so muche to be blamed for mistrustynge the almightie power of God whiche wée confesse to be in all thynges that his pleasure is to haue it shewen as you are for presuming vpoÌ„ the same to haue miracles wrought beside his will and without necessitie For by the meanes of your manifolde miracles without the expresse woorde of God whervpon mens faith in suche mattiers shoulde bee grounded you make that sacrament a torment to trie mens weake and féeble consciences which Christe ordeined to be a comfortable and spirituall féeding to increase and strengthen the consciences of christian people This haue I thought good to answere your defence of priuate Masse and as a champion not méete to matche with any greate clerke yet in suche sorte as I coulde to resist your assaute that you make vpon the foresayde protestacion not as good Dauid valiantly assauted Goliath in defence of his Prince and countrey but as amorous Paris traiterously shotte at Achilles in the behalfe of his loue Helena For neither is it Goliath that you fight against in his brauerie as you say braggynge agaynst the people of God but rather Achilles manfully reuengynge the inceste committed with the spouse of Christe which with your amorous cuppê you haue allured from him nor yet doo you come stoutely as Dauid did in the name of the liuynge God before the face of both the armies to hurle your stones but priuely out of a corner shoote your arrowes agaynst him as Paris against Achilles You were afrayde perhappes if he had séene you that with shame enough he wold haue wronge your bowe and arrowes out of your hande but truly I thynke hee woulde not haue so doone but rather knowyng that in this quarell he coulde not be wounded he would haue suffered you to shoote your in and with his naked hande receiuing your blount arrowes in suche forte woulde haue picked them at your face as for shame either you should haue runne out of the place or at the least submitted your self yelded to the truth that you protest your self to haue forsaken Wherfore as you haue the feare of God as you haue care of your soules health I most earnestly exhorte you to leaue studie of contencioÌ„ and with a single harte diligently to ponder the reasons on bothe partes as the weight of the mattier requireth Consider as the holy father Cyprian counsaileth of what authoritie Christê institucion ought to be that wée should not be so bolde to alter any parte of those weightie greate preceptes that so nighly touche the sacramente of our saluacion Consider that neither Christê ordinaunce nor the testimony of S. Paule maketh any signification of soole receiuyng or ministrynge vnder one kinde but all contrarywise Consider that Iustine Dyonisius Cyprian the holy counsel of Nice withal other the auncient fathers testifie the common maner of the primatiue churche to haue ben in forme of a communion that in both kindes Consider that Chrisostome other so earnestly call the people beyng present vnto it as they affirme them to doo impudently that do refraine Consider that the maner of the primatiue church was as Dyonisius witnesseth that none did remaine in the church but those only that woulde communicate Consider the Anacletus Sixtus the cannons of the Apostles Antioch counsell threatned excommunicacion punishment to such as being present at consecration readyng of the lessons of scripture woulde not receiue Consider I say and vnfeinedly weigh these thynges with your selfe and ye cannot choose but se that the aucthoritie of Gods worde and consente of the primatiue churche maketh wholy with vs in these mattiers And on the contrarie parte you shall perceiue that you haue no coullor in the scripture for priuate Masse that you are fayne to séeke defence in the churches aucthoritie beside Gods word that your reasons be grounded on false principles and suche as haue no proufe at all That your aucthorities out of the doctours be either abuses of the primatiue churche or such extraordinarie cases of necessitie contrarie to the coÌ„mon maner as they can not be rules to shew either what was then orderly done or what now ought of right to be done Be not these gaye reasons thynke you to builde mens consciences vpon Priuate Masse is nothyng but soole receiuyng in case of necessitie therfore it is lawfull The Priest may celebrate alone in thassemble of the people because diuers in necessitie and extremitie receiued alone in their priuate houses The priest may receiue alone when the people will not because he is bounde to offer and the people is lefte frée The priest may do it when he wil because he may doo it in necessitie when the people will not The minister may receiue alone for companie is but an ornamente and not of the substance of the sacramente The Doctours in diuers places name one kinde Therfore one kinde only was receiued of the people How will you be able to proue that priuate Masse is nothyng but soole receiuyng in necessitie How wyll you be able to proue that it is al one thing for the minister in the congregacion and a laye man at home in peril to receiue alone How will you proue that the priest is bounde to the frequentyng of the sacramente and the people leste frée How will you proue that companie is but an accident or ornamente to the sacramente or that one kinde onely was receiued because one kinde onely was named And yet these argumentes muste be good or els those prouses and testimonies that you wold haue to séeme vnuincible shall indéede be of no force Oh sir for the loue of God weigh the mattier more indifferently Do not dissemble that you must néedes know If you will haue your doctrine tried by the balance of the scripture and primatiue churche adde more weight to your side of the balance or els confesse that your parte is the lighter Let not the vayne sounde of the holy churches name where the thynge is not leade you to be enemie to that doctrine whiche you se to haue more force in the worde of God Remember that the true churche is ruled and guided onely by Christes worde and doctrine If you abyde sayth he in my worde then be you my true disciples Christe is the good shepparde and the churche is the folde of his right shéepe Christe is the wise maister and the churche is the companie of his diligente scholars Christe is the bridegrome the church is his derely beloued spouse The true churche therfore will not go rangynge what way she lusteth she will not learne of hir owne braine she will not folowe hir owne phantasie They be wilde Goates they be not tame shéepe that when the shepardes voyce calleth one way will runne headlonge an other way They be selfwill moichers they be not diligent scholers that leauyng their maisters teachyng will folow their owne interpretacions She is a frowarde and presumptuous woman she is not an obedient wife that will make light of hir husbandes commaundementes and thinke she may alter them at hir pleasure The true shéepe of Christe therfore the diligent scholars the obediente spouse that is the right and true churche will harken onely to hir good shepardes voyce will folow hir maisters preceptes will obey hir housbandes commaundementes How then can you excuse your selfe by your holy mother the churche if you teache otherwise then Christe hath taught and make suche interpretacions of your owne head as haue no grounde in his holy woorde You doo vnder that name mainteine your owne errour ye folow not the churches aucthoritie If you will harken to Christes churche to the Apostles churche to the olde fathers churche neither Christe nor the Apostles nor the fathers teache you any suche thyng And so ye séeme your selfe in a sorte to confesse or els ye woulde neuer striue so muche for vnwritten verities and authoritie of the churche in doctrines beside Gods worde You needed no suche helpes if your teachyng had iust proufe in the scripture and auncient fathers as indeede it hath not This haue I framed my answere vnto you in suche sorte as I truste the indifferent reader may iudge that my minde and purpose is rather directly and playnly to consute the summe of your vntrue doctrine thou as you do to séeke shiftes by cauelynge to discredit my aduersarie For if I should haue scanned euery sillable worde or sentence that in this writing hath passed you and indeuoured capciously to haue taken aduantage at euerie trifle as your sorte is wonte to deale with vs for faute of better mattier bothe I shoulde haue fallen into that faute that I proteste my selfe to mislyke in you and my answere would haue growen to suche a length as it might iustly haue weried the reader I haue therfore medled onely with the principall poinctes of this your Apologie whiche may séeme to be of chiefe force in those matters that you touche And of purpose haue let passe many small trifles wherin bothe you might iustly haue béen reproued and some men I know will thinke meete and worthy to be answered I wyll now ende and cease any further to exhorte you to a more diligent examinyng and discussyng of the residue of your doctrines trustynge that your owne conscience hauynge now more feare of God then you say you had before wyll driue you to the same Whiche I pray God may be if not by this occasion yet by some other when his holy wyll shall be FINIS ¶ Imprynted at London in Fléetestréete by Thomas Powell
commonly of hym that hee was a deceiuour to purge him selfe of that suspicion witnessed that hee spake not of him selfe because he spake out of the lawe and prophetes euen so if any man sayinge that he hath the holy ghost speaketh of hym selfe and not out of the gospele wee must not beleue him For as Christ said the holy ghost shall not speake of him selfe but shall declare vnto you those thinges that it hathe hearde That is those thinges that I haue spoken he shal confirme These wordes of Chrisostome cleane ouerthroweth the ground of all your vnwriten verities beside the worde of god much more such doctrines as be expresly against the same as is your sole receiuinge and communion vnder one kind Wherfore neither your multitude of sundry nacions and great learned clerkes neither the continuance of .ix. C. yeres if it were so neyther the name of your holy mother the churche which you so often repete can bee any sure proufe of your doctrines without the expresse testimonies of the scripture to witnes the same For the holy ghoste whiche you assure your churche of doth not speake of himselfe saith Chrisostom but confirmeth that Christe spake before After that you haue at your pleasure in sundry partes of your treatise charged him that you write against with folly rashnes arrogancie and impudency euen in those pointes that the same crimes may bee more iustly retourned to your selfe and yours in this place also you indeuour to debase and imminishe his estimation extenuatinge his age continuance in study of holy scripture and maner of life in comparison of your late holy fathers which you doo greatly extolle Such is your shiftes when the matter will not healpe it selfe to transferre your talke to the persons by scorneful disdeining of other to procure your self aucthoritie What your opinion is of him your writing declareth but they whiche haue bene of longer and better acquaintance with him then you are doo right well know and in his behalfe doo protest that .xx. yeres sence he was able fully to haue answered stronger argumentê for these matters then any that you haue brought at this time But whatsoeuer hee is to you god bee praised in him he so liueth as the most malicious of your parte cannot iustly blame him and his learnings is suche as when the matter shal be tried I doubt not but it wil fal out that he with his .xl. yeres age and such other whom in like maner you disdaine shal shewe more true diuinitie then a many of your hoare heades and greate reading clerkes as you thinke whose aucthoritie and name alone ye iudge sufficient to beare downe whatsoeuer shall bee brought against them Towarde the ende you shewe your opinion of reall presence of Christes 13. Cap. Of reall presence body in the sacramente and in that parte blame vs as though we had more acquainted our selfe with Ismael and Agar as you say then with Abraham and Isaac thereby signifâ—yng that we misdoubted the almightie power of god in bringinge that to passe whiche he promiseth or speaketh in the institution of his sacramentes But I muste néedes iudge this to bee in you eyther ignorant blindnes or hatefull malice Blindnes if you doo not vnderstande and sée that in this controuersie wée stay not vpon gods omnipotency malice if you know it and vpbrayde vs with the contrary We graunt as fréely as you with Abraham and Isaac That god is able to performe whatsoeuer he both promise Wee graunt as freely as you with the Angell Thâ—â— no worde it 〈…〉 to god We graunte as fréely as you with Dauid That god hath done whatsoeuer his 〈…〉 We grauÌ„t with the holy fathers that 〈◊〉 greate and merueilous mutation and change is made in this sacrament by the power of gode worde Wee detest euen as muche as you all such as sée no more but common bread or a bare signe in this holy supper neither can wee thinke well of you when you doo so falsely charge us with that assertion But how can you shew that it was gods holy wil to haue so many miracles wrought as you without necessitie doo make in this sacramente Yea and of such sorte as be contrary to the maner of all those miracles that the holy scrinture mencioneth to bee wrought by his diuine power Moyses turned his rodde into a serpent but all that were presente sawe that it was a serpent He made water miraculously to come out of the rocke but al the children of Israell saw and tasted of the water Christe tourned water into wine but all the company dranke and felte it to be wine The same is to bee saide of all the residew of merueylous workes And when gods power had miraculously tourned these thinges that into the whiche they were tourned reserued and kepte that nature that was agreable to suche a thinge The serpent had the very nature of a serpent the water was of such nature as it behoued water to be the wins lost not the right nature of wins Otherwise it may séeme rather a iudglinge then miraculous workinge You neuer reade in all the course of the scripture that gods power tourned the substance of any thinge and left the qualitées of the other thinge that it was before sauing onely in this case that you imagine it God is able to turne darkenes into light and light into darkenes but it were madnes to require at gods almightie power to make lighte and not to haue a shininge that is to make lighte to be light and not to be light all at ones or to make light darkenes all one This were nothing but to peruert the order of gods wisedome Doo you not this in the sacramente when you apoint the body of Christ to be without quantitée proportion and figure or to be in a thousand places at ones which is proper only to his diuinitie Is not this to take away the nature of a body from his body and in déede to affirme it to be no body And yet wee say not but that god is able to worke that also if it be his pleasure But we say it was not gods wil and pleasure in ordeining the sacrament to haue it so For neyther is there any necessitie that should constraine him to it nor doth his word teach vs that ouer hee did the like Oh ye wyll say we muste beleue Christes wordes This is my body which be of as great power now as they were in the parlour at Hierusalent to make the very body of Christe really and carnaly present and so the Catholike church say you doth teache vs. Wherefore vpon this veritie once setled diuers other thinges must of necessitie followe by drifte of reason although they bee not expressely mencioned in scripture as the adoration of the sacrament the turninge of the substance of bread and wine the beinge of Christes body in many places at onâ—â— c. In déede in such is the vanitie of mans reason in gods
by spiritual gouernours But to apointe a geometricall measure of place a prescripte proportion of tyme or one certaine number that may serue for all churches times and ages is far aboue our reache And therfore I leaue it to be deuised of suche profound and curious braines as you and yours haue Which beside the worde of god and contrary to his workynge in his creatures can compryse accidences without subiectes and bodies withoute fashion quaÌ„tity or measure with other suche highe misteries whiche neither scripture nor any necessitie of reason doth teache For in déede our wittes are so simple as in gods misteries we can sée no more then his holy word leadeth vs vnto Nexte is that you burden vs with Erasmus aucthoritie 8. Cap. and chalenge vs that wée wyll not beléeue his reporte Sir it séemeth very straunge to mée that you whiche haue so muche hated Erasmus A. as ye haue often chased him out of grammer schooles and dryuen him into the fire should now in your néede take helpe and succour at hys hand Answere to Erasmus Tertullian Cyprian and Ciril Truly wée doo now esteme Erasmus as wee haue alwayes for a man of excellent learning and a singular instrument prouided of god to begin the reformacion of his church in this latter time and yet thinke wee not all his opinions to be true For you I thinke doo esteme Tertullian and Origen and that right worthely And yet if ye wyl graunt all that they write to be true I wyl proue you an heritke Notwithstandinge we deny not that whyche Erasmus saieth in this mattier and knew whens he had his assertion before you tolde vs. How little it serueth your purpose I wyll shew hereafter You confirme Erasmus opinion with that Tertullian wryteth in his 2. boke Ad vxorem of the Paynimes wife that was Christened and euery day priuely receiued the sacrament at home in her house And also with the history that Ciprian rehearseth of the woman that vnreuerently opened the cheste where in shee kepte the Lordes body To this also ye adde Cirilles aucthority for reseruation Out of these places you sucke not onely soole receauinge but also mynistringe vnder one kinde reseruation yea and reall presence also Of soole receiuing Firste for soole receiuinge it behoueth to consider that in the time of Tertullian B. Ciprian and all that age the church was in much trouble vexacion and persecution so that they could not haue their ecclesiasticall assembles and congregations for common praier and ministracion of the sacramentê so conueniently as afterwarde in time of peace For euery Paynime especially if his wyfe childe or seruaunt were tourned to Christianitie was ready and sought occasion to bewray them and bringe them in trouble as it may appere by the same booke of Tertullian that you alledge Therfore they were oftentimes compelled of necessitie to send the sacrament to such as were absent and either durst not or might not conueniently come as ye may perceiue by Iustine the Martir that the fashion was in his time Hereof it came that dyuers receiued alone in their houses But nor these places nor any other that you be able to alledge can proue that there were ministers or priestes priuately celebratinge with other standinge bie that receiued not That whiche these persons receiued at home was parte of that was distributed in the common celebration where company were and vppon case of necessitée sent by the ministers to them beinge absent But you should bringe such places as might proue that the common minister in place of the lordes supper dyd celebrate and receiue alone other beinge present and not partaking For suche a sole receiuinge is your pryuate Masse that you pretende to striue for Now therefore let vs sée how aptely your argument gathered vppon these places doeth conclude your purpose Women and lay men somtime in case of necessitie priuately receiued at home parte of that which was sent from the common celebration therfore common ministers as often as they liste oute of necessitie may consecrate and receiue alone in the common place of prayer when the people is present and doth not communicate I thinke your selfe may easely se of what force this collection is That may be graunted to a lay person receiuinge that may not to a pryest ministringe that sometime in necessitie whiche may not alwayes at pleasure that at home where none is that may not in the church where many be Wherfore these testimonies are but weake groundes to builde pryuate Masse vppon You wyll perchance obiecte that such receiuing in houses was vsed when the churche was in quiet and without persecutioÌ„ I graunt you as the maner is that facions brought in by necessitie or some greate consideration be oftentimes kept and folowed with abuse when neither necessitie doth constraine it nor good consideracion can mainteine it and so was it in this matter Hierome against Iouinian mencioneth that in his time some vsed to receiue in their houses but he earnestly inueigheth against that maner Why saith he doe they not come into the church he Christ sometime abrode in the common place somtime at home in the house c. In Socrates the. 2. boke we reade that Sinodus Gangrensis condemned Eustathium for that contrary to the ecclesiastical rules he graunted licence to coÌ„municate at home So that hereby it may apeare that a custome that in necessitie to some persons is eyther tollerable or pius error is at another time and to other persons vntollerable and Impia prophanatio If you dilygently examine that maner of receauinge in theyr houses at that tyme which ye thinke to make with you you shal wel perceiue it not a lytle to make against you When they did celebrate as Iustine before rehearsed doth witnesse they dyd not only distribute to them that were presente but by the deatons sent it to such as could not be present Did they not in this point declare a necessitée of partakinge if it were possible at euery ministratioÌ„ In so muche that when their place would not receiue all or other necessary cause did let them to come to the common place of prayer yet that they might be partakers of the Lordes supper they sent it to them where they were How well doth this fashion agree with your priuate masse Wherin ye neither cal nor proffer nor send to the people but so doo it all alone in sight of the hole congregacion as though it weare a thinge that nothing appertained vnto them Now then you may euidently se that none of these aucthorities hetherto alleged doth prove directly your Masse that is a sole receiuinge in the celebration of the sacrament But how necessary that time of the churche dyd thinke it to bee that the people should bee partakers with the prieste that Epistle signitieth that you attribute to Anacletus where it is this wrytten Peracta consecratione omnes communicent qui noluerit ecclesiasticis carere liminibus Sic
enim apostoli statuerunt sancta Romana tenet ecclesia After consecration saith hee let all be partakers which wil not be excommunicate For so the Apostles decreed and the holy churche of rome obserued The same wordes by some are attributed to Calixte Doo you not heare excommunication threatned to all that doo not communicate Doo you not heare that the Apostles decreed it and the holy church of Rome obserued it And wil you yet stand so stubburnly in your assertion that there was priuate masse in the primatiue church Wil you haue better witnesses of that time then Iustine then Dionisius then Anacletus then Calixte then the other holy fathers before mencioned would Ambrose haue blamed the people for not resortinge to the sacramente dayly Would Chrisostome haue saide that they which be present and not receiue doo wickedly and impudently Would they haue commonly vsed as Iustine saith to send to those that could not be present if Christes institution and the maner of the prymatiue churche had ben such that the minister might celebrate alone without callinge or offeringe and people without offence bee present and not communicate as you of longe time haue vsed it Surely say what you wyll and alledge as ofte as you liste the aucthoritée of your holy mother the churche of Rome so many hundred yeres I thinke very few that haue feare of god and care of their saluation wyl geue credite vnto you Especially seinge you can bringe no better testimonies for your purpose then in this defence you haue vsed Agaynst coÌ„munion vnder one kinde An other poincte that you picke out of these aucthorities of Tertul. and Cyprian is for ministrynge vnder one kinde wherein wée haue the institucion of Christe expresly against you as wée had in the other For in the Euangelistes and S. Paule wée se testified that Christ tooke breade and gaue with it his body and afterwarde tooke the cuppe and gaue with it his bloud and willed them to obserue vse the same Here you muste of necessitie flée to your â—lde place of refuge that is that to receiue vnder bothe kindes is not of the substance of the sacrament but such a thynge as may be altered by spirituall gouernours For Christes bodie say you is not without his bloud therfore he that receiueth his body vnder forme of breade receiueth his bloud also Per concomitantiam Therfore you say the people is not defrauded of that Christes will was that they shoulde receiue yea and for good consideracions honorable to the bloud of Christ they receiue it more conuenient then vnder bothes kindes O profounde and déepe sette reason wherin you séeme to make your selfe wiser than Christe him selfe that ordeined the sacrament While you will séeme with your gay gloses to glorifie the bloud of Christe you cleane take away the right forme and maner of his sacramente These are the vanities wherwith God iustly doeth punish you for your rashenesse in leauyng his worde and folowyng the phantasies of your owne braine But it should haue béen your obedience to Goddes worde to consider that the communion of Christê body and bloud is not the worke of nature in this Sacrament For what so euer is here geuen in these thynges is to be taken by faith and is offered to vs in the wordes of Christes promisses So much is geuen vs as God appoincted to giue Of whose will and pleasure wée know no more then his wordes declare vnto vs. But Christ as I saied tooke twoo partes of the sacrament in one of the whiche he saied wée shoulde be partakers of his body in the tother of his bloud and lefte his prescripte and appoincted wordes as well for the tone as for the tother Wherfore wée must more trust him than mans subtill deuise You alledge a perpetuall societie of the body and bloud whiche ye call Concomitantiam It is your owne deuise and not Christes promisse in his sacrament In Christes naturall body that is in heauen I know his flesh is not without his bloud But in the sacramente whiche is no naturall worke how will you assure me that the flesh and bloud is ioinctly signified and geuen to mee vnder one parte onely seyng Christ himself who knew as wel as you the ioincte condicion of his flesh and bloud did notwithstandyng in twoo sundrie external thinges geue the communion of them to his disciples Therefore the faieth of the communicantes in the tone parte receiueth the body of Christe trustynge to Christes promisses The same faith in the other parte receiueth the bloud beléeuyng also our sauiours wordes therin It hath respecte to Christes wordes and promisses it looketh not how the body and bloud is in Christe naturally What grounde shal our faith haue if we leaue the worde of God Oh ye will say our holy mother the churche hath so ordeined it Yea but I say to you that if your mother the churche of Rome be the folde of Christe and if the shéepe therof be his shéepe they will heare his voyce and obey his worde If they doo not alledge the name as ofte as ye wyll I will say you be shéepe of an other folde and not of his For he saith Oues meae vocem meam audiunt He saith not they heare them selfe their owne deuises but they heare my voyce Remember what Cyprian saith Only Christe is to be hearde in this And wee must not looke what other did before vs but what Christe did before all other When we doubt we must haue recourse to the order taken by Christe and by the Apostles in their wrytinge But ye will say the churche hath aucthoritie to alter diuers thinges especially beyng indifferent and not of the substance of the sacramente Yea but Cyprian saith the preceptes of this sacrament bee Grandia magna And if he be called least in the kingdome of god that altereth one of the least commaundementes what shal be sayd of him that taketh awaye these great and weightie commaundementes Ciprian wrate against those that were called Aquarij water drinkers which vsed only water in stede of wine in the ministration of the sacrament But they offended not so much as you doe For they altered only the licour and that vppon holy considerations They kepte the wordes and promysses of Christe But you take away the one parte cleane and leaue out the wordes and moste comfortable promysses of Christes bloud to bee shed for vs. If then Cyprian were so earnest againste those vsers of water in stéede of wyne how muche more earnest woulde hee haue ben againste this maner if it had ben common in his time Here those places that you recite may séeme to helpe you and to make againste vs. For where Tertullian speaketh of the Paynimes wife hee mencioneth bread only And wheÌ„ Ciprian reporteth that the woman kept the lordes body in her coffer it may séeme to be vnder one kinde These are but coniectures and the same very vncertaine For oftentimes in the