I pray you what shall be sayde then to you that are Minime Fryers and all others that are altogether vnable eyther to féede or clothe others or themselues shall not the contrarye sentence trowe you be gyuen agaynst such Goe ye cursed into euerlasting fire prepared for the deuill and his angels For I was hungry and you fedde me not I was thirsty and you gaue mee no drinke I was naked and you clothed mee not c. Beléeue me Fryer John if those wordes that you cite out of the 25. of saynt Mathewe should meane as by your writing you séeme to vnderstand theÌ„ the case of you of al such as doo either by vow or otherwise make theÌ„selues vnable to doo those good workes y t you speake of shalbe very hard Your voluntary vowe wil not then excuse you In the 7. Chap. of S. Mathew our sauiour Christ sayth Discedite a me omnes qui operamini iniquitatem Depart from me all ye y t worke iniquity and doo not you worke iniquity When you hauing receiued from God good gifts by the vse whereof you might be able to féede and clothe your selfe and to helpe to féede and cloth others haue bounde your selfe by a vowe to leade such a kynde of life that of necessity you must either be fedde and clad by others or els perish by the lacke of thinges necessary Doo not you worke iniquity when you doo not onely robbe your naturall Parents your Prince and Countrey of that helpe that both by the Lawe of nature and by the Lawes of God and of your Country all these ought to haue at your hands but also of that reléefe helpe and seruice which all these might and ought to haue out of the labours of others but are by your hypocriticall meanes drawne from them that you may be thereby maintained in idlenes I knowe that such as haue not such gifts or be by any meanes naturall or casuall as we may terme it made vnable both to helpe other themselues must be sustayned by the labour of others and shall not be reiected as they that doo not féede and clothe Christ in his members but yet so that they haue mercifull hartes and doo pitty the case of the néedy when they shall sée them in misery But this is not your case Take héede to your selfe in time Fryer John for I feare there is no place in heauen for purgatory Fryers And thus much for that great double Cannon that you haue brought out of the 25. of saynt Mathewes Gospell with the reste that you haue tolde vs of and we haue viewed and séene The recoyle of them hath hurte you much more then the shott hath anoyeo vs. Nowe let vs sée what great Ordinaunce you haue bent agaynst that Bulworke of ours wherein we stande and denie the reall presence of Christ in the blessed Sacrament of the Altare Thus you say The Fryar Nowe as touching that which you deâ—y concerning the reall presence in the blessed Sacrament of the Altare Looke I pray you in the xxvi of S. Mathewe where these wordes are written Caenantibus autem eis accepit Iesus panem et benedixit ac fregit deditque discipulis suis aiâ— Accipite commedite Hoc est corpus meum c. That is to say why lest the rest were at Supper Iesus tooke breade blessed it and brake it and gaue it to his Disciples and saide Take and eate this is my body The same altogether we reade in the 14. Chapter of the Gospell of S. Marke sauing onely that he sayth Sumite hoc est corpus meum where as the foresayd Euangelist sayth Accipite commedite Agayne in the 22. Chapter of S. Luke we reade the same in wordes as it sâ—emeth more plaine then the before written words are For hee sayth Accepto pane gratias egit et fregit â—t dedit illis diceus Hoc est corpus meum quod pro vobis datur Similiter calicem postquam caenauit dicens Hic est calix nouum Testamentum in sanguine meo qui pro uobis fundetur The English of these Latine wordes is thys Iesus Christ hauing taken bread gaue thankes and brake it gaue it to his disciples saying This is my body In like manner also the chalice after that he had sâ—pped saying This chalice is the newe Testament in my blood which shalbe shedde for you Or as Saint Marke in his Gospell sayth Accepto calice c. That is to say Hauing taken the chalice he gaue it to his disciples saying Thys is my bloud of the Newe testament which shalbe shed for many Thus you see howe that all the three Euangelists agree in thys poynt howe that our blessed Sauiour gaue to his disciples in hys last supper his most precious body and bloude I haue not shewed this vnto you by the savings of holie doctors but by the wordes of our Sauiour himselfe vnto the intent that you may beleue me We reade in the 6. Chapter of the Gospell after S. Iohn how that our Sauiour endeuouring to bring the hard harted Iewes vnto the knowledge of his diuinitie spake these wordes I am the bread of life which came downe from heauen If any body eate of this breade he shall liue for euer and the bread which I wil giue is my flesh for the life of this worlde Againe in the same Chapter If you eate not the flesh of the sonne of man and drinke hys bloude ye shall not haue life in you Verely verely I say vnto you he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud shall haue lyfe euerlasting and I wyll rayse him vp from death in the latter day You say the contrary nowe you make God a lyer you say that he gaue them not his body but onely breade which is fully contrary to the foresayd texts of Scripture Crovvley These foure double Cannons that this valiant Captayne Frier John hath planted against y e Forte of our faith are of excéeding great force but he hath so ouercharged them that when he shall put fire to them they must of necessitie recoyle with such force that the Captaine with all his company are like to bée in verie great daunger For off they will not goe against our Forte and breake they can not Yea we are in good hope that we shall haue such ayde at the hands of S. Austen and his companie that this great Ordinaunce shalbe turned against the whole Armie of the Romish Catholickes and shotte of so freshlye that they shall hardlie escape the losse of the Romane honour for euer And first let vs sée what may be doone with the first of these Cannons called CaenaÌ„tibus autem eis c. Whylst that the rest were at supper c. S. Austen in that booke that he wrote agaynst Adimantus and in the 12. Chapter of that booke wryteth thus Non enim dominus dubitauit dicere â—â—â— est corpus meum cum signum daret corporis sâ—i The Lord sayth S. Austen did
we differ not in the thing signified although we differ in the signes Theyr signes were Manna and the Rocke or water that ishewed out of the Rocke and our signes are the Breade and the Cuppe or the wyne vsed in the Lords supper But the spirituall meate and drinke that both they and wee doo eate and drinke is the very body and bloud of Christ that innocent Lambe that hath béene slaine for the sinnes of the world euen from the beginning of the world And to giue vs occasion to consider that not euery one that receiueth the Sacrament dooth also receiue the body and bloud of Christ S. Austen sayth thus Oâ—r Fathers not their Fathers They to whom we are like not they to whom they were like That is to say the faythfull not the vnfaithfull did then and doo nowe eate the body and drinke y e bloode of Christ our Sauiour But wyll you see more out of S. Austen in the same 26. treatice vpon Iohn Qui maâ—â—ucat carnem meam bibit meum sanguinem in me manet et egâ— in illo Hoc est ergo manâ—ncare illam escam illum bibere potum in Christo maâ—â—re illum manentem in se habere Ac â—er hoc quâ— non manet in Christo in quo noÌ„ manet Christus proculdubio nec manducat spiritualiter carnem eius nec bibit etus sanguinem licet carnaliter visibâ—liter premat dentâ—bus sacramentum corporis sanguinis Christi sed magis tantae rei sacramentuÌ„ ad iuditium sibi manducat bibit He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloode dwelleth in me and I in him To eate that meate therefore and to drinke that drinke is this For a man to dwell in Christ and to haue Christ dwelling in him And héereby it appeareth that who so dwelleth not in Christ neither hath Christe dwelling in him the same no doubt doth neither â—ate his fleshe spiritually nor drinke his bloude although he doo fleshly and visibly presse with his téeth the Sacrament of the body and bloude of Christ but rather he dooth eate and drinke the Sacrament of so excellent a thing to be a condemnation vnto him self Thus you may sée Master Fryer John how rashly you haue written in that you haue sayd thus If any bodye eate of this breade meaning I am sure of that Sacrament that is kept ouer your high altar he shall liue for euer And the bread that I wyll giue is my fleshe for the life of this worlde You say If any body eate of this breade c. S. Austen sayth No body but such as dwell in Christ and haue Christ dwelling in them eyther doo or can eate the flesh of Christ but doo by the receiuing of the Sacrament of so excellent a thing eate and drinke to their owne condemnation Nowe I leaue you to try this matter with S. Austen If you can entreate him to recant so it is If not your best way is to recant your selfe And yet one other sentence of S. Austen in the same treatice vpon Iohn Nonne buccella dominica venenum fuit Iudae tamen accepit cum accepit inimicus in eum intrauit non quia malum accepit sed quia bonum male malus accepit Was not the Lords soppe a poysonne to Iudas and yet he receiued it and when hee receiued it the enimie entred into him not because he receiued an euill thing but because he being euill did receiue a good thing after an euill sorte Much more might be saide to this effect but I leaue you as I sayd before As touching the other sentence that you cite out of this sixt of S. Iohn which is thus If you doo not eate the flâ—sh of the sonne of man and drinke his bloode you shall not haue life in you I would wyshe you to looke on that which S. Augustine wryteth in the 16. Chapter of his thyrd booke De doctrina christiana Nisi manducaâ—eritis inquit carnem fiâ—ij hominis sanguinem biberitis non habebitis vitam in vobis Facâ—nus vel â—â—agitium videtur iubere Fâ—gura est ergo praecipiens passioni dominicae esse communicandum suauâ—ter aâ—que vtiliter recondendum in memoria quod pro nobis caro eius crucifixa vulneraâ—a sit Except saith he you shall eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and drinke his bloud you shall not haue life in you He séemeth to commaund an heynous or horrible facte It is therefore a figure commaunding that we should be partakers of the Lordes passion or suffering and that we should swéetely and profitably laie vp in memory that his flesh was crucified wounded for vs. Immediatly before these wordes S. Augustine hath written thus Si praeceptiua locutio est aut flagitium aut facinus vetans â—ut vtilitatem aut benefiâ—entiam iubens non est figurata Si autem flag tium aut facinus videtur iuberâ— aut vtilitatem aut beneficentiam vetare figurata est If the spéeche be a commaundement that forbiddeth an heynous or horrible fact or that commaundeth profitablenes or beneficence then the spéeche is not figuratiue But if it be a spéeche that séemeth to commaunde an heynous or horrible fact or to forbidde profitablenes or beneficence then it is a figuratiue spéeche By this Rule all these places that you haue alledged out of the 26. of s Mathew The 14. of s Mark The 22. of s Luke the 6. of S. Iohn are siguratiue spéeches For vnderstanding them after the Letter as you doo they séeme to commaund an heynous and horrible fact that is To eate the fleshe and to drinke the bloude of a man But taking them for figuratiue spéeches as we doo and as they are indéede they doo commaunde a very profitable thing that is as S. Austen hath saide to be partakers of the passâ—on or suâ—fering of the Lord and swéetly and profitably to lay vp in memory that his fleshe was crucified and wounded for vs. If you haue not vowed neuer to reade ought that either is or can be written by anie of vs that are Protestants or if you will with a duetifull reuerence reade the workes of thys auncient and learned Catholick Father saint Austen I doubt not but that you wil eare long time be past doo as the Prophet Ieremie writeth of Ephraâ—m in the â—1 Chapter of his prophesiâ—s which place you haue cited for another purpose that is strike your selfe vpon your thigh and say I am confounded I am ashamed that euer I went out of England following the counsell of a blinde ghostlie father When that blind buâ—â—arde had abused my tender yéeres and had put into my heade that I had béene brought vppe in heresie I might haue imparted this with my gray headed instructors which had béene able to instruct me as nowe one of them hath doone If our merciful father shall sâ—e that in you that he did then sée in Ephraim vndoubtedlie this wyll come to passe to
not doubt to say this is my bodie when he gaue the signe of his body If there were no more but this one place of S. Austen it might suffice for the turning about of these foure péeces of Ordinaunce and the making of them ready to be shot off against Frier John and his fellowes For the force of them all consisteth in this one assertion When our Sauiour Christ tooke breade and gaue thankes or blessed and brake it and gaue it to his Disciples saying Take eate this is my bodie He did deliuer vnto those Disciples his owne body And when he did after supper take the Cuppe or Chalice saying thys Chalice is the Newe testament in my bloud c. He did deliuer hys owne bloâ—d Which thing S Austen denieth when he saith The Lorde doubted not to saie this is my bodie when he deliuered the signe of his body For the signe and the thing signified are Disparata thinges seperated the one from the other The thing therefore that is the signe of another thing can not by anie meanes be that thing whereof it is a signe As the Juâ—e or other matter that is hanged out to be a signe of Wyne to be solde can in no case be saide to be that Wine that is to be solde but a signe thereof onely Yea though wine indéede were setforth to be a signe of wyne to be solde or breade indéede were set forth to be a signe of bread to bee solde yet that wine and that breade could not rightly be sayd to be the same wyne or bread that is to be solde whereof that wyne or breade so set forth is but a signe And yet neither S. Austen nor we doo denie but that the name of the thing signified by a Sacrament may be giuen to the Sacrament because Sacraments haue a certaine similitude of those thinges whereof they be sacraments S. Austen writing to Bonifacius Epistola 23. saith thus Si enim Sacramenta quandam similitudinem earum rerum quarum sacramenta sunt non haberent omnino sacramenta non essent Ex hac autem similitudine plerumque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt Sicut ergo secunduÌ„ quendaÌ„ moduÌ„ sacramentuÌ„ corporis Christi corpus Christi est et sacrameÌ„tuÌ„ sanguinis Christi sanguis Christâ— estâ—ita sacramentuÌ„ fidei fides est c. If sacraments had not a certaine similitude of those thinges whereof they be Sacraments they were indéede no Sacraments And of the same similitude they doo for the most parte take also the names of those thinges whereof they be sacraments Therefore as after a certaine manner the sacrament of the body of Christ is the body of Christ and the Sacrament of the bloude of Christ is the bloud of Christ euen so the sacrament of fayth is fayth c. Thus you may sée and as I thinke you doo sée that these words This is my body doo not proue any other presence of Christ in the Sacrament then that which may be called sacramentall mysticall heauenly and spirituall And to make this matter more plaine vnto you I wyll let you sée certaine places of Scripture where the like spéeche is vsed and in the like meaning Ezechiell the Prophet is commaunded to shaue of the hayre of his heade and beard to deuide it into thrée equall partes c. As it is written in the fiâ—t Chapter of his booke of Prophecies and then to say Thus sayth the Lord God This is JerusaleÌ„ c. By the circumstaunce of this text it is manifest that the meaning of that sentence This is Jerusalem was not that the dooing of those thinges that there were doone was the Ciâ—ty Jerusalem really but that the miserable estate of that Cittie was signified thereby In the 12. Chapter of Exodus concerning the eating of y e Pasouer it is written thus After this manner ye shall eate it Ye shall gyrde vp your loynes and yâ— shall haue yoâ—r shooes vppon your â—éete holding staâ—es in your handes and you shall make hast in eating of it for it is Phase â—d est transiâ—us domini That is the Lordes Pasâ—â—er or passing by of the Lord. These wordes are not the words of Moses but of God himselfe spoken by Moses at the commaundement of God Neuer did any man as I thinke conceiue any such opinion of these wordes as you and your sort doo shewe your selues to haue conceiued of those wordes that our Sauiour Christ spake at his last supper which you woulde haue to be of such force that whensoeuer they shalbe breathed out by anie of your Priestes ouer breade and wyne Cum intentione conficiendi as you haue it in the cautiles of your masse that is with purpose or intent to make the bodye of Christ then of necessity the substance both of the breade and of the wyne must be turned into the substaunce of the body and bloud of Christ And whosoeuer shall deny this must néedes be accounted as one that maketh God a Lyer Agayne in the 15. Chapter of S. Iohns Gospell Ego sum vitis vera Pater meâ—s agricoia est I am the true or right vyne and my father is the husband man or vine tyllar And in the same Chapter Ego sum vitis voâ— palmitâ—s I am the vine and you are the braâ—nches And in the tenth Chapter of the same Gospell Ego sum ostium I am the doore Ego sum Pastor bonus I am the good shéephearde And in the 14. Chapter Ego sum via I am the way In all these spéeches you are contented to admit a figure and to confesse that the spéeches are figuratiue But in Hoc est corpus meum Thys is my bodie you may not abide to heare of any figure at all And why Because the admitting of a figure there wold marre all your market All your Cloysters of Monks Chanons Fryars Nunnes Colliges of Cannons and massing Priestes Chauntries Obbets Anniuersaries Trentalles Monthes mindes and masses of Requiem are builded vpon thys foundation Hoc est corpus meum This is my bodie in plaâ—ne speech without any manner of figure But if you once admit a figure in that spéeche downe goe all these goodly buildings and Frier John Fraunces and his fellowes must learne to eate their bread in the sweate of theyr owne faces as other poore men doo You must stick to it therefore and tell these â—ereticke Protestants that in denying the Reall presence in the blessed sacrament of the Altare they make God a lyer We denie not but doo confesse that the breade and the wyne in the Sacrament of the body and bloude of Christe are the body and bloud of Christ euen as the Pascall Lambe was the passing by of the Lorde as the Rocke in the Wyldernes was Christ Petraerat Christus The Rocke was Christ saith Saint Paule 1. Cor. 10 and as the seauen starres spoken of in the firste of the Reuelations of S. Iohn are the seauen Angels of the seauen Congregations And as y e
seauen golden candlesticks are y e seauen Congregations Yea we say with saynt Paul 1. Cor. 10. Calix benedixionis cui benedicimus nonne communicatio sanguinis Christi est Panis quem frangimus nonne participatiò corporis Domini est The Cuppe or as you call it the Chalice that we blesse is it not the Communion of the blood of Christ The bread that we breake is it not the partaking of the bodye of the Lord Quoniam vnus panis vnum corpus multi sumus Omnes quidem de vno pane de vno calice participamus For we being many are but one loafe of breade and one body And we doo all take part of one loafe of bread and of one cuppe If you therefore would deny that the Sacramentall cuppe is the Communion of the blood of Christ or that the sacramentall breade is the partaking of the bodie of the Lorde we would say that you doo lie and doo make the Apostle Paule a lyar and so consequently God himselfe for the spéeche that Paule vseth is not his but Gods that spake in him We doo beléeue that the body and bloud of Christ are giuen taken eaten and drunken of the faithfull in the Lords supper after a heauenlie and spiritual manner but yet verily and indéede Yea and that faith is y e meane whereby the bodie and bloud of Christ are receiued in the Supper All this we beléeue and confesse and your selfe Frier John had once learned this and did confesse it in my Church without Creplegate of London before many witnesses You doo vs open wrong therefore in that you say that we make God a lyer and say that he gaue not his body to his disciples but bread onely which is fully contrarie to the foresaid texts of Scripture And as touching the sentences that you cite out of the sixt Chapter of S. Iohn we acknowledge Christ to be that bread that came downe from heauen And that whosoeuer shall eate of that bread shall liue for euer And he that eateâ—h not the flesh of the sonne of man and drinketh not hys bloud shall not haue life in himselfe But he that eateâ—â— the flesh of Christ and drinketh his bloude shall haue life euerlasting and Christ will rayse him vppe in the latter day But héere you must gyue vs leaue to sale as S. Austen dooth and we must request you to thinke no worse of vs then you doo of him so long as we shall shewe our selues to be of one minde with him For hee is a Catholick docter and I thinke you doo take him so to be If we therefore shall shewe our selues to be of one minde with him I hope you will take vs for Catholickes also First I must tell you that in the place that you cite the words be thus Ego sum panis viâ—â—s and not panis vâ—tae That is the liuing bread and not the bread of life I note this because the meaning of our Saâ—â—our Christe was as you haue said to bring the Jewes to the knowledge of his diuinity by considering that the Manna which fell from heauen and was accounted to be the bread of life was not that liuing bread that liueth and hath life of it selfe and is the fountaine of life to al liuing creatures y t they might be occasioned to sée that the Manna was to the Fathers as our Sacrament is to vs a visible â—â—gne representing vnto theÌ„ this liuing bread as â—ur Sacrament dooth represent the same vnto vs. Concerning this matter saynt Austen wryteth thus in his 26. treatise vpon the Gospell of saint Iohn Patres vestri Manna manducaueruÌ„t mortui sunt noÌ„ quia maluÌ„ erat MaÌ„na sed quiamale maÌ„ducaueruÌ„t Hic est panis qui de coelo desceÌ„dit Hunc paneÌ„ significauit manna Hunc paneÌ„ significauit altare Dei SacrameÌ„ta illa fueruÌ„t in signis diuersa sunt sed in re que significatur paria sunt ApostoluÌ„ audi Nolo enim vos inquit ignorare fratres quia patres nostrâ— omnes sub nube fueruÌ„t omnes mare traÌ„sieruÌ„t omnes per Mosen baptizati sunt in nube in mari omnes eandeÌ„ escaÌ„ spiritu alem manducauerunt Spiritualem vtique eandeÌ„ nam corporalem alteraÌ„ quia illi Manna nos aliud spiritualem veroâ—quam nos Sed patres nostri non patres illorum quibus nos similes sumus non quibus illi similes fuerunt Et adiungit Et omnes eundem potum spiritualem biberunt Aliud illi aliud nos sed specie visibiliquidem tamen hoc idem significante virtuâ—e spirituali Quomoâ—o enim eundem potuÌ„ Bibebant inquit de spirituâ—li sequeÌ„te pâ—tra petra autem erat Christus Indepanis inde potus Petra Christus in signo verus Christus in verbo in carne That is to say Your Fathers did eate Manna and are deade not because Manna was an euill thing but because they did not eate it aright This is the bread that came downe from heauen Manna did signifie this breade The Lordes Altare did signifie thys breade Those thinges were Sacraments in signes they be dyuers but in the thing that is signified they are alike Gyue care to the Apostle For he sayth Brethren I would not haue you ignorant that all our Fathers were vnder the Clowde and that they did all passe thorow the Sea and that they were all baptized by Moses in the clowde and in the Sea and that they did all eate one and the same spirituall meate The same spirituall meate indéede for the corporall was another for they did eate Manna and we an other thing but the spirituall was the same that we doo eate But these were our Fathers not theirs They to whom we are like not they to whom they were like And hée addeth to this And they did all drinke of one spirituall drinke but in the visible kind they did drinke one thing and we another and yet signifying the selfâ— same thing in spirituall vertue But howe was it the same drink They dranke sayth he of y e spirituall Rocke that followed them and that Rocke was Christ Hence was the bread and hence was the drinke In a signe the Rocke is Christ but Christ indéede is in the word and in the flesh Can any man wryte or speake more plainly on our side in this matter then S. Austen hath doone in these wordes that I haue héere â—ited Doth he not plainly affirme that the Manna was to the faithfull Fathers in the wilderâ—es euen the selfe same thyng that the sacramentall breade in the Lordes supper is to vs nowe And that the Rocke in the Wildernes was vnto them the same thing that the cuppe in the Lords supper is vnto vs nowe And what wyll you haue vs to grant you a reall presence of Christes bodie and bloode in the Manna and in the Rocke And howe can you then require vs to grant it in the sacramentall bread wine S. Austen sayth that they and
blood that nowe they be in him and through him a glorious spouse vnto him not hauing spotte or wrinkle or any deformity of sâ—me The promises of Christ you denie in that you say that not euery one that beléeueth and is baptised shall be saued no not though they make their beléefe knowne vnto men by their obedience to Christ in folowing the Rule that he hath prescribed and endeuouring to doo as their heauenly Father hath commaunded But he that wyll be saued must liue in obedience to your holy father the Popes holines Thus much for y e applying of those words vnto you and other Popish Religious that Saint Austen wrote against the Donatistes Nowe to the Rule of your Religion which is as you say neuer to eate flesh c. In his first Epistle to the Corinthians and the 8. Chapter S. Pauls writeth thus Esca autem nos non commendaâ— Deo Meate doth not make vs more acceptable to God Neither are we the better if we eate nor the worse if we eate not And againe in the sixt of the same Epistle Esca ventri venter escis Hunc has destruet Dens Meats is appointed for the belly and the belly for the meate but God wyll destroy both the one and the other By these places and diuers other it appeareth that Christians haue liberty to vse all Gods good creatures and that they are not the better or more acceptable in Gods sight When they doo vse them nor lesse acceptable when they refuse the vse of them except the refusall doo procéede of an opinion of some holines or vnholines in the vse or refusall of them If you féede not to fill your bellyes but to sustaine nature with thankes to God for his creatures you doo well But you are iâ—â—greater danger to excéede in eating when you féede vpon delicate fishes and fruites then if you did féede vpon such kindes of flesh as the common sorte of people are accustomed to féede on It is the moderate vse of Gods creatures and our thanks giuen to him for them that doo make our eating or abstayning acceptable vnto him Your eating but once in a day from the day of All saintes to Christmas day and from Shroâ—â— sunday to Easter which you call fasting is nothing For you may eate as much at one meale as might suffice you at two or thrée The like is to be thought of all your wednesdayes fastings for they are but a diuersity in eating or féeding Your refrayning the touching of money may be thought to be a toy to mocke an Ape with all And your rysing at mydnight may be opposite to your sléeping at noone You say that you doo at midnight sing your Mattins before the blessed Sacrament of the Altar the precious bodie and blood of our Lord and Sauiour Christ which is there kept ouer the high Altar What pleasure you doo or can doo to that SacrameÌ„t by singing your Mattins before it I can not vnderstand for I think it can not heare any one word that you doo either sing or say and so it can not be delighted with the hermonie of your musicke I put you in minde of these thinges because your greatest Clerkes haue written that Christ is not in that blessed Sacrament of yours with his dementions and liniaments of bodie neither with his Organs of sences but meruailously with out the distinction of parts I thinke therefore that in the cold wether it were more wisedome for you to kéepe your selues warme in your beddes that when you be waking you may sing and make melodie in your harts to God then to rise out of your bedds and sit quyuering and quaking in your wyde and cold Quyer to pleasure him with musicke that hath not one eare to heare your harmonie For vndoubtedly you can not but wysh that you had doone before you haue well begunne And what thankes can you looke for at the handes of that Sacrament that you sing your Mattins before And in the hotte or warme wether I thinke it shoulde be more profitable for you to be in your studies if you haue any at a conuenient houre endeuouring to learne the meaning of y e Prophete in those Psalmes that you vse to sing in your Mattins for the most parte without vnderstanding Well you sing two or thrée high masses euery day I thinke you mistake your termes For in such Churches as yours there is but one high masse whether it be sayde or songe the other though they be songe are not called high masses for they are not that masse that is appointed for that day but of our Lady of S. George of S. Dionice S. Frauncis or some other But what masses soeuer you sing or say the moe the worsse and the fewer the better For the best is but Idolatry derâ—gation to the glorye of Christes passion and seducing of Christians and a méere mockerye of Christes holy institution You procéede now in the declaration of the straightnes of your Order and thus you say The Fryar Wee lye in our clothes in bedde without sheetes and yet we keepe our selues cleane We goe to bedde at 8 a clock and rise at halfe an hower past a leuen We returne to our bedd at halfe an houre past 2 or most commonlie at three and rise againe at sixe When we haue doone or when any one of vs hath doone a misse he that hath offended must doo penaunce Our penaunces are to fast bread and water to sit and dine vpon the earth to kisse our bretherens the Fryers feete to whyp our selues the space of halfe a quarter of an houre more or lesse according as the cheefe father thinketh good we dare not speak one to another in the night time except necessity coÌ„straine vs. We dare not strike one another in iest or in earnest Our whips are made some of whyp corde the length of mine arme with long knots cuÌ„ningly wrought Other of our whyps are made of yron chaines such as women are wont to hang their keyes vpon Other haue their whips with siluer pins to the intent that the backe canker not My whyp is made of whypcorde I had another made of the foresaid chaines which I haue vsed manie times I haue be it spoken to the honor of God whipt my selfe often times I think forty times aboue In which whipping as I feele often times extreame paine so also I haue heauenly coÌ„solations in so much that it is an easie thing with me now to giue my self 400. stripes at once before that I leaue God knoweth I lye not when we whip our selues either for deuotion sake in remembraunce of the bitter passion of our Sauiour or els when wee whyp our selues for penaunce we doo put of our garments to the reynes of our backe and turne our hood aside so that our backe armes and shoulders are naked being so naked with a discipline as we call it or a whip in our hande one of the Fryers beginneth the 50. Psalme of
the great ioy of them that yet loue you in the Lorde to your endlesse saluation and to the consusion of that Antichristian swarme amongst whom you doo nowe lyue Amen But to gyue you yet a further occasion to consider better of your reall presence I wyll let you sée somewhat more out of this auncient Fathers writingâ—s and out of the wrytings of some others more auncient and some not so auncient First S. Austen wryting vpon the 98. Psalme sayth thus Spiritualiter intelligite quod locutus sum Non hoc corpus quod videtis manducaturi estis et bibituri illum sanguinem quem fusuri sunt qui me crucifigent Sacramentum aliquod vobis commendaui spiritualiter intellectum viuificabit vos Understande spiritually that which I haue spoken You shall not eate that bodie which you doo sée neither shal ye drink that bloud which shall be shedde by them that shall crucifie me I haue commended vnto you a certaine Sacrament which being spirituallye vnderstanded will quicken you Basilus Magnus somewhat more auncient then Austen dooth shewe himselfe to be of this minde That whatsoeuer may be reallie present in moe places at once then one is no creature but is God in nature To prooue the holy Ghost to be God he wryteth thus De spiritu sancto Cap. 22. Angelus qui astiâ—it Cornelio non erat in eodeÌ„ tempore etiam apud PhillippuÌ„ Neque qui ab altari ZachariaÌ„ alloquebatur eodem tempore etiam in coelo propriam sedem ac stationem implebat At verò spiritus simul in Abacuc in Daniele in Babilonia operari creditus est Et in Cataractae cum Hieremia esse dictus est Et cum Ezechiele in Chobar The Angell that stoode before Cornelius was not at the same time with Phillip also Neither did he that from the Altare spake vnto Zacharie at the same time occupie his owne place and order in heauen But we beléeue that the holy Ghost did at one time worke in Abacuc and in Daniell béeing in Babilon And it is sayde that he was with Ieremie in the dungion and with Ezechiell in Chobar Basill thought this sufficient to prooue the holy Ghost to be God And shall not we thinke then that you affyrming the body of Christ to be really present in the sacrament doo affyrme it to be God because it is present in so many places at once and so deny iâ— to be a creature But sée what another Father more auncient then Basill dooth saye to thys matter Origen wryting vpon the 25. Chapter of S. Mathewe sayth thus Secundum hanc diuinitatis suae naturam non peregrinatur sed peregrinatur secundum dispensationem corporis quod suscepit As touching this his diuine nature he is not gone into a strange Countrey but concerning the disposition of that bodie which he hath taken vpon him he is gone into a strange Countrey S. Austen wryting to Dardanus Epistola 57. sayth thus Cauendum est enim ne ita diuinitatem astruamus hominis vt veritatem corporis auferamus For we must take héede that we doo not so set vp the diuinitie of the manhoode that we take away the truth of the bodie These wordes of saint Austen are plaine enough and yet to make them more plaine he addeth Vna persona Deus homo est et vtruÌ„que est vnus Christus Iesus Vbique per id quod Deus est in coelo autem per id quod homo One person is both God and man and bothe these is one Christ Jesus In all places in that he is GOD but in that he is man he is in heauen In his 30. treatice vpon saynt Iohns Gospell S. Augustine wryteth thus Corpus domini in quo resurrexit in vno loco esse oportet veritas eius vbique diffusa est The Lordes bodye wherein he arose must be in one place but hys trueth is spread abroad in euery place S. Ambros also wryting vppon saynt Lukes Gospell hath these wordes Lib. 10. capit 24. Quae sursum sunt sapite non quae super terram Ergo non supra terram nec in terra nec secundum carnem te quaerere debemus si volumus inuenire Sauoure those thinges that are aboue and not those things that are on earth If we therefore wyil finde him we must not séeke him vpon the earth nor in the earth nor after the manner of flesh Cyrill also who being in the dayes of saynt Ambros Bishoppe of Alexandria wryteth vpon the Gospell of saynt Iohn and sayeth thus Lib. 6. capit 14. Et si Christus corporis sui praesentiam hinc sub duxit mai state tamen diuinitatis semper adest sicut ipse a discipulis abiturus policetur Ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus vsque ad consummationem soeculi Although Christ haue conueighed hence the presence of his body yet is he alwayes present by the maiestie of his diuinity euen as when hee was departing from hys Disciples he promised Beholde I am with you euery day euen to the ende of the worlde S. Gregorie also in his 21. Homelie writeth thus Christus noÌ„ est hic per praesentiam carnis qui tamen nusquam deest per praesentiam maiestatis Christ sayth he is not héere by the presence of hys flesh which notwithstanding is absent from no place by the presence of hys maiestie Fulgentius also in his seconde booke Ad transimundum regem writeth thus Christus vnus idemque homo localis ex homine qui est deus immensus ex patre â—nus idemque secundum humanam substantiam absens coelo cum esset in terra derelinquens terram cum ascendisset in coelum Christ is but one and the same is placible man of man which is of hys Father GOD that can not be measured One and the same as touching his humane substaunce was absent from heauen when he was on earth and leauing the earth when he ascended into heauen The last of these wryters hetherto cited lyued within 500. yéeres after Christes ascention Consider I pray you the places that I haue héere set downe in wryting taken out of the most auncient learned and godly writinges that these Fathers haue left behinde them And be no longer ledde by such as first seduced you and doo stil beare you in hand that all the auncient Fathers did beléeue and teach such a reall presence of Christ Iesus to be in the Sacrament of the Altare as they haue taught you to beléeue and that al we that doo deny that there is any such reall presence of Christ in that Sacrament doo make God a lyar and doo holde an heresie most horrible detestable and abhominable Where as in very déede we doo beléeue and teache the true auncient Catholicke and Apostolicke fayth concerning the true vse of the Sacrament of the body and bloude of our Sauiour Christ And that which they doo holde and teache is schismaticall deuillish and damnable Come out from amongst them hearken no more to
them they are false Prophets destruction hangeth ouer their heads and hell gapeth for them They robbe Christe of his glory They rob Christians of their greatest comfort They suppresse and holde vnder true Religion They sette vp and maintaine Idolatry and superstition And to speake all in one worde they vpholde Antichrist and his whole kingdome But to returne to our purpose You say that we say that there be but two Sacraments an heresie condemned long agoe But you tell vs not when where nor by whom Therefore as we haue sayd so we doo say and so we wyll say by Gods helpe til you can prooue the contrary that Christ hath ordeined but two sacramēts to be vsed by Christians Your saying that it is an heresie condemned long agoe is but a flashe of false fire giuen to a péece of Ordinaunce vncharged and therefore can not hurt the Bulwork wherin we stande and doo denie that Christ hath ordeined any moe sacraments then two namely Baptisme and the supper of y e Lord. In his thyrd booke of Christian doctrine and in the 9. Chap. there of S. Austen wryteth thus concerning this matter Hoc verò tempore posteaquam resurrectione domini nostri Iesu Christi manifestissimum iudicium nostrae libertatis illuxit nec eorum quidem signorum quae iam intelligimus operatione graui onerati sumus sed quaedam pauca pro multis cademque factu facillima et intellectu angustissima obsernatione castissima ipse dominus apostolica tradidit disciplina sicuti est Baptismi sacramentum celebratio corporis sanguinis domini Quae vnusquisque cum percipit quo referantur imbutus agnoscit vt ea non carnali seruitate sed spirituali potius libertate veneretur Vt enim litteram sequi et signa pro rebus quae ijs significantur accipere seruilis infirmitatis est ita inutiliter signa interpretari male vagantie erroris est But in these dayes sith by the resurrection of our Lorde Iesus Christ a most manifest signe or shewe of our liberty hath appeared wee are not loaden with the heauye working of those signes that we doo already vnderstande But in stéede of many the Lorde and the Apostolicke discipline hath giuen vnto vs a certain small number and the same very easie to be doone and most excellent in signification and most pure in obseruation as is the Sacrament of Baptisme and the celebration of the body and bloud of the Lorde which euery man that is instructed doth when hee receiueth them knowe to what ende they are referred that he may reuerence them not in a carnall seruitude but rather in a spirituall liberty For euen as to followe the Letter and to take the signes for those thinges that be signified by them is a poynt of seruile infirmity euen so to enterpret y e signes vnprofitably is a point of error that wandreth euill fauouredly or wickedly In these wordes of S. Austen we haue occasion to note two thinges especially One is that hee did not knowe of moe Sacraments then two instituted by our Sauiour Christ and commaunded by him and his Apostles to be vsed in his Church The other is that it is a poynt of fleshly seruitude and not of Christian liberty for a man to follow the letter or litterall sence in those spéeches in the Scriptures that doo concerne those two Sacraments in such sorte that he wyll take the signes that are spoken of for the thinges signified by them A man may meruell that any of your sorte that knoweth these words of S. Austen can allowe him for a Catholicke and yet condemne vs as Heretickes in thys poynt wherein we doo both affyrme and denie euen as he hath doone manye hundrethes of yéeres before vs. But let vs sée yet one other place of S. Austen In an Epistle that he wrote to one Ianuarius which is in number 118. S. Austen wryteth thus Primò itaque tenere te volo quod est huius disputationis caput Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum sicut ipse in Euangelio loquitur lent iugo suo nos subdidisse sarcinae leui Vnde sacramentis numero paucissimis obseruatione facillimis significatione praestantissimis societatem noui populi colligauit sicuti est baptismus trinitatis nomine consecratus communio corporis sanguinis ipsius si quid aliud in canonicis scripturis commendatur exceptis ijs quae seruitutem populi veteris pro congruentia cordis illorum prophetici temporis onerabāt quae et in quinque libris Mosis leguntur Fyrst of all therefore my wyll is that you shoulde vnderstande what the chéefe poynt of thys disputation is That is that our Lorde Iesus Christ hath as himselfe speaketh in the Gospell made vs subiecte to his owne easie yoke and light burden Whereby he hath syed together the society of the newe people with Sacraments that are fewest in number easiest in obseruing and most excellent in signification as is Baptisme consecrated in the name of the Trinity and y e communion of his body and bloud and if there by any other sacrament that is in the Canonicall Scriptures commended except those sacraments which did encrease the weight of bondage of the olde people as was méete for theyr hartes and for the propheticall time and which are reade in the fiue Bookes of Moses In these wordes of S. Austen we haue occasion to note that his meaning was to certifie Ianuarius to whom he wrote this Epistle of that thing which our Lord Iesus Christ taught in that which standeth written in the eleuenth of saynt Mathewes Gospell concerning the easines of the yoke and the lightnes of the burden that Christ Iesus hath layde vpon Christians And for the explaning of hys meaning he sayth that our Sacraments are very fewe in number very easie to be obserued and most excellent in signification And hee nameth onely Baptisme and the supper of the Lorde which he calleth as we commonly doo the communion of the body and bloode of our Sauiour Christ And furder hee referreth him to the Canonicall scriptures as aduising him to receiue no moe Sacraments then he shall finde to be commended in them And least he might take occasion by those words to thinke that Christians ought to be circumcised and to obserue the sacrifices and ceremonies of Moses Lawe he excepteth all such Sacraments as were layde vpon the people of the olde Lawe by any thing that is wrytten in any of the fiue bookes of Moses So that by these wordes of thys learned Father saynt Austen it appeareth as by the other afore rehearsed that he was not perswaded that Christ Iesus our Lord hath layde vpon vs Christians that heauye burden of seauen Sacraments which your holy father the Pope layeth vpon you and vpon all hys Antichristian flocke Confirmation Order Repentance or as you call it Penaunce Matrimonie and the Visitation of the sicke which you call Extreme vnction we vse as good profitable and necessary vsages in
force of the fire of Gods spirit which in hys good time wyll trye all that men haue builded vpon thée which art that foundation that all the builders which wyll buylde the Temple of GOD must needes builde vppon because there is none other foundation to builde vppon 1. Cor. 3. O swéete Iesus thou haste commaunded mee to searche the Scriptures Iob. 5. And thy holy Euangelist saynt Luke reporteth that in Berroaea such as receiued the doctrine of the Gospell gladly dyd searche the Scriptures daily Acts. 17. But my sonne Samuell forbyddeth mée the vse of the Byble in English And hée knoweth that I vnderstande none other language Hys meaning therefore must needes bée to forbydde that which thou hath commaunded O swéete Iesus suffer mée not to be seduced by my sonne Samuels flattering and hypocriticall spéeches Hée teacheth mée to beseeche thee to bée mercifull to mée a most wretched sinner for thy name sake A better lesson then this no man can teache O swéete Lorde Iesus doo thou imprint thys lesson in my harte that I doo neuer forgette it And worke thou in my hart by thy holye spyrite that I may haue a ready good will dayly to vse it But alas he beléeueth that thy blessed Mother Mary is able to helpe such as call vppon her and therefore hée teacheth me to pray vnto her to helpe mée But thou hast taught me a lesson contrary to that When you pray you shall say O our Father which art in heauen hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy wyll be doone in earth as it is in heauen c. O swéete Iesus let me neuer forgette that forme of prayer Gyue mée grace I beséeche thee to vse it nyght and day to craue continuallye at the handes of thy heauenly Father which through thee is become my heauenlye Father all those thyngs that in that forme of Prayer thou haste taught mee to craue Let mee not so hearken to my Sonne Samuell as that following hys counsell I shoulde doo contrary to thy commaundements Blessed Lorde Iesus I doo knowe that thy blessed mother is a most blessed creature But thou with thy Father and the holye Ghoste art her Creator and mine and the Creator of all creatures Wée must say of her as the Prophette Esay sayde of Abraham Isaac and Iacob Abraham neuer knewe vs Israell is ignoraunt of our case but thou art our Father thou art our deliuerer Esay 63. Thinkest thou oh thou blynde Fryer Iohn that thy mother that bare thee is so blinded with affection towardes thee that shee wyll turne her backe vppon Christe Iesus to follow thee Thou teachest her to vse daily a forme of prayer which in the first words is swéeter then honnie to the taste of a faithfull Christian but in all the wordes that followe it is full of most pestilent and deadlye poyson She wyll none of it therefore She wyll pray to the heauenly Father in such sorte as Christ Iesus the sonne of God hath taught her and not to creatures as thou doost exhort her Though she coulde yet she wyll not goe to shryft to make confessyen of her sinnes to a Priest Shée knoweth who it is against whome shée hath sinned To him alone she wyll confesse all her secrete sinnes At his handes onely she wyl aske forgiuenes of her sinnes because she knoweth that he onely is able to forgiue them And when she shall sinne against men she wyll confesse those sinnes to those men agaynst whom she shall committe them Shee will doo all that shée shall bee able to doo in making satisfaction to them Shée wyll craue forgiuenes at their handes and beséeche them to pray to GOD for her that she may obtaine forgiuenes at hys handes also The blessed body and bloude of our Lorde and Sauiour Iesus Christe shée will receiue as often as shée may but not after so bloudy a manner as you imagine that you doo Shee hath learned to receiue an outwarde Sacrament into her mouth and stomache and by fayth to receyue spirituallie into her soule the thing that is signified by that outwarde Sacrament Shée knoweth that if shée dwell in Christe and haue Christ dwelling in her shée dooth at the Lordes Table receiue eate and drinke the Lordes bodye and bloude in the Sacrament exhibited to her and to the reste of the faithfull But if shée shoulde intrude herselfe into the companye of Christians not dwelling in Christ neyther hauing Christe dwelling in her she knoweth that though she shoulde receiue the Sacramentall breade and drinke the Sacramentall wyne neuer so often yet shée shoulde neither eate the bodye nor drinke the bloude of Christe but the Sacrament of so excellent a thing to her owne condemnation August in sermone de Sacramentis fidelium Feria 2. Paschae Thys is the iudgment of saynt Augustine in hys Sermon that he made of the Sacraments of the faythfull the seconde day of Easter And Fryer Iohn I must aduise you to call to remembraunce that dealing of yours when you presumed to bée partaker of the Sacrament of the body and bloude of Christe in company wyth your mother the morrowe after you hadde béene at shryfte and were as your selfe haue in these your Letters confessed reconciled to the Romish Catholicke Church If Christe did then dwell in you vndoubtedly bothe Christ and Antichrist may dwell together which is knowne to bée a thing impossible You were reconciled to Antichrist therefore hée dwelt in you and not Christ You presumed with Iudas to eate the Lordes breade against y e Lord as Iudas did when he had before bounde himselfe by promise for money to deliuer the Lorde into the handes of the high Priestes and Elders of the people Euen so had you compacted with your new fréendes and made promise to forsake the Protestants Religion as you terme it and to embrace the Romish Catholicke Religion during the whole time of your transitory life And howe durst you then thrust your selfe into our Communion the next day after you hadde made thys promise to your ghostly father that had béene the meane and instrument of your reconciliation and so dissemble both wyth your newe and your olde fréendes as a Newter or Iacke on both sides But it may be that your ghostly Father had some large Commission from the holy father of Rome to disspence in such cases For such doo account our Sacrament to bée but a péece of breade and a cuppe of wyne and that therefore there is no danger in the receiuing of it in such manner as you did then receiue it But that dispensation can not helpe you for it was Panis Domini the Lords breade as well to you as that other was to Iudas And you receiued it Contra Dominum against the Lord as Iudas did euen to your owne condemnation because you made no difference of the Lordes body To your mother and to other the faithfull that dyd at that time receiue that Sacrament it was Panis Dominus The breade which is the Lorde