was also a spirituall foode yea and the very same which we receaue in the Sacrament the doctrine of Caluin defendeth though blasphemously as you shal see anon in the conferences of his doctrine with holy scripture Hereof will it folowe by the absurde doctrine of Caluin that the figure shal excell the verite Manna shall passe the body of oure Lorde the synagoge of Iewes shall be off more perfection then the Church off Christ ransomned with his precious bloud Againe if the soule onely be fedde in this blessed Sacrament the paschall lambe shall also passe and excel it The paschal lambe was eatē contra spiritum percussorem against the destroyer spirit for a sure preseruation of the Iewes bothe bodely and ghostely euen as this heauenly passeouer wardeth vs bothe body and soule frō the assautes of the deuill And our Sauiour beginning with his disciples this heauenly banquet calleth it a passeouer as Tertullian expoundeth it and Origē saying I haue inwardely desired to eate this passeouer with you before I suffer ▪ if the Iewes passeouer excelled this as the sacramētary doctrine of Ihon Caluin importeth why desired Christ so inwardly to eate this passeouer with his disciples doth the lambe of God Christ him selfe not so much profit the due receauers thereof as the paschall lambe of the Iewes Whereunto thinke you tendeth this doctrine but by litle and litle to traine vs euen to infidelite who tendreth his soule helthe and life euerlasting let him spedely beware of it Thirdly I might aske Caluin and all the ranke of sacramentaries swarming nowe so miserably in oure dere countre to the vtter destruction off the same where they reade in holy scripture that the soule onely fedeth on Christ and receaueth the body off Christ. The wordes of holy scripture declaring vnto vs the promis of this heauenly foode be directed vnto men consisting of body and soule not to the soule onely Beside that life and resurrection the promis of this blessed Sacrament are no lesse requisit to the body ▪ then to the soule as we shall hereafter more at large declare when we come to the olde heresies depending of Caluins doctrine Where you shal see that this doctrine of the Sacrrmentaries graunting only to the soule the eating of Christes his flesh denieth the resurrection of the body As touching the seconde pointe to witt that we receaue the body of Christ truly and really and yet so that the same body of Christ is as farre distant from vs as heauen is from the earthe I knowe not what can be more absurdely saide Caluin in dede will haue this to be a miraculous operation of the holy ghoste For saith he the vertu of the holy ghost is such that it is able not onely to gather together thinges by distaunce of place separated one from the other but also to vnite them together and make them one Marke and ponder well the saing of Caluin for this reason is the onely ancre off this point of his doctrine He semeth perhaps to some that lightly ouerrunne his wordes to speake reason Let vs thē cōsidre his wordes It is most true that the holy ghost being god him self can do al thinges that can be done and therefore can as Caluin saith knitte in one those thinges that are farre distant as God can by his omnipotency ioyne heauē and earthe together which we see are most distant but then they being so ioyned shall no more be distant We graunte that by the vertu off the holy ghoste the body off Christ which is in heauen may be the foode of oure soules But then it shall not onely be in heauen but here also or els oure soules shall be there to and then seing oure bodyes remaine here I see not but whosoeuer communicateth after Caluins doctrine he must dye the soule being separated from the body and we saie not onely he can do so but the Catholike churche teacheth vs he doth so Nowe Caluin bicause he will denie the real presence of Christ ▪ in the Sacrament imagineth that we eate the body of Christe really withoute the reall presence But this imagination is a plaine contradictition And contradiction is of those thinges that can not be done A thing can not be present and distant to A thing can not be hotte and cold to in one very place and moment of time And therefore all lerned men haue euer saide that God worketh no contradiction This then being a plaine contradiction to haue Christ present and not present to haue him in the Sacrament and not in the Sacrament we saye the holy ghoste dothe not worke it Not bycause off any impossibilite off God but bycause the thinge it selfe is impossible And euen as we may wel say God can not sinne and yet derogat no whit from the omnipotency of God so maye we saye God can not worke a contradiction God can not make a thinge present that is in dede absent and not present and yet we diminishe not the omnipotency of allmightye God For that consisteth in suche thinges as are semely for his diuine Maiesty and are of them selues possible Nowe contradiction is of it selfe vtterly impossible Againe the workes of God are permanent and vniforme the one of them destroieth not the other But in contradictions one parte destroyeth the other as a thinge to be present taketh awaye the absence thereoff And likewise the absence destroieth the presence To saie therefore as all lerned men saye that God can worke no contradiction argueth not an impopotency or lacke of abylite in God But rather the doctrine of Caluin making God the authour of contradiction argueth it Theodore Beza and his companions at the late Synod off Poissy in Fraunce praesenting vpp their confession touching this blessed Sacrament thoughe they were all scholers of Caluin yet they dyd not attribute this contradiction to the operation off the holy ghoste but vnto faith The wordes of their Confession presented the laste daye of September vnto the councell are these Bycause the worde off God vpon the which oure fayth is stayed warranteth vs the true and naturall body by the vertu of the holy Ghoste In this respect we acknowleadge that the body and bloud of oure Lorde Iesus Christ is in the Supper By these wordes Encestesgard In this respect we meane that we apprehēd this great and excellent mystery by faith which is of such vertu and efficacy that it maketh thinges absent to be praesent Hitherto the wordes of their confession Wherein they attribute that to faithe whiche Caluin their Master attributeth to the operation of the holy ghoste But be their faithe neuer so stronge and vehement yet shall they neuer obtaine thereby that one selfe thinge shall be bothe present and not present For this being a contradiction is a thinge impossible and suche as God him selfe worketh not Faith saieth S. Paule est argumentum rerum non apparentium Is a certainte off thinges which are not sene By faith
thinge In the same place not many lines after thus he concludeth his doctrine of the B. Sacrament I saye therefore the holy mistery of the Supper consisteth of two thinges to witt the earthly signes setting before oure eyes according to oure caepacite the inuisible thinges and the Spirituall verite figured and exhibited by the signes The matter also of this spirituall verite he expoundeth him selfe to be Christ with his deathe and resurrection And in an other place of his workes writing against the councell of Trent thus he speaketh The bread remaineth bread terrestriall and corruptible but the celestiall body of Christe is ioyned thereunto and hereof saithe he by the authorite of Ireneus this mystery consisteth of two thinges the one terrestriall and of earthe the other celestial and of heaueÌ„ to witt the celestiall body off Christ and the materiall bread of earthe Hetherto you see Caluin in the blessed SacrameÌ„t to acknowledg no other body of Christ then Spirituall and celestiall euen as the heretike Valentinus did and to coulour his doctrine also by the authorite off Ireneus Now you shall vnderstande that Ireneus writing against the foresaide heresy of Valentinus for the confutation thereof amonge other arguments vseth the common belefe of the Catholike churche touching this blessed Sacrament Oure doctrine saith he is conformable to the Eucharistie terming so this blessed Sacrament and the Eucharistie confirmeth our doctrine for we offer vnto god that whiche are his owne declaring accordingly the vnite and coniunction of the fleshe and of the Spirit For as the material bread receauing the inuocation of god is no more common bread but the Eucharistie coÌ„sisting of two thinges the one of earth the other of heauen so oure bodies receauing the Eucharistie are no more corruptible but haue certain hâ—pe of resurrection Thus farre Ireneus In the whiche wordes against Valentinus he affirmeth that the Sacrament containeth Christ him selfe whiche consisteth of two thinges or natures being one person to witt of earthely fleshe taken of the virgin and of the celestiall godhead descending from heauen Nowe Caluin bicause he will denie the reall presence of Christes flesh in the Sacrament imagineth the celestiall body of Christ withoute flesh to be ioyned with the material bread as Valentinus the heretike dyd abusing also to that purpose this very place of Ireneus wherein he showeth him selfe other very ignorant of Ireneus meaning and disputation in that place or very malicious in deprauing it after his owne brainesicke fantasie For S. Irene directly reproueth the opinion of Valentinus denieng the incarnation of Christ and his true fleshe bicause in the Sacrament we receaue his true and naturall fleshe and therefore a fewe lines before he saythe Quomodo constabit eis cae Howe wil they be assured that the same consecrated bread is the body of their lorde and the cuppe of his bloud if they denie it to be the Son of god maker of the worlde Doth not here that holy Martyr and lerned Father proue the very flesh and naturall body of Christe against that heretike vpon the grounde of oure belefe touching the reall presence of Christ him selfe in the Sacrament Doth not Caluin taking awaie this grounde of oure belefe and denieng the reall presence of Christes flesh in the Sacrament leauing vs onely a spirituall verite consequently allowe the heresy of Valentinus Againe Valentinus denied the resurrection of oure bodies Ireneus proueth it vnto him by the doctrine of the Sacrament saieng in the same place aboue alleaged Howe dare they saie that oure flesh shall come to corruption and not receaue life which is fedd with the body and bloud of oure lorde Nowe Caluin in his Catechisme in his Institutions and euery where teacheth that oure soule not the body eateth the body of Christ really and truly but not corporally and is nourished there with in hope of life euerlasting Doth not this his doctrine graunting that celestiall foode and onely warrant of oure resurrection to the soule destroie the resurrection of the body as Valentinus the heretike dyd Is he not ones again most manifestly fallen into brokeÌ„ pudles of olde condeÌ„ned heresies Our Sauiour saith Onles you eate my flesh and drinke my bloud you shall haue no life in you he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath life and I wil raise him vp againe in the later daie Nowe if the soule onely eateth this heauenly foode as Caluin teacheth the soule onely shall haue life and be raised vp at the later daye For the onely warrant of resurrection is the participation of the flesh and bloud of Christe For thoughe the bodies of infidels of heretikes and of euill Christians shall arise again yet they shall not arise to life nor in suche maner of resurrection as oure Sauiour meaneth whiche is as his blessed Apostle S. Paule teacheth vs to put on immortalite to be made incorruptible and to be glorified For so shal onely the true beleuers in Iesus Christ and partakners of this holy sacrameÌ„t arise As for infaÌ„ts baptised though they receaue not sacrameÌ„tally the flesh and bloud of Christ yet euen as by the faithe of holy church they beleue and are accoÌ„pted to haue faithe so by the communion of Saintes and societe of the Catholike churche they are incorporated to oure Sauiour and assured of their resurrection It wil peradueÌ„ture seme impossible to the fauourers of Caluins doctrine and prisers of his ghospell that he should euer meane any such hainous doctrine as this is Verely what he thought in conscieÌ„ce we wil not iudge but what his writings declareâ— him to be you see I thinke euidently In his Cathechisme labouring to wipe awaie this suspicioÌ„ froÌ„ him he saieth he hathe a witnes and a warrant of the resurrection of his body and of the saluatioÌ„ thereof in that he eateth the signe of life But I praie you could he more manifestly denie the saluation of the body then to attribut it to that thinge whiche can not geue it For what auaileth it for the assurance of life to eate as he saithe the signe of life whiche is nought els but a morcell of bread Where findeth he suche assuraÌ„ce of life in holy scripture What scripture telleth him that by eating the signe of life his body shal rise to incoruption Christ promiseth vs life and resurrectioÌ„ by eating his fleshe and drinking his bloud Is the flesh and bloud of Christe a signe of life Is he not the true bread of life Is not his holy fleshe vnited to the godhead and made one person with god true quickening fleshe and geuing life Surely this doctrine off Caluin vtterly ouerthroweth the resurrection of oure bodies Peter Richier a frenche ghospeller Caluins scholer denieth this fonde doctrine of his Master to witt that by eating the signe of life the body should be assured of resurrection and imagineth an other shifte that the soule being raised spiritually by eating the body of Christe shall
by them left vnto their lawfull successours with the very text of the scripture therefore it is cōmonly called the Tradition of the holy fathers and oftentimes the vnwriten verite in respect of the writen texte And bicause the truthe off the text and of the right vnderstanding of the texte must nedes be all one truly our aduersaries do slaunder vs fayning that in triall off cōtrouersies we woulde beside the worde of God sett as iudge the traditions of men directly against the worde of God The third principle is that holy continuall succession of the See Apostolike and other bishops in the Catholike churche For if we be able to proue by order of continuall succession that all bishops as well before vs as nowe haue allwaies expounded the holy scriptures euen as the first Apostles did can there be any more certain waye for the vnderstanding of scripture then this is I would gladly heare what can be saied against it The fourthe principle is the vnite and consent of the Catholike churche Whereby it is made that the like truthe be in euery part that is in the whole and so contrary wise These are moste Reuerend Prelate the right principles of Christian doctrine these are the foundations of all truthe these as foure quarres or corner stones holde vp the Catholike churche and therefore it is called One Holy Catholike and Apostolike churche For of these principles dependeth the Authorite of the councels Of these the holy Canons haue their beginning and of these all laufull and laudable rites of the church take force and strength These then being the principles of our religion not those which Brentius falsely chargeth vs withal Princes and rulers ought to looke more nerer vnto the doings and sayings of their preachers But nowe Bretius to make an oppositiō of the foresaide forged principles our principles are saieth he the worde of God Christ and an assured certainte of oure confidence in Christ But what is I praie you this your worde of God This it is that all maner of folke mē and womē cookes and coblers baudes and buchers tinkers and tailers pedlers and poticaries minstrels and mummers and all such like be priestes be bishops be doctours and pastours and haue authoritie to administrat the Sacraments to interpret Scripture and what interpretation eche one by the drifte of his braine draweth out of scripture that to be the pure ghospell off the Lorde and the expresse worde of God This is not right Reuerend father the worde of God but the worde of the diuell him selfe inuēted of Luther not inspired by the sprit of God For that man entending to peruert all that appertained to God or to man laboured trauailed and endeuoured by al meanes possible that there might remaine no spirituall magistrat whiche might by authorite discerne betwene leper and leper maintaining the right doctrine of the ghospell and remouing the bastard And this labour of Luther being well liked of Sathan he imagined an other worde of God as that among Christen men shoulde be no ciuill magistrat for all princes were fooles tyrans and men of no religion to thentent that if perhaps the heresies of Luther were condemned by the Spirituall magistrat and so forth with cōmitted to the secular sworde princes therunto might haue no authorite Hereuppon he forbiddeth Christen men to kepe warre against the Turke and commaundeth subiects to rebel against their princes Strait vppon this arose an other worde of an other God that all lawes of chaste and single life shoulde be taken awaye teaching amonge a sorte of maydes and yonge men that Man was no more able to refraine his fleshly lustes then not to spet when nature prouoked Againe that fasting and abstinence from flesh nothing helped prayer nothing furdered deuotion made nothing to sobriete These smaller pointes being first all most conquered he reacheth to higher and diuiner matters First bicause he teacheth that sinne is not by the grace of baptime taken away in dede but is saide and fained only to be taken away hereof he savve it vvolde folovve that mē oughte not be estemed righteous and good in dede but onely accompted and imputed for such Then bycause he made no difference nor degre of grace he admitted no encrease in vertu and therefore could not abide the Sacramēt of Confirmation Fardermore bicause if sinne be not rooted out if there be no encrease of grace nor goodnes but al is only by maner of accōpte and imputing thē must he also infer that the presence of Christes body may not be in earthe that no sacrifice be admitted and vvhich folovved thereupon no priesthood nether And of this point the Zuinglians picked out one worde of their straunge God and the Lutherās an other of this spring also arose the doctrine teaching mā to be iustified by only faith hope charite repentaunce and other good workes being pernicious and hurtefull to saluation what frute then thinke you proceded hereof This sothely and many other For if God doth compell man to sinne as Luther and the Caluinistes do write howe can God require good workes or by what lawe can be punish sinne seing that he worketh sinne in vs and good workes are thought to be pernicious And truly if there be no rewarde for vertu there shall be no punishment for sinne And then there is no hel nor place of punishment as in the seacoste townes of Germany it is taught there is no diuell to execute that punishment as Osiander teacheth This worde not of God but of the diuell beyng laied this principle being put an other principle concerning Christ ensued as that the humain nature of Christe is god as the Swenckfeldians will haue it or contrairely that Christe is not God as the Seruetians teache and Mathias Flaccius affirming that the worde in the first of Iohn is not the sonne of God Lo how fertill and abundant was this principle of Luther and Brentius There were in times past and are also nowe a dayes whiche openly denie Christ to be the son of God affirming him to be the son of Ioseph and Mary Which Mary also had as they saye many other children beside Christ. Other there be nowe which teache the ghospell of S. Iohn to be a tale of Plato baptim to be the inuentiō of the diuell And that there is not in God the Trinite of persons some other doubting whether this Trinite be man or woman So taught euen this winter a certayn new ghospeller in Sternberg a towne of Morauia and that with the fauour of the people but much against the will of the Bishop of Omoluke their diocesian There be nowe in Hungary also which in their baptim leaue out cleane the name of the Son There be in many places the Seruetians which call the blessed Trinite by the name of the hellhownd Cerberus whom the poetes fained to haue thre heads With like horrible blasphemies two other ghospellers daily
I awnswer you Amonge Christen men there can not be nor ought not to be any Magistrat but euery mā is subiect one to another all a like as the Apostle saithe Philip. 2. Thinking euery one superiour one to another and S. Peter 1. Pet 5. Euery one showe humilite one to another vnto the whiche Christe also consenteth saieng Luce. 14. when thou arte called vnto a mariage go sit downe in the lowest place Amonge Christen men there is no superiour but onely Christ and what superiorite or magigistrat cā there be where al be equal of one right dignite and vocation and where none desireth to rule ouer the other but euery one is glad to be vnder VVhere such men are if any would make a Magistrat yet he can not make one that should be superiour to the other for it is against nature to haue superiours where no mā wil be nor cā besuperiour ▪ and where such men are not there are not true Christians Againe in the next leafe before he writeth thus They be princes of the worlde But the worlde is enemy to God Therefore they must nedes do those thinges that are contrary to God and acceptable to the worlde lest they lese their honour and be no more worldy princes Maruaile not therefore if they storme and striue against the ghospel and plaie like madde fooles For their doings must nedes corresponde to their name and title Marke also that from the beginning of the worlde a wise prince hathe ben a seldom birde but a good prince much more dainty The moste of them are other principall fooles or the moste wicked knaues on the earthe And therefore we can hope for litle good of them but feare allwaies the worste Especially in matters of God and pertaining to our soule helthe For they are as the hangmen and tormentours of god c. And anon it foloweth Therefore if perhaps there be any wise good or Christian prince that is to be counted for a wonder and a singular token of gods greate grace and clemency towarde that countre I beseche you al good Christen readers of whatsoeuer degre or qualite you are remēbre your vocation and suffer not your selues to be abused of this fonde frier or to be lead in to his seditious errours and cōtempt of Magistrats from the true belefe and awncient obedience of Christendom For the true ghospell of Christ commaundeth directly all subiectes to obey their Lieges Princes and Souueraines in all dread and obedience not onely good vertuous and mercifull but also frowarde wicked and cruell But what effect had this fifte ghospell of Luther and his prophecyeng of the fall of Princes forsothe in the yeare 1525. that is two yeares after the setting forthe of that his seditious booke it sturred vp that notorious rebell Thomas Muntzer whom yet Luther as it maye by good euidence be proued at the firste excused and defended before the Duke of Saxony hoping that Muntzer shoulde haue sped of his purpose But afterwarde perceauing the princes to make greate preparation and to gather power against the rebells feling that his Christen liberte was like to fall in the donge straite he writeth vnto the Princes and Nobilite to hewe downe the rusticall rebelles And to declare vnto the whole worlde the greate thought and grefe that father Luther tooke of that his former pernicious and deadly counsell euē at the very same time he toke a Nūne out of her cloyster and for mere pitie of the poore commons so deluded celebrated the solemne swete mariage of the fifte ghospell But to the entent the Princes and Rulers might not espie these his preuy fetches and deuelishe inuentions the very same yeare 1525 he sette forthe an other booke quite contrary to the former Which he intituled Whether souldiars be in state of saluation In that booke he writeth thus Here the lawe itselfe speaketh that no man ought to take weapon against his superiour For vnto superiours and magistrats honour reuerence obedience and dread is due Rom. 13. For he that hacketh wodde ouer his heade the chippes will fall in his eyes and as Salomon saith he that throweth a stone vpwarde it will fall downe vppon his head euen such is the lawe made of god and receaued of men For these two can not agre to obey and yet to rebell to be a subiect and yet to abyde no ruler Thus much Luther in that place Here I beseche almightie God to geue the light of truthe to all good and godly readers hereof that laieng a side al affectiō to the person or man they will waighe and considre vprightly the whole cause it selfe as it standeth Luthers bookes De Captinitate Babylonica and of Secular Authorite teache according to his ghospell that among Christē mē there can not be nor ought no to be any higher power or power at al. And why wrote he so then bicause that if the Emperour or other princes would perhaps haue persecuted the heresy of Luther then the commons and cytezens might lawfully haue slaien the Catholike Prince higher power and magistrat Now in his other booke Of the state of souldyars the ghospell of Luther teacheth plaine contrary that the higher power must be obeyed not onely good but also the badde to punishe the seditious and put to deathe rebells Againe in his laste litle booke writē to the Duke of Saxony and the Lantgraue his ghospell preacheth after an other sorte as that subiects may take weapon and stād in the field against their liege Souuerain But so that they walke the high waie that is that spetting wel in their hādes and falling to it lustely as he was wonte to saie they hewe downe their princes a pase and if it proue prosperousely then geue honour vnto the Lorde Beholde the honour of God that heretikes seke They teache the subiect to murder the Prince against the expresse commaundement of God in holy write teaching vs to honour God in the higher power Awake ye o Germās stirre vp your selues see and acknowledg the mercifull visitation of allmighty God Nowe god knocketh at our hartes and looketh for repentaunce and that with this fatherly lesson of king Dauid Todaie if ye haue heard his voyce harden not your hartes and the wordes of the Apostle Knowest thou not that the mercifulnes of god and longe bearing draweth the vnto repētaunce Let vs therefore aske and crie vnto god O Lorde conuerte vs and showe thy face and we shal be saued Let vs also heare the worde of our Lorde calling vpon vs by the prophet Turne ye vnto me saythe the Lorde of Hostes and I will turne vnto you And to the entent that all the honour be geuen to God and yet that our good intent and purpose lacke not if we will do true penaunce we muste from the bottom of our hart lament with Ieremy the prophet and crye with teares vnto our lorde O Lorde turne vs
Augustin when they sayde that the worde Catholike was not ment of the societe and communioÌ„ of the whole worlde but in obseruing of al gods commaundements and all his sacraments Thirdly the protestants of Lunneburg and of the Lantgraues dominions were offended with the Saxons in the publishing of their coÌ„fession bicause they yelded to much to the Catholikes in the question of ecclesiasticall iurisdiction and authorite off bishops whereupon Melanchthon was expresly commaunded to yeld no farder Fourthly whereas in that confession presented to the Emperour in the yeare 1530. in the tenth article we reade this They teache that the true body and bloud of Christ is truly present in the Supper vnder the formes of bread and wine the next yere after the same Confession being printed at VVittenberg they frame the same article after an other sorte and write That the body and bloud of Christ are truly present and distribued to those which receiue in the supper By the which addition they exclude all reseruation of the blessed Sacrament for the sicke and tie Christ to the pleasure of the receiuers But in the yeare 1540. wading furder in the moire of heresy they make that same article yet fouler For this they saie That with the breade and the wine the body and bloud of Christ is truly exhibited to those whiche receiue in the Lordes Supper Thus lo at the length this monster of Luther was brought to perfection I meane his proper heresy about the SacrameÌ„t But what Doth all the brotherhood of that Confession staye here Nay the zelous Lutherans denie it and complaine of it For from this their Confession Brentius and the Masters of WitteÌ„berg in their conference helde at Wormes in the yeare 1557. haue departed openly yelding to the heresies of Zuinglius and Osiander directly repugning to that ConfessioÌ„ as Nicolaus Amsdorffius a zelous Lutheran chargeth them in open writing His wordes you may reade in the beginning of the thirde parte of this booke Thus you maye see howe the sprit of Melanchthon and his felowes agree with the doinges and behauiour of olde heretikes And although Philip Melanchthon at the first visitation of the protestants in Germany was praysed for his modesty and meakenes yet afterwarde as he grewe in heresy so did he in malice and cruelty The thrusting in of OsiaÌ„der in to Prussia procured by him displacing Morlinus by force his open writing against the visitatioÌ„ of Bauaria his bitter and dispiteous inuectiues againste the lerned vertuous and Noble man Fridericus Staphylus hath sufficiently declared to all the worlde that as good men eunt de virtute in virtutem encrease and go forward in vertu so he proceded in mischefe and malice of harte as the property of heretikes hathe allwaies ben Illyriâ—us and other zelous Lutherans ceased not daily while he liued to entwit this vnto him And I haue here recited onely for the intent God is my witnes that his credit hereafter may be the lesse amonge suche as by his hereticall ciuilite haue ben deceaued and trained into heresies from the vnite of Christes churche where only saluation is to be hoped for For that is the body off Christ as S. Paule saieth and the piller of truthe and as S. Augustin writeth Whosoeuer beleueth that Christe Iesus is come in to fleshe and in the same fleshe hathe suffred for vs hath risen again and is ascended vp and that he is the son of God God with God and one with the father by whom al was made and yet do so dissent from his body which is the church that they do not communicat with all the whole corps of Christendome certain it is that they are not in the Catholike churche What Christen maÌ„ therefore is there so destitut of the grace of God and all good reason that will hazarde his soule to folowe that guide which woteth not him selfe which waie to walcke or to lerne a newe belefe contrary to all Christendome beside that nowe is and euer hathe ben of suche a Master as knoweth not him felfe what he may saie and was euen to his deathe but a lerner and scholer For then onely began he to professe him selfe a Caluiniste and a Sacramentary hauing all his life time before taught and deceaued a number after the trade of Luther And howe can his scholers be assured that theÌ„ he founde out the truthe We will therefore nowe come to Caluin him selfe to whom Melanchthon hathe yelded and see whether he be a ghospeller worthy to be folowed againste the vniforme consent of Christes churche Perusing diligently the doctrine of Iohn Caluin in his Institutions commentaries vppon the holy Scripture his resolutions vppon the Sacraments and other his workes touching his doctrine of the blesâ—ed Sacrament of the aultar whiche he allwaies termeth the Supper off the Lorde and recording with my self howe the greatest swaye of the lost flock of our time forsaking Christ the heauenly shepearde and his vicar here on earthe haue folowed more that wolfe of Geneua Iohn Caluin then the foxes of Germany Luther Melanchthon Osiander and other truly I bothe lamented much the losse of so many ChristeÌ„ soules straiyng after so perilous a guide and maruailed yet more at the blindnes of our wicked time that would be so soone lead out of the highe waie of Christes churche wherein onely saluation is to be sought and folow the trade of such a doctour or Master which like a madde will full man being out off the waie runneth vpp and downe among the bushes and briers this waie and that waie seking of purpose any waye rather then he will take the common highe beaten waie that all Christen people haue walked in I saie this good Readers not as enemy to the man whom thanked be God I neuer sawe nor heard but as finding him such in his writings as I haue saied and intending by Gods helpe to sett him so before your eyes that yow shall also saie and iudge no lesse of him then I do vnlesse you are which God forbidde of the number of those obstinat Iewes who seying would not see and hearing woulde not heare I trust rather in allmighty God that no man hath so pinned his soule to Caluins doctrine but that he will yelde to the expresse worde off holy Scripture and euident reason when he shall see the same doctryne to fight directly against them bothe And first we wil coÌ„sidre how is doctrine fighteth against euideÌ„t reason which by two maner of waies we will declare you First by certain of his propositions importing absurde consequences and impossibilites nexte by clere and most euident contradictions of his owne saiengs wherby not onely the faithfull Catholike but the deceiued protestant may euidently iudge and pronounce that this mans doctrine can not be of god and his holy Spirit which is the Spirit of truthe and vnite but is of the diuel and his wicked sprit which is the sprit of falshood and
bloud And after he concludeth thus I saie therefore that in the mistery of the Supper by the signes of bread and wine Christ is geuen vnto vs truly yea his body and bloud to the entēt that first we maie be made one body with him then being made partakeners of his substaunce we maie also receaue the vertu thereof for the enioieng of all his benefits All this he saieth against thē which acknowledging a certain communiō with Christ in this Sacramēt make vs onely partakners of the Spirit of Christe as in his wordes somewhat before he expresseth Woulde a man desire any more Catholike doctrine then this is truly it semeth no. But you shall see within fewe lines he marreth all that he made before For when he cometh to declare after what maner we receaue the body and bloud of Christ for by euidence of scripture he was forced to confesse that we receaue it thē lo he stretcheth him selfe and calleth his wittes aboute him how he may defeat the real presēce of Christes body and bloud He graunteth we do truly and as he writeth vpon S. Paule really receaue the body and bloud of Christe But he will not haue it as the church teacheth really present Howe then shall we really receaue Christ We nede not saieth Caluin imagin any presence of place to receaue Christ by Howe then This benefit saith he Christ geueth vs by his Spirit By ▪ the Spirit of Christ we are coupled and ioyned to Christ. and the Spirit of Christ is as a certaine cundite pipe by the whiche whatsoeuer Christ is and hathe is deriued vnto vs. for if we see the Son shining on the earthe with his beames for the engendring and quickening of thinges geue as thoughe it were his substaunce vnto the earthe why should the Spirit of Christ be inferiour or of lesse force then the shining downe the son for conuaying vnto vs the communion of Christ his fleshe and bloud Wherefore scripture speaking of our partaking with Christe referreth the whole power thereof vnto the spirit One place shal suffise for all For S. Paule writing to the Romanes in the eight chapter teacheth that Christ dwelleth no otherwise in vs then by his Spirit Whereby yet he taketh not a waie the communiō of fleshe and bloud that we nowe speake of but teacheth vs that by the onely spirit we possesse whole Christ and haue him dwelling in vs. These lo hetherto are the wordes of Caluin euen as they lie in his Institutiōs the 18. chapper The effect of his whole tale is this That by the Spirit of Christ onely we receaue the body and bloud of Christ. And is not this cleane repugnant to that he saide before blaming them whiche taught that in this Sacrament we were partakners of Christ in Spirit onely For howe receaue we the body and bloud of Christe by the Spirit of Christ onely but spiritually only The fleshe and bloud of Christ are no spirituall thinges Valentinus and Marcion were condemned for suche doctrine Howe then receaue we thinges of a corporall substaunce not mere spirituall onely by the Spirit This is a mere imagination of Caluin as we haue before declared you No scripture termeth the Spirit of Christ a cundite pipe No scripture telleth vs that the Spirit of Christ cōuaieth vs his fleshe and bloude It is beside scripture and against all reason and therefore not to be admitted by the only warrant of Caluins mouthe We must not leaue the doctrine of the churche though it had no reason to defend it for the bare assertion of Caluin being against all reason For this is against all reason that we should really eate the body and drinke the bloud of Christ being not really present though Caluin to sett a gaie colour on the matter attributeth this straunge meanes and order to the operation of the Spirit of Christ God him selfe For as we haue before proued god him selfe worketh no contradiction as it is to receaue that which is not present to be receaued Therefore notwithstanding all the shiftes that Caluin maketh it is no real communion of Christ his body and bloud that he teacheth as he would it should seme to be but a mere spirituall which before he blamed As touching the Son if Caluin speake like a philosopher it is no body mixte and made of the elemēts as the natural flesh and bloud of Christ is but a pure simple and celestial body and so we graunte the substaūce thereof is deriued to the earth by the shining thereof For that substaunce is a lightsom and shining substaunce and differeth no whit from the light and clerenes thereof Now Christ toke very fleshe in all conditiōs like to our flesh except the corruptiō that sinne bringeth This fleshe of Christ is so endued with diuinite that it loseth not his natural substaūce Therefore the substaūce of the Sō and the substaūce of Christ his body are thinges farre differēt Againe if the substaūce of the son quickeneth the earth that substaūce is really present with the earthe By this reason therefore Christ also should be really present with vs feding vs with his substaunce Which we do confesse but Caluin denieth How thē dothe that similitude make for him Truly nothing Farder ▪ The Son by the meanes of his shining saieth Caluin geueth his substaunce to the earthe and so Christ by the meanes of his Spirit geueth vs the communion of his flesh and bloud Marke that Caluin saieth the communion of the fleshe not the fleshe it selfe to be deriued vnto vs. For by the communion of the fleshe of Christ he meaneth as vpon S. Paule h◠writeth Vim ex Christi carne viuificā a certain quickening power oute of Christ his fleshe Nowe this quickening power of Christ his flesh is not the fleshe of Christ it selfe VVhich by Caluins doctrine in his institutions of it felfe is not quickening or geuing life But it is the Spirit onely of Christ which geueth life and quickeneth saieth he Lo then againe you see notwithstanding all his faire wordes before his doctrine is nowe that we haue but a spirituall foode onely in this sacrament conuayed vnto vs by the Spirit as the son by his shininge conuaieth his substaunce vnto the earthe Is not this ones againe a plaine contradiction to that whiche he wrote before blaming those that make vs partakners of Christ in Spirit onely is not his doctrine the very same is not the communion that he imagineth to be conuaied vnto vs a spirituall thing dothe he not call it a certain quickening vertu oute off Christ his fleshe this quickening vertu is it not by the doctrine of Caluin a mere spirituall thinge seing that he teacheth blasphemousely with the olde heretike Nestorius that the flesh of Christ notwithstanding it is Propria Verbi one person with the Son of God is not of it selfe quickening I trust you see nowe euidently that though Caluin write we receaue truly and really the