fynde that I enteÌ„de not to preueÌ„t your good dyrectyon aduyse but to folowe it both in thys all other affayres as I haue shewed tofore WhaÌ„ yow fynally shall fynde how quyetly I ha ue enterprysed into it so that I renyed to opeÌ„ my senteÌ„ce in the matter before I had hearde your graces aduyse These thynges coÌ„sydered or re membred I trust your grace wyll enclyne to my sauetie rather than to cause me bodyly to peryshe But in all poyntes I do humbly and gladly submyt me vndre the myghty haÌ„de of God of yow hys anoynted depute ouer vs in earth to whom I shall contynue a true subiect and an innoceÌ„t laÌ„be what so euer shall betyde me with the grace of our sauer and redemer whoÌ„ I shall also hartely praye euer to gyde preserue and saue your grace to hys plea sure and to the mayntenaunce of truthe and innocencye in thys realme Fynally if it shall please your most noble grace with layser to pondre and consydre my rudely written sentence and to vse it as an occasyon to inuestigate or trye out the very truthe of the matter by chrysten dysputacyons made to and fro pro coÌ„ tra My. hope is that so the truthe after such dysputacyons shall the sonâ—r to your grace euydently apere and by yow to all vs your subiectes to a great coÌ„men both Ioye and quyetnesse For what subiect can but reioyce hyghly thanke God seynge hys prynce with all dylygence and myldenesse is glad to heare and trye out all truthes and so with godly loue and tendernesse to commende or set fourth the same abrode to hys subiectes for their true instructyon vnyte and solace both bodyly and ghostly Thys full godly dylygence of dyggynge vp the fountayne agayne of pure and lyuely water of dyuyne knowledge that is to saye of serchynge holy scriptures longe stopped vp by the myscreaunt Phylistynes that be pharysees and papystes with the dunge of their earthly fantasyes and humayne gloses do I wyshe in your grace to be contynued and encreased to Gods honoure to your owne felycyte and to the commen weale AmeÌ„ Hys senteÌ„ce concernynge the sacrameÌ„t After thys protestacyon doth now folowe if it shall please your full godly grace to knowe my sentence concernynge the sacrameÌ„t of Christes holy body and bloude Whych sentence is this Christ is so ascended bodyly into heauen hys holy manhede thydre so assumpte where as it doth sytt vpon the ryght hande of the father that is to saye is with the father there remanent resydent in glory that by the infallyble promyse of God it shall not or can not from thens returne byfore the generall dome whyâ—h shall be in the ende of the worlde And as he is nomore corporally in the worlde so can I not se how he can be corporally in the sacrament or hys holy super And yet not withstandynge do I knowledge and confesse that the holy sacrament of Christes body and bloude is hys uery body and bloude in a certayne maner whych shall be shewed herafter with your graces fauer and permâ—ssâ—on â–ª Accordynge to the wordes of our sauer instytutynge the same holy sacrament sayenge Hoc est corpus meum quod pro uobis datur And agayne Hic est sanguis meus qui est no ui testamenti qui pro multis effunditur in remissionem peccatorum Math. 26. But now for approuynge of the first part â–ª that Christ is so bodyly ascended into heauen and hys holy manhede so thydre assumpte caet â–ª that by the infal lyble promyse of God he shall not or can not any more from thens bodyly returne byfore the generall dome I shall for thys allege first the scriptures and then folowynge the authorytates of olde holy â—octours with one consent testyfyenge with me Besydes thys I nede not to tell â–ª that the same is non other thynge but that we haue taught to vs in these iij. artycles of our Crede Ascendit ad coe los sedet ad dexteram Dei patris omnipotentis Inde uenturus est iudicare uiuos mortuoâ— For Christ ded ascende bodyly the godhede whych is infynyte vncircumscriptyble replenyshynge both heauen and earth beynge immutable and vnmoueable so that properly it can neyther ascende nor descende Scriptures affermynge the same The scriptures whych I promysed to allege for the confirmacyon of my seyd sentence be these First Acto 1 â–ª Videntibus illis eleuatus est nubes suscepit euÌ„ ab oculis eorum Cunque intuerentur in coelum euntem illum ecce duo uiri cet Here is it euydently shewed that Christ departed and ascended in a vysyble and cyrcumscript body That thys de partynge was vysyble and in a vysyble body these wordes do testyfye Cunque ituerentur Quid statis aspicieÌ„tes in coelum QueÌ„admoduÌ„ uidistis That secoÌ„dly it was â— body I haue afore ê“ued mereoâ— the Deyte is not seane but is inuysyble as apereth 1. Timoth. 1. Inuisibili soli Deo caet and. 1. Timoth â–ª 6. Lucem habitat inaccessibilem quem nullus hominum uidit sed nec uidere potest â–ª Therfor the maÌ„ hede and natural body was assumpt or ded ascende That thirdly it was in a cyrcumscript body apereth manyfestly in thys First that hys ascensyon and bodyly departynge caused them to loke vp And secondly that he was lyft vp that is to wete from byneth or from low And thirdly quod nubes suscepit eum Where as no clowde nor clowdes can receyue or embrace the Deyte caet I am fayne to leaue out other euydeÌ„t argumentes for the same purpose least I shulde be ouer prolixe and tedyouse It doth there also further folowe in lyke forme how the Angels made answere to the dyscyples sayenge Viri Galilei ê™ statis aspicientes in coelum Hic Iesus qui assumptus est a uobis in coeluÌ„ sic ueniet queÌ„ad moduÌ„ uidistis euÌ„ euntem in coeluÌ„ Here we se agayne that Iesus is assuÌ„pt or taken awaye in to heauen And then it must be from out of the worlde accordyn ge to that we reade Iohan xvi Exiui a patre ueni in mundum Iterum relinq o mundum uado ad patrem That is not els but as he came from the father of heauen into thys worlde in that he was incarnate mademaÌ„ for hys godhede was neuer absent eyther from heauen or yet earthe euen so shuld hys manhede leaue the worlde agayne to go to heauen Moreouer in that it is sayd sic veniet is playnely testyfyed that he is awaye now corporally absent Fynally it is shewed further after what maner he shall come agayne by these wordes Quemadmodum uidistis eum euÌ„tem in coelum Whych is not els but asyow ded vysyblye se hym ascende or go awaye to heauen a cloude embracynge hym and takynge hym from amon yow Euen so shall yow vysyblye se
uulnerum uestigiae cicatricum quae dominus palpanda obtulit In quo non solum fidem firmat sed etiam deuotionem acuit quod uulnera suscepta pro nobis coelo inferre maluit abolere noluit ut Deo patri nostrae precia libertatis ostenderet Talem sibi pater ad dexteram locat trophaeum nostrae salutis amplectens caet Gregory also in an homelye of pentecost sayth agreably to the other i these wordes â–ª Quando non maneret apud eos qui ascensurus coelos promittit dicens Ecce ego uobiscumsum omnibus dicbus usque ad con summationem seculi Sed uerbum incarnatiÌ„o manet recedit Recedit corpore manet diuinitate Apud eos ergo tunc mansisse se perhibet is qâ—i inuisibili semper potestate preseus erat corporali iam uisione recedebat In Ly ke wyse doth he testyfye in the homelye of Easter daye * With these doth Bede accorde in an homelye of easter in whych he declareth thys text Iohan. xvi Modum i am non uidebitis me eâ—t And also in an homelye of the vygyll of pente cost And who can otherwyse saye or thynke knowynge the scripture and our beleue but that the naturall bodye of Christ is so assumpt in to heauen all whole that it must there abyde without returnynge vntyll the generall iudgement Notwith standynge seynge thys is the chefe poynt wherupon I seke to establyshe my senten ce in thys matter of the holy sacrament that Christes holy and naturall bodye is so assumpte in to heauen that there it must remayne all whole without returnynge vntyll the generall dome I wyll yet with the permyssyon of your grace ad de one or â— argumentes deduced out of the scriptures to declare further my sentence to be faythfull and catholyck Argumentes out of scripture First as Christ was enclosed and so borne about in the wombe of hys mother beynge a vyrgyne vndefyled and therafter was borne into thys worlde put in a manger And so he growynge in age ded abyde in dyuerse places but in one after an other somtyme in Galyle somtyme in Samary somtyme in Iurye somtyme byonde and somtyme on thys halfe of Ior dane And consequently was crucyfyed at Hierusalem there beyng â—enclosed buryed in a graue From whens he ded a ryse so that the Angels testyfyed of hym Surrexit non est hic Math 28. And as at a tyme appoynted after hys resurrecty on he was assumpte or lyft vp in to heauen from the toppe of the mounte of Olyuâ—â—e in the syght of hys dyscyples a clowde compassynge hym about Euen so shall be come from the same celestyall place corporally as they ded se hym to de part out of one place corporally accordynge to the testymonye of the Angels Acto 1. So that in thys we maye vndoubtedly fynde that Christ as touchynge hys man hede caÌ„ not be corporally in ma nye and dyuerse places at ones and so to be corporally in hys naturall bodye in heauen and also in the earthe and that is moreouer in so many partes of the worlde as men haue affirmed Neyther doth the scripture requyre that we shulde spoyle Christ of the propertie of mannys nature whych is to be in one place whom the same scripture doth perpetually wytnesse and teache to be man and so to confounde the condycyoÌ„ of hys bodyly nature with the nature dyuyne Paule doth teache that Christ in man hede was made in all poyntes lyke vnto vs hys bretherne synne excepted How then can hys bodye be in more pla ces at ones vnlyke vnto the naturall pro prytie of the bodyes of vs hys bretherne But here do some wittye phylosophers yea rather sophysters than dyuynes brynge into the anullynge of Christes humanyte a symylytude of mannys sowle whych beynge one is yet so all whole in all our whole bodye that it is sayd to be all whole in euery part of the bodye But sâ—ch shuld remembre that it is no conuenyent symylytude whych is made of thynges dyfferent and dyuerse in nature soch as be the sowle and bodye of man to proue them to haue lyke propertyes Thys is as if they wolde proue Christes bodye to be of one nature and propyrtie with hys sowle and that thynges naturally corporall were not most dyuerse from creatures naturally spirytuall Furthermore if so it mought be that the bodye or fleshe of Christ were mere ly spyrituall and full lyke vnto the substauÌ„ce of Angels yet coulde it not iÌ„ thys wyse folowe that hysbodye coulde be euery where or in dyuerse places at ones Wher for soch subtyltees are to be omytted and the trade of scripture shulde wele lyke vs by whych the olde doctors do dyffyne that the bodye of Iesu exalted or assuÌ„pte into heaueÌ„ must be locall cyrcumscript and in one place â–ª notwithstandynge that the ueryte spirytuall grace and frute that cometh of it is dyffuded and spred abrodeâ— all places or euery where How coulde Christ corporally depart out of thys worlde and leaue the earthe if he in the kyndes of breade and wyne be not only corporally conteyned and receyued but also there reserued kepte and enclo sed What other thynge els do these wor destestyfye Iohanâ—xiij Sciens autem Iesus quia uenit hora eius ut transiret ex hoc mun do ad patrem caet And in lyke fourme Luke xxiiij Et factum est cum benediceret illis recessit ab eis ferebatur in caelum What do they sygnyfye if Christ went not uerely ont of thys worlde hys naturall bodye beynge surely assumpt into heauen They do therfor vndoubtedly declare that Christ beynge uery God and very maÌ„ ded not veryly depart out of thys worlde in hys naturall bodye hys blessedhuÌ„a nyte assuÌ„pt into heauen where it remayneth syttynge in glory with the father Where as yet hys deyte ded not leaue the worlde ne depart out from the earthe Paule doth saye philip 2. that of â—j thynges he wyst not whych he mought rathest chose that is to wyte to abyde in the fleshe for preachynge the Gospell or els to be dyssolued from the fleshe Seyn ge that to abyde with Christ is moch farre better by the whych Paule doth manyfestly proue that they be not preseÌ„t ly with Christ whych yet do abyde mortall iÌ„ the fleshe Yet they be with Christ iÌ„ soch wyse as the scripture doth saye that the beleuynge be the teÌ„ple of Christ. And as Paule doth saye 2. Corinth 13. An noÌ„ cognoscitis uosmetipsos quia Iesus Christus in uobis est In whych sence he also promysed to be with vs vnto the ende of the worlde Christ therfor must be otherwyse in that place in whych the Apostle desyred to be with hym beynge dyssolued and departed from hys bodye then he do abyde eyther in the supper or els in any other places of the churches He therfor doth vndoubtedly meane heauen whyh
sacramentuÌ„ vobis cet but he addeth moreouer et si neresse est illud uisibiliter celebrari How therfor can the eatynge of Christ the sacrament therof be vysybly celebrate but in the mauÌ„dye or in hys supper Whych is celebrate vysybly in vysyble thynges of breade wyne Whych can not quycken or releue vs our sowles except they be vnderstande so receyued spirytually Furthermore as concernynge the exposycyon of these wurdes of the supper Hoc est corpus meuÌ„ caet S. Augustyne writynge ad BonifaciuÌ„ sayth thus Sepe ita loqui mur ut pascha appropinquante crastinaÌ„ uel pereÌ„dinaÌ„ domini passioneÌ„ dicamus CuÌ„ ille an te tam multos annos passus sit nec omnino nisi semel passio illa facta sit neÌ„p eipso die dominico dicimus Hodie dominus resurrexit cum ex quo surrexerit tot aÌ„ni transierrint Quare nemo taÌ„ ineptus est ut nos ita loqueÌ„tes arguat esse mentitos Quia istos dies secunduÌ„ illoruÌ„ quibus haec gesta sunt similitudinem nuncupamus â–ª ut dicat ipse dies qui non sit ipse sed reuolutione temporuÌ„ similis eius Et dicatur illo die fieri propter sacramenti celebrationè quod non â—llo die sed iam olim factuÌ„ est â–ª Nonne semel immolatus est Chri stus in semeâ—ipso Et tamen â—n sacramento non soluÌ„ per annuas pasche solennitates sed omni die pro populis mystice immolatur Nec utique mentitur qui interrogatus responderit eum immolari Si emÌ„ sacramenta quandam similitudineÌ„ earuÌ„ reruÌ„ quaruÌ„ sunt sacramenta non haberent omnino sacramenta non essent Ex hac autè similitudine plaerumque etiaÌ„ ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt Sicut ergo secundum quemdam modum sacra mentuÌ„ corporis Christi est sacramentuÌ„ saÌ„guinis Christi est Ita sacrameÌ„tuÌ„ fidei fides est Nihâ—l auteÌ„ aliua est credere quam fideÌ„ habere at per hoc respondetur infaÌ„tes fidem habere propter fidei sacra menta conuertere se ad DeuÌ„ propter conuersio nâ—s sacramenta Quia ipsa responsio pertinet ad celebrationem sacramenti Sicut de ipso baptismo Apostolus dicit Consepulti inquit sumus per baptismuÌ„ in mortè NoÌ„ ait sepulturaÌ„ significauimus sed prorsus aâ—t consepulti sumus SacrameÌ„tuÌ„ ergo taÌ„tâ— rei noÌ„ nisi eiusdeÌ„rei uocabulo nuÌ„cupauit Nothynge can be more playnely spoken nor more agreably to the naturall vnder standynge of the textes of the supper and to the exposycyon afore shewed of Tertu lyan and of hymselfe For seynge that â—hrist is bodyly in heauen and so absent â—roÌ„ the earthe it is nedefull to knowe how the holy sacrament whych he doth call hys bodye and bloude shuld be hys blessed bodye and bloude Thys holy doctor therfor S. Augusty ne doth thys matter manyfestly and syn cerely declare by other lyke speaches And first by commen speaches and secondly by speaches of scripture The coÌ„men speache is thys We do sayth he vse often to saye that whan Easter doth approche or drawe nygh that to morowe or the neâ— re daye is the lordes passâ—on Where as he ded suffer afore many yeares past â–ª And that passyoÌ„ was neuer but ones done The secoÌ„d coÌ„mon speache is And of that sondaye we saye that thys daye the lorde ded ryse from deathe where as so many yeares be yet past syth the tyme he arose Wherfor to conclude he sayth No man is so folysh that he wyll reproue vs for so sayenge or to saye that we haue lyed forbycause we do call these dayes after the symylytude of those in whych these thyn ges were done So that it is called the same daye not for that it is the selfe but by reuolucyon of tyme lyke vnto it And the resurrectyon is sayd to be done in the same daye through the celebratynge of the sacrament of that whych is not done that daye but longe tyme afore past The thirde speache Was not Christ offered vp ones for all in hys owne persone Yet is he neuethelesse offered in the sacrameÌ„t mystycally for the people not only euery yeare at the feast of Eastre but also eue ry daye Neyther doth he lye whych whaÌ„ he is demaunded shall answere that he is offered vp or sacrifysed For if the sacramentes had not a certen symylytude of those thynges of whych they be sacramentes then shulde they not be sacrameÌ„tes at all By reason of whych symylytude they do for the most part receyue the denomynacyonor name of those thynges sygnyfyed And therfor after a certeÌ„ maner the sacrameÌ„t of Chri stes bodye is the bodye of Christ the sa crameÌ„t of Christes bloude is the bloude of Christ so also be the sacrameÌ„tes of faythe called faythe Thys doth he yet proue by an other axample of speache whych is thys It is noÌ„ other thynge to beleue then to haue faythe And therfor when answere is made that the infantes haue faythe whych in dede haue it not in full workynge it is answered that soch haue faythe for the sacrameÌ„t of faythe that it doth coÌ„uert it self vnto faythe for the sacrameÌ„t of coÌ„uersyon For the uery answere it selfe doth perteyne to the cele lebracyon of the sacrameÌ„t caet Thus doth it suffycyeÌ„tly apere that as we vse truly to call that good frydaye or the daye of Christes passyon whych is not in dede the daye of Christes passyoÌ„ but only a memory all therof ones done for euer And as we vse to call the next Eastre daye the daye of Christes resurreccyon not bycause that Christ in the same daye shall aryse but only for a memoryall of hys resurreccyon ones done for euer and that of longe tyme passed And Christ beynde offered vp ones for all in hys owne proper persone is yet sayd to be offered vp not only euery yeare at Easter but also euery daye in the celebracyoÌ„ of the sacrameÌ„t bycause hys obla cyon ones for euer made is therby repre seÌ„ted EueÌ„ so sayth Augustyne is the sa crameÌ„t of Christes bodye the body of Chri st and the sacrament of Christes bloude the bloude of Christ in a certeÌ„ wyse or fas hyon Not that the sacrament is hys na turall bodye or bloude in dede but that it is a memoryall or representacyon ther of as the dayes before shewed be of hys very and naturall bodye crucyfyed for vs and of hys precyouse bloude shedde for the remyssyon of our synnes And thus be the holy sygnes or sacramentes truly cal led by the names of the very thynges in them sygnifyed But why so For they sayth Augustyne haue a certen symy lytude of those thynges wherof they be signes or sacramentes For els they shul de be no sacramentes at all And therfor do they commenly and for the most part receyue the