of myne argumentes made be fore in that mater agaynst his felow Iohn̄ Fryth ¶ The fyfth shall declare you the dylygence that the man hath done in sekyng out my neglygence leuynge some places in my wrytynge repugnaūt contrary the tone place to the tother And of such place ye shall as I sayd se hym with dylygent serche of thre yere at laste brynge you forth twayne And there shall you se good chrysten reders that in those twayn my neglygence shall for all his dylygence proue hym twyse a fole ¶ But in the treatyng of this mater with hym I shall lacke somwhat of the commodyte that the man hath in dysputynge wyth me For he hath a greate pleasure of tetymes nowe in one maner now in another now to talke of me and nowe to speke to me by name wyth thus sayth More and 〈◊〉 mayster More and sometyme maysier Mocke and let More mocke on and lye to and many such goodly garnyshynge mo But he wyll be for hys owne parte sure that I shall not dyspute wyth hym by name and therfore he kepeth it awaye ¶ And therfore what foly and what falsed be founden in his boke he forceth very lytell For shame he thynketh he can none take therby whyle folke knowe not hys name ¶ Wherin he fareth myche lyke to some bestely body y t wolde not care to sytte downe wyth hys face to the walwarde and ease hym selfe in the open strete and though all the towne at onys tote in his tayle take it for no shame at all bycause they se not hys face ¶ And veryly as we se somtyme that suche as walke in visours haue mych the lesse fere and shame bothe what they do and what they saye bycause they thynke theym selfe vnknowen so do these folke oftentymes lytell force what they wryte that vse to putte out theyr bookes and set not theyr names vnto theym They thynke theym selfe vnsene whyle 〈◊〉 name is vnknowen and therfore they fere not the shame of theyr foly As some haue I sene 〈◊〉 thys full boldely come daunce in a maske whose dauncynge bycame thē so
wyth the bare onely fayth that these heretykes preche but with the well wurkyng faith y t the catholyke chyrche techeth they shal be saued sayth our sauyour from eternall hunger thyrst The. x. chapyter BUt than goth Crist ferther and she weth them y t they lacke thys meat though it stand before thē And she weth thē also by what mene they may gete it Lothus he sayd vn to them But I haue tolde you y t both you haue sene me and you haue not byleued as though he wold say you haue sene me done myracles and yet it hath not made you byleue ¶ He bode thē before y t they sholde wurke to gete the lyuely meate and he told them after y t the wurke which they shold wurke to gete it with was fayth bylief And he wrought 〈◊〉 cles whiche they saw to make them byleue And now he she weth thē y t for all this they haue not y e bylief yet but yet muste wurke labour to haue it ¶ Than myghte they haue asked hym whych way may we come to it But bycause they asked hym not he of his hygh goodnesse tolde them the meane vnasked and sayd All that my father gyueth me shall come to me As though he wold saye Though my father haue sent me downe to caae you to me and though I preche to you and tell you the trouth at your eare worke myracles before you that you may se thē at your eyen ye and fede you by myracles putte them euyn in your bely yet can you neuer come to me by fayth but yf my father brynge you Neuer can you be myne by fayth but yf my father gyue you me Now yf ye knowe of any good guyde that could brynge you to the place whyther ye wold fayne go where you sholde fynde the thynge that ye wolde fayne haue what wold you do wold you not labour to hym wolde you not pray and entreat hym to go with you guyde you thyther Now haue I told you who cā bryng you to me by fayth that is to wytte god my father and therfore labour to hym to guyde you to me pray hym to geue you to me wythout whose helpe ye can neuer come to me It is I tell you no smale thynge to byleue in me For but yf the grace of my father fyrst preuent you ye can neuer begynne to thynke thereon But he hath now preuented you by sendynge me to call vppon you Now be it yet for all that but yf he go forth wyth you and helpe to lede you forwarde you maye faynte fall and 〈◊〉 stylle by the waye come no ferther forth toward me But now he helpeth you forwarde by myne outwarde myracles whyche hym selfe worketh with me But yet except he wurke wyth you inwardly with his inward helpe to draw you you cā for al this 〈◊〉 come at me Call well vpō hym ther fore pray hym to draw you bryng you geue you to me which if you do endeuour your selfe for your own parte as I bode you before to wurke and walke wyth hym toward me be shall surely brynge you in to faith and by fayth in to hope and in to cheryte bothe and so gyue you gracyousely to me And than shall I geue you the lyuely meat that I spake of yf ye wyll abyde with me For hym that commeth to me wyll I not caste out Let hym loke that he caste not hym selfe out For surely I wyll not yf hym selfe wyll abyde For it is my fathers wyll that I sholde not and I am descended from heuyn not to do my wyll but to do the wyll of hym that hath sent me And thys ys veryly the wyll of the father that sent me that all that he hath gyuen me I sholde lese nothynge therof but that I sholde reyse vppe that agayne in the laste daye The. xi chapyter THese wordes myghte good readers seme to an vnchrysten man or to a false christened Arryane to sygnyfye that our sauyour were not 〈◊〉 god with his father in that he speketh so often as in ma ny mo 〈◊〉 of scrypture he speketh more often that he is obedyent to hys 〈◊〉 and that his father sent hym and that he is lesse than hys father and many suche other placys by whyche the olde Arriane 〈◊〉 defended theyr 〈◊〉 agaynste the godhed of Chryste in hys person as these Lutherane heretyques and these Huyskyns zuynglians and Tyndalyns draw now diuerse other textes to y e mayntenaunce of theyr false heresyes agaynst the precyous body and bloud of Cryst in his blessed sacrament ¶ But as good chrysten men well know that these newe heretykes are falsely now deceyued in the tone so know they to that those olde heretykes were falsely than deceyued in y e tother ¶ For all the minorite and the obedience that the scrypture speketh of in Chryste is all ment of his manhed whyche was lesse in 〈◊〉 and not of his goodhed for they were bothe equale ¶ For how coulde they be in godhed vnequale whan that in godhed they were bothe one though in persons di uerse And therfore 〈◊〉 sauyour by his godhed hath the selfe same wyll that hys father hath and none other as he hath the same wytte the same myght the same nature the same substaunce and finally the same godhed and none other And therfore what so euer the tone doth the tother dothe as the sone was sent by the father so was he also sent bothe by hym selfe and by the holy goost to And whan y e holy goost was sent he was sent bothe by the father and y e sone by him selfe also But incarnate was there no mo but the sone alone who as he had by hys godhed none other wyll but the very selfe same that hys father had and the holy goost so had he by his manhed another seuerall wyll and propre vnto the persone of his manhede it selfe as euery man hath his owne And of that wyll is it that he sayth I am descēded from heuyn not to do my wyll but y e wyll of hym that sent me for in the wyll of hys manhed he obayed the godhed ¶ But nowe yf thys obedyence be vnderstanden of hys manhed how can it stande wyth these wordes of his I am descended from heuyn not to do my wyll but the wyll of hym that sent me With that poynt good reader shall no mā nede to be moued For syth bothe the godhed and manhed were ioyned and vned together bothe in the one person of Chryste that whole person myghte saye of it selfe suche thynges as were veryfyed and trewe in any of the bothe naturys For lyke as a man maye saye of hym selfe I shall dye and retorne into the erthe and yet that shall not hys soule do but his body onely and I shall after my dethe go forth with to ioy or to payne and yet that shall not hys body do by and by but
them But there is vndowtedly a certayne maner of eatynge that flesshe and drynkynge that bloude in whyche maner he that eateth it and drynketh it dwelleth in Cryste and Cryste in hym And therfore not who so euer eate the flesshe of Cryste and drynke hys bloude dwelleth in Cryste and Cryste in hym but he that eateth it and drynketh it after a certayne maner whyche maner Cryste saw whan he spake the wordes ¶ Here you se good readers that saint Austayn she weth that Iudas in the sacramēt receyued dyd eate y t body of Cryst and declareth also the very whole thyng that he meneth cō cernyng the vnderstandyng of this word of Crist He y t 〈◊〉 my flesh and drynketh my bloude dwelleth in me and I in hym that is to wyt they y u eate it in a certeyn maner by which he meneth they y t eat it wel in y t state of grace as he playnely declareth bothe in hys exposycyon vppon saint Iohn̄s gospel and many sundry pla ces bysyde ¶ And those that receyue hym other wyse with a fayned hart and in purpose of deadely synne they folo we Iudas and shortely shew them self For suche as they were wont to be such wyll they be styll or yet rather mych wurse if they were before veri nought And therfore sayth saynt Au stayn y t a mā to eate y e flesh of Crist is to dwell in Cryst to haue Cryst dwellyng in hym For he y t dwelleth not ī Crist wel declareth y t though he haue receyued eatē his flesh into his body by the sacramēt yet hath he not receyued eatē his spirit as I sayde into hys soule and therfore hath not receyued and eaten his fiesshe effectually but without theffecte of the spyryte and lyfe whiche is the thyng wherby the flesshe geuyth the lyfe and wythout whiche as our sauyour saith his flesh auayleth vs nothyng And so for lacke of the spyrytuall eatynge the flesshely eater of his flesh though he receyue the sacrament receyueth not theffecte of the sacramēt the thynge that the sacrament sygnyfyeth that is the partycypacyon of y e mystycall body of Chryste that is to wytte the chyrche and congregacyon of all sayntes whyche chyrch and cō gregacyon is gathered togyther as many mēbres into one body Cryste as the brede whyche our lorde in the sacramēt chaungeth into hys blessed body is one lose made of many gray nes of whete and the wyne whyche he chaungeth into his bloude is one cuppe of wine made of many grapes as thapostle declareth ¶ And veryly to be a quycke lyuely member of that body doth no man attayne that receyueth the sacrament without fayth and purpose of good lyfe but waxeth a more weke membre a more lame more astonied and more losely hangynge theron than he dyd before and by suche often receyuynge so rotteth more and more that finally it falleth quyte of and is cast out into the dunghyll of hell and shal neuer be resuscytate reysed agayne to be made a membre of that body in glory ¶ But as saynt Austayne sayth yf a man after the receyuynge of the sacrament do dwell siyll in god that is to wytte abyde and perseuer in trew fayth and good wurkes than is it a good synge and token that he hath effectually eaten the flessh of Cryst in the blessed sacrament And therupon muste it nedes good crysten reader folow y t he that receyueth the blessed sacramēt well eateth therin y e flesh of Cryst not onely veryly whyche euery man doth good bad but also which onely the good foske do effec tually so dwelleth in Cryste and Cryste in hym perseuerauntly that man or woman without dowt it must nedes be that they can neuer euerlastyngly dye but Cryst dwellyng in them shall conserue theyr soules and resuscytate agayn theyr bodyes that so dwell in hym into euerlastynge lyfe The. xix chapyter 〈◊〉 the surety and vnfallyble profe wherof our sauiour said forth with vpō his worde afore remē bred forther vnto the Jewes as the lyuynge father sent me so also do I lyue for my father And he that eateth me shall lyue also for me ¶ The father of heuyn beynge the orygynall substaunce of lyfe before all begynnyng begate hys coeternall sone and gaue vnto hym his owne whole substaūce therfore his own whole lyfe as to hym whome he begate one equale god wyth hym selfe in nothynge dyfferent but in onely persone ¶ The father I saye gaue all hys owne whole lyfe to his sone and yet none therof from hym self And ther fore sayth our sauyour Cryste that hym selfe lyueth for or by his father And so y t man saith he that eateth me shall lyue thorow me For syth that by the very eatyng of hys very blessed body the eater but yf hym selfe be the let is ioyned wyth the flesshe of Chryst as holy saynt Cyrill hath declared and therby with that holy spyryt of hys also whyche from that holy flesshe is vnseparable and so ioyned vnto the very substaunce of lyfe that is lyfe and geueth lyfe to he can not but lyue thorow Chryste ¶ 〈◊〉 this our sauyour fynally for conclusyon telleth them that this brede also is come frō heuyn sayeng Thys is the brede that is descended from heuyn Not meanynge that his flesshe was fyrst in heuē and so sent downe from thense as some heretyhes haue ere this holden an opynyō but that hys body was in the blessed virgyn hys mother by the heuynly obumbracyon of the holy goste And also syth hys godhed and hys manhed were ioyned and knytte togyther in very vnite of person our sauyour vsed that maner of spekynge by the tone that he vsed by the tother And therfore as he sayde vnto Nichodemus the sone of man descēded from heuyn so sayth he here of hys flessh this is the brede that is descended frō heuyn ¶ And bycause that the Iewys had in the begynnynge of this cōmunicacyon bosted vnto hym the brede of manna bryngynge forth for y e preyse therof the wordes of the prophete Thou hast geuyn them brede from heuyn Our lord here shewed theym that thys brede that he wolde geue them to eate that is to wyt his owne very flesshe as hym self very playnely declared them is of an other ma ner descēded down frō heuen thā the manna whose descendynge from heuyn they in the begynnynge bosted so And therfore he sayd Thys is the brede that is descended from heuyn not as your fathers dyd eate manna are dede He that eateth thys bred shall lyue for euer As though he wold say This is another maner of brede otherwyse come from heuyn than manna was that ye boste of so For that bred was gyuen you but for the sustenaunce of the lyfe in thys worlde but this brede y t is myne own body conceyued by the holy goost in vnyte of person ioyned wyth my godhed as verily as it is ioyned with myne
geue it men to eate for the lyfe that men sholde haue by the eatynge of it And therfore he pursueth forth bothe vpon the eatynge therof and vppon the lyfe that they shall lacke that wyll not eate it and of the lyfe that they shall haue that wyll eate it So that as I saye Chryste spake and ment after the mynde of some holy cunnynge men but of the eatynge onely but by all good men of the eatyng specyally and without any maner questyon of the eatynge moste playnely as of whiche he speketh by name expressely And of hys deth yf he there spake of it as diuers holy doctours thynke he dyd yet he spake it so couertly y t he rather ment it than sayd it as the thynge wherof he nothynge named but onely the ge uynge to eate So that where as mayster Masker argueth y t Chryste nothynge ment of geuynge of hys flesshe to be eaten in the sacrament but onely of his flessh to be crucified bycause that yf he hadde ment of his flesshe to be eatyn in the sacrament he coulde and wolde haue tolde them playnely so ye se now good readers very playne proued by the self same place that syth mayster Masker can not saye nay but that of his body to be geuyn by deth Chryst could haue spoken myche more playnely than he dyd in that place as well as he could haue spoken more playnely of the geuynge of hys body to be eaten in the blessed sacrament mayster Mas kers owne argument yf it were aught as it is nought vtterly destroyeth all his owne exposycyon whole And therfore ye maye se that the man is a wyse man and well ouer seen in arguynge The. ii chapyter IN the. xi lefe he hath an other argument towarde whiche he maketh a blynde induccyon byfore And bycause ye shall se that I wyll not go about to begyle you I wyll reherse you his induccyon fyrst and than his argumēt after These arre his wordes Whan the Iewes wolde not vnderstande thys spyrytuall sayenge of the eatynge of Chrystes flessh and drynkynge of his bloude so ofte and so playnely declared he gaue them a stronge tryppe and made them more blynde for they so deserued if suche are the secrete iudgementes of god addyng vnto all hys sayenges thus who so eate my flessh and drynke my bloude abydeth in me and I in hym These wordes were spoken vnto the 〈◊〉 into theyr farther obstynacyō but vnto the faythfull for theyr better instruccyon Now gather of thys the contrary and saye who so eateth not my flessh and drynketh not my bloude abydeth not in me nor I in hym ioyne thys to that foresayd sentence excepte ye eate the flesshe of the sone of man and drynke hys bloude ye haue no lyfe in you Lette it neuer fall 〈◊〉 thy mynd chrysten reader that fayth is the lyfe of the ryghtwyse and that Chryst is thye lyuynge brede whom thou eatest that is to saye in whom thou byleuest ¶ Here is mayster Masker fall to iuglynge so and as a iugser layeth forth hys trynclettes vpon the table and byddeth men loke on this loke on that and blo we in hys hande and than with certayne straunge wordes to make men muse whurseth his iuglynge stycke about his fyngers to make men loke vpon that whyle he playeth a false caste and conuayeth with y e tother hand some thynge slyly into his purse or his sleue or some where out of syght so fareth maister Masker here that maketh Christes holy worde serue hym for his iugling boxes and sayeth them forth vppon the borde afore vs and byddeth vs lo loke on this texte and than soke so vpon this and whan he hath she wed forth thus two or thre textes and byd vs loke vpon them he telleth vs not wherfore nor what we shall fynde in thē But bycause they be so playne agaynste hym he letteth them slynke awaye and than to blere our eyen and call our mynde fro the mater vp he taketh his iuglynge stycke the cōmendacyon of fayth and whyrleth that about hys fyngers and sayeth Let it neuer fall fro thy mynde chrysten reader that sayth is the lyfe of the ryghtuouse and that Chryst is thys lyuynge brede whom thou eatest that is to saye in whom thou byleueft ¶ What are these wordes good chry sien reader to the purpose All thys wyll I pray you remember to But I wyll pray you remēber there with all where about this iugeler goth y t wolde with bryddynge vs loke vppe here vppon fayth iugle awaye one great poynt of farth from vs and make vs take no hede of Chrystes wordes playnely spoken here of the very eatyng of his holy flesshe And therfore let vs remēber fayth as be byddeth But let vs remember well therwith specially this piece therof y t this iugler with byddynge vs remēbre wold fayne haue vs forgette ¶ But now after thys induccyon forth he cometh with his wyse argu ment in this wyse For yf our popystes take eatyng and drynkyng here bodyly as to eate the naturall body of Chryste vnder the forme of brede and to drynke his bloud vnder the forme of wyne than must all yonge chyldren that neuer came at goddes borde departed and al lay men that neuer dranke his bloude be dampned If our sauyour Chryste whyche is the waye to trouth and the trouth it selfe and the very trewe lyfe also coulde and wold say false and breke his promyse by whyche he promysed his chyrche to be therwith hym selfe vnto the worldes ende and to sende it also the spyrite of trouth that shold teche it and sede it into al trouth than wolde there of trouth bothe of these wordes of Chryste and these other wordes of his also But yf a man be borne agayne of the water and the holy goost he can not se the kyngdom of god and of many other wordes of his mo many greate dowtes aryse ryght harde and inexplycable But now am I very sure sith trouth can not be but trew Chrystes promyse shall euer stande and be kepte ther fore shall his chyrche euer more by y e meane of his holy spyryte which maketh men of one maner and mynde in the howse of his chyrche so fall in a concorde and agrement togyther vppon the trew sense and so be led into euery necessary trewth that by misse takynge of any parte of scrypture it shall neuer be suffred to fall into any dampnable errour Whiche thynge what pratynge so euer mayster masker make I haue so often so surely proued for the comen knowen catholyke chyrch of good and badde bothe agaynst Willy ā T indale y t neyther he nor all these heretikes among thē all shall neuer be able to voyde it ¶ Now as for his argument concernynge laye men of age it were alytell more stronge yf the blessed body of our lorde were in the blessed sacramēt vnder forme of brede with out his bloude whiche whyle it ys not nor theyr
For he confuteth you mayster Masker you se well a lytell more clerer than I. And than whyther of them twayne ye shal byleue and take for the more credyble man mayster Masker or holy saynt Chrysostom euery mannye owne wytte that any wyt hath wyll well serue hym to se. The. iiii chapyter BUt mayster Masker to shewe you a ferther declaracyon of his wytte forth with vpon his wyse and wurshypfull exposycyon of those wordes of Chryst he repeteth that fonde argument agayne that Chryst ment not of eatynge his flesshe in the sacrament bycause that yf he hadde ment it he coulde and wolde haue de clared his menynge more playnely And in that mater thus maister Mas ker sayth Here myght Chryste haue 〈◊〉 his 〈◊〉 the trouth of the eatynge of hys fieshe in forme of brede had thys ben his menynge For he 〈◊〉 them neuer in any perplexite or dowt but sought all the wayes by symylytudes and famylyare examples to teche them playnely he neuer spake them so harde a parable but where he perceyued theyr feble ignoraunce anone he helpt them and declared it them ye and somtymes he preuented theyr askynge wyth his owne declaracyon And thynke ye not that he dyd not so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 veryly For he came to teache vs and not to leue vs in any dowt and ignoraunce especyally the chyefe poynt of our saluacyon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 standeth in the bylyefe in hys deth for our synnys Wherfore to put them out of all dowt as concernyng this eatyng of his flessh and drynkyng of his bloud that sholde geue euerlastynge lyfe where they 〈◊〉 it for his very body to be eaten with theyr tethe he sayed It is the 〈◊〉 that geueth this lyfe My flesshe profyteth nothynge at all to be eaten as 〈◊〉 meane so 〈◊〉 It is spyrytuall meate that I here speke of It is my spyryt that draweth the har tes of men to me by fayth and so refresheth them gostesy ye be therfore carnal to thynke that I speke of my flesshe to be eaten bodyly For so it profyteth yow nothynge at all How longe wyll you be wyth out vnderstandyng It is my spyryte I tell you that geueth lyfe My flesshe profyteth you nothynge to eate it but to byleue that it shal be crucyfyed suffre for the redempcyon of the worlde it profyteth And when ye thus byleue than eate 〈◊〉 my flesshe and drynke my bloude that is ye byleue in me to suffre for your synnes The veryte hath spoken these wor des My flesshe profyteth nothyng at all it canne not therfore be false For bothe the Iewes and hys dyscyples murmured and dysputed of his flessh how it sholde be eaten and not of the offerynge therof for our synnes as Chryst ment Thys therfore is the fure anker to holde vs by agaynst all the obieccions of the 〈◊〉 for the eatynge of Chrystes body as they say in forme of brede Chryst sayd My flesh profyteth nothyng menyng to eate it bodely Thys is the key that solueth all theyr argumentes openeth the waye to shew 〈◊〉 all theyr false and abomy nable 〈◊〉 lyes vppon Chrystes wordes and vttereth theyr sleyght ingesynge ouer the brede to mayntayne 〈◊〉 kyngdome therwyth And thus when Chryste had declared it and taught them that it was not the bodyly eatynge of hys materyall body but the eatynge wyth the spyryte of faythe he added sayenge The wordes whyche I here speke vnto you 〈◊〉 spyryte and lyfe that is to saye thys mater that I here haue spoken of with so many wordes must be spyrytually vnderstanden to geue ye this lyfe euerlastynge wherfore the cause why ye vnderstand me not is that ye byleue not Here is lo the conclusyon of all hys sermon ¶ Many a fonde processe haue I redde good chrysten readers but neuer redde I neyther a more folysshe nor a more false than this is For the effecte and the purpose of al this pro cesse is that Chryst in all his wordes spoken in thys syxte chapiter of saint IohnÌ„ ment nothynge of the eatyng of his blessed body in the blessed sacrament but onely of an alle gorycal eatynge of his body by whyche he ment onely that they sholde byleue that he sholde be crucyfyed 〈◊〉 shedde his bloude and dye for redempcyon of the worlde ¶ Now that our saniour bysyde al such allegories other spirituall vnderstaÌ„dings playnely ment of y e very eatyng of his blessed body in the bles sed sacrament you haue good reders all redy sene by so many holy doctours and sayntes whose playn wor des I haue rehersed you that no maÌ„ can dowte but that in the whole conclusyon of his argument and his exposycyon mayster 〈◊〉 hath a shamefull fall except any maÌ„ dowt whyther mayster Masker be better to be byleued alone or those holy doc tours amonge them all ¶ But now thys false conclusyon of hys how febly and how folyshely he defendeth y t is euyn a very great pleasure to se. ¶ In this processe hath he ii poynts The fyrste is that Chryste coulde wolde haue made it open and playne in thys place by clere and euydent worde yf he had ment of the eatynge of his flesshe in the sacrament The second is that by these wordê It is the spyryte that geueth lyfe my fleshe profyteth nothynge at all The wordes that I haue spoken to you be spyryte and lyfe Chryste doth playn and clerely declare both that he ment not the eatynge of his flesshe in the sa crament and also that he ment onely the bylyefe that he sholde dye for the synne of the worlde ¶ Now touchynge his fyrste folysh poynt I haue confuted it all redy shewed you some samples where Chryste coulde at some tyme haue declared the mater mych more openly than he dyd and that in great maters of our fayth For I thynke the sacrament of baptysme is a pryncypall poynt of our fayth And yet Chryste taught not Nichodemus all that he coulde haue tolde hym therin as I sayd before ¶ And longeth it nothyng to y e fayth to byleue the remyssyon of mortall sinnes I suppose yes And yet could Chryste yf he had wolde haue decla red more clerely those worde of his who so blaspheme the sone of man it shal be forgeuen hym But he that blasphemeth the holy gooste it shall neyther be forgeueÌ„ him in this world nor in the world to come ¶ No good chrysten man thynketh other but that it is a pryncypall artycle of the chrysten fayth to byleue y t Chryst is one equale god with his father And yet Chryste albe it that by all places sette togyther he hath declared it clere inough in conclusion to them that wyll not be wylfull contencyouse yet dyd he not in euery place where he spake therof declare the mater so clerely as he could haue done yf he than hadde wolde whiche appereth by that that in some other places he declared it more clerely af ter And yet in all the places of the
he reherseth as hym selfe maketh theym new These were good readÌ„er my worde And ouer this the very cyrcuÌ„stauÌ„ces of the places in the gospell in whych our sauiour speketh of that sacrameÌ„t may wel make open the dyfference of his spech in this mater of all those other that as he spake all those but iÌ„ an allegory so spake he this plainly menyng y t he spake of his very body his very bloud beside al 〈◊〉 For neyther whan our lorde sayde he was a very vyne nor whan he sayde he was the dore there was none that herde hym that any thynge meruayled therof And why for bycause they perceyued well that he ment not that he was a materyall vyne in dede nor a materyall dore neyther But whan he sayd that his flesh was very mete and his blood was very drynke and that they shold not haue lyfe in them but yf they dyd eate his flesshe and drynke his blood than were they all moste all in suche a wonder therof that they could not abyde And wher fore but bycause they preceyued wel by his wordes and his maner of cyrcumstaunces vsed in the spekynge of them that Chryste spake of his very flesshe and his very blood in ded For ellys the straungenesse of the wordes wold haue made them to haue taken it as well for an allegorye as eyther his wordes of the vyne or of the dore And than wolde they haue no more merueyled at the tone than they dyd at the tother But now where as at the vyne and the dore they merueyled nothynge yet at the eatynge of his flesshe and drynkynge of his blood they so sore merueyled and were so sore moued and thought the mater so harde the wonder so great 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 allegorye but spake of hys very flesshe and hys very bloude in dede ¶ Lo good readers here I speke of Chrystes very flesshe and his very bloud as the trouth is in dede But here I saye not as mayster masker sayth I saye that Christ ment of his flesshe and his bloude in suche wyse as the Iewes thought that forsoke hym therfore whych thought as you haue herde that they sholde eate hys flleshe in the selfe fleshely forme and also pyecemele in lothly dede go bettes without eyther lyfe or spiryt ¶ And nowe that you haue sene hys trouth in rehersynge you shal se a shewof his sharpe sotle wit in the soy lynge wherin fyrst after his iuglyng fashyon to carye y e reder wyth wonderynge fro markynge well the mater thus he begynneth wyth a great grauyte geuynge all the worde war nynge to be ware of me To chrysten reader here haste thou not a taste but a great tunne full of Moris myschyefe and pernycyouse peruertynge of goddes holy worde And as thou seest hym here falsely and 〈◊〉 destroye the pure sense of goddes worde so doth he in all other places of hys bokes ¶ To good readers now haue you a great hygh tragycall warnynge with not a litle taste but a great tuÌ„ne full at onys of my myscheuouse pernycyouse false pestylent peruertynge and destroyeng of y e pure sense of goddes holy wordes in this one place whych he wyll shall staÌ„de for a playnte prose that I do the same in all other places ¶ Now good readers alde it that yt myght mysse happe me by ouersyght to mysse handle this one place and yet iÌ„ some other to write wel ynough yet am I content to take the condÌ„ycy on at mayster Maskers hand that if myne hadelyng of this one place be such an heyghnouse handlyng as ma heth it suche a pernycyouse pestilent not onely ê‘uersyon but also destruccyon of the pure sense of goddes holy worde neuer make examynacyon of any other worde of myne farther For I than forthwyth confesse euen here that I haue in al other places wryten wronge euery whyt But now on the tother syde though you shold happe to fynde that in this place I haue somwhat ouer sene my selfe in mysse takynge of some one worde for an other without thecfecte of the mater chaunged than wyll I requyre you to take my fawte for no greater than it is in dede nor mysse truste all my wrytynge for that one worde in this one place mysse taken without thempayrynge of the mater For suche a maner mysse takynge of a worde is not the dystroyeng of the pure sense of goddes holy worde And therfore if you fynde my fawte good readers no ferther than suche ye wyll I dowte not of your equyte bud mayster Masker leue his iniquite and chaunge his hygh tragicall ter mes and turne his great tunne full of pernyciouse pestilent false peruer tynge poysen into a lytell taste of holesome inough though some what smale and rough rochell wyne And therfore lette vs nowe se wherin he layeth this greate hygh hepe of myscheuouse peruertynge To thus good readers he sayth Fyrste where More sayth they merneyled at Chry stes sayenge my of is very meate 〈◊〉 that is not so Neyther is there any suche worde in the texte excepte More wyll exponne murmurabant id est mitabantur They murmured that is to saye they meruayled as he expowneth oportet id est expedit et conuenit he must dye or it behoueth hym to dye that is to saye it was expedient and of good congru ence that he sholde dye c. This poete maye make a man to sygnifye an asse and blacke whyte to blete the symple eyes ¶ Now good readers I wote well that you consider that the cause wher fore I spake of the meruaylyng that they had whych herde Chryst speke of the eatynge of his flesshe was by cause that none of those that herde hym at other tymes call hym selfe a vyne or a dore meruayled any thyng therat so that by the great difference of the behauour of y e herers it might well appere that there was greate dyfference in the spekynge and that the tother two were well perceyued to be spoken onely by waye of allegorye and the thyrde to be spoken of his very flesshe in dede where as Fryth helde opinion y t thys was none otherwyse spoken but onely by way of an allegorye as the tother twayne were ¶ Now good readers yf you reade my wordes agayne in euery place of them where I write they meruey led it wolde lyke you to put out that worde they merueysed and set in this worde they murmured in the stede therof ye shall frnde no chaunge made in the mater by that chaunge made in the wordes But you shal se myne argument shal stand as strong with that worde They murmured as with this worde they merueyled For whan at the herynge of Chryste wordes spekynge of the eatynge of his flesshe the euangelyste sheweth that many of the herers
yet after vppon hys owne wordes I proue hym that of necessyte to I maye wythoute any contradyccyon or repugnaunce at all laye yt agaynste hym for an vnwryten verytie for as myche as hym selfe so taketh yt ¶ Moreouer all the profe that I make of our ladyes perpetual vyrginyte is no more but that she was a perpetual vyrgyne except she brake her vowe And surely as I saye yt semeth to my selfe that I proue this very clerely And this beynge proued is in dede ynough to good chrysten folke for a ful profe that she was a perpepetual vyrgyne But yet vnto these heretyques agaynste whome I wrote syth they set nought by vowes of vyrgynyte but saye that they that make theym do bothe vnlawfully make theym and maye whan they wil lawfully breke them and y t therfore freres may rūne oute of relygyon and wedde nunnes this profe of myne ys to theym no maner profe at al. And therfore I maye to theym wythoute contradycyon or repugnaunce laye yt for an vnwryten verytie styl ¶ And thus I trust you se good rea ders that as for this repugnaunce turneth to mayster Maskars confusyon and not myne The secunde chapyter NOwe come I than good readers to the tother contradyccy on that he layeth agaynst me his wor des wherin byfore myne answere I praye you rede ones agayne And leste ye sholde be loth to turne backe and seke theym here shall you haue them agayne lo these they be At laste note chrysten reader that mayster More in the thyrde boke of hys confutacyon of Tyndale the 249. syde to proue saynt Iohn̄s gospell 〈◊〉 insuffycyent for lenyng out of so necessary a poynt of our fayth as he calleth the last sonper of Chryste hys maundye sayth that Iohn̄ spake nothynge at all of thys sacrament And now se agayne in these hys letters agaynste Fryth how hym selfe bryngeth in Iohn̄ 6. cap. to impagne Frythes wrytyng and to make all for the sacrament euen thus My flesshe is veryly meate and my bloude drynke By lyke the man had there ouershette hym selfe fowle the yonge man here causynge hym to put on his spec tacles and poore better and more wysshely wyth his olde eyen vppon saynt Iohn̄s gospell to fynde that thynge there now wryten whyche before he wolde haue made one of hys vnwryten verytees ¶ whan my selfe good reader redde fyrste these wordes of his all be it that I was sure ynough that in the thinge that I purposed there was no repugnaunce in dede yet seynge that he so dylygently layed forth the lefe in whyche my faute shold be founde I very playnly thought that I had not so circumspectely sene vnto my wordes as wysedome wold I shold And taking therfore myne ouersyght for a very trouth I neuer vouchefaufede to tourne my booke and loke But afterwarde yt happed on a day I sayde in a certayne company that I was somwhat sorye that yt hadde mysse happed me to take in this one poynte no better hede to myne hand but to wryte therin two thynges repugnaunt and contrary Where vnto some of theym made answere y t such a chaunce happeth sometyme 〈◊〉 a man be ware in a longe worke But yet quoth one of theym a gentylwoman haue you consydered well the place in your boke and sene that he sayth trouth Nay by my trouthe quod I that haue I not For yt yrketh me to loke vppon the place agayne nowe whan yt ys to late to mende yt For I am sure the mā wolde nat be so madde to name the very lefe but yf he were well sure y t he sayd trew By our lady 〈◊〉 she but syth you haue not loked yt your selfe I wyl for al the lefe layed out by hym se the thynge my selfe ere I byleue his wrytynge I knowe these felowes for so false And therwyth al she sent for the boke and turned to the very 249. syde and wyth that nōber marked also And in good fayth good readers there founde we no suche maner mater neyther on the tone syde of the lefe nor on the thother ¶ Nowe be yt of trouth I can not denye but that in a syde after mysse marked with the nōbre of 249 whyche sholde haue ben marked wyth the nomber of 259 there we founde the mater in that place But therin found we the moste shamefull eyther foly or falysed of mayster Maskar that euer I saw lyghtly in any man in my lyfe whych bycause ye shal not seke farre to fynde I shal reherse you here the very wordes of that place Lo good readers these they be But now bycause of Tyndale let vs take some one thing And what thing rather then the last souper of Chryst hys maundye with his apostles in whiche he instytuted the blessed sacra ment of the aulter hys owne blessed body and bloode Is this no necessary poynt of fayth Tyndale can not denye it for a necessary poynt of faith though it were but of his own false fayth agreynge with Luther Huyskyn or Suynglyus And he can not saye that saynt Iohn̄ speketh any thynge therof specyally not of the instytucyon Nor he can not saye that saynt Iohn̄ speketh any thyng of the sacrament at all syth that hys secte expressely denyeth that saynt Iohn̄ ment the sacrament in hys wordes where he speketh expressely therof in the. vi chapyter of his gospelli ¶ Where haue you euer good chrysten readers sene any fonde 〈◊〉 byfore thys handle a thynge so 〈◊〉 ly or so folyshely as maister maskar here handeleth this Ne telleth you that I sayde here that saynt Iohn spake nothynge of the sacrament at all Nowe you se that mayster Maskar in that poynte bylyeth me For I sayd not here that saynt Iohn spake notkynge therof but fyrste I sayde there that Tyndale agaynste whome I there wrote could not say that saynte Iohn̄ wrote any thynge of the blessed sacrament specyally not of the instytucyon therof And this is very trouthe For as touchynge thinstytucyon therof at Chry stes laste souper and maundye neyther Tyndale nor no man ellys can saye that saynte Iohn̄ any thynge wrote therof in his gospell ¶ Than sayde I farther there as you se not that saynte Iohn̄ speketh nothyng of the sacramēt but y t Tyn dale can not saye that saynte Iohn̄ speketh of the sacrament any thynge at all And that I ment not in those wordes to saye myne owne selfe that saynte Iohn̄ spake nothynge therof I declare playnely there forthwyth by that I shew the cause why Tyndale can not say that saynt Iohū spake any thynge of the sacramēt at all that is to wyt bycause that al his sect expressely denyeth that any thynge was ment of the sacramēt in the wordes of Chryste wryten in the. vi chapyter of saynt Iohn̄ ¶ By this ye may se playnely good readers that mayster Maskar playn ly belyeth me For I sayde not my selfe that saynt Iohn̄ spake nothyng of the sacrament but that Tyndale bycause of thopynyon of all his
〈◊〉 in that poynt coulde not saye y e saynt IohnÌ„ spake any thyng therof Which was ynough for my purpose whyle Tyndale was the man agaynste whome I wrote though my selfe wolde for myne owne parte saye the coÌ„trary For yt is y t hyude of argumteÌ„ that is in the scoles called argumentuÌ„ adhomineÌ„ And thus you se good re ders mayster Maskar in this thyng eyther shamefully false or very shamefully folish shamefully false if he perceyued vnderstode my wor des and than for al that thus 〈◊〉 me shamefully foly she yf the thyng beynge spoken by me so playne his wyt wold not serue hym to ê‘ceyue it ¶ But now as clere as ye se the ma ter all redy by this to th eÌ„tent yet that mayster Maskar shal haue no mater left hym in all this word to make any argument of for hys excuse therin rede my wordes agayn good reders and byd maister Maskar marke wel my wordes therin where I saye expressely that saynte IohnÌ„ spake expressely therof in the 〈◊〉 chapyter of his gospel For these wordes are as you se there the very last worde of 〈◊〉 Nor Tyndale can not say that saynt JohnÌ„ speketh any thyng of the sacra ment at all syth that his sect expresse ly denyeth that saynt JohnÌ„ ment the sacrament in his wordes where he speketh expressely therof in the. vi chapyter of his gospell ¶ whose wordes are these where he speketh expressely therof Are not these wordes myne And do I not in these wordes expressely say y t saynte IohnÌ„ expressely speketh of the blessed sacrament in the syxt chapiter of his gospel in whych place Tindals secte saith expressely that he nothyng spake therof And now sath M. mas kar that I sayde there that saynte IohnÌ„ spake nothynge therof at all And layeth it ' for a foule repugnauÌ„ce in me that in my letter agaynst Fryth I saye therof the contrary ¶ But how 〈◊〉 we mayster maskar What haue you nowe to saye wyth 〈◊〉 shameful shyft wyl your sham lesse face face vs oute this folyshe lye of yours that you make vppon me here If you lyed so loude wyttyngly howe can you loke that any man shold trust your worde If for lacke of vnderstandynge howe can you lake than for shame that any man sholde truste your wyt Why sholde we thynke that your wyt wyll perse into the perceyuynge of harde worde in the holy scripture of god whan yt wyll not serue you to perceyue suche pore playne wordes of myne ¶ Ye wryte that the younge man 〈◊〉 here made me done on my spectacles and loke more wyshly on the mater to fynde now writen therin the thyng that I sayde byfore was not wryten therin But nowe muste you loke more wyshely vppon my wordes on whych you make here so loude a lye and pore better on theym wyth your spectacles vppon your Maskars nose ¶ I wyste ones a good felow whyche whyle he daunsed in a maske vppon boldenesse that no man coulde haue knowen hym whan he perceyued that he was well espyed by hys euyll fauored daunsynge he waxed so ashamed sodaynly y e he softly said vnto his felowe I pray you tell me doth not my visour blosh rede Now surely good reders M. maskar here yf he were not vtterly paste shame hathe cause ynough to be in 〈◊〉 poynt so sore ashamed that he myght wene y e glowyng of his vysage shold euyn perse thorow his visor make it rede for shame ¶ Thus haue I now good christen readers answe red at the full in these fyue bokes of my fyrst parte the fyrst part of mays ter maskars worke and taken vp the fyrst course of mayster maskars souper whych he falsely calleth the last souper of the lorde whyle he hathe with his own poysened cokery made yt the souper of the deuyl And yet wold the deuyl I wene dysdayne to haue his souperdressed of such a rude ruffyn suche a scald Colyn coke as vnder the name of a clerke so rybaldyousely rayleth agaynst the blessed bodye of Chryste in the blessed sacra ment of thauter The. iii. chapyter BUt one thynge wyll I yet reherse you that I haue hytherto dyfferred that is to wytte my fyrste argument agaynst fryth whiche as I shewed you before mayster Masker lette go by as he hath done many thynges mo and made as though he saw them not That argument good readers was thys In this heresye besyde the comon fayth of all catholyke chrysten regyons the exposycyoÌ„s of al the old holy doctours sayntes be clere agaynste Fryth as whole as agaynste any heretike that euer was hitherto herd of For as for the wordes of Chryste of whyche we speke touchynge the blessed sacrament though he maye fynd some olde holy men that bysyde the lytteral sence doth expowne theÌ„ in an allegorye yet he shal neuer fynde any of them that dyd as he doth now after wicliffe Ecolampadius Tyndale Sutnglius denye the lyterall sence and say that Chryste ment not that it was his very body hys very bloud in dede but the olde holy doctours exposytours bysyde all suche allegoryes do playnely declare expoune that in those wordes our sauyour as he expressely spake so dyd also well and playnely mene that the thynge whych he there gaue to his discyples in the sacrament was in very dede hys very flesh and bloud And so dyd neuer any of the olde exposytours of scrypture expowne any of those other places in whyche Chryste is called a vyne or a dore And therfore it appereth well that the maner of spekynge was not lyke For yf it had thaÌ„ wold not the olde exposytours haue vsed suche so farre vnlyke 〈◊〉 in the expownynge of them ¶ Thys was lo good readers the fyrste argumeÌ„t of myne that maister Masker mette with and whiche he sholde fyrste therfore haue soyled But it is suche as he lysted lytle to loke vppon For where as he maketh mych a do to haue it seme that bothe these wordes of our sauyour at hys laste souper thys is my body and his wordes of eatynge of his fleshe and drynkynge of his bloude wryten in the syxte chapyter of saynte IohuÌ„ sholde be spoken in a lyke phrase and maner of spekyng as were his other wordes I am the dore and I am the very vyne I shewed there vnto Fryth whome mayster masker maketh as though he wolde defende y t by thexposycyoÌ„s of all the olde holy doctours saynte y t haue expowned all those iiii place before y e differeÌ„ce well appereth syth none of them declare hym to be a very material dore nor a naturall very vine This saith no man not so myche as a very naturall fole But that in the sacrament is his very naturall body his very flesshe and his bloude this declare clerely all the olde holy exposytours of the scrypture whiche were good men and gracyouse wysw and well lerned bothe And therfore as I sayd the differeÌ„ce may sone be perceyued but yf mayster
of misteries and lyftynge vppe of the soule into y e lyuely lyght and inward hygh sighte of god And all those manyfold senses diuers in the waye and all tendynge to one ende maye be conuenient and trew and all by one spyrxte prouyded and in to diuerse spyrites by the same one spyrite inspyred for spyrituall profite to be by many meanes multyplyed and encreaced in 〈◊〉 chyrche ¶ But neuer hath any good māben accustumed to playe the pageaunt y t mayster Maskar playeth vs here with a spyrytuall exposicyon of allegoryes or parables to take awaye y t very fyrste sense that god wolde we shold lerne of the letter and bycause of some allegories turne all y e playn worde for y e first right vnderstāding into a secundary sense of allegoryes ¶ Of this maner 〈◊〉 of scrip ture I make mencyon in my letter agaynst Frythes false handesynge of this same place of saynt Iohan. And there I shewed in what wyse y t false heretikes y e Arrianys vsed by y e same meanys to take y e godhed from Cry stes persone as fryth and these felowes by the selfe same maner of ex pownynge the scrypture do take awaye Chrystes manhed from Chry stes blessed sacrament ¶ In that pistle I shewed also that I wold in allegoricall exposycyons fynde no faute but be well content with them so that men mysse vse thē not to the takynge away of the trew litterall sense bysyde ¶ This thynge I there shewed good readers in the self same pystle that mayster Masker maketh here as though he could wold answere And yet as though he had neuer herd my wordes but slepte while he redde them he playeth here the selfe same pageaunt hym selfe whyle with his allegorycall exposycyō of spyrytuall eatynge of Chrystes godhed and of his body by byliefe of his passyon he goth about to take awaye from vs y e very lytterall trewth of the very eatynge and bodely receyuynge of Chrystes owne very flesshe bloud ¶ Now wyll I not say any maner blame at all to any man that wyll exspowne all the whole processe of Genesis by allegories and teche vs certeyne conuenyent vertues vnderstāden by the four floodes of paradys and tell vs that paradyse is grace out of whyche all the flodys of all vertues flowe and water the erth callynge the erth mankynd that was made therof beynge barayne frutelesse but yf it be watered with y e floodes of vertue and so forth in some suche maner expowne vs all the remanaunt Or lo that thus doth doth in my mynde ryght well But mary yf he wolde do it in the maner with the mynde that mayster Masker expowneth vs Christes wordes all in allegoryes here and wold teche vs suche a spyrytuall sense to make vs byleue that those wordes were to be none other wyse vnderstādē bysyde but that there were no such floodes flowynge forth of paradyse nor no suche paradyse at all I wold wene verely that he were a very heretyke ¶ I fynde no fawte also with them that expowne the story of Sampson tayenge the foxes togyther by y e taylys and settynge a fyre in them and sendynge them so in to the felde of y e Phylistyes to burne vp the corne in those I saye that expowne that story by the deuyll sendyng his heretykes in to the corne felde of god the catholyke chyrche of Chryste wyth y e fyre of false wordes to desiroye y e corne bothe of 〈◊〉 we farth and good wutkys tayed togyder by the tayles in token that all theyr here sies be theyr hedes neuer so farre a sūder yet are theyr tayles tayed togyther in that y e all tende towarde one ende that is to wytte to the destruccion of all manee grace and goodnes that the tayeng of the fyre and theyr tayles togyther signiifeth also y t for theyr foxly false hed finally in the ende the hote fyre of hell shal be so fast tayed ī all theyr tayles wrabelynge there together y e neuer shall they gete y e fyre fro theyr taylys nor fro the bandes of hell be seuered or breke asundre with this al legorye of those good men that thus expowne y t story I fynd no faute at all But on the tother syde if any mā wold expowne it so by that spirituall allegorye agaynst these heretykes y t 〈◊〉 word therwith enforce hym selfe to take away the sytterall sense and say the text signifyed nothyng 〈◊〉 and that there was no suche thynge done indede hym word I 〈◊〉 for an hereiyke to ¶ And in 〈◊〉 wyse good readers yf mayster Masker here dyd onely expowne all those wordes of Chryste as thynges spoken of spyrytuall eatyng by waye of allegory that waye word I well allow for so doth not onely suche as he is but also good faythfull folke to But now whā he draweth all Christe wordes to those allegoryes of a false wyly purpose to make men wene so sayth hym self for his part y t they signifye none other thyng this is the poynt y e proueth mayster Masker an 〈◊〉 ¶ And therfore as I sayd all his ex policyō is 〈◊〉 of fro the purpose approcheth not to the poynt For the questyō is not whither those wordes may be well veryfyed expowned of spyrituall eatyng by way of an allegory but whyther it may bysyde al y e be trewly expowned of the very bodyly eatyng of Cryste blessed body indede For 〈◊〉 it so may than 〈◊〉 there no mā of so siēdre wytte but he may well se y e all mayster Maskers allegorycall exposicyon of his onely spirituall eatyng 〈◊〉 fro the pue pose quite dare not cōe 〈◊〉 y e point ¶ Wherfore to th entēt y e ye may 〈◊〉 rely se y e in this exposicyō of his 〈◊〉 holy as he wold haue it seme he doth but clerely mokke sauynge that it is myche worse thanne mockynge to make men fall fro the fayth I shall geue you of the same wordes of Chryst wrytē in the syxt chapyter of saynt Johan another exposycyon my selfe in which I shall bysyde all suche spyrytuall exposicyons as this man vseth therin by waye of 〈◊〉 or parables declare you y e very lytterall sense of those wordes My flesshe is veryly meate my bloude veryly drynke So that ye maye se therby y t our sauyour veryly spake ment not onely suche a spyrytuall ratyng as mayster Masker sayth he onely ment but also the very bodyly eatyng drinkyng of his very fleshe and bloude in dede whiche exposicyō of myne yf it be in that poynt trewe than must it nedes folow ye se wel that his exposicyon is farre fro the purpose For all though there were not one false word therin yet were it in dyssemblynge of the trouth very lewd̄ and falsely handelyd ¶ And now that myne exposycyon shal be trewindede that shall you ere I seue you so clerely perceyue and see that I trust there shall neuer any suche heretyke as
not onely a fygure but also the flesshe of Chryste But whan we proue that the blessed sacramēt is not onely called the body and bloude of Chryst but also y e the olde holy doctours and the exposytours of holy scrypture do playnely declare that it is so than proue we playne agaynst them For we denye none of y e tother two poyntes but thys poynt do they denye The. xiiii chapyter YEt to th entent that ye may se that mayster Masker in his exposicyō doth but playnely mocke you consider yet agayne these vordes well Et panis qnem ego dabo caro 〈◊〉 est quam ego dabo pro mundi 〈◊〉 whyche texte albe it that in the latyn it be som what otherwyse that is to wytte Et panis quem ego dabo caro mea est pro mūdi uita without these wordes quem ego dabo in the secūd place whiche laten texte were yet more for my purpose yet syth not onely the greke texte is as I rehersed you fyrst whyche was the language wherin the uangelyst wrote but that also bothe the greke expositours and many of the laten exposytours to do so expowne it and that though those wordes were out yet they be such as the sentence wolde well requyre to repete and vnderstande and finally bycause I fynde that mayster Masker hym selfe doth in his exposycion take that texte in the fyrste fasshyon onely chaungynge one worde in the secund place y e is to wytte this word geue into thys word paye whiche chaunge he maketh as for an exposicyon I am content to take the texte as hym selfe dothe that is to wytte after the fyrst maner thus And the brede that I shall geue you is my flesshe which I shall geue for y e lyfe of the world ¶ Consyder now good reader that in these wordes our sauiour here spe keth of geuynge his flesshe twyse by whyche he meneth that in the tone ge uyng he wold geue it to them and in the tother geuynge he wolde geue it for them The tone geuynge was in the blessed sacrament the tother was on the crosse ¶ And loke now whyther the very wordes of Chryst agre wyth this ex posycyon or not the wordes ye wote well be these and the brede that I shall geue you is my flesshe Mere is lo the tone geuyng by which he shall sayth he geue his flesshe to theym Than sayth he ferther whyche I shall gyue for the lyfe of the world So here he telleth them of the tother gyuynge by whyche he sholde geue it for them And bycause hys geuyng to them sholde be a memoryall of his geuynge for them therfore he spake of them both to gether But yet bycause his princypall purpose was to speke in that place not of his geuyng of hys flesshe for them but of his ge uynge it vnto them therfore of hys geuynge it to them he maketh after a very playne and expresse declaracyō in many playne open wordes but of hys geuynge it for theym he spake but a lytell and as is were but for a declaracyon of the tother geuynge For whan he had sayd and the brede whyche I shall gyue you shal be my flesshe than to declare that he ment to geue them hys very fleshe he added therto these wordes whiche I shall gyue for the lyfe of the worlde As though he wolde saye wyll you wytte what flesshe this brede is that I wyll gyue to you veryfy the selfe same that I wyll geue for you and not onely for you but for the lyfe of the whole worlde to that is to wytte for as many of the worlde as whan they here it preched wyll not refuse to take it And therfore whā ye know hereafter whiche flesshe of myne I shall haue gyuen for you vppon the crosse thā shal you not nede to do 〈◊〉 whiche flesshe of myne I shall giue you in the brede of the sacrament excepte you 〈◊〉 not to byleue me For now I tell you as playne as I can that it shal be the fame flesshe ¶ This exposycyon good readers ye se is euydent open and playne But now se good readers for godde sake the falsehed of mayster Masker in hys exposycyon vppon y e same wordes Where as our sauyour as you se speketh in these few wordes of these two geuynges the geuynge to eate and the geuynge to dye the ge uynge in the sacrament the geuyng on the crosse cometh me now maister Masker and expowneth Chrystes wordes all to gether of the tone geuynge that is to wytte the geuynge by deth on the crosse and letteth the tother geuynge go by as though he saw it not albe it that Chryst speketh of that gyuynge both fyrst and most ¶ Now yf mayster Masker wyll say that I do but fayne these two ge uynges and saye as he sayth often that Chryste ment there but one geuynge that is to wytte by hys deth and wyll saye that Cryste speketh there no worde of the sacrament I shall tell hym agayne that so myghte mayster Masker marre all his owne exposycyō vtterly For Cryst whan he sayth whiche I shall gyue for the lyfe of the worlde speketh no word in the world neyther of his crosse nor of his deth If he say that they be vn derstanden thā must he geue me leue to say the lyke for my parte that as deth the crosse are vnderstondē in y e tone geuing so eatyng the sacramēt is vnderstonden in y e tother geuynge Now be it for my part yet touchyng the fyrst geuyng I may say y t Cryst speketh of the sacramēt signyfyeth his menyng in this word brede whā he sayth the brede that I shall geue you is my fleshe And of the eatynge therof he speketh expressely after And therfore shall mayster Masker neuer wade out therof but that I ha ue the wordes of the scrypture mych more clere for the fyrst geuyng than he for the secund And ye may se that of the two geuynges mayster Masker to mocke vs with hath in hys exposycion of a folysh wylynesse wynked and dyssembled the tone ¶ But yet if maister Masker striue with me styll vpō this point whither our sauyour speke of two geuynges of hys fleshe or but of one albe it y e I haue proued my part therin metely playne my selfe yet am I content that a better than we both shall breke y t stryfe bytwen vs. I shall therfore name you y t holy cūnyng doctour sait Bede whose worde I trust euery wyse man wyll byleue a lytell better thā eyther maister Maskers or myn So thus sayth saint Bede vpō these wordes of Chryste And the brede whych I shall gyue is my body whiche I shall geue for the lyfe of the worlde Thys brede sayth saynte Bede dyd ourforde gyue whan he gaue the sacrament of hys body and hys bloude vnto his dyscyples and whan be offered vp hym selfe to god hys father vppon the awtre of the crosse ¶ Here you se
eating if they eate it with faith that thynge agayne and agayne he declareth them to dreue them to faith by the desyre of eternall lyfe fayth fyrst onys had they shold be than the more easy to be tawght For the prophete Esay sayth But yf ye byleue ye shall not vnderstaude Therfore it was of necessyte requysyte that they sholde fyrst fasten the rotes of fayth in theyr mynde and than aske suche thynges as were metely for a man to aske But they before they wolde byleue wolde out of season aske theyr importune questyons fyrste And for thys cause our sauyour declared not vnto them how it myght be done but exhorteth them to seke the thynge by fayth So vnto the tother syde to his dyscyples that byleued he gaue the peces of the brede sayeng Take you and eate this is my body And in like wyse he gaue them the cuppe about sayenge drynke you of this all thys is the cuppe of my bloude whyche shall be shed for many for remyssyon of synnes Here thou seest that to theÌ„ that asked wythout fayth he opened not the maner of thys mystery or sacrament But to theÌ„ that byleued he expouned it though they asked not Therfore let theym heare thys those folke I saye that of arrogaunce and pryde wyll not byleue the faythe of Chryste ¶ Here ye se good readers that saynt Cyrill playnely declareth you that our saliyour wolde not teache theym at that tyme the maner of the eatynge bycause of theyr infydesyte for all theyr askynge but after ward he tolde and taught it hys faythfull dyscypses at hys faste 〈◊〉 and mauÌ„dye whan he toke them the bred and bode them eate it and tolde them that the same was hys body and the cuppe and bode them drynke therof and shewed theym that that was his bloud And thus you se well by saynt Cyrill that mayster Masker here whych by hys exposycyd wold make vs wene that our sauyour in all hys worde here to the iewes ment onely to tell them of y e geuyng of hys flesh to the deth that he ment nothyng of the geuynge of hys fleshe to eate in the blessed facrament doth in all hys exposycyon but play with false dyce to deceyue you ¶ Now as for that saint Crrif here calleth it by the name of brede that is I trow the thynge that can nothynge trouble you For I haue shewed you before by the wordes of that greate holy doctour Theophylactus that it is called bred bycause it was bred and bycause of the forme of brede y e remayneth yet is no brede in dede but is the very blessed body of Crist his very flesshe and hys bloude As you se also by saynt Cyrill here whi che of thys blessed sacrameÌ„t so often reherseth and inculketh the myracle exhortynge all folke that no man be moued to mystruste it though the thynge be meruelouse nor aske as y e Iewes dyd how such a wunderfull wurke can be wrought but mekely byleue it syth he is god that sayth it therfore as he sayth it so do wt not but he 〈◊〉 do it as he doth other lyke thynges and dyd ere he were born in to thys world of whyche thynges saint Cyrill hath here rebersed some As the turnynge of the water into bloude as he turneth in the sacrameÌ„t the wyne into bloud and the turnyng of Aarons rod into a serpeÌ„t and that into such a serpent as deuowred vp all the serpentes of the Egypcyane wytches Lyke as our sauyour in the blessed sacrament turneth the brede into hys owne body y t holy holesome serpent that deuowreth all the poysened serpentes of hell and was therfore figured by the brasyn serpent that Moyses dyd sette vp in the maner of a crosse in the desert the byhol dyng wherof deuowred destroyed the venym of all the poysen serpent that had stongen any man there The. xvii chapyter ANd all be it that I she we you good chrysteÌ„ readers saint Cyrilles wordes and hys exposycyon vpon the place bycause maister Masker shall not make men wene y u I make all the mater of myn owne hed yet semeth me that our sauyour declareth thys mater wyth playne wordes bym selfe For what can be playner wordes than are hys owne whan that vppon theyr wunderynge and theyr murmuryng question how can he gyue vs his flesshe to eate he said vnto theÌ„ Ueryly veryly I say to you but yf you eate the flesh of y t sone of man drink his bloud ye shall not haue lyfe in you He y t eateth my flesh drynketh my bloude hath lyfe euer lastynge and I shall rayse hym vppe agayne in the laste daye For my flesshe is veryly meate and my bloud is veryly drynke He that eateth my flesh and drynketh my bloude dwelleth in me and I in hym ¶ In these wordes ye se good readers howe playnely that our lorde sheweth theym bothe the profyte of the receyuynge and the peryll of the refusynge and also bothe that he not onely speketh of his very body and bloud whyche thyng mayster Masker agreeth but ouer that also that he more playnely and more precysely sayth that they shold veryly eate it and drynke it whyche thyng mayster Masker denyeth and yet is that the thynge that our sauyour in these wor des most specyally laboreth to make theym byleue For that he spake of hys very flessh they perceyued well inough But that he wold haue them verily eate it that they thoughte such a maner thynge that they neyther wolde do nor could byseue bycause they myssetoke the maner thereof wenynge that they sholde eate it in dede peces cutte out as the bochers cutte the bestes in the shammellys ¶ And Cryst therfore wold at thys tyme for theyr arrogaunt infydelyte as saynte Cyrill hath told you no thynge declare them of the maner of hys geuynge it to be veryly eaten not in the proper forme of flesshe as they flesshely imagyned but in the forme of bred in the blessed sacrameÌ„t bycause as Theophilactus declared you men sholde not abhorre to eate it But leuynge that vntaught tyll the tyme of hys maundy souper where as saynte Cyrill hath also she wed you he taught it his faithfull dyscyples at the instytucyon of that blessed sacrament he laboreth as I say in these wordê here most speciall wyth as playne wordes as can be de 〈◊〉 to tell them and make them by leue that they shall veryly eate hys flesshe Whyche thyng for any thyng that he could say to them they were so hard harted that they wolde not byleue hym ¶ And yet is mayster Masker here mych more obdurate now and mych more faythlesse to than all they were than For bothe he hauyng herd what Criste sayd to those 〈◊〉 than also what he taught his faythfull dyscyples at hys maundy after and what all holy doctours and sayntes haue sayde theron and byleued euer synnys yet wyll he with a few fond heretykes take a folysshe fro
warde waye and byleue the contrary or at the leste wyse saye that he byleueth y e contrary But in good sayth y t they veryly byleue as they say that can I not byleue except that of y e scrypture and the chrysten fayth these folke by leue nothyng at all And so vpon my fayth I fere me that you shall se it proue at laste as appereth by somof them that so begynne all redy and haue in some places put forth suche poysen in wrytynge ¶ But surely though neyther any man had euer wryten vppon these wordes of Cryste nor our sauyour bym selfe neuer spoken word therof after that euer had in wrytyng comeÌ„ into meÌ„nys hands yet are these wordes here spokeÌ„ so playne so ful that they must nedes make any man that were wyllyng to byleue hym clerly perceyue and knowe that in one maner or other he wolde gyue vs hys awne very flesshe verely to be recey ued and eaten For whan the Iewys sayd how can he geue vs his flesshe to eate He answered them with no sophims but with a very playn open tale tolde them they sholde neyther dystruste that he could on hys parte geue them his flesshe to eate nor yet refuse vppon theyr parte to eate it if euer they wolde be saued As though he wold say Maruayle you and mys truste you my word and aske how I can geue you mine own flesh to eate I wyll not tell you how I can geue it nor in what forme or fasshyon ye shall eate it but this I wyll tell you neyther in tropis allegories nor parables but euyn for a very playne trouth y e eate ye shall my very flessh in dede yf euer ye purpose to be saued ye and drynke my very bloude to For but yf you be content to eate and wyth a trewe fayth to eate the flessh of the sone of man and drynke hys bloude ye shall not haue lyfe in you But who so wyth a trewe well wurkynge fayth eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloude he hath euerlastynge lyfe Not onely bycause he ys as sure to haue it whan the tyme shall come as though he had it all redy by reasoÌ„ of the promyse that Chryste here ma keth where he sayth And I shall re suscitate and rayse hym 〈◊〉 at the last day but also for that the very body of Cryste that he receyueth is very lyfe euerlastyng of it selfe and such a lyfe as to them that well wyll receyue it in trew fayth and purpose of good lyuynge it is the thynge that is able to gyue lyfe quyknesse euer lastynge For as the godhed is of his owne nature 〈◊〉 lyfe so is the flesshe ioyned in vnyte of person to the godhed by that immedyate coÌ„iunccyon and vnyte made bothe euer lastyng lyuely in it selfe and also euerlasting lyfe to the geuyng of life euerlastyngly to all other that well and wurthely receyue hym and wyll perseuer and abyde wyth hym For though euery maÌ„ here naturally dye for the whyle yet shall Chryst as he promyseth here reyse resuscytate hym agayne to euerlastynge lyfe in the laste daye The. xviii chapyter ANd to shew more and more that he meneth playnely of very eatynge and very drynkynge he sayth my flesshe is veryly meate my bloude is veryly drynke 〈◊〉 these wordes sayth saynt Cyril thus Chryste here declareth the dyfference agayne bytwene the mystycall benedyccyon that ys to wytte the blessed sacrament and manna and bytwene the water flowynge out of the stone and the coÌ„munioÌ„ of the holy bloude And thys he repeteth agayne to the entent they sholde no more merueyle of y e myracle of manna but that they sholde rather receyue hym whyche is the heuynly brede and the gyuer of eternall lyfe your father 's sayd oure sauyour dyd eate maÌ„na in the desert and they be deade But thys brede is descended from heuyn that a man sholde eate therof and not dye For the meate of manna brought not eter nall lyfe but a short remedy agaynst hunger And therfore manna was not the very meate that is to wytte manna was not the brede from heuen but the holy body of Chryst that ys the meate that noryssheth to immortalyte and eternall lyfe ye sayth some man but they dranke water out of the stone But what wanne they by that for deade they be and therfore that was not y t very drynke but the very drynke ys the drynke of Chryste by whyche death ys vtterly turned vppe and destroyed For it ys not the bloude of hym that ys onely man but the bloude of that man whych beynge toyned to the naturall lyfe that ys to wytte the godhed ys made also lyfe hym selfe Therfore we be the body and the meÌ„bres of Chryste For by thys blessed sacrament we receyue the very sone of god hym selfe ¶ Here you se good readers that saynte Cyrillus playnely declareth here y t these wordes of Chryst My 〈◊〉 is veryly meate c. are spoken and ment of hys holy flesshe in the blessed sacrament of whyche mayster Masker in all hys exposycyon and in all his hole wyse wurke telieth vs playnely the contrary But saynte Cyrillus is here open and playne bothe for that poynte for the hole mater For who can more playnly declare any thyng thaÌ„ y t holy doctour declareth in these wordê y t in the blessed sacrameÌ„t is veryly eaten and dronken the very blessed body holy bloude of Chryst. And yet doth not saynt Cyrillus say it more opeÌ„ly than 〈◊〉 our sauyour in hys 〈◊〉 wordes hymselfe ¶ And now ferther to shewe that it must nedys be so that he whyche eateth hys flesshe drynketh his bloud muste nedes be resuscytate reysed agayne in body to euerlastynge lyfe our sauyour addeth therunto saith He that eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloude dwelleth in me and I in hym Uppon whyche wordes also thus sayth holy saynt Cyrill ¶ Lyke as yl a man vnto molteÌ„ wex put other wex it can not be but that he shall thorow out mengle the tone wyth the tother so yf a man receyue the flesshe and the bloude of our lord worthely and as he 〈◊〉 it can not be but that he shall be so ioyned wyth Chryst as Chryst shal be wyth hym he wyth Chryst. ¶ Thus may you good readers se how veryly a man eateth in the sacra ment the 〈◊〉 body of Cryst and by that eatynge how eche of them is in other And than yf he so perseuer how can it be that that body shall haue euerlastynge deth in whych there is 〈◊〉 euerlastynge lyfe For as ye haue herd the body of Chryste is by the coÌ„iunccyon wyth his godhed made euerlastynge lyfe ¶ But this is ment as I saye and all the holy doctours do declare the same of them that receyue the sacrament not onely sacramentally but also effectually That is to wyt of them that not onely receyue the body of our sauyour by the sacrament into theyr bodyes
but also by trew fayth and trew repentauÌ„ce and purpose of good lyuyng receyue hys holy 〈◊〉 ther with into theyr soules be made therby very lyuely membres of that thyng that the blssed sacrament signifyeth betokeneth y t is to wyt of the mystycall body of Cryst the chyrche and congregacyon of sayntes ¶ For as you haue herd by Theophilactê° before this blessed sacrameÌ„t is not onely the very flesh of Cryst but is also a figure And that is it in diuerse wyse as I shall ferther declare you in my boke agaynst Frithis answere to my pystle With whyche boke were hys onys come in prente whyche is allredy sent ouer to be 〈◊〉 ted I shall god wyllyng well make 〈◊〉 his englysshe bretherne se perceyue his foly y t lyst not wyllyngly to coÌ„tynue folys and wynke ¶ But as I was about to say they that receyue our lord by the sacrameÌ„t onely not by fayth purpose of amendemeÌ„t though they receyue hym yet they receyue hym not though they eate hym they eate hym not For though his blessed body be receyued in to theyr bodyes yet hys holy spirit is not receyued into theyr soules therfore he 〈◊〉 not in them nor they in hym but they eate drynke theyr iugemeÌ„t receyue hym to theyr dampnacyoÌ„ for that they receyue hym without faith dew reueuereÌ„ce therfore do not as saith sait Poule discerne y e body of our lorde ¶ And therfore sayth saint Austayn as Prosper reherseth iÌ„ lib. 〈◊〉 psperi He receyueth the meat of lyfe he drynketh y t draught of eternyte y t dwelleth iÌ„ Cryst in whoÌ„ Cryst dwel leth For he y t discordeth from Cryst neyther eateth y t fleshe of Cryst nor 〈◊〉 his bloud though he receyue euery daye indyfferentely the sacrament of that great thynge to the iudgement and dampnacyon of hys presumpcyon ¶ This text of saynt Austayne alledged Fryth for hys purpose in a cer tayne communycacyon wyllyng to proue therby that the very body of Cryste was not alwaye veryly receyued and eaten in the sacrament as y t chyrch sayth For here sayd Fryth saynt Austayne sayth playne y t euyll men though they receyue the sacrament eate not the body of Cryst ¶ But here Fryth eyther had not ler ned or ellys had forgoten that saynt Austayne ment of the effectuall receyuynge by whych a man not onely receyueth Chrystes blessed body into hys own sacramentally but also vir tually and effectually so receyueth ther wyth the spyryte of god into hys soule that he is incorporate therby with our sauyour in suche wyse that he is made a lyuely member of his mystycall body that is the 〈◊〉 of sayntes by receyuyng it wurthyly whiche euyll folke do not that receyue it to theyr dampnacyon ¶ For that saynt Austayne ment not to deny that y e blessed body of Cryst is veryly receyued and eaten in the blessed sacrameÌ„t both of euyll folke and good it appereth playne by that that in mo places thaÌ„ one he speketh of the traytour Iudas For all be it that in some places he putteth it in dowte and question whyther Iudas receyued the sacrament amonge the apostles at Chrystes maundy or els that y e morcell that he receyued were not it yet-in dyuers places he affermeth that he dyd And in those places be affermeth playnely that in the sacrameÌ„t he receyued Chrystes blessed body as euyll and as false as the traytour was as in his fyfth boke de baptismo he clerely declareth in these wordes ¶ Lyke as Iudas to whom our lord gaue the morsel not by receyuynge any euyll thynge but by euyll receyuynge of a good thyng gaue the deuyll a place to entre into hym selfe so euery man y t vnworthyly receyueth the sacrament of Cryst maketh not y e sacrament euyll bycause he is euyll nor maketh not therby that he receyueth nothyng bycause he receyueth it not to his saluacyoÌ„ For it was neuer the lesse the body of our lorde and the bloud of our lord euyn vnto them of whom the apostle sayd he that eateth it drynketh it vnworthily he eateth drynketh dampnacyoÌ„ to hym selfe ¶ Here sa it Austayn good readers expressely declareth y t not onely good folke but euil folke also receiue eat in y e sacrameÌ„t y e very body bloud of Cryst though the tone to saluacyon the tother to daÌ„pnacyoÌ„ And therfore you se y t saint Austayn here playnely reproueth Fryth ¶ And that ye may playnely se also that saint Austayn in callynge y e blessed sacrameÌ„t the body of Cryst meneth not to call it onely a fygure or a memoriall besyde his other playne wordê in many sundry places he writeth in a pistle vnto Eleusiê° Gloriê° Felix declaryng the great excellent goodnes y t Cryst shewed to the false traytour Iudas he writeth I saye y t Cryst gaue vnto Iudas at his laste souper y e pryce of our redeÌ„pcyoÌ„ And what was the pryce of our redeÌ„pcioÌ„ but his owne very blessed body ¶ How be yt Frith was on euery syde deceyued in the perceyuynge of saynt Austayns mynd which mysse happed hym as I suppose for lacke of redynge any ferther in saynt Austayns wurkes than those placys y t he founde falsely drawen out into frere Duyskyns boke ¶ For saynt Austayne in very many placê playnely declareth that euery man good and badde both receyueth and eateth in the sacrament the very body and bloude of Cryste And also those wordes in whych he sayth that euyll folke eate it not he meaneth y t they eate it not so as they receyue the effecte therof that is to wytte to be by the receyuynge and eatyng therof incorporate spyrytually with hym as a lyuely member of hys mystycall body the socyete of sayntes so that he may dwell in Chryste and Chryst in hym but lacketh y t spyrytuall effecte of hys eatynge bycause he is euyll eateth not Chrystes flesshe in suche maner as he sholde do that is to wyt worthyly in trew fayth and purpose of clene and innocent lyfe as saynte Austayne in his boke de blasphemia spiritus sancti declareth wel in these wordes ¶ Thys also that Cryst sayth he that eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloud dwelleth in me and I in hym How shall we vnderstande it Maye we vnderstande those folke therin to of whom thapostle sayth y t they eate drynke theyr iugement whan they eate the same flesshe and drynke the same bloude Dyd Iudas the traytour and wicked seller of his mayster though he fyrst wyth the other apostles as saynt Luke theuangelyste very clerely declareth dyd eate and drynke the same sacrament of hys flesshe and his bloude made with his awne handes dyd he abyde yet in Cryst Cryst in hym Finally many men whyche with a fayned harte eate that flesihe and drynke that bloud or ellys whan they haue eaten and dron ken it bycome apostataas after do they dwell in Cryst Cryst in
resuscytate hym in the last day And whan he sayed My flessh is veryly meate ¶ Thus you se good readers how ofte how playnly that he declareth that the meate whiche he speketh of here is hym selfe And now sayth mayster Masker very solemynely with authoryte byddeth euery man marke it well and consyder it that y e meate that Cryste speketh of here is nothynge ellys but 〈◊〉 ¶ And vpon what colour saith may ster Masker 〈◊〉 bycause sayth he that our lorde bode them labour and wurke for the meate that wolde not peryshe but abyde into euerlastynge lyfe and afterward tolde them that the wurk of god by which they shold wurke labour for that meate was nothynge ellys but fayth and bylyef in hym ¶ Fyrste in thys construccyon mayster Masker lyeth very large For though Cryst sayd that to byleue in hym was the wurke of god he sayde not as mayster Masker maketh it that nothynge ellys was the 〈◊〉 of god but onely bylyefe ¶ But now suppose that Cryst had sayd as mayster Masker wold make it seme that is to wyt that the wurke of god were nothynge ellys but the bylyefe yet ye se well good readers that Cryst in sayeng that the bylyefe in hym is the wurke by whyche they shall wurke to gete the meate sayth that the bylyefe is the meane to gete the meate and not that the bylyefe is the meate ¶ But mayster Masker bycause y t bylyefe is the waye to this meate therfore he calleth the bylyefe the meate as wysely as though he wold call the kynges strete Westmynster chyrche bycause it is the way 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yf he come from charing crosse And bycause men must spyrytually eate thys meate with fayth therfore he calleth the fayth the meate as wy sely as yf he wold bycause he eateth his meate wyth his mowth therfore call his mowth his meate what wyt hath thys man ¶ But now wyll mayster Masker wax angry with my wordes and call me M. mokke as he dothe onys or twyse in hys boke ¶ But now good readers I wyll not adiure you by godde holy names to iudge iustely but euyn onely desyre you that in waye of good company that you wyll say but euyn indyfferently Were it not wene you great pytye that a man sholde mokke mayster Masker whan euery fole maye perceyue hym in so great a mater wryte so wysely ¶ And yet you maye se that I dele wyth hym very gentylly For in thys poynt wherin by cōtraryeng of Cristes own wordes he wryteth playne heresye I minyshe his bordē of that odiouse cryme bycause the mater in thys place so serueth me do couer the both of his 〈◊〉 heresye with this prety plaster of his pleasaūt frenesie ¶ And yet I wene the man hath so lytle honesty that he wyll neuer can me thanke for my curtesye specyally bycause that as farre as I can se the man had leuer confesse hym selfe an heretyke than be proued a fole And that appereth well in this For this lytell scabbe of hys foly he labo reth somwhat to hyde and couer so that a man muste pull of the clowte ere he can spye the boche But as for y e boch of hys cancred heresyes with out any clowt or plaster he laieth out abrode to shewe to begge withall amonge the blessed bretherne as beggers laye theyr fore legges out in fyght that lye a beggynge a frydays aboute saynt sauyour and at ye. Sauy gate ¶ But as for raylynge agaynst ima ges purgatory and 〈◊〉 to sayn tes and agaynst the holy canō of the masse all this he taketh for tryfles and wolde we sholde reken all these heresyes of his for poyntes well and suffycyently proued by that that he goth so boldely forth on biyond them denyeth the blessed body of Cryste it selfe in the blessed sacrament to And where as he not onely mokketh and iesteth agaynst the olde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and sayntes of 〈◊〉 catholyke chyrche but agaynste oure sauyour hym selfe in hys holy sacrament to yet the sage sad ercnest holy mā all made of grauite sadnes and seueryte must hym selfe be reue rently reasoned with may haue no mokke of his matched wyth no mery worde of myne in no maner wyse ¶ But yet lyke as yf a ryght greate man wolde wantonly walke a mummynge and dysguyse hym selfe and with nyce appareyle dyssemble hys personage and with a fonde visour hydde and couer his visage he muste be content to be taūted of euery good felow that he meteth as merely as hym selfe lyste to ieste wyth them so tyll mayster Masker here put of his maskers visour and shewe forth his owue venerable visage that I may se hym such an honorable personage as it may become hym to saye to me what he lyste and me to requyte hys mockes with no mery worde in this world but stande styll demurely and make hym lowe curtesy agayne I wyll not let in y e meane tyme whyle I wote nere what he is and whyle his wytteles wrytynge maketh men wene he were a wylde gose to be so bolde and homely wyth his maystershyp as sory as I am for hym whā he playeth the blasphemouse beste to laugh yet make mery wyth hym where I se hym playe the fole ¶ Yet wyll I now lette passe his re pugnaunce another foly of hys For yf euer he defende his foly y t I haue shewed you than shall he be fayne to declare his repugnaunce hym selfe And therfore I leue that poynte for hym selfe that in defendyng his foly he maye shew his repugnaunce and so for defence of a syngle foly proue hym selfe thryes a fole fyrst in wrytynge foly secundly in wrytynge repugnaunce thyrdly to be so folysshe 〈◊〉 in defēce of that one foly to bryng in the totherto ¶ Makynge therfore for thys tyme no senger tale of his folyes whiche wold make myne answere ouer long to brynge them in all let vs se some pyece of his fruytefull exposycyon The. iii. chapyter IN the seconde lefe these are his wordes I am the brede of lyfe and who so come to me that is to saye who so is gryffed and ioyned to me by fayth shall neuer honger that is who so byleue in me is satissyed It is fayth therfore that stanncheth this honger and thyrste of the soule Fayth it is therfore in Cryst that fylleth our hungry hartes so that we can desyre no nother yf we ones thus eate and drynk hym by fayth that is to say yf we byleue his fleshe and body to haue ben broken and hys bloude shedde for out synnes for thā are our sowles satysfyed and we be iustyfyed ¶ The worde of Chryst good reader with which he begynneth is well and fully fulfylled yf it be vnderstā den as I haue before declared that is to wytte that who so come onys by well workynge fayth and perseueraunce therin vnto the meate that is Chryste and attayne the possessy ō and fruicion of hym in blysse he shall neuer hunger nor
as the Chomystycall papystes saye ben inuisyble wyth all 〈◊〉 dymencyoned body vnder the forme of bredetranssubstancyated into it And after a lyke Chomistycall mystery the wyne transsubstancyated to into hys blonde so that they sholde eate his flesh and drynke his blonde after theyr owne carnall 〈◊〉 andynge but yet in another forme to put away all grudge of stomake Or syth saynt 〈◊〉 yt he had thus vnderstode hys maysters mynde and toke vpon hym to wryte hys maysters wordee wold leue this sermon vnto the worlde to be redde he my 〈◊〉 now haue delyuered vs and them from this dowte But Chryst wolde not so satysfye theyr questyon but answered veryly veryly I say vnto you excepte ye eate the flesshe of the sone of man and drynke his bloude ye shall not haue that lyfe in your selues He that eateth my flessh and drynketh my blonde hath lyfe euerlastynge and I shall steve hym vp in the laste daye For my flesshe is very meate my bloude the very drynke He sayth not here that brede shal be transsubstancyated or conuerted into his body nor yet the wyne into his bloude ¶ 〈◊〉 good chrysten readers thys man here in a folysshe iestynge and mych blasphemouse raysyng maner agaynst the conuersyon of the brede and wyne into the blessed body and bloude of Chryste in the hlessed sacrament in conclusyon as for a clere confutacyon of me of saynt Thomas bothe vppon whyche holy doctour and saynt he foly shely iesteth by name he argueth as youse that 〈◊〉 Chryst had entended to haue geuen them his flesshe and his bloude in the sacrament than myght he haue decla red it more openly with mo wordes and more playnly And than mayster Masker deuiseth Chryst the wordes that he wold haue had hym say yf he had so ment And therin the blasphemouse beste deuyseth that he wolde haue had our sauyour say y t he wold play as iuglers do and slyly conuay hym selfe into a singyng lofe that our sauyour so doth he sayth is myne opinion wherin the man is shameles shamefully bylyeth me For I saye as the catholyke fayth is that he not conuayeth but conuerteth the brede into his owne body and chaungeth it therin to and neyther conuayeth as he speketh his body into the brede for than were the brede and his bles sed body bothe together styll which false opinion is Luthers heresy and that knoweth this man well inough and therefore sheweth hym selfe shamelesse in layenge that opinion to me nor also conuerteth not his blessed body into brede for that were yet mych worse For thā remaineth there nothynge ellys but brede styll that is ye wote well mayster Maskers owne heresy for whiche he wryteth agaynste me and therfore is he dowble shamelesse as you se to say any suche thynge of me ¶ But in conclusion theffecte of all his fonde argumēt is that euynthere in that place to breke stryfe to soyle all theyr dowte our lorde myghte wolde haue done at the selfe cōmunicaciō or els at y e lest wyse 〈◊〉 at y e tyme of his wrytyng myght and wold haue told thē playnly that they shold ete it noti forme of flesh but in forme of bred But neyther our sauyour than tolde them so nor theuangrelyste hath tolde vs so in the reportynge of his wordes spoken to them ergo it must nestes be that Chryste ment not so ¶ This is mayster Maskers argu ment whiche he lyketh so specyally that afterwarde in another place he harpeth vppon the same strynge agayne But surely yf the man be in scrypture any thynge exercysed than hath he a very poore remembraunce And whrthet be be scryptured or not he hath a very bare barayne wytte whan he can wene that this argumēt were aught ¶ For fyrste as for the scrypture can he fynde no mo places than one in whych our sauyour wolde not tell out playnely all at onys ¶ Coulde Chryst of the sacrament of Baptysme haue tolde no more to Nichodemus yf he had wolde Coulde he to the Iewes that asked hym a token haue told them no more of his deth sepulture and resurreccyon but the fygure of the prophete Ionas thre dayes swalowed in to y t whalys bely ¶ Whan his dyscyples asked hym 〈◊〉 the restytucyon of the kyngdome of Israell and mysse toke his kyngdome for a worldely kyngdome dyd he forth with declare theym all that euer he coulde haue tolde theym or all y t euer he tolde them therof at any other tyme after nay nor theuangelyste in the rehersynge neyther ¶ 〈◊〉 this mā eyther neuer redde or ellys forgotten that all be it our sauyour came to be knowē for Cryst somtyme declared hym so him self yet at some other tymes he forbode his dysciples to be a knowen therof So that as for y e scripturys excepte he haue eyther lytell redde or lytell remēbered of them wold haue made mayster Masker to forbere thys folysshe argument for shame ¶ But now what wyt hath this mā that can argue thus whan he sholde yf he had wytte well perceyue his argumēt answered by the lyke made agaynste hym selfe vppon the very selfe same place ¶ For mayster masker sayth here that our lorde ment nothynge ellys but to tell them of the geuyng of his flesh to y e deth for y e life of the world and to make them byleue that Now aske I therfore mayster Masker whyther Chryste coulde not haue tolde them by more playne wordes than he dyd there yf it had so ben his pleasure that he sholde dye for the synne of the world and in what wyse also If mayster Masker answere me no I am sure euery wyse man wyll tell hym yes For he spake there not halfe so playnely of the geuynge of his body to be slayne as he dyd of geuynge it to be eaten For as for his deth not so myche as onys named it but onely sayeth And the brede that I shall geue you is myne owne flesshe whyche I shall geue for the lyfe of the worde In whyche wordes he not onys nameth deth But of the eatyng he spe keth so expressely by and by and so spake before all of eatynge mych more afterwarde to that he gaue them lytle occasyon to thynke that he ment of his deth any worde there at all but of the eatynge onely ¶ And some greate holy doctours also construe those whole wordes And the brede that I shall gyue is my flesshe which I shall gyue for the lyfe of the worlde to be spo ken onely of the gyuynge of hys bles sed body in the sacramēt and neyther the fyrste parte nor the seconde to be spoken of his deth But that in the fyrste parte Chryste sheweth what he wolde gyue them to eate that is to wytte his owne flesshe and in the seconde parte he shewed them why he wolde geue the worlde hys flesshe to eate and what commodyle they shold haue by the eatynge of it sayenge y t he wolde
and some meruailed not that bycause I sayd the fyrste and he proueth the secund therfore I am quyte caste and caught in myne owne trappe This man is a wyly shrewe in argument I promyse you The. vii chapyter BUt now that I haue good readers so fayre escaped my trappe I truste with the helpe of some holy saynt to cach mayster Masker in his owne trappe that his maystershyppe hath made for me ¶ Ye wote well good readers that the trappe whiche he made for me were these two wyly capcyouse questyons of his with whych he thought to cache me that is to wytte fyrste whyther the dyscyples and apostles hard and vnderstode our sauyour in all thre places and than vpon myne answere ye or yes his other questyō ferther whyther they meruayled or murmured Unto whyche whyle I haue answered no now by the trappys of his questyons he rekeneth me dreuyn to be caught in myne owne bycause I sayd that many merueyled as though many other might not bycause the apostles dyd ¶ Now before I shewe you howe hym selfe is taken in his own trappe ye shall here his owne gloryouse wor des with which he bosteth y t he hath taken me wolde make men wene it were so 〈◊〉 these are his wordes Here may you se whether thys olde holy vpholder of the popys chyrche is brought euyn to be taken in hys owne trappe For the dyscyples and his 〈◊〉 neyther murmured nor meruayled nor yet were not offended wyth this theyr mayster Chrystes worde 〈◊〉 and maner of speche For they were well acquainted wyth such phrases answered theyr mayster Cryst when he asked theym wyll ye go hence fro me to Lorde sayd they to whome shall we go 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 the wordes of euevlastyng lyfe we byleue y t thou art Chryste the sone of the lyuynge god Lo maysters more they neyther merueyled nor murmured And why For bycause as ye saye they vnderstode it in an allegorye sence and petceyued well that he ment not of hys materyall body to be eaten wyth theyr teth but he ment it of hym selfe to be byleued to be very god and very man hauynge flesshe and bloude as they had and yet was he the sone of the lyuynge god Thye bylyefe gathered they of all hys spyrytuall sayenges as hym selfe expouneth hys owne wordes sayenge My flesshe profyteth nothynge meanynge to be eaten but it is the spyryte that geueth this lyfe And the wordes that I speke vnto you are spyryte and lyfe So that who so byleue my flesshe to be crucyfyed and broken and my bloude to be shede for hys synnes he eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloud and hath lyfe euerlastyng And thys is the lyfe wherwyth the ryghtuouse lyueth euen by fayth Abacuk 2. ¶ Lo good reader here haue I reher sed you his wordes whole to th ende And yet bycause you shall se that I wyll not hyde from you any pyece of hys that may make for any strength of his mater I shal reherse you fer ther his other wordes wryten in his 13. lefe whyche I wolde haue touched before sauynge that I thought to reserue it for hym to strength with all thys place of his where it myght do hym best seruyce where he wold proue agaynst me to trappe me with that the cause why the dyscyples and apostles merueyled not nor murmured not nor were not offended was bycause they vnderstode Chrystes wordes to be spoken not of very eatynge of hys flesshe but onely of the bylyefe of his passyon by waye of a parable or an allegorye as he spake those other worde whan he sayed I am y e dore whan he sayd I am the vyne The worde lo of M. Masker with which he setteth forth the profe of this point in his 13 lefe be these in the ende of all his exposycyon vpon the syxt chapyter of saynt Iohn̄ Here is lo the conclusyon of all thye sermon Chryst very god and man had set hys flesshe byfore them to be reteyed with fayth that it sholde be broken and suffre for theyr synne But they coulde not eate it spi rytually bycause they byleued not in hym wherfore many of hys dyscyples fyll from hym and walked no more wyth hym And than he sayd to the. xii wyll ye go away to And Symon Peter answered Lorde to whome shall we go Thou haste the wordes of euerlastynge lyfe and we byleue and are sute that thou arte Chryste the sone of the lyuynge god Here it is manyfest what Peter and his felowes vnderstode by this eatynge and drynkynge of Chryste For they were perfytely taught that it stode all in the bylyefe in Chryst as theyr answere here testyfy eth If this mater had stode vppon so depe a myracle as our papystes fayne wythout any word of god not comprehended vnder any of theyr comen senses that they shold eate hys body vnder forme of brede as longe depe thycke and 〈◊〉 brode as it hangeth vppon the crosse they beynge yet but feble of fayth not confermed with the holy goost 〈◊〉 here nedes haue wondered stonied and staggered and haue ben more inquisytyue in and of so strange a mater than they were But they neyther dowted nor merueyled nor murmured nor nothynge offended wyth wyth ma ner of speche as were the other that slypte awaye but they answered fermely Thou hast the wordes of euerlastynge lyfe and we byleue c. Now to the exposycyon of the wordes of our lordes sowper ¶ Lo good readers ye wyll I trow nowe bere me recorde that I dele playnly with mayster Maskar here and hyde nothynge of his a syde that maye do hym any substancyall seruyce towarde the profe of hys purpose And I warraunt you yt shal be long ere you fynde hym or any of all that secte deale in suche playne ma ner wyth me ¶ But nowe good Christen reader reade al these whole wordes of hys in both y e places as often as you lyst and consyder theym well and than shal you perceyue in conclusyon y t he proueth hys purpose by none other thynge in all this worde than onely by his owne wordes expownynge al way the wordes of Chryste as may ster Maskar lyste hym self And vppon that that hym selfe sayeth that the cause wherfore the disciples and apostses 〈◊〉 not not murmured not at these wordes of Christ The brede y t I shall geue you is my flesh c. was bycause they per ceyued that Chryste spake yt in a pa table as I say of his other wordes I am the dore and I am the very vyne vppon these wordes of mayster Maskere owne mayster Maskar concludeth for his purpose the selfe same thynge that he fyrste pre supposeth the thyng that he shold not presuppose but preue that is to wyt that Chryst spake yt but by way of a parable ¶ But agaynste mayster Maskar and his presumptuouse presuppo synge the mater appereth playne For as I haue byfore sayde our sauyour whan he sayd I am the
masker lyste better to byleue hym self than all them which yf he do as in dede he doth than is he myche 〈◊〉 fole than a naturall fole in 〈◊〉 ¶ For as for his iii. places of saynt Austayne Tertulyane and saynte Chrysostome whom he bryngeth in his secunde parte I shall in my secunde parte in takynge vp of his secund course whan we come to frute pare hym I warraunt you those thre perys so nere that he getteth not a good morcell amonge them And yet peraduenture ere I come at it to ¶ For so is it now good reders that I very certaynly knowe that y e boke whiche Fryth made laste agaynst the blessed sacrament ys come ouer into thys realme in prente and secretely sent abrode into the bretherns hands and some good systers to And for as mych as I am surely enformed for trouth that Fryth hath in to that boke of his taken many textes of old holy doctours wylyly handeled by false frere Nuy skyn byfore to make it falsely seme that tholde holy doctours and sayntes were fauerouse of theyr false heresye therfore wyll I for the whyle sette mayster maskers secund part asyde tyll I haue answe red that pestylent peuyshe booke of Iohn̄ Frith about which I purpose to go as soone as I can gete one of them whych so many beyng abrode shall I truste not be longe to And than shal I by the grace and helpe of almyghty god make you the 〈◊〉 the fashed of Fryth and frere Nuys kyn bothe as open and as clere as I haue in thys wurke made open and clere vnto you the falshed and the foly of mayster Masker here ¶ And where as I a yere now passed and more wrote and put in prynte a letter agaynste the pestylent treatyse of Iohn̄ Fryth whyche he than had made and secretely sent abrode amonge the bretherne agaynste the blessed sacrament of th aulter which letter of myne as I haue declared in myn apology I nathelesse caused to be kepte styll and wolde not suffre it to be put out abrode into euery man nes hands bycause Frythes treatyse was not yet at that time in prente yet now sythe I se that there are comen ouer in prente not onely Frythes boke but ouer that this maskers boke also and that eyther of theyr bothe bokes maketh mencyon of my sayde letter and wolde seme to soyle it and laboreth sore there about I do therfore nowe suffre the prenter to putte wyth thys boke my sayd letter also to sale ¶ And for as myche also as those authorytees of saynt Austayn saynt Chrysostome and Turtuliane whych master maysker layeth in hys secunde parte I shall of lykelyhed fynde also in Frythes boke and therfore answere theym there and all mayster Maskers whole mater to before I retourne to his secund part whyche yet I wyll after all thys god wyllyng not leue nor let go so in the meane while may mayster mas kar syth it is ashe saith so great plea sure to hym to be wryten agaynst ha uynge as he bosteth all solucyons so redely loke and assay whither he can soyle these thynges wyth whyche I haue in this fyrst parte ouethrowen his whole heresye and proued hym very playne a very false fole all redye Of whose false wyly foly to be ware our forde geue vs grace and of all suche other lyke whych with folyshe argumentes of they re owne blynde reason wresting the scripture into a wronge sense agaynste the very playn wordes of the text agaynst the xposycyons of all the olde holy sayntes agaynste the determynacyons of dyuers whole generall counsayles agaynste the full consent of all trewe chrysten nacyons this xv hundred yere before theyr days and agaynste the playne declaracyon of almyghty god hym self made in eue ry chrysten coūtrey by so many playn open myracles labour now to make vs so folyshely blynde and madde as to forsake the very trew catholike fayth forsake y e socyetie of the trew catholyque chyrche and wyth fundry sectes of heretike fallē out therof to set both holy dayes fastyng days at nought for the deuyllis pleasure to forbere abstayne from all prayer to be made either for soules or to saynte iest on our blessed lady y e immaculate mother of Chryste make mockes at all pylgrymages and crepynge of Chrystes crosse the holy ceremonyes of the chyrche and the sacramen tes to turne theym into tryflynge wyth lykenynge theym to wyne garlandes and ale polys and fynally by these wayes in the ende and conclusyon forsake our sauyour hym selfe in the blessed sacramente and in stede of his own blessed bodye his blood wene there were nothynge but bare brede and wyne and call it ydolatrye there to do hym honour But woo may suche wreches be For this we may be sure that who so dyshonour god in one place wyth occasyon of a false fayth standynge that false bylyefe and infydelyte all thonour that he dothe hym any where besyde ys odyouse and dyspyghtfull and reiected of god and neuer shall saue that faythlesse soule from the fyre of hel From whcche our lorde geue theym grace trewely to tourne in tyme so that we and they to gether in one catholyque chyrche knytte vnto god to gether in one catholyque fayth fayth I saye not fayth alone as they do but acompanyed wyth good hope and wyth her chyefe syster well workynge charytie maye so receyue Chrystes blessed sacramentes here and specyally that we may so receyue hym selfe his very blessed bodye very fleshe and blood in the blessed sacrament our holy blessed howsyll that we maye here be wyth hym incorporate so by grace that after the shorte course of this transytorye lyfe wyth hys tender pytye powred vppon vs in purgatorye at the prayour of good people and intercessyon of holy sayntes we maye be wyth them in theyr holy felyshyppe incorporate in Chryste in hys eternall glorye Amen Finis The fautes escaped in the prentynge of thys booke In the preface 〈◊〉 pag. 〈◊〉 the fautes y e amendmētes xii ii i. hys syxte the syxte xiii i. xx fashed falshed xv ii iiii fashed falshed In the booke 〈◊〉 i. xvii for the fro the xvii ii xiiii meat mete xix i. ii meat mete xx ii xxii could could not xxi i. xvii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 xxii i. xiii onele onely xxvii i. xix byddyng byddynge 〈◊〉 xxxii i. xxi furst the the xlviii i. xiiii wpych whych xlviii ii iii. fayth fayth 〈◊〉 ii ix some 〈◊〉 such some such xlviii ii xvii 〈◊〉 it 〈◊〉 xlviii ii xxii hyuynge gyuynge lii i. xxi 〈◊〉 doctout lv i. vii quein quam lxx ii iii. how saynt saynt lxxi ii i. vnto the vn the lxxv i. vi bothe he he bothe lxxxviii ii x. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lxxxviii il xlii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ii xi 〈◊〉 chose fo pag. li. the fautes y t amendemētes cii i. xi preasely precysely cviii i. vii such shulde cix ii ix so vouchsaue 〈◊〉 cix ii 〈◊〉 by these by the cx i. vii 〈◊〉 you
well that yf theyr visours hadde ben of theyr facys shame wolde not haue suffred theym to sette forthe a fote ¶ And mayster 〈◊〉 vnder his 〈◊〉 face forceth not myche to shyfte a false caste amonge wyth a payre of false dyce ¶ And therfore syth thys man by wythdrawynge his name from hys booke hath done on a visour of dyssimulacyon dyssimulynge his person to voide the shame of his fashed and speketh to mych to be called mayster 〈◊〉 whyche name he were els well worthy for hys false dyce I shall in this dyspicyon bytwene hym and me be 〈◊〉 for thys onys syth by some name muste I call hym for lacke of hys other name to call hym mayster 〈◊〉 And thus finishynge 〈◊〉 preface we shall begynne the mater The fyrst booke The. i. chapyter MAyster 〈◊〉 hath in thys hys poysened treatice agaynst Crystes hole some so 〈◊〉 xxxii leuys In y e first xiiii wherof he expowneth vs the later parte of the syxte chapyter of saynt 〈◊〉 And incidently by the way the man maketh as though he answered the reasons whiche I made in my letter agaynste the pestylent treatice that fryth made fyrst agaynst the blessed sacramēt And in the same xiiii leuys also he bryngeth forth two thynges for specyall notable wherin he sayth I haue openly cōtraryed myn 〈◊〉 wrytynge ¶ I wyll good reader peruse the re manaūt of hys booke after this fyrst part answered In whyche conteynyng these thre thynges that I haue 〈◊〉 you the fyrst hath he so han desed y t all were there not as there are in dede dyuerse false 〈◊〉 interfaced therin yet it were for the mater of very sleyght effecte For in his exposiciō he nothyng toucheth nor cometh nere to the thyng wherin the poynt of all the mater standeth ¶ The secund point hath he so well treated in hys argumentacyon that the reasons whyche I laye agaynste Frith mayster Masker fyrst falsely reherseth and after so folyshely soyleth that he leueth thē more stronger agaynst hym whan he hath done 〈◊〉 he fownde them whan he bygan ¶ And as for the thyrde poynt concernynge hys notable notys of suche thynges as he sayeth to myne ouersyghte them he so garnessheth setteth out so semely to the show that I wolde no man sholde euer after this daye truste any worde that I shall wryte but yf ye se mayster 〈◊〉 pfaynesy proued therin eyther so folyshe as no man shold trust his wyt or so false that no man shold trust his trouth Let vs therfore now come to the fyrste point that is to wytte hys exposicyon The. ii chapyter THe whole summe of his 〈◊〉 is that our sauyour 〈◊〉 those wordes takynge occasion of the myracle that he so late before had wrought among them in fedyng fyut thousand of thē with fyue barly louys and two fysshes dyd in those wordes vppon theyr new resort vnto hym whan they folowed hym to Capharnaum fyrst rebuke blame them bycause they soughte hym not for the miracles that they had sene hym wurke but bicause they had ben fedde by hym fylled theyr belyes and that therfore our sauyour exhorted them to labour rather to gete that meat that neuer sholde perysshe Op pon whiche exhortacyon whan the Iewes asked hym what they sholde do wherby they sholde wurke y e wur kes of god Chryst sayd vnto them that the wurke of god was to byleue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hym whom the father had 〈◊〉 ¶ Thā goeth he ferther she weth that vpon the wordes of the Iewis askyng our lord what tokē he shewed for whiche they shold byleue in hym syth theyr forefathers had gyuen thē the brede of Māna in deserte of whi che it was writen he gaue them bred from aboue our lorde shewed them that Moses gaue them not that bred from heuen but his owne father had geuen them the very brede that was descended from heuen and that oure lorde there by all the remanaunt of those wordes in the sayd syxte chapiter of sait Iohn̄ declareth that hym selfe is that very bred is to be 〈◊〉 by the fayth and the byliefe y t Chrystes 〈◊〉 and body was broken and his bloude shed for our synnes And so expowneth he forth all these wordes of Chryst applyeng them onely to the declaracyon of his passyon to be suffred for our redempcion and that our sauyour wold haue them by leue that point that the byliefe of y t point was ment by the eatynge and that that fayth and byliefe is y e 〈◊〉 of our soules ¶ The whole somme of his exposicyō is this in al his sayd xiiii 〈◊〉 I mene not that this is all that euer he sayth therin for I leue out his cir cumstaunces his garnysshynge his notes his argumentacions his contencyons with me his mokkes his tauntys agaynst all catholyke folke his many folde heresyes also with all whiche here and there he furnyssheth all the progresse of his paynted processe all whiche thynges I shall after touche by them selfe But the somme the substaunce and the ende wherto all the whole processe of his exposicyō cometh is this that I haue rehersed you The. iii. chapyter BUt now good chrysten readers all this exposicyō were it neuer so trew neuer so comely nor neuer so cunnyngly handeled yet were it as I tolde you before very farre from the purpose For this exposicyō myghte be good ynough yet myght Thryste in those wordes teache the thynge that we speke of 〈◊〉 that is to wytte besyde the teachyng them that hym selfe was the very brede y t was descended from heuyn to gyue lyfe to the world and that he sholde suffre deth for the synnes of y e world and that they shold byleue these thyn ges and so eate hym 〈◊〉 by fayth he myghte I saye teche in those wordes also that he wolde gyue vnto men his very body his very 〈◊〉 to eate and his very bloud to drinke and that he wolde that they shold byleue that lesson also And wrth y e spy rituall eatynge therof by farth receyue and eate also his very blessed body flesshe and bloude by the mouth not in his owne flesshely forme as y e flesshely Iewes mysse toke it but as hym selfe than ment it and parte there expowned it and by his institu 〈◊〉 dyd after more clerely declare it informe of brede and wyne in y e blessed sacrament of the aulter ¶ It is I trow good readers to no man almost vnknowen that the holy scrypture of god is in suche meruelous maner by the profound wysedome of his holy spyryte for y e more plentuouse profyte of his chyrche de uised indyghted and wryten that it hath not onely that one sense trewe which we call the litterall sence that is to wytte that sence whiche for the fyrst lessō therof god wold we shold perceiue and lerne but also diuerse other sensys spirytuall pertaynynge to the profyte of our maners and instrucciōs in sūdry vertues by meane of 〈◊〉 openyng
or meÌ„t of y e geuyng of his body to be eaten in the blessed sacrament is an imaginacioÌ„ of myn own hed 〈◊〉 mayster Masher argueth speketh 〈◊〉 way of mayster More his fayth as though it were no mannes essys but myne ¶ But to the entent good readers that ye may cleresy perceiue maystes Mashers malycyouse fafsed therin I shall in dyuers places of thys exposycyon concernyng specyally this poynt of Chrystes spekyng and menynge of the gyuynge of his owne very body in the blessed sacrament 〈◊〉 you the namye of some of those whom I folow therin some of theyr wordes to by whych ye shal le that I deceyue you not as maister Masher doth that thorow all his exposycyon flytteth all fro the poynte and dysimuleth all y e wordes of those olde holy men y e expowned it in suche wyse as he wolde we sholde wene that no good man euer dyd ¶ Vppon these wordes therfore of our sauyour And the brede that I shall gyue you is my flesshe that I shall geue for the lyfe of the worlde thus sayth Theophysactus ¶ Consyder that that brede that we eate in the sacrament is not onely a fygure of the fleshe of our forde but it is also the fleshe of our lord it self For he sayd not y e brede that I shall geue is a fygure of my flesshe but he sayd it is my flesshe For the same breade by secrete wordes thorow the mysticall benedyccpon by the cummyng also of the holy sppryte therevnto is transfourmed and chaunged into the flesshe of our lorde And lest that any man sholde be trowbeled in his mynde wenynge that it were not to be byleued y t brede sholde be flesh this is well knowen that whyle our lorde washed in his fleshe of brede receyued his noryshynge that brede whyche he than eate was than chaunged into hys body was made suche as his holy flesshe was and dyd susteyne and increace his flesshe after y e comen maner of men And therfore now also is the brede chaunged into the flesshe of our forde And how is it than wyll some man say that it appereth not to vs flesshe but brede That hath Chryste prouyded to the entent we shold not 〈◊〉 from the eatynge of it For yf it were geueÌ„ vs in lykenesse of flesshe we sholde be dysplesauntly dysposed towarde the receyuyng of our howsle But now by the goodnesse of god condescendynge to our infyrmytye this sacramentall meat appereth vnto vs such as we haue at other tymes bene accustomed wyth These are not my wordes so good christen reader but the word of that oldÌ„ holy cunnyng doctour Theophilactus whyche was also no satyn man but a greke bycause mayster Masher speketh so mych of papyst as though y e catholike fayth wherby the catholike chyrch byleueth y t in the blessed sacrament is the very blessed body of Crist were a thing but made imagyned by some pope of rome ¶ Now yf mayster Masker wyll say y t myne exposicion is in this poynt false here you se good readers that myne exposicyon is not myne but the exposicioÌ„ of Theophilactê° And the fore let hym leue dauÌ„cynge with me dauÌ„ce another white with hym ¶ But marke well two thinge now good reader iÌ„ these wordê one y t this good holy doctours calleth y e blessed sacrameÌ„t brede as saint Paule doth and oure sauyour hym selfe also in these wordes of his in this syxte chapyter of saynt IohnÌ„ and so doth also euery doctour of the chyrche almost Vppon whyche callynge of it brede frere Luther and Melancton theyr felowes take theyr holde to saye and affirme that it is very brede styll as vell after the consecracyon as afore And frere Duskyn with zuynglius George Joye Johan Fryth Tin dale turne forth ferther to the deuyll and not onely say that it is very bred styll but also that it is no thynge els ¶ But now consyder therfore as I say that Theophilactê° here calleth it brede as well as they sayenge the brede that we receiue in the misteries or sacrament is not onely a certayne fygure of the fleshe of our lorde but it is also the fleshe of our lord it self But than expresseth he plainely that though he calleth it brede he meneth not that it is very materyall brede styll as it was but that the brede ys transformed gone and changed into the very fleshe of Chryste And he setteth it out also with an ensample of the brede that is eaten and turned in to the flesshe of the man whom it nurysseth whyche euery man well woteth that any wytte hath that it is no lenger brede than ¶ And therfore Theophilactus cal leth it brede bycause it was brede as in the scrypture the serpeÌ„t in to which Aarons rodde was turned is called a rodde styll whyle it was no rodde but a serpent For there is it thus wri ten The rodde of Aron dyd deuour the roddes of the magycianis And as the scrypture calleth the serpent there a oodde so calleth it the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 brede And as Theophilactê° calleth here the blessed sacrament by the name of brede and yet declareth that it is no brede euyn so do all holy doctours that call it by that name of brede bothe mene indide and also do clerely declare that though they call it brede they know well it is no brede but in lykenesse and forme of brede vnder the sacramentall signe y e very blessed body of Cryst flesh bloude bonys and all neyther wythout the soule nor the godhed neyther ¶ Marke also good reader y e Theo phylactus sayth The brede whyche we eate in the misteryes or sacrameÌ„t is not onely a fygure of the flesshe of our lorde but it is also the flesshe of our lorde it selfe ¶ In these wordes good readers marke wel that he sayth it is a figure and yet for all that the very fleshe of Chryste ¶ Thys thynge I specyally desyre you to note bycause that by the markynge of thys one poynt ye maye voyde almoste all the crafte wyth whiche mayster Masker Fryth and Tyndale and all these heretykes la bour to deceyue you in the wrytynge of all the olde holy doctours ¶ For where so euer any of theÌ„ call the blessed sacrament a fygure there wolde these felowes make vs wene that he ment it were nothynge ellys But here you se that Theophylactus saith it is a figure as it is in dede but he telleth vs that it is also as in dede it is the very flesshe of oure lorde ¶ And therfore marke well these ii poynts in this one place y t whaÌ„ these heretikes proue that the blessed sacra meÌ„t is called bred they proue nothing agaynst vs. For they that call it brede declare yet that in dede it is not brede but the body of Chryste And whan they proue that it is called a fygure they proue no thynge agaynste vs. For they that saye it is a fygure saye it is
good readers that saynte Bede telleth you playne the same tale that I tell you that is to wytte that our sauyour in those wordes speketh of two geuynges of him selfe the tone to his dyscyples in the sacrament the tother to deth for hys dyscyples on the crosse And therfore whyle mayster Masker with his heresye doth vtterly denye the tone by his exposicioÌ„ affermeth that Crist in thys place dyd speke but of the tother saynt Bede hereth me recorde that maister Masker lyeth and hath made his exposicyon false And the ferther ye go in the wordes of thys gospell the more shall mayster Mas kers false dyceappere The. xv chapyter WHan the Iewes harde our lord saye that bysyde the spyrytuall meat of the brede of his godhed the brede that he wolde gyue theym sholde be hys owne 〈◊〉 than began they to contende and dyspute amonge them vpon that worde as one of the moste meruelouse and strauÌ„ge wordes that euer they had herde before And therfore they sayd how can this man geue vs 〈◊〉 flesshe to eate ¶ 〈◊〉 Bede sayth here and so sayth saynt Austayne both that they had conceyued a false opinyon that our lorde wold cut out hys own body in gobettes and make them eate it so in such maner of dede peces as men bye byefe or 〈◊〉 out of y e bouchers shoppys Thys thyng they thought that he neyther coulde do and also that though he could yet wolde they not eate it as a thynge fowle and lothsome ¶ We fynde good readers of one or two mo bysyde these Iewes here y e at the worde of god asked how For bothe our lady asked how and 〈◊〉 also asked how ¶ Our blessed lady whan thangell told her that she sholdÌ„ conceyue and brynge forth a chyld asked this questyon how shall that 〈◊〉 For man I know none not for that she any thing dowted of the trewth of godde word sent her by godde messenger but bycause she wold know the meanis for as mych as she had determyned her selfe vpoÌ„ perpetuall virginite and therof a promyse had passed a vow was made and Ioseph well agreed therwith as it maye welbe gathered vppon the gospell ¶ For thangell sayd not y e hast coÌ„ceyued but thou shalt coÌ„ceyue And therfore whaÌ„ she answered how shall y t be syth I know no man this answer had not ben to the purpose yf she had ment no more but y t she knewe none yet for he sayd not y t she was coÌ„ceyued yet but shold coÌ„ceiue after which she myght after do by y e knowlege of her husbaÌ„d after though she knewe no maÌ„ yet And therfore we may wel gather of his wordê hers togyther as I haue shewed in my dialoge y t whan she sayd how shall this be for I knowe no man she ment therin not onely that she knew none alredy but also that she hadde promysed and vowed that she neuer wolde knowe man afterwarde vsynge therin such a maner of spekynge as a mayed myghte saye by one whom she wold neuer haue we may well talke togyther but we wedde not togyther ¶ Now that her determinacyoÌ„ was not with her selfe onely but confermed also with y e coÌ„sent of her spouse it maye well appere For without his agrement she coulde not reken her selfe to be sure to kepe it ¶ And that her determynacyon of perpetuall vyrginite was a promyse and a vow to god it may well appere by this that els whan she had worde from god by the angell that she shold conceyue and beare a chylde she had had no cause to aske y e questyon how For if she were at lyberty to lye with a man than had that reuelacion ben a commaundement vnto her to labour for the concepcyon whyle there were vppon her part no let or impedimeÌ„t neyther of nature nor conscience ¶ And very lyke it is that yf she had ben in that poynt at her libertye than though she had mynded perpetuall virgynite yet syth she had entended it neyther for auoydyng of the bodyly payne of the vyrth nor for any abo minacyon of goddes naturall ordynaunce for procreacyon for suche respectes be bothe vnnaturall and synfull but onely for goddes pleasure of deuocyon it is well lykely that he rynge by the messenger of god what maner of chyld that was y t god wold she shold haue she wolde haue made no questyon of the mater but gladly gone about the gettynge ¶ But here may some man happely say that this reasoÌ„ by which I proue ber vow wyll serue well inough to soyle it selfe and proue that it appereth not that she had made any vow at all but had onely some mynde and desyre of perpetuall virginyre but yet styll at her lybertye without any promyse or bonde For syth she hadde now by reuelacyon from god that his pleasure was she sholde haue a chylde a bare purpose of virgynyte a vow of virginyte were all of one weyght For god was able as well to dispence with her vow as to byd her leue of her vnuowed purpose ¶ Of trouth yf our lady had wayed her vow as lyght as happely some lyght vowesse wold thys mynd she myght haue had ye some vowesses peraduenture there are which as yet neuer entend to breke theyr vow but thynke they wolde not with the brekyng of theyr vow fall in y e dyspleasure of god though they wist to wyn therwith al this hole wretched world whiche yet wold be ê‘aduenture well content y t god wold sende them word vyd them go wedde gete chyldreÌ„ ¶ And those vowesses lo that hapen to haue any suche mynde let them at the fyrste thought make a crosse on the yrb rest and blesse it a waye For though it be no breking of theyr vow yet is it a waye well to warde it and draueth yf it be not 〈◊〉 very nere the pyttys brynke of synne whaÌ„ they wolde be gladde that god wold sende theÌ„ theyr pleasure without any sinne ¶ And surely yf vpoÌ„ y e delite in such a noughty mynde god wold suffre y e deuyl to illude such a vowesse traÌ„s fygure hym self into the sykenesse of an angel of light call hym self Labuel tell her y e god greteth her well and sendeth her worde that she shall haue a chyld though he there wyth went his way neuer tolde her more whyther it shold be good or bad her secrete in ward affeccyon to ward her flesshely luste lurkynge in her harte vnknowen vnto her selfe couered hyd vnder the cloke of that mynde that she wold not for all the worlde take her own pleasure without goddes wyll wold make her vnderstaÌ„d this message for a dyspensacyon of her vow and for a commaundement to brehe it and so go forth and folow it wythout any ferther questyon and go gete a chylde and make the 〈◊〉 a prophete ¶ But 〈◊〉 blessed virgyn Wary was so surely sette vpon the kepyng of her vowed
to performe hys worde And 〈◊〉 for otherwyse how and in what maner he could or wold do it he lefte theyr questyon and theyr how vnsoysed ¶ But now lest mayster Masker Masher make men wene that I make all thys mater of myne own hede ye shall here good readers vppon thys questyon of the Jewys what saynte Cyryll sayth ¶ The Iewes sayth he wyth greate wyckednes cry out and saye agaynst god How may he gyue vs his flesh they forgete that there is nothynge impossyble to god For whyle they were fleshely they could not as saint Poule sayth vnderstande spyrytuall thynges but thys great sacrament mystery semed vnto theym but foly But lette vs I beseche you take profyte of theyr synnes and let vs geue ferme fayth vnto the sacramentes lette vs neuer in suche hygh thynges eyther speake or thynge that same how For it is a Iewes worde that same and a cause of exterme ponysshement And Nicodemus therfore when he sayd How may these thynges be was answered as he wel was worthy Art thou the mayster in Isra ell and knowest not these thynges Let vs therfore as I sayd be taught by other folkes fawtes iÌ„ goddes wor ke not to aske How but leue vnto hymselfe the science and the way of hys owne worke For lyke wyse as though no man knoweth what thing god is in hys owne nature and substauÌ„ce yet a man is iustified by fayth when he byleueth that they that seke hym shal be ryally rewarded by hym so thowgh a man know not the reasoÌ„ of goddys workys yet when thorow fayth he dowteth not but that god is able to do all thyng he shall haue for thys good mynde great rewarde And that we shold be of thys mynde our lorde hym selfe exhorteth vs by the prophete Esaye where he sayth thus vnto men ¶ My deuyces be not as your deuyces be nor my wayes suche as your wayes be fayth our lorde but as the heuyn is exalted from the erth so be my wayes exalted aboue yours and my deuyces aboue your deuyces Chryste therfore whyche excelleth in wysedome and power by his godhed how can it be but that he shall worke so wonderfully that the reason and cause of hys workes shall so farre passe and excelle the capacyte of man nes wytte that our mynde shall neuer be possyble to perceyue it Doste thou not se oftentyme what thynge men of hande crafte do They tell vs somtyme that they can do some thinges wherin theyr wordes seme of theÌ„ self icredyble But yet bycause we haue sene them somtyme done suche other thynges lyke we therby byleue them that they can do those thynges to Now can it be therfore but y u they be worthy extreme torment that so coÌ„tempne almyghty god the worker of all thynges that they dare be so bolde as in hys wordes to speke of how while he is he whoÌ„ they knowe to be the geuer of all wysedome and whyche as the scrypture techeth vs is able to do all thynge But now thou Iewe yf thou wylte yet cry out and aske how than wyll I be coÌ„tent to playe the fole as thou doest and aske how to Than wyll I gladly axe y e how thou camest out of Egipt how Moyses rodde was turned into the serpent how the hand strykken wyth lepry was in a moment restored to hys formare state agayne how the waters turned into bloude how thy fore fathers went thorow the mydde sees as though they had walked on drye grounde how the bytter waters were chaunged swete by the tree how the fountayne of water flowed out of the stone how the runnyng ryuer of Iordane stode styll how the inexpugnable walles of Ieryco were ouerthro weeÌ„ with the bare noyse and clamour of the trumpettes Innume rable thynges there are in whyche yf thou aske how thou must nedes subuerte and set at nought all the whole scrypture the doctryne of the prophe tes and Moyses owne wrytynge to wherupon you Iewes ye shold haue byleued Cryste yf there semed you than any hard thynge in his wordes humbly than haue asked hym Thus sholde ye rather haue done than lyke dronken folke to crye out Now can he gyue vs hys flesshe do ye not per ceyue that when ye say such thynges there appereth anone a great arrogaunce in your wordes ¶ Nere you se good readers that S. Cyriss in these wordes psaynesy shewed y t Crist here in these wordê The brede that I shall geue you is my flesh whych I shall geue for the lyfe of the worlde ment of y e geuyng of hys flesshe in the sacrament And that the Iewes wondered that he sayd he wolde geue them his flesshe and asked how he could do it bycause they thought it impossyble And in reprofe of theyr incredusyte and that folyshe mynde of theyrs by whiche they could not byleue that god could geue them his owne fleshe to eate S. Cyriss both sheweth that many hand crafted men do thynges such as those that neuer sawe the lyke wolde wene impossyble and also that in any worke of god it is a madnes to putte any dowt and aske how he can do it syth he is asmyghty and able to do all thynge And to the entent that no chry sten man sholde dowt of the chaunge and conuirsyon of the bred into Cry stes blessed body in the sacrament Saynt Cyriss here by waye of obieccyon agaynste the Iewes putteth vs in remembraunce for vs he teacheth though he spake to theÌ„ among other myracles he putteth vs I say in remembraunce of dyuerse conuersyons and chaunges out of one nature into another that god wrought in the olde sawe As how the hande was turned from hole to sore and from sore to hole agayne sodaynly Now the waters were sodaynly tur ned from bytter into swete and how the waters were turned from water to bloude and how the dede rodde of Moyses was turned into a quyche serpent The. xvi chapyter BUt yet shall ye se that vpon the wordes of Cryste folowynge Now saynte saynte all waye more and more declareth that Christ spake there of his very body that he wold geue men to eate in the blessed sacrament For it foloweth in the text of the gospell ¶ Than sayd Iesus vnto the Jewes Ueryly veryly I say vnto you but yf ye eate the flesshe of the soue of man ye shall not haue lyfe in you He that eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloude hath euerlastynge lyfe Uppon those wordes thus sayth saynt Cyrill ¶ Cryst is very mercyfull and mylde as the thynge it selfe she weth For he answereth not here sharpely to theyr hote wordes nor falleth at no conten cyon wyth them but goeth about to inprente in theyr myndes the lyuely knowlege of thys sacrament or mystery And as for how that is to wyt in what maner he shall geue theÌ„ hys flesshe to eate he teacheth them not For they coulde not vnderstande yt But how greate good they shold get by the
harte so sure but that with hys good hope he shall all waye couple some feare as a brydyll abytte to refrayne and pull hym backe leste he fall to myschyefe and folow Iudas in falshed waxe a deuyll as Cryst called hym Whyche name our sauyour gaue him not without good cause For y t deuyllys seruaūt sayth saynt Cyril is a deuyll to For lyke wyse as he y t is by godly vertues ioyned vnto god is one spyryt wyth god so he that is with deuylysshe vyces ioyned wyth the deuyll is one spyryte wyth hym ¶ And therfore good readers he y t in suche plyght receyueth the blessed sacrament wythout purpose of amen dement or wythout the fayth and by lyefe that the very flesshe bloude of Chryste is in it he receyueth as saynt Austayne sayth notwythstandyng his noughtynesse y e very fleshe and bloude of Cryst the very pryce of our redempciō But he receyueth them to hys harme as Iudas dyd eateth and drynketh hys owne iugement dampnacyon as sayth saynt Poule bycause he discerneth not our lordes body But who so doth on the tother syde whych I besech god we may all do caste out the deuyll hys wurkes by the sacrament of penaūce and than in the memory all remembraūce of Chrystes passyon receyue that blessed sacrament wyth tre we fayth and deuocyon wyth all honour and wurshyppe as to the reuerence of Crystes blessed person present in it apperteyneth they that so receyue the blessed sacrament verily receyue and eate the blessed body of Cryst that not onely sacramētally but also effectually not onely the fygure but the thynge also not onely his blessed fleshe in to theyr bodyes but also his holy spyryte into theyr soules by par tycypacyon wherof he is incorporate in them they in hym be made lyuely membres of his mysticall body the congregaciō of all sayntes of which theyr soules shall yf they perseuer attayne y e fruit fruicyō clene pure onys purged after thys transytory lyfe and theyr flesh also shall Cryst resuscytate vnto the same glory as hym selfe hath promysed Of whych hys gracyous promyse hys hyghe grace and goodnesse so vouche saue to make vs all perteners thorow the merytes of hys bytter passyō Amē ¶ And thus ende I good readers my fyrst boke conteynyng thexposycyon of those wordes in the syxte cha pyter of saynte Iohn̄ wherby you may bothe perceyue by these myndes of holy sayntes whose wordes I bryng forth the trewth of our fayth concernynge the blessed body bloud of Chryst veryly eaten in the blessed sacrament and may also perceyue and controlle the wyly false folyshe exposycyon of mayster Masker to the contrary suche as haue hys boke and they be not a fewe And yet that all men may se that I neyther blame hym for nought nor bylye hym I shall in my secunde boke she we yous as I promysed some part of hys fawte both in falshed and in foly his own wordes therwyth Here endethe the fyrste boke The secunde boke The. i. chapyter I haue good reders ī my fyrst boke here before perused you thexposicyon of all that part of y e syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn̄ which mayster Masker hath expowned you before And in the begynnyng of thys exposicyō I haue not brought you forth the worde of any of the olde expositours bycause y t as I suppose myne 〈◊〉 wyll not mych 〈◊〉 tende wyth me for so farre But afterwarde concernyng those wordes in which our sauyour expressely speketh of the geuyng of his very flesh bloud to be veryly eaten drōken there haue I brought you forth such authorytees of olde holy doctours sayntes y t ye may well se bothe that I fayne you not the mater but expowne it you ryght also ye se therby clerely that mayster Masker expowneth it wrong For though a man may dyuersly expoune one texte and bothe well yet whan one expowneth it in one trewe maner of a false purpose to exclude another trouth that is in that wrytynge by the spyryte of god 〈◊〉 and immedyately ment his exposvcyon is false all though euery worde were trewe as mayster Mas kers is not ¶ And therfore syth you se myne ex posycion proued you by excellēt holy men and by theyr playne wordes ye perceyue that the wordes of our sauyour hym self do proue agaynst all these 〈◊〉 the catholyke fayth of Crystes catholyke chyrche very faythfull and tre we concernyng the very flesshe of Cryste veryly eaten in the blessed sacrament of whyche eatynge mayster Masker wold with his exposycyon make men so madde as to wene y t Cryst spake nothynge at all now I say by thys exposycyō of myne ye se his exposycyō auoyded clerely for nought and all the mater clere vpon our parte though no man wrote one worde more ¶ And yet wyll I for all that for y t ferther declaracyon of mayster Mas kers handelynge she we you some peices of thexposycyō in specyall by whych ye maye clerely se what credence may be geuē to the man eyther for honesty or lernynge vertue 〈◊〉 or trouth The. ii chapyter IN the begynnynge of the second lefe of hys boke these are mayster Maskers wordes ¶ Consyder what thys meate is whyche he bad thē here prepare and seke fore sayenge worke take paynes and seke for that meate c. and thou 〈◊〉 se it no nother meate than the bylyefe in chryst Wherfore he concludeth that thys meate so often mencyoned is fayth Of the whyche meat sayth the prophete the iufte lyueth Fayth in hym is therfore the meate whiche chryst prepareth and dresseth so purely powderynge and spycyng it wyth spyrytual allegoryes in all thys chapyter folowynge to geue vs euerlasiynge lyfe thorow it ¶ I wyll not laye these wordes to hys charge as heresye but I wylbe bolde by hys lycence to note in them a lytle lacke of wytte and some good store of foly For though a man may well and wyth good reasō call fayth a meate of mannys soule yet is it great foly to saye that the meate that Chryst speketh of here ys as mayster Masker sayth it is none other meate but fayth ¶ For mayster Masker maye playnely se and is not I suppose so poore blynde but that he seeth well in dede that the meate whych Cryst speketh of here is our sauyour Cryste hym selfe Whyche thynge he so playnely speketh that no man can mysse to per ceyue it whan he saith I am my self the brede of lyfe And whan he sayth I am the lyuely brede that am descen ded frō heuyn he that eateth of this brede shall lyue for euer And whā he sayth also That y e meat shold be hys owne fleshe whyche promyse he performed after at his maundye whych thynge he tolde them playne in these wordes And the brede which I shall geue you is my flesshe And he that eateth my flesshe and drynketh my bloude hath euerlastyng lyfe and I shall
thyrste after And bysydes this dyuers good holy doctours expoune these wordes of y t eatynge of our sauyour in the blessed sacrament also ¶ But surely I byleue that it wyll be very harde for mayster Masker to veryfye the wordes of his holy ex posycyon ye scant of some such piece therof as semeth at the fyrste syghte well layed as where he sayth y t fayth so fylleth our hungry hartes and so stauncheth the hunger and thurst of our soule that we be satysfyed ¶ For I suppose that men are not sa tisfied here neyther with faith alone nor with fayth and hope and cheryte to but yet they hunger and thurste styll For as oure sauyour sayth He that drynketh me shall yet thyrst styll lōge sore as he drynketh hym in grace so to drynke hym in glory ¶ But than tēpereth mayster Mas ker hys wordes of neuer thurstyng with that that he sayth that yf we eat and drynke god by fayth we shall ne uer hunger nor thyrste but we be satisfyed for the fayth so fylleth oure hungry hartys that we can desyre none other thynge yf we ones thus eate him drynke hym by fayth And than what it is to eate hym drynke hym by fayth he forthwith declareth as for the whole somme and ex posycyon of fayth and sayth That is to say yf we byleue his fleshe and hys body to haue ben broken and hys bloude shedde for our synnes for than are our sowles satysfyed and we be iustyfyed ¶ Lo here youse good readers that he sayth that who so byleueth thys here is all that nedeth For he that thus byleueth is iustyfied and eateth and drynketh Cryst and so his soule satysfyed bycause he that so eateth hym ones can neuer after hūger nor thyrst And why For he can desyre none other thynge ¶ Fyrste I wene that all menne are not agreed that he y t longeth for none other thing is not a thurst if he long styll for more of the same For if a man drynke apynt of ale though he foūde hym selfe so well contēt therwith that he do not desyre neyther bere wyne nor water yet if his appe tyte be not so fully satisfied but that he wold fayne of the same ale drynk a quarte more some man wolde saye he were a drye soule were a thyrste agayne ¶ But now yf this man ment any good in this mater and wolde saye y t who so so eateth god as he hath hym well incorporated in hym shall so haue his hunger and his thurste slaked that he shall not hunger and thurste after the pleasure of hys body nor after the goodes ryches nor after the pompe and pryde of this wreched worlde I wolde haue suffred hym go forth with his exposicyō and not haue interrupted it And yet it coulde not ye wote well haue well fully serued for the texte syth the texte is he shall neuer hunger nor thurste which signyfyeth a takynge awaye of desyre and longynge And by this exposicyon though there be taken a waye the desyre longyng for other thinges yet remaineth there a desyre and longynge for more and more of the same ¶ But yet I wolde as I say haue lette it passe by and wynke therat yf he ment none harme therin But now comech he after and declareth by ensample what he meneth by this his sayenge that he that eateth and drynketh god by byleuynge that he dyed for our synnes shall thurst and hunger for none other For he sayth He shall desyre none other he shal not seke by nyght to lone another byfore whome he wolde laye hys gryefe he shall not runne wanderyng here and there to seke dede stockes and stones ¶ 〈◊〉 good readers here is th ende of all thys holy mannys purpose for which he draweth y e worde of Cryst from the very thyng that Cryst prin cypally spake of vnto another spyry tuall vnderstandynge in turnyng the meate that Cryst spake of that is to wytte the meate of his owne blessed person his godhed and his manhed bothe in to the meate of fayth to the entēt that vnder the pretexte of praysyng y e trew fayth he myght bryng in slily his very false wreched heresies by whiche he wolde haue no prayour made vnto sayntes nor theyr pilgry mages sought nor honour done them at theyr images ¶ It is euident and playne that our sauyour ment in this place to speke vnto the Jewes neyther agaynste images nor sayntes but rather agaynste the sensuall appetyte y t they had to the fillynge of theyr belyes with bodily meate the inordinate desyre wherof made them the lesse apte and mete for spiritual fode And ther 〈◊〉 he bode them that they sholde lesse care for that peryshable meate and labour and wurk to wynne faith by prayour and by faith to come to hym And bycause they so myche hated and fered hunger and thurste he wolde geue them hym selfe for theyr meate his very fleshe and bloude ve cily here to eate not deade but quicke with soule and godhed therwith in this worlde whiche yf they wolde well eate here with a well wurkyng faith he wolde geue them the same so in another worlde that than shold they neuer haue thurste nor hunger after ¶ And he ment not that they sholde neuer whan they had ones receyued hym thurste nor hunger after in this present worlde in whiche byside that they must bothe hunger and thurste or elles be euer eatyng and drynking to preuent theyr hunger and thurste bysyde this I saye they shall hunger and thurste styll after god yf they be good ¶ Now yf men wyll saye that the payne of that hunger and thurste is takē away with hope which greatly gladeth the harte surely they that neyther hunger nor thurst for heuyn nor care how longe they be thense so that they maye make mery here the whyle and yet haue an hope that they shal haue heuē to whā they go hens they fele in theyr faynt hope neyther great pleasure nor payn But he that hopeth well of heuen and not onely hopeth after it but also 〈◊〉 thyrsteth for it as dyd saynt Poule whan he sayd I longe to be dyssolued that is to haue my soule losed and departed fro my body and to be wyth Cryste such a man so as he findeth pleasure in his hope so fyndeth he payne in the delaye of his hope For as Salamon sayth The hope that is dyffered and delayed payneth and afflycteth the soule But whan men shall with 〈◊〉 eatynge of thys meate of Chrystes blessed person make thē mete to eate it and shall eate it by very fruicyon in heuyn than all though they shall neuer be fastidyouse or wery therof but as they shall euer haue it so shall euer desyre it so that of y t state maye be sayd also he that drynketh me shal yet thyrste yet bycause they shall not onely alwaye desyre it but also alwaye haue it and so by the contynuall
hys exposycyon and his doctryne of faith not onely thus falsely but also thus folyshely to as ye do now perceyue yet as though he hadde wonderfull wysely declared some hygh heuenly mysteryes that neuer man had herde of byfore in y e fourth lefe he bosteth his great cunnynge in cōparyson of myne and sayth Had mayster more 〈◊〉 vnderstanden 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sentence who so byleue in me hath lyfe euerlastyng and knowen what Paule with the other 〈◊〉 preched especyally Paule beynge a yere an halfe amonge the Lorinthyes determynynge not neyther presumynge not to haue knowen any other thynge to be preched them as hym selfe sayth then 〈◊〉 Cryste and that he was crucyfyed had M. More vnderstoden this poynt he sholde neuer thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cryste and his suffycyent scryptures 〈◊〉 haue so belyed his euangelystes and holy apostles as to faye they wrote not all thynges necessarye for our saluacyon but lefte out thynges of necessyte to be beleued makynge goddes holy testament insuffycyent and imperfyte fyrste reueled vnto our fathers wryten efte sonys by Moyses and then by hys prophytes and at the laste wryten bothe by his holy euangelystes and apostles to But turne we to 〈◊〉 agayne and let More mocke styll lye to ¶ Had maister Masker vnderstāden the selfe same shorte sentence of Cryst y t he speketh of had mayster masker well vnderstanden also the tother short sentence of saynt Poule y t he now to wcheth after those two textes well vnderstanden had loked vpon his own boke agayne he wold rather haue eaten his owne boke but yf he be shamelesse thā euer haue let any man se his false foly for shame ¶ For fyrst as for the fyrst text to wchyng the brede the bylief his false folysh hādelyng ye perceyue more than playn in y t he sayth it is nothyng but fayth where Chryste sayth it is hym selfe ¶ Now the place that he to wcheth of saynt Pouse in hys fyrste pystle to the Corynthyes I meruayle me mych to se the madnesse of this Mas ker that bryngeth it forth for his pur pose here For as you se he meneth to make men wene that by that place it were proued agaynst my confutacyon that thapostles left no necessary thynge vnwryten ¶ Now of any other apostle ye se well he bryngeth not one worde for y t purpose of his nor of saynt Pouse neyther but this one place whyche place syth he bryngeth forth for the profe of theyr heresye that there is nothynge necessaryly to be byleued but yf it may be proued by playne and euydent scripture it appereth playn that mayster Masker there mysse taketh saynt Pouse and weneth that he preched nothyng to them of Crist but onely hys passyon For ellys he myghte notwithstandynge the wordes of that place preche to them dyuerse thynges of Cryst by mouth leue it with them by tradycyon without wrytyng to whych neyther hym selfe nor none of his felowes neuer wrote any tyme after And of trouth so he dyd as I haue proued at length in my worke of Tyndals confutacyon Of whiche thynges one is amonge dyuerse other the puttyng of the water with the wyne in y e chalyce whyche thynge Chryste dyd at his maundy whan he dyd instytute the blessed sacramēt and after he taught the order therof to saynt Pouse hym selfe by his owne holy mouth and saint Poule so taught it agayne to y e Corynthyes by mouth and lefte it them fyrste by tradycion without any wrytynge at all And whan he wrote vnto thē afterward therof he wrote it rather as it well appereth vppon a certayne occasyon to put them in re membraūce of theyr dewty in doyng dew reuerence to it bycause it is the very blessed body of god than in that place to teche them the maser and the forme of consecratyng the sacramēt For he had taught them that myche more fully before by mouth than he doth there by that wrytyng For as ye wote well though he tell thē there what it is whan they drynke it that is to wyt the bloude of our lorde yet he telleth them not there wherof they shall consecrate it For he neyther nameth wyne nor water And yet sayth in the ende that at hys commynge to them agayne he wyll set an order in all other thynges And where wyll mayster Masker shew me all those thinge wrytē proue it to be al 〈◊〉 ¶ But here you se how madly may ster Masker vnderstandeth y t place of saynt Pouse whan he taketh it in that wyse that he wold therby proue vs that we were bounden to byleue no more but that Chryst dyed for vs. ¶ And of trouth you se that speking of fayth byfore thys is his very conclusyon In whych whan I redde it and confuted it here now before yet marked I not therin so myche as I do now For though he sayed there yf we onys eate hym and drynke hym by faith that is to saye yf we hyleue hys flesshe and body to haue bene broken and hys bloud shedde for our synnys than are our sowlys satysfyed and we be instyfyed I marked not as I say that he ment so madly as all men maye now se he meneth that is to wytte that men be bounden to byleue nothyng ellys but that Chryst was crucyfyed and dyed for our sinnes Maister masker maketh vs a prety short crede now ¶ But that he thus meneth in dede he now declareth playnely whan he wolde proue agaynste me that no necessary thynge was lefte vnwryten by those wordes of saynt Poule by which he wryteth to the Counthyes that he preched nothynge amonge them but Iesus Chryste and that he was crucyfyed ¶ And as mayster Masker mysse vnderstandeth those wordes of saint Poule so I perceyue that longe be fore mayster Masker was borne there were some suche other folys that mysse toke those wordes after y e same fonde fasshyon than and therfore affermed y t aduowtry was no dedely synne as these folyshe folke afferme now y t it is no dedely synne for a frere to wedde a nonne And there argumēt was that yf auowtry had ben dedely synne saynt Poule wolde haue preched that poynt vnto the Corynthyes But he preched as hym self sayth in his pystle nothyng vnto them but Chryst and hym crucyfyed and theruppon they concluded y t auowtry was no dedely synne ¶ But saynt Austayne answereth those folys and thys fole to that he preched not onely Chrystes crucyfyxion For than had he lefte his resurreccyon vnpreched and his ascen cion to which both we be bounden as well to byleue as his crucyfyxion many other thynges mo besyde And therfore as saynt Austayne sayth to preche Chryste is to preche bothe euery thynge that we must be boūde to byleue and also euery thynge that we muste be bounden to do to come to Chryste And not as those folys this fole techeth that we be iustifyed yf we byleue no more but onely that Chryste was crucifyed and dyed
maner fayth taughte euer the comen catholyke chyrch 〈◊〉 che they reproued And also y t glose marred theyr texte and was clene coÌ„ trary to all theyr tale For all the text of theyr prechynge had ben of fayth alone and theyr glose was of fayth not alone but encompanied with two good felowes perdye y e tone called hope and the tother cheryte ¶ Now therfore eyther vppon this fere of his owne mynde or vpon this aduertysement of some other man mayster Masker to mende his exposycyon with and to make all the mater saufe hath at the laste in the ende of the. xi lefe plastered his marmoll of his onely fayth on thys fasshyon By loue we abyde in god he in vs. Loue foloweth fayth in the order of our vnderstandynge and not in order of successyon of tyme yf thow lokest vpon the selfe gyftes and not of theyr frutes So that 〈◊〉 pally by fayth wherby we clene to goddes goodnes and mercy we abyde in god and god in vs as declare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 folowynge sayenge 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 father sent me so lyue I by my father And euen so he that 〈◊〉 me shal lyue bycause of me or for my 〈◊〉 My father sent me whose wyl in all thynges I obey for I am hys sone And euen so veryly must they that eate me that is byleue in me forme and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after my ensample mortefyeng theyr 〈◊〉 and chaungynge theyr lyuynge or 〈◊〉 they 〈◊〉 me in vayne and dyssemble theyr bylyefe For I am not comen to redeme the worlde onely but also to chaunge theyr lyfe They therfore that byleue in me shall transforme theyr lyfe after myne 〈◊〉 and doctryne and not after any 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ¶ Thys plaster good readers hath some good 〈◊〉 But it is bothe to narow by a great dele to couer his scalde shyn hath also some 〈◊〉 poticary druggys put in hit that can do no good and some thynge also 〈◊〉 to his remedy ¶ But 〈◊〉 vs now consyder hys wordes Fyrst where he sayth that by 〈◊〉 we 〈◊〉 in god and god in 〈◊〉 he sayeth trouth for so sayth the scrypture but that is to be vnderstande as longe as we loue hym and not dwell so styll in hym But whan we breke hys 〈◊〉 and therby declare that we loue hym not as y e scrypture also sayth agaynst whiche scrypture mayster Tyndase sayth that he that hath onys a felyng fayth can neuer fall therfrom and agaynste the same scrypture mayster Masker saith that fayth onys had suffiseth for saluacioÌ„ ¶ And mayster Masker maketh yet his mater mych wurse than 〈◊〉 Tyndase For Tyndase dyd yet at the leste wyse make some bumblyng about a colour for the mater with a longe processe of hystorycall fayth felyng fayth whose false wyly 〈◊〉 therin I haue so confuted in my 〈◊〉 futacyon y t though he wryte agayne therin as longe as euer he lyueth he shall neuer shake of the shame ¶ But mayster Masker handeleth the mater bothe more wylyly than Tyndale doth yet mych more folysshely to For seyng that his sayeng can not be defended he ruffleth vp all the mater shortely in a few wordes bothe for sparynge of labour 〈◊〉 also bycause he wolde not haue hys wordes well vnderstanden but that his wordes myght stande for a short texte which he wold leue for euery other good brother to make some good glose therto to maynteyne it wyth ¶ For in his nexte worde folowyng where he sayth Loue foloweth fayth in the order of our vnderstandyng not in the order of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 yf thow lokest vpon the selfe gyftes 〈◊〉 not vpoÌ„ theyr frutes in these few darke wordes he wolde bothe shewe hys 〈◊〉 before vnlerned men and leue them also vndeclared bycause he wolde haue them wene y t his hygh 〈◊〉 passeth theyr low capacitees ¶ But yet in these wordê he iugleth with vs and may with his wylynes begile them that wyl take none hede But who so loke well to his handes shall perceyue where his galles goo well inough ¶ For trewe it is that whan so 〈◊〉 god infouÌ„deth eyther thabyt of 〈◊〉 or y e full perfite quycke lyuely 〈◊〉 that is called fides formata infoundeth in lyke wyse hope and cheryte bothe But this is not the fayth alone For fayth is neuer such fayth but whyle he hath his two felowes with hym But fayth maye be 〈◊〉 tary to before his two felowes come to hym As a man maye byleue well longe ere he wull do well And 〈◊〉 may tary also whaÌ„ both his felowes be gone from hym as he that hath had all thre may by dedely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 fayth alone remayne And faith may come and continue styll and neyther of bothe his felowes neuer come at hym at al. As where a man byleueth truely euery article of the fayth and yet hath neuer y e wyll to wurke well nor neuer wylbe baptysed but after dyeth in dyspayre And in all these casys is it fayth alone And bycause it neither wurketh well nor hath will to wurke well neyther in acte nor in habyt therfore is it called fides informis and a dede fayth Not dede in the nature of fayth or bylyefe but dede as to the attaynynge of euerlastynge lyfe ¶ Now wolde mayster Masker iugle make vs byleue that he meneth the fyrste maner of fayth that is quycke and lyuely by the reason that it hath good hope cheryte therwith ¶ But I can not suffre you good chrysten readers to be so be gyled 〈◊〉 suche a fonde falfe iugler For yf ye take hede vnto hym ye shall soone perceyue that he is euen but a very bungler ¶ For whan that he fyrste telleth 〈◊〉 what bylyefe is suffycient 〈◊〉 that yf we ones eate drynke 〈◊〉 by fayth and than expouneth y e hole somme of all that faythe sayenge that is to saye yf we byleue hys flesshe and his body to haue ben broken and hys bloud shedde for our synnys thaÌ„ ate our soules satisfyed we be iustyfied and now addeth therunto that loue foloweth faith in the order of our vn derstandynge and not in the order of successyon of tyme by whych he meneth y e euery man hath cheryte 〈◊〉 more as soone as he hath faythe 〈◊〉 may clerely se that he sayth y t a man hath cheryte euer as soone as he hath that fayth So that by hym who byleueth euer byleueth that Chryste dyed for vs he hath both fayth hope 〈◊〉 though he byleue nothynge ellys ¶ But now is thys a very false deuelysshe doctryne For this is no full fayth For a man maye beleue this yet leue many a thynge vnbyleued whyche we be bounden to byleue bysyde And therfore you may well se that though the theologycall vertue of ful and perfayt fayth haue al way cheryte togyther infounded with it yet mayster Maskers fayth that is neyther perfyt nor full maye be not in the begynnyng onely but
wherwith he wolde make me be taken in myne owne trappe And therfore fyrste for argument sake I denye that thapostles them selfe vnderstode Chryste worde Now wyll now mayster Masker proue me y t they dyd Mary sayth he for they were well acqnaynted wyth suche phrases And answered theyr mayster Chryst whan he asked theym wyll you go hense fro me to Lorde sayd they to whom shall we go thou hast the wordes of euerlastynge lyfe we byleue that thou arte Chryste the sone of the lyuynge god ¶ Now good reader I thynke there be some textes in scrypture that may ster Masker vnderstandeth not no more than other pore men But yet yf he wyll not agre that but say that he vnderstandeth yet yf we wolde put y e case that there were some such one texte he wold I thynke admytte the case for possible Let vs than put him hardely none other but euyn the same wordes of Chryste that we be now in hande wythall For no man vnderstandeth any word wurse than he vnderstandeth those euyn yet whyle he wryteth on them If hym selfe had ben than of that flocke and had sene all other thynges in Chryst that his apostles saw and had byleued in hym and had not mysse trusted Chryste but ben redy to do what he wolde byd hym do and byleue what he wolde byd hym byleue but had yet as for those wordes of eaiynge Chrystes flesshe thought them hard to perceyue what Chryste ment by theym but though he fully vnderstode them not as he thought yet he dowted not but that good they were that god spake and that Chryst if he taryed hys tyme wold tell hym ferther of the mater at more leysour yf now whan other went theyr waye Chryst wolde haue sayde vnto hym wylte thou mayster Masker go thy waye fro me to whyther wold than mayster Masker haue letted to saye euyn the selfe same wordes that the apostles sayd with other lyke whyther sholde I go fro the good lorde Thou haste the wordes of euerlastynge lyfe I byleue and knowe that thou arte Chryst the sone of the lyuyng god and art able to do what thou wylte and thy wordes be holy and godly whyther I vnderstande them or no and thou mayst make me perceyue them better at thy ferther pleasure wold mayster masker haue ben contented to saye thus or ellys wolde he haue sayd Nay by my fay good lorde thou shalte tell me this tale a litel more playnly y t I may bet ter perceyue it by by or els wyll I go to the deuyll with yender good felowes and lette theym dwell wyth the that wyll ¶ Now yf mayster Masker wolde as I wene he wolde but yf he were starke madde haue sayde the same hym selfe that saynt Peter sayde or be content at the lest that saynt Peter sholde saye it for hym though hym selfe hadde not well and clerely perceyued what Chryste ment by those wordes Now can he nowe proue by the same wordes of theyrs that thapostles vnderstode hys wor des than ¶ Thus you se good readers that of his two questyons the fyrst haue I so answered that it is come to no thynge yf I wolde stycke wyth hym styll at hys answere tyll he haue better proued me than he hath yet that thapostles in the syxte chapyter of saynt Iohn̄ dyd vnderstand Cristes wordes And now therfore tyll he haue better handeled his fyrst que styon he can agaynste me neuer vse his secunde wherby he bosteth that I coulde make none answere but suche as sholde take my self in myne own trappe From whych syth I am clene ascaped all redy by the answerynge of his fyrste questyō you may good readers se that mayster Masker goth as wylyly to worke to take me as a man myghte sende a chylde about wyth salt in hys hand and byd hym go cache a byrde by layenge a lytell salt on her tayle whan y e byrd is flowen comforte hym than to go cache another and tell hym he hadde caught y t and it had taryed a lytell The. vi chapyter BUt yet to se now how craftely he could betrappe me if I wold let hym alone Let vs graunte hym for hys lordly pleasure that the dyscyples and apostles vnderstode Christes wordes well in all thre pla ces not onely whan he sayd he was the dore and whan he sayde he was the vyne but also whan he sayde my flesshe is veryly meate What now Mary than sayth mayster Masker If More answere ye or yes than do I aske hym ferther whyther Chrystes dyscyples and apostles thus 〈◊〉 and vnderstandynge hys wordes in al the thre chapyters wōdered merueyled as More sayth or murmured as hath the texte at theyr may sters speche what thynke you More muste answere here here maye you se why ther thie olde holy vpholder of the 〈◊〉 chyrche is brought euyn to be taken in hys own trappe For the dyscyples and hys apostles neyther murmured nor metuayled nor yet were not offended wyth this theyr mayster Chrystes wordes and maner of spekynge ¶ In what trappe of myne owne or his eyther hath mayster Masker caught me here Mine argumēt was ye 〈◊〉 well y t at the herynge Cryst saye I am the dore I am the very vyne no man meruayled at the maner of spekynge bycause that euery man perceyued his wordes for allegoryes parables But in the thyrd place where he sayde My flesshe ys veryly meate And the brede that I shall geue you is my flesshe And ex cepte you eate the flesshe of the sone of man and drynke his bloude you shall not haue lyfe in you so many meruayled bycause they perceyued well it was not a parable but that he spake of very eatynge of his flesshe in dede that of all his herers very few could abyde it but murmured sayd how can he gyue vs his flesshe to eate And his own dyscyples sayd Thys worde is harde who maye here hym and went almost all theyr way Now whan theffecte of myne argument is that in this poynt many meruayled at the thynge as a thynge playnely spoken and not a parable but a playne tale that men sholde veryly eate his flesshe and that no man meruayled at the tother two maner of spekynge bycause they perceyued them for parables what maketh it agaynste me that in the thyrde place there were some that meruayled not nor murmured not syth that though some dyd not yet many dyd bothe meruailed murmured went theyr war that farre the moste part and saue the apostles almost euerichone And veryly the tother dyscyples as saynt Chrysostome sayth those that than were present agaynst mayster maskers sayeng went theyr wayes all the maynye ¶ Where is now good readers thys trappe of myne owne makynge that I am fallen in hath mayster Masker caste me downe so depe with prouynge me that some meruayled not where I sayd many dyd Be these two proposicions so sore repugnaunt and so playne contradyctory Many meruayled
do but answere the thynges that Fryth layed forthe agaynst the catholyque fayth the selfe same kynde of arguynge I saye mayster Maskar vseth hym selfe and so dothe yonge father Fryth hys felow in folye to ¶ But than agayne whan they argue thus These places maye be so vnderstanden by an allegorye onely as those other places be ergo they be to be so vnderstāden in dede I haue proued alredy that his entēt is false and that they maye not be vnderstanden in an allegory onely as the tother be but the playne and open diffe rence betwene the places appere vp pon the cyrcumstaunces of the texte This haue I proued agaynst Frith alredye and that in suche wyse as your selfe hath sene here that mayster Maskar can not auoyde yt but in goynge about to defende Frythes foly hathe wyth his two solucyons of myne one argument ofter than twyse ouer throwen him self made myne argument more than twyse so stronge ¶ But yet good readers bycause I say that those wordes of Crist The brede y t I shal geue you is my flesh which I shal geue for the lyfe of the world and my flesh is verily meat and my blood veryly drynke and But if you eate the fleshe of the son of man and drynke hys bloode you shal not haue life in you and so forth al such wordis as our sauyour spake hym selfe mencyoned in the syxte chapyter of saynte Iohn and those wordes of our sauyour at hys maun dye wryten wyth all the tother thre euangelystes Thys is my bodye that shall be broken for you be playn and expresse wordes for the catholyque fayth and mayster maskar sayth that the be not wordes playne and expresse but expowneth them all another waye therfore to breke the stryfe therin betwene him and me I haue brought you forth for my parte in myne exposycyon the playne expresse wordes of dyuerse olde holy sayntes by whych you may playne expressely se that they al sayd as I saye ¶ And mayster maskar also can not hym selfe say naye but that agaynst other heretyques before his dayes and myne dyuerse whole generall counsayles of chrystendome haue playnely and expressely determyned the same to be trew that I saye ¶ And all the countreys chrystened can also testyfye that god hathe hym self by manyfold opē miracles playn expressely declared for the blessid sa crament that this is the trewe fayth which mayster Maskar here oppugneth and that god hath by those myra cles expowned his own wordes hym self to be playne expressely spoken for our part ¶ And therfore nowe good christen reders yf mayster mas kar wil make any more stickyng with vs not graūt Christes wordes for playn expresse accordynge to hys promyse reche receyue y e trew faith hold it faste to ye may playne ex pressely tel him there shal neuer trew man trust his false promyse after ¶ Now touchyng the fyfth poynte where he saith that he findeth xx pla ces in scripture mo to prouyng that Christes body is not here in erth remember this wel good reder agaynst he bryna them forth For in his second part whē we come to the tale ye shal fynd his mo than twēty farre fewer than fyftene of al y t shal wel serue hym ye shall fynd fewer than one ¶ Then where he concludeth in the laste poynt vpon these fyue poyntes afore whyche fyue howe well they proue good chrysten readers you se that I must geue hym leue to byleue myne vn wryten vanyties veryties he wold saye at seysour yf the thyn ges that he calleth vn wrytē verities were ī dede vn writē inuēted also by me thā he might be y e bolder to cast hē myne vn writen vanities as he cal leth thē before myn vn writē dremis to But on y e tother syde syth you se your selfe that I haue shewed you theym writem in holy saintes bokes and that a thousand yere before that I was borne your self seeth it wri ten in the playne scrypture to proued playn expresse for our part against hym by tholde exposycyon of all the holy doctours and sayntes and by y e determinacyons of dyuerse generall counsayles of Christes whole catho lyque chyrche and proued playn for our parte also by so many playn opē myracles mayster maskar must nedes be more then madde to cal nowe suche wryten vetyties myne vn wry ten vanytes or myne vn wryten dremys either except he proue both all those thynges to be but an inuencyon of myne and ouer that all those wri tynges to be yet vn writen and that holy doctrine both of holy saintes and of holy scripture vanities also that all the whyle that al those holy folke 〈◊〉 awurke ther with they neyther wrote nor studyed nor dyd nothynge but dreme ¶ Now whyle mayster More must therfore vppon suche consyderaciōs geue maister Masker seue to byleue thys vnwryten vanyte whiche is in all the. iiii euangesystes an expresse wryten verite whyle I must I say therfore vppon suche folysh false cō 〈◊〉 geue hym seue to byleue the tre we fayth at leysour yf he had put it in my choyce I wold haue ben soth to geue hym any senger seysour therin for he hath ben to longe out of ryght bylyefe all redy But syth he sayeth I muste I maye not choyse wherof I am as helpe me god very sory For excepte he take hym selfe that leysour bytyme seuynge the busynesse that be dayly taketh in wrytyng of pestylēt bokes to the cōtrary he shal eis not faile to byleue y e trew fayth at a longe leysour ouer late y t is to wytte whan he lyeth wrechedly in hell where he shall not wryte for lacke of lyght and burnynge vp of his paper but shall haue euerlastyng laysour from all other worke to byleue there that he wolde not byleue here and lye styll euer burne there in euerlastynge fyre for his formar vngracyouse obstinate infydelyte out of whyche 〈◊〉 I be 〈◊〉 god geue hym the grace to crepe and gete out by tyme. And thus you se good readers what a goodly piece mayster masker hath made you which pleased him I warraunt you very well whan he wrote it But it wyl not I wene please him now very well whan he shall after this myne answere rede it The. xii chapyter BUt now goth he ferther against me with a specyall goodly piece wherin thus he sayth Here mayst thou se chrysten reader wherfore More wolde so fayne make the byleue that 〈◊〉 lest aught vnwryten of necessyte to be byleued euyn to stablysshe the popes kyngdome whych standeth of Morys vnwryten vanytees as of the presence of Chrystes body and makynge therof in the brede of putgatory of inuocacyon of sayntes wurshyppyng of stonys and flockys pylgrymages halowynge of vowes and 〈◊〉 and crepynge to the crosse c. If ye wyll byleue what so euer More can fayne wythout the scryptures than can thys poete
wryten wyth the wordys of my fayth whyche god spake and brought it so to passe then implyeth it no repugnaunce to me at all For my fayth recheth it and receyueth it stedfastly For I knowe the voyce of my herdeman whyche yf he sayd in any place of scrypture that hys body shulde haue bene contayned vnder the forme of brede and so in many places at onys here in erth and also abydynge yet styll in heuyn to veryly I wolde haue byleued hym I as sone and as fermely as mayster More And therfore euen yet yf he can shew vs but one sentence truely taken for hys parte as we can do many for the contrary we muste gyue place For as for his vnwryten verytees and thautoryte of his antichrysten 〈◊〉 vnto whyche the scrypture forsaken he is now at laste wyth shame inough cōpessed to flee thēy be proued starke 〈◊〉 and very deuefrye The. xix chapyter Is not thys a wyse inuented scoffe that mayster Masker mocketh me wythall and sayth that with myne olde eyen my spectacles I se farre in goddys syghte and am of goddys pryuy counsayle and that I knowe bylyke by some secrete reuefacyon how god seeth that one body to be in many placs at onys includeth no repugnaunce It is no counsayle ye wote well that is cryed at the crosse But Chryst hath cryed and proclamed this hym selfe and sent hys heraldys hys blessed apostles to cry it out abrode hath caused his 〈◊〉 also to wryte y e pro clamaciō by which all y e world was warned that hys blessed body hys holy fleshe and his bloude is veryly eaten and dronken in the blessed sacra ment And therfore eyther all those places be one in whyche the blessed sacrament is receyued at onys or els god may do the thynge that is repugnaunt or els he seeth that his body to be in dyuerse places at onys is not repugnaunt For well I wote he sayth he doth it in all the. iiii euangelystes And well I wote also that he can not say but soth And therfore neyther nede I to see very farre for this poynt nor nede no secrete reuelacyon neyther syth it is the poynt that to the whole worlde god hath bothe by worde wrytynge and myracles reueled and shewed so opēly where is mayster Masker now ¶ For where he sayeth I haue no worde of fcrypture for Chrystes body to be in many places at onys no more than to be in all placys at onys 〈◊〉 I hadde not yet yf god had other wyse than by wrytynge reueled the tone to hys chyrche and not the tother I wolde and were bounde to byleue the tone and wolde not nor were boūden to byleue the tother as I byleue and am bounde to byleue now that the gospell of saynt Iohū is holy scrypture and not the gospell of Nichodemus And yf god hadde reueled bothe twayne vnto the chyrche I wolde and were bounde to byleue bothe twayne as I byleue now that the gospell of saynte Iohū is holy scrypture and the gospell of saynt Mathew to ¶ But now of trouth mayster mas ker abomynably bylyeth the worde of god whan he sayeth that we haue not the worde of god no more for the beynge of Chrystes body in many places at onys than in all places at onys For as for the beynge therof in all places at onys we fynde no word playnely wryten in the scrypture But for the beynge therof in many places at onys Chrystes wordes in his last souper and byfore that in the syxte chapyter of saynt Iohn̄ be as open as clere and as playne as any man well coulde wyth any reason requyre excepte any man were so wise as to wene y t dyuerse mennys mowthes were all one place And therfore whan mayster Masker in his worde folowynge maketh as though he wolde byleue it as well as he byleueth the creacyon of the world and Chrystes byrth of a virgine whiche seme also to hys reason repugnaunt yf Chryste in any playne place of scrypture sayd it the trouth appereth otherwyse For vnto hym that is not wyth his own fro wardnesse blynded by the deuyll the thynge that he denyeth is as playnely spoken as are the tother twayne that he sayth he by leueth And some other wreches such as hym selfe is in foly and stoburnnesse denye bothe the tother twayne for the repugnaunce as well as he doth this whiche thynge you haue herde hym al redy with very folysh reasons declare for so repugnaunte that he sayeth that god can not do it bycause it were as he sayth a geuyng awaye of his glory And therfore his harte onys sette and fyxed on the wronge syde the deuyll causeth hym so to delyte in suche fonde folysshe ar gumentes of hys owne inuencyon that he can not endure to turne hys mynde to the trowthe but euery texte be it neuer so playne ys darke vnto hym thorow the darkenesse of his owne brayne The. xx chapyter BUt now for bycause he sayeth that he wylbe content and satysfyed in thys mater with any one texte truely taken whyle I shall say that the textes that I shall bryng hym be by me truely taken and he shall saye naye and shall saye that I take them amysse vntreuly whyle he and I can not agre vppon the takynge but vary vppon thexposycyō and the ryght vnderstandynge of them by whom wyll he be iudged whyther he or I take those textes truely If by the congregacyon of thrysten people the whole chrysten nacyons haue thys fyftene hundred yere iudged it agaynste hym For all this while haue they beleued y t Chryst at his maūdy whā he sayd this is my bodye ment that yt was his very body in dede and euer haue byleued and yet do that yt was so in dede If he wyll haue yt iudged by a generall counsayle yt hath ben iudged for me agaynste hym by mo then one all redye before his dayes and myne bothe If he wyl be iudged by the wrytynges of the olde holy doctours and sayntes I haue al redye shewed you suffycyentely that they haue al redye iudged this poynte agaynste hym If he and I wolde va rye vppon the vnderstandyng of the olde sayntes wordes bysydes that you se them your self so playne that he shal in that poynte but shewe hym selfe shameful and shamelesse yet the general counsayles whych hym selfe denyeth not hauyng redde and sene those holy doctours them selfe and many of those holy sayntes beynge present at those coūsayles them selfe haue therby iudged that poynt agaynste hym to For no wyse man wyll doute but that amonge theym they vnderstode the doctours than as well as mayster Maskars doth nowe If he saye that he wyll wyth his other mo then twenty textes of scrypture of whyche he spake before dysproue vs the textes one or two that I brynge for the blessed sacrament than cometh he you se well to the self same poynt agayne wherin he is ouerthrowen al redye For all the corps of chrystendome of thrs xv
hūdred yere before vs and all the olde holy doctours sayntes and al the general coūsayles and all the meruaylouse myracles that god hath shewed for the blessed sacramēt yerely almost and I wene dayly to what in one place and other al whyche thynges proue the textes that I lay to be ment and vnderstanden as I say Al they do therby declare agaynst hym also that none of his mo than twenty textes can in any wyse be wel and ryght vnderstanden as he sayth For ellys shold yt folow that dyuerse textes of holy scrypture not onely semed whyche may well be but also were indede whyche is a thynge impossyble and can not be cō traryouse repugnant vnto other ¶ Now good chrysten readers here youse that in his shyft that he vseth where he sayeth that he wyl byleue any one text trewly taken we bryng hym for the trew takyng vppon our parte all these thynges that I haue here shortely rehersed you of whych thynges hym selfe denyeth very fewe that is to wyt the olde holy doctours to holde on our parte and the people of theyr tyme. But therin haue I shewed you diuerse of y e beste sorte agaynst hym And the fayth of the people of the dyuerse tymes appereth by theyr bokes and by the coū sayles And than that the generall counsayles and the myracles are on our parte of these two thynges he denyeth neyther nother But syth he can denye none of them he dyspyseth bothe And the holy counsayles of Chrystes chyrche he casseth the Anti chrysten synagoge And goddes myracles both fryth and he be fayne to cal the workes of the deuyl And therfore good chrysten readers whyle you se all thys ye se well ynough that the textes of the gospell whyche we saye for the blessed bodye of Chryste in the blessed sacrament be clere and playne for the purpose and mayster Maskar wyll not agre yt so but sayth that we take theym not trewly onely bycause he will not perceyue and confesse the trouth ¶ Nowe where as mayster Maskar sayth of me ferther thus As for his vnwryten verytees and thou foryfe of hys Antichrysten synagoge vnto whyche the scrypture forsaken he is now at laste wyth shame ynough compelled to fle they be proued starke lyes and very deuylrye ¶ Consyder good chrysten readers that in these wordes mayster maskar telleth you two thynges Fyrste that I am wyth shame ynough compelled to fle fro the scrypture to myn vnwryten veryties and to thauthoryte of thantichrysten synagoge by whyche he meaneth the tradycyons and the determynacyons of the catho lyque chyrche The tother that the tradycyons and determinacyons of the chyrch be all redy proued starke lyes and very de uylrye For the fyrste poynte you sethat in this mater of the blessed sacrament whyche ys one of the thynges that he meaneth he hath not yet compelled me to fle fro the scrypture For I haue wel all redye proued you this poynt very playn and clerely by the selfe same place of scrypture whyche mayster Maskar hathe expowned falsely wolde wreste it a nother way that is to wyt the wordes of Chryst wryten in the syxt chapyter of saynt Iohn̄ Nowe yf I do for the profe of thys poynte say the tradycyon of y e whole catholyque chyrche besyde whyche thynge ys also suffycyent to proue the mater alone ys that a fleynge fro the scrypture If that be a fleynge fro the scrypture than myghte the olde heretyques very wel haue sayde the same vnto al the olde holy doctours that this new heretyque sayeth nowe to me For this woteth wel euery man that any lernynge hathe that those old holy doctours and sayntes layed agaynste those old heretykes not the scrypture onely but also the tradycyons vnwryten byleued and taughte by the chyrche And yf mayster Mas kar whan he shal defende hys boke dare denye me that they so dyd I shall brynge you so many playn proues therof that be he neuer so shame lesse he shal be ashamed thereof And he can not say naye but that they so dyd as I wote wel he can not than you se wel good reders y t by ma ster maskers wise reason those old he retikes might haue sayd agaynst eche of those old holy doctours saits as mayster Maskar sayth agaynste me now that they hadde made him with shame ynough fle fro the scrypture bycause he besyde the scrypture proued the trew faith and reproued their false heresyes by thauthoryte of the catholyque chyrche Suche strength haue alwaye so mayster mayhers ar gumentes ¶ Nowe touchyng the secund point where he calleth the catholyke chyrch the antichrysten synagoge and the vn wryten veryties starke lyes and deuylrye he hathe al redy shewed and declared partely which thynges they be that hym self meaneth by y t name For he hath before specyfyed purgatorye pylgrimages and prayenge to sayntes honourynge of ymages and crepynge to the crosse and halo wyng of belles agaynst euyl spirites in tem pestes and boughes on palme sone daye and byleuynge in the blessed sa crament And Tyndale that ys eyther hym selfe or his felow mocketh vnder the same name the sacrament of anelyng and calleth the sacramēt of consyrmacyon the butterynge of the boyes forhed had as lyefe haue at his chrystenynge sande put in hys mouth as salt and mocketh mych at fastyng And as for lent father frith vnder name of Bright well in the re uesacyon of Antichrist calleth it y e folishe fast which ieste was vndouted ly reueled father fryth by the spyryt of the deuyll hym selfe the spirituall father of Antichryste ¶ So that you maye se good readers that to saye the latenye or our ladye matens and crepe to the crosse at Ester or praye for all christen sou les these thynges such other as I haue 〈◊〉 you mayster Maskar saith are all redy proued starcke lyes and very deuylrye But he she weth vs no such profe yet neyther of lyes nor of deluylrye 〈◊〉 But euery man may sone se that he whych sayeth so myche and nothyng proueth maketh many a starke lye that thus to raile agaynste god and al good men and holy sayntes and helpynge of good chrysten soules and raylyng agaynst the blessed bodye of Chryste in the blessed sacrament callynge y e bylyef therof deuylrye yf suche raylyng in mayster maskar be not as I wene it is very playne and open deuylrye yt can be no lesse yet at the leste wyse than very playne and open knauery The. xxii chapyter MAster Maskar cometh at last to the mockynge of those wor des of my pystle wherin I she we that yf men wolde denye the cōuersyon of the brede and wyne into the blessed bodye and blood of Chryste bycause that vnto his owne reason the thynge semeth to implye repugnaunce he shal fynde many other thynges bothe in scrypture and in na ture and in hande craftes to of the trouthe wherof he nothynge douteth whyche yet for any solucion that hys owne reason coulde
fynde other than the omnipotent power of god wolde seme repugnant to of whych maner thynges other good holy do ctours haue in the mater of the blessed sacrament vsed some ensamples byfore ¶ Nowe for as myche as in these wordes I speke of the apperynge of the face in the glasse and one face in euery pyece of the glasse brokē in to twēty mayster Maskar hath caughte that glasse in hand and mocketh and moweth in that glasse and maketh as many straunge faces and as many pretye pottes therin as yt were an olde ryueled ape For these are his wordes so Then sayth he that ye wote wel that many good folke haue vsed in thys mater many good frutefull ex samples of goddes other workes not onely myra cles wryten in scrypture vnde versus where one I praye ye But also done by the comen course of na ture here in erth If they be done by the comē course of nature so be they no myracles And some thynges made also by mans hande As one face beholden in dyuerse glasses and in euery pyece of one glasse broke into twenty c. Lorde howe thys pontyfy call poete playeth hys parte Because as he sayeth we se many faces in many glasses therfore maye one bodye be in many places as though euery shadowe and symylytude representynge the bodye were a bodyly substaunce But I aske More when he seeth his owne face in so many glasses whyther all those faces that appere in the glasses be hys own very face hauynge boldely substaunce skynne fleshe and bone as hathe that face whyche hathe hys very mouth nose yien c. wherwyth he faceth vs oute the trouthe thus falsely wyth lyes and yf they be al hys very faces thā in very dede there ys one body in many places he hym selfe beareth as many faces in one hoode But accordynge to hys purpose euen as they be no very faces nor those so many voyces sownes and symylytudes multyplyed in the ayer betwene the glasse or other obiecte and the body as the phylosopher proueth by naturall reason be no very bodyes no more is yt Chrystes very bodye as they wolde make the byleue in the brede in so many places at ones ¶ Now good reders to th ende that you may se the custumable maner of mayster Maskar in rehersynge my mater to his owne aduauntage syth my wordes in my letter that touche this poynt be not very longe I shall reherse them here vnto you my self so good reders thus shal you fynd yt there in the. xxvi lefe I wote well that many good folke haue vsed in this mater many good frutefull examples of goddes other workes not onely myracles wryten in scrypture but also done by the comen course of nature here in erth and some thynges made also by mannys hand as one face byholden in dyuers glasses in euery pyece of one glasse broken into xx and the merueyle of the makynge of the glasse it selfe such mater as it is made of And of one worde comyng whole to an hundred earys at onys and the syghte of one lytell eye present and beholdynge an whole great cuntrey at onys wyth a thousande such other merueyles mo such as those that se them dayly done and therfore merueyle not at theym shall yet neuer be able no not thys yonge man hym selfe to geue suche reason by what meane they maye be done but that he maye haue such repugnaunce layed agaynste it that he shall be fayne in conclusyon for the chyefe and the moste euydent reason to say that the cause of all those thynges is bycause god that hath caused theym so to be done is almyghty of hym selfe and canne do what hym lyste ¶ Lo good Chrysten readers here you se your selse that I made none suche argument as mayster Maskar bereth me in hand Nor no man vseth vppon a symilytude to cōclude a necessarye consequence in the mater of the blessed sacrament vnto whyche we can brynge nothynge so lyke but that in dede it muste be farre vnlyke sauynge that it is as semeth me some what lyke in this that god is as able by his almyghty power to make one body be in twenty places at ones as he is by comē course of nature which hym self hath made able to make one face kepynge styll hys owne fygure in hys owne place caste yet and multyply the same fygure of yt self into xx pyeces of one broken glasse of whyche pyeces eche hathe a seuerall place And as he is able by the nature that hym selfe made to make one self worde that the speker hath brethed oute in the spekynge to be forth with in the eares of an whole hundred per sones eche of theym occupyeng a seuerall place and that a good dystaunce a sundre Of whyche two thynges as natural and as comen as they both be yet cā I neuer cease to wonder for all the reasons that euer I redde of the phylopher And lyke wyse as I veryly truste that the tyme shall come whan we shall in the clere syght of Christe godhed se this great myracle soyled and wel perceyue howe yt ys and howe yt maye be that his blessed bodye ys bothe in beuyn and in erth and in so many places at ones so thynke I veryly that in the syght of hys godhed than we shall also perceyue a better cause of those two other thynges than euer any phylolopher hath hytherto shewed vs yet or ellys I wene for my parte I shall neuer perceyue theym well ¶ But nowe where as mayster Maskar mocketh myne argument not whych I made but whyche hym selfe maketh in my name and maketh yt feble for the nonce that he maye whan he hathe made yt at hys owne pleasure soyle yt as chyldren make castelles of tyle shardes and than make theym theyr passe tyme in the throwynge downe agayne yet is yt not euyn so so feble as his own where he argueth in the negatyue as I saye the sample for thaffyrmatyue For as for the tone that he maketh for me though thargument be nought for sacke of forme yet holdeth it somwhat so so by the mater in that the consequent that is to wytte that god may make one body to be at ones in many places is what so euer mayster masker bable a trouth with out questyon necessary ¶ But where he argueth for hym selfe in the negatyue by that that the bodyly substaunce of the face is not in the glasse that therfore the bodyly substaunce of our sauyoure Chryste is not in the blessed sacrament that argument hath no maner holde at all For thantecedent is very trewe and excepte goddys worde be vntrewe ellys as I haue all redy by the old holy expositours of the same well and planely proued you the cōsequent is very false ¶ Now yf he wyll saye that he maketh not that argument but vseth onely the face in the glasse for a sample a symylytude than he she weth hym selfe to playe the false shrewe whan of