Verily I saye vnto you I wil drinke no more of the frute of the vyne vntil that daye that I drinke that newe in the kingdome of God Here Matthewe and Marke do agree not only in y e mater but also almost fully in the forme of wordes In Matthewe gaue thākes Marke hathe one worde Blessed which signifieth in this place all one And where Matthewe sayeth Drynke ye all of this Marke sayeth they al dranke of it And wher Matthewe sayeth of this frute of y e vyne Marke leaueth out y e worde this and sayeth of y e frute of the vyne Now let vs see likewise what agrement in forme of wordes is betwene S. Luke and S. Paule Luke wryteth thus He toke bread gaue thākes brake it and gaue it to them sayēg This is my body which is geuē for you This doo in the remembraunce of me Likewise also whan they hade supped he toke the cupp sayeng This cuppe is the newe testament in my blood which is shedde for you Saint Paule setteth furthe y e Lordes supper thus The Lorde Iesus the same night in the which he was betrayed toke bread and gaue thankes brake and sayed Take eate this is my body which is broken for you This doo in remembraunce of me After the same maner he toke the cuppe whan supper was done sayeng This cuppe is the newe testament in my blood This doo as often as ye shall drinke it in the remēbraūce of me For as often as ye shall eate this bread drinke this cuppe ye shal shewe y e Lordes death vntil he come Here wher Luke sayeth which is geuen Paule sayeth which is broken And as Luke addeth to the wordes of Paule spoken of the cuppe which is shedde for you so likewise Paule addeth to the wordes therof This doo as often as you shall drinke it in the remembraunce of me The rest that foloweth in S. Paule bothe ther and in y e 10. chap. perteyneth vnto the right vse and doctrine of the Lordes supper Thus the Euangelistes S. Paule haue rehearced the wordes worke of Christ wherby he did institute ordayne this holy sacramēt of his body blood to be a perpetuall remēbraūce vnto his cōmyng again of him self I saye y t is of his body geuē for vs of his blood shedde for y e remission of synnes But this remēbraunce which is thus ordayned as y e autor therof is Christ bothe God and man so by the almightie power of God it farre passeth all kyndes of remembraunces that any other man is able to make eyther of hym selfe or of any other thing For who so euer receaueth this holy Sacramēt thus ordayned in remēbraūce of Christ he receaueth ther with either deathe or life In this I trust we doo all agree For S. Paule sayeth of y e godly receauours in y e 10. chap. of his furst epistle vnto the Corinthiās The cuppe of blessing which we blesse is it not the partaking or feloweship of Christes blood And also he sayeth The bread which we breake meaneth at the Lordes table is it not the partaking or feloweship of Christes bodye Now the partakīg of Christes body and of his blood vnto the faithfull and godly is the partaking or feloweship of life immortalitie And agayn of the badde and vngodly receauours S. Paule as playnly sayeth thus He that eateth of this bread eand drynketh of this cuppe vnworthily is giltie of the body and blood of y e Lorde O how necessary thā it is if we loue life wolde eschue deathe to trye and examine our selues before we eate of this bread and drynke of this cuppe for elles assuredly he that eateth and drynketh therof vnworthily eateth drynketh his owne damnacion bicause he estemeth not the Lordes body y t is he reuerenceth not the Lordes bodye w t y e honour that is due vnto him And that which was sayd that w t the recept of the holy Sacrament of the blessed body and blood of Christ is receaued of euery one good badde either life or deathe it is not mēt that they which are dead before God maie hereby receaue life or the lyuing before God can hereby receaue deathe For as non is mete to receaue natural fode wherby y e natural life is nourished except he be borne liue before so no man cā fede by the recept of this holy sacrament of the fode of eternal life except he be regenerated borne of God before And on the other syde no man here receaueth damnacion which is not dead before Thus hitherto without all doubt God is my witnesse I saye so farre as I doo knowe ther is no controuersie among them that be learned in the churche of Englande concerning the mater of this sacrament but all doo agree whether they be newe or olde and to speake playne and as som of them doo odiously call either other whether they be protestauntes papistes Pharisees or gospellers And as al doo agree hitherto in y e aforesayed doctrine so al do deteste abhorre cōdēne y e wicked heresie of y e Messalonianes which other wise be called Euticheres which said y t y e holy Sacramēt cā nother do good nor harme Al do al so cōdēne those wicked Anabaptistes which put no difference betwene the Lordes table and the lordes meate their owne And bicause charitie wolde that we should if it be possible and so farre as we maye with the sauegarde of good cōscience mayntenaunce of the truthe agree with all men therfore me thinkes it is not charitably done to burthen any man either newe or olde as they cal them further than such doo declare them selues to dissent from that we are persuaded to be truthe or pretende therto to be controuersies wher as non suche are in dede and so to multiplye the debate the which the more it dothe encreace the further it dothe departe from the vnitie that the true christian should desyre And agayn this is true that truthe nother nedeth nor wilbe maynteyned with lies It is also a true prouerbe that it is euen synne to lye vpō the deuil for though by thy lye thow doest synne neuer so muche to speake agaynst the deuil yet in y t thou lyest in dede thow workest the deuilles worke thow doest him seruice and takest the deuilles parte Now whether than they doo godly and charitably which either by their pen in writing or by their wordes in preaching doo beare the symple people in hāde that those which thus doo teache beleue doo goo about to make the holy Sacrament ordayned by Christ him self a thing no better than a piece of common bread or that doo saye that suche doo make the holy Sacrament of the blesed body and blood of Christ nothing elles but a bare signe or a figure to represent Christ non otherwise than the Iuye bushe dothe represent the wyne in a tauerne or as a vile persone gorgiouslye
apparailed ▪ maye represent a kyng or a prince in a playe Alas let men leaue lyeng and speake the truthe euery one not only to his neighbour but also of his neighbour for we are membres one of an other sayeth saint Paule The controuersie no doubt which at this daye troubleth the churche wherin any meane learned man either olde or newe dothe stande in is not whether the holy Sacrament of the body and blood of Christ is no better than a piece of cōmō bread or no or whether the Lordes table is no more to be regarded thā the table of any earthy man or no or whether it is but a bare signe or figure of Christ and nothing elles or no. For all doo graunt that S. Paules wordes doo require that the bread which we breake is the partaking of the body of Christ and also doo graunt hym that eateth of that bread or drinketh of y e cuppe vnworthily to be giltie of the Lordes death and to eate and drinke his owne damnacion bicause he estemeth not the Lordes body All doo graunt that these wordes of S. Paule whan he sayeth If we eate it auantageth vs nothing or if we eate not we want nothīg therby are not spoken of the Lordes table but of other common meates Thus thā hitherto yet we al agree But now let vs see wherin the dissensiō dothe stande The vnderstāding of it wherin it chiefli stādeth is a steppe to the true searching furthe of the truth For who can seke well a remedie if he knowe not before y e disease It is nother to be denyed nor dissembled that in the mater of this Sacramēt ther be diuerse poyntes wherin men counted to be learned can not agree As whether ther be any Transubstanciation of the bread or no any corporal carnall presence of Christes substaūce or no Whether adoracion due onlye vnto God is to be done vnto the Sacrament or no and whether Christes bodye be ther offred in dede vnto y e heauēly father by y e priest or no and whether y e euil man receaueth the naturall bodye of Christ or no. Yet neuerthelesse as in a man diseased in dyuerse partes commonlye the originall cause of suche diuerse diseases which is spredde abroade in the body doo come from one chefe membre as from the stomacke or from the head euen so all fyue aforesayed doo chiefly heng vpon this one question which is what is the mater of the Sacrament whether is it the naturall substaunce of bread or the natural substaunce of Christes owne body The truthe of this questiō truly tryed out and agreed vpon no doubt shal ceasse the cōtrouersie in al y e rest For if it be Christes owne natural body borne of the virgine than assuredly seing that all learned men in Englande so farre as I knowe bothe newe olde graūt there to be but one substaunce than I saye they must nedes graunt Transubstanciacion that is a chaūge of y e substaunce of bread into the substaunce of Christes bodye Thā also they must nedes graunt the carnall and corporal presence of Christes bodye Than must the Sacramēt be adored with y e honour due to Christ him selfe for the vnitie of the two natures in one persone Than yf y e priest do offre the Sacrament he dothe offre in dede Christ him selfe And finally the murtherour the aduouterour or wicked mā receauing the Sacramēt must nedes than receaue also the natural substaūce of Christes owne blessed bodye bothe fleshe and blood Nowe on y e other syde yf after the truthe shalbe truly tryed out it shalbe founde that the substaūce of bread is the naturall substaunce of the Sacrament although for the chaunge of the vse office and dignitie of y e bread the bread in dede sacramentally is chaunged into the bodye of Christ as the water in Baptisme is sacramētally chaūged into the fountayne of regeneration yet the natural substaunce therof remayneth all one as was before yf I say the true solucion of that former question whervpon al these controuersies do heng be that the naturall substaunce of bread is the material substaunce in the Sacrament of Christes blessed body than must it nedes folowe of the former proposicion confessed of all that be named to be learned so farre as I do knowe in Englande which is that ther is but one material substaunce in the Sacrament of the bodye and one only lykewise in the Sacrament of the blood that ther is no suche thing in dede and in truthe as they call Transubstanciacion for the substaunce of bread remayneth stil in the Sacrament of the bodye than also the natural substaūce of Christes humane nature which he toke of the virgine Mary is in heauē where it reigneth nowe in glorie and not here inclosed vnder the forme of bread than that godly honour which is only due vnto God y e creatour may not be done vnto the creature without idolatrie and sacrilege is not to be done vnto the holy Sacrament Than also the wicked I meane the impenitēt murtherour aduouterour or suche like do not receaue the natural substaūce of y e blessed body blood of Christ. Finally thā dothe it folowe y e Christes blessed body blood which was once only offred shedde vpō the crosse being auaileable for the sinnes of al the hole worlde is offred vp nomore in'the natural substaūce therof nother by y e priest nor any other thing But here before we go any further to searche in this mater to wade as it were to search trye out as we may y e truthe hereof in the scripture it shall do wel by the way to knowe whether they that thus make answere solucion vnto the former principal questiō do take awaye symplie and absolutly the presence of Christes body blood from the Sacrament ordayned by Christ and duely ministred according to his holy ordinaunce and instituciō of the same Undoubtedly they doo denye that vtterlye either so to saye or so to meane Hereof yf any man do or will doubt the bookes which are writtē already in this mater of them that thus doo answere will make the mater playne Now than wil you say what kynd of presence do they graunt what do they denye Bryefly they denie the presence of Christes body in the naturall substaunce of his humane assumpt nature and graunt the presence of the same by grace that is they affirme and saye that the substaūce of the naturall body and blood of Christ is onlye remaynyng in heauē and so shalbe vnto the later daye whan he shall come agayne in glorie accompanied with the Aūgelles of heauen to iudge bothe the quicke and the deade And that the same natural substaūce of the very bodye blood of Christ bycause it is vnited vnto the diuine nature in Christ y e secōde person of the Trinitie Therfore it hathe not onlye lyfe in it selfe but is also hable to geue dothe geue lyfe vnto so
bothe in setting furthe the true doctrine of Christes religion also in the defence of the same against heretikes This autor as he hathe written most pleynteously in other maters of our faithe so likewise in this argument he hathe written at large in many of his workes so playnly against this errour of transustanciacion y t the papistes loue least to heare of hym of al other wrytours partly for his autoritie partly bicause he openeth the mater more fully than any other doth Therfore I will rehearse mo places of him thā hertofore I haue done of the other And furst what can be more playne than that which he wryteth vpon the 89. psalme speakīg of the sacrament of the Lordes body and blood and rehearsing as it were Christes wordes to his disciples after this maner It is not this body which ye doo see that ye shall eate nother shall ye drynke this blood which the souldyours y t crucifie me shall spill or sheade I doo commende vnto you a mysterie or a sacramēt which spiritually vnderstanded shall geue you life Now if Christ hade no moo natural and corporal bodies but that one which they thā presently bothe hearde sawe nor other natural blood but that which was in the same body and the which the souldiours did afterwarde cruelly shede vpon the crosse and nother this body nor this blood was by this declaracion of S. Augustine either to be eaten or dronken but the mysterie therof spiritually to be vnderstanded than I conclude if this sayeng and exposicion of S. Augustine be true that y e mysterie which the disciples should eate was not the natural body of Christ but a mysterie of the same spiritually to be vnderstāded For as S. Augustine sayeth in his 20. boke Contra Faustum ca. 21. Christes fleshe and blood was in the olde testament promysed by similitudes and signes of their sacrifices and was exhibited in dede and in truthe vpon y e crosse but the same is celebrated by a sacrament of remembraunce vpō y e aultare And in his boke De fide ad Petrum ca. 19. he sayeth that in these sacrifices meanyng of the olde lawe it is figuratiuely signified what was than to be geuen but in this sacrifice it is euidently signified what is allready geuen vnderstāding in the sacrifice vpon the aultare the remembraunce and thākes geuing for the fleshe which he offred for vs for the blood which he shedde for vs vpon the crosse as in the same place and euidently ther it maye appeare An other euident and cleare place wherin it appeareth that by the sacramentall bread which Christ called his body he ment a figure of his body As vpon the .3 Psalme wher S. Augustine speaketh this in playne termes Christ did admytte Iudas vnto the feast in the which he commēded vnto his disciples the figure of his bodye This was Christes last supper before his passion wherin he did ordayne the sacrament of his body as all learned men doo agree S. Augustine also in his 23. epistle to Bonifacius teacheth how sacramentes doo beare the names of y e thinges wherof they be sacramentes bothe in Baptisme and in the Lordes table euen as we call euery good frydaye the daye of Christes passiō and euery Easter daye the daye of Christes resurrection whan in very dede ther was but one daye wherin he suffred and but one daye wherin he rose And why doo we than call them so which are not so in dede but bicause they are in like tyme and course of the yeare as those dayes were wherin those thinges wer done Was Christ sayeth S. Augustī offred any more but once And he offred him self And yet in a sacrament or represētaciō not only euery solēne feast of Easter but also euery day to y e people he is offred so y t he dothe not lye y t sayeth He is euery daye offred For if Sacramētes hade not sō similitudes or likenesse of those thinges wherof they be Sacramētes they could in no wise be sacramētes for their similitudes and likenesse commonly they haue the names of the thinges wherof they be sacramētes Therfore as after a certayn maner of speche y e sacramēt of Christes body is Christes body the sacrament of Christes blood is Christes blood so likewise the Sacrament of faithe is faithe After this maner of speche as S. Augustine teacheth in his questiones Super Leuiticum Cōtra Adamantinū it is sayed in scripture that .vii eares of corne be seuen yeares seuen kyen be vii yeares y e rocke was Christ blood is y e soule the which last sayeng sayeth S. Augustine in his boke Contra Adimantinum is vnderstanded to be spoken in a signe or figure For the Lord himself did not sticke to saye This is my body whan he gaue the signe of his body For we must not considre in sacramētes sayeth S. Augustine in an other place What they be but what they doo signifie for they be signes of thinges being one thing in them selues and yet signifieng an other thing For the heauenly bread sayeth he speaking of the sacramental bread by some maner of speache is called Christes body whan in very dede it is the Sacrament of his body c. What can be more playne or more clearly spoken than are these places of S. Augustine before rehearsed if men were not obstinately bent to mayntene an vntruthe to receaue nothing what so euer dothe set it furthe Yet one place more of S. Augustine will I allege which is very cleare to this purpose that Christes natural body is in heauen and not here corporally in the Sacrament and so let him departe In his .50 treatise which he wryteth vpon Iohn̄ he teacheth playnly and clearly how Christ being bothe God and man is bothe here after a certayn maner and yet in heauen and not here in his natural body and substaunce which he toke of the blessed virgin Mary speaking thus of Christ and sayeng By his diuine Maiestie by his prouidence and by his vnspeakeable inuisible grace y t is fulfilled which he spake Beholde I am with you vnto the ende of the worlde But as concernyng his fleshe which he toke in his incarnacion as touching that which was borne of the virgine as concernyng that which was apprehended by the Iewes crucified vpon a tree and taken downe from the crosse lapped in lynen clothes and buryed and rose agayn and appeared after his resurrection as concernyng that fleshe he sayed ye shall not euer haue me with you Why so For as cōcernyng his fleshe he was conuersaūt with his disciples .xl. Dayes and they accompanyeng seing and not folowīg hym he wēt vp in to heauen is not here By y e presēce of his diuine maiestie he did not departe as concernyng y e presēce of his diuine maiestie w c haue Christ euer w t vs but as concernyng y e presence of his fleshe he sayed truly to his disciples Ye
A brief declaracion of the Lordes Supper written by the syngular learned man and most constaunt Martir of Iesus Christ Nicholas Ridley Bishop of London prisoner in Oxforde a litel before he suffred deathe for the true testimonie of Christ. Roma 8. For thy sake are we killed all daye long and are compted as shepe appointed to be slayne Neuertheles in all these thinges we ouercome through him that loued vs. Anno. 1555. To the Reader VNderstande good reader that this great clearke and blessed Martir bishop Nicholas Ridley sought not by setting furthe this notable godly piece of learned worke the vayne glorie of the world nor temporal frendship of men for his present aduauncement muche lesse he hunted hereby for Bishoprikes and benefices as all his aduersaries the enemies of Christes truthe and ordinaunce the Papistes cōmonly doo but hauing consideracion of the great charge of soule committed vnto him and of thaccompte therof which the iustice of God wolde require at his handes intending therwithall to be founde blameles in the great daye of the Lorde seing he was put aparte to defende the Gospel he not only forsoke landes goodes world frendes and him selfe withall and testified the truthe specified in this boke by his learned mouthe in the open presence of the worlde but also to leaue a sure monument and loue token vnto his flocke he hathe regestred it by his owne penne in this forme ensuyng and sealed it vp with his blood Forasmuch than as he hath approued him selfe no vayne disputour no wethercocke nor hipocrite seyng he hathe willingly geuen his lyfe for the truthe and inasmuche also as his loue and most constaunt christian conscience speaketh frely vnto thee gentill reader I beseche thee for Christes sake and thyne owne lende him thine indifferent heart and pacient hearyng ⧠MAny thynges confounde a weake memorie a fewe places well weighed and perceaued lyghten the vnderstādyng Truthe is ther to be searched wher it is certayne to be hade Though God dothe speake the truthe by man yet in mannes worde which God hath not reuealed to be his a mā may doubt without mystrust in god Christ is the truthe of God reuealed vnto man from heauen by God hym selfe and therfore in his worde the truthe is to be founde which is to be embraced of al that be his Christ biddeth vs aske we shall haue searche and we shall fynde knocke and it shal be opened vnto vs. Therfore our heauenly father the autor and fountayne of all truthe the botomles sea of al vnderstanding sende downe we beseche the thy holy spirite in to our heartes and lyghten our vnderstanding wyth the beames of thy heauenly grace We aske thee this O merciful father not in respecte of our desartes but for thy deare sonne oure saueour Iesus Christes sake Thou knowest O heauenly father that the controuersie about the Sacrament of the blessed bodye and blood of thy deare sonne our saueour Iesu Christ hathe troubled not of late only y e churche of Englāde Fraunce Germanye and Italie but also many yeares agoo The fault is ours no doubt therfore for we haue deserued thy plague But O Lorde be mercifull and releue our myserie with som light of grace Thow knowest o Lorde how this wicked world rolleth vp and downe and releth to fro and careth not what thy will is so it maye abyde in wealthe If truthe haue wealthe who are so stowte to defende the truthe as they But if Christes crosse be layed on truthes backe than they vanyshe awaye straight as waxe before y e fire But these are not they O heauenly father for whom I make my most moane but for those sely ones O Lord which haue a zeale vnto thee those I meane which wold and wishe to knowe thy will and yet are letted holden backe blynded by the subtilties of Satan and his Ministers the wickednesse of this wretched worde and the synful lustes and affectiones of the fleshe Alas Lorde thow knowest that we be of our selues but fleshe wherin ther dwelleth nothing that is good How than is it possible for mā without the O Lorde to vnderstande thy truthe in dede Can the natural man perceaue the will of God O Lorde to whom thow gauest a zeale of thee geue them also we beseche thee y e knowlage of thy blessed will Suffre not thē O Lorde blyndlye to be ledde for to stryue against thee as thow diddest those Alas which crucified thine owne sōne forgeue them O Lorde for thy deare sonnes sake for they knowe not what they doo They do thinke Alas O Lorde for lacke of knowlage that they doo vnto the good seruice euen whan agaynst thee they doo most extremely rage Remembre O Lorde we beseche the for whom thy martyr Stephan did praye and whom thyne holy Aopstle Paule did so truly and earnestly loue that for their saluacion he wished hym self accursed for them Remembre O heauenly father the prayer of thy deare sonne our saueour Christe vpon the crosse whan he sayd vnto thee O father forgeue them they knowe not what they doo With this forgeuenesse O good Lorde geue me I beseche the thy grace so here briefly to set furthe the sayenges of thy sonne our saueour Iesu Christ of his Euāgelistes and of his apostles that in this aforesaide cōtrouersie the light of the truthe by y e lanterne of thy worde maye shyne vnto al them that loue the. Of the Lordes last supper do speake expressely the euāgelistes Matthewe Marke Luke but non more playnlye nor more fully declareth y e same than dothe S. Paule partly in the 10. Chaptre but especially in y e 11. Chap. of his furst epistle to y e Corinthianes As Matthewe and Marke doo agree muche in wordes so do likewise Luke and S. Paule But al. iiij no doubt as they were all taught in one schole inspired w t one spirite so taught they all one truthe God graunt vs to vnderstande it well Amen Matthewe setteth furthe Christes supper thus Whan euē was come he sate downe w t the .xij. c. As they did eate Iesus toke bread and gaue thankes brake it and gaue it to the disciples and sayed Take eate This is my body And he toke the cuppe gaue thankes gaue it to them sayeng Drynke ye al of this for this is my blood of the newe testament that is shedde for many for the Remission of synnes I saye vnto you I will not drynke hencefurthe of this frute of the vyne tree vntil that daye whan I shall drynke that newe in my fathers kingdome And whā they hade sayed grace they went out c. Now Marke speaketh it thus And as they eate Iesus toke bread blessed and brake and gaue to them and saied Take eate This is my body And he toke the cuppe gaue thākes and gaue it to them and they all dranke of it And he sayed vnto them This is my blood of the newe testament which is shedde for many
as he sayeth he receaued of the Lorde that he hade geuen them before and now rehearseth in his Epistle I trust no man is so farre from all reasō but he wil graūt me that this is not likely so to be Now than if you graunt me that Paule did vse the forme of wordes which he writeth Let vs than rehearse and considre Paules wordes which he sayeth Christ spake thus vpon y e cup. This cup is the new testamēt in my blood this do as often as ye shal drinke it in the remembraunce of me Here I wold knowe whether that Christes wordes spokē vpō the cuppe were not as mightye in worke and as effectuall in significacion to all intentes constructiones and purposes as our Parliamēt men doo speake as they were spoken vpon the bread If this be graunted which thing I thinke no man can denye than further I reasō thus But the worde is in the wordes spoken vpō the Lordes bread dothe mightily signifie saye they the chaunge of the substaunce of that which goeth before it in to y e substaūce of y t which foloweth after y t is of the substaunce of bread in to the substaunce of Christes bodye whan Christ sayeth This is my bodye Now than if Christes wordes which are spoken vpon the cuppe which Paule here rehearseth be of the same might and power bothe in working and signifieng Than must this worde is whan Christ sayeth This cuppe is the newe testament c. turne the substaūce of the cuppe in to the substaunce of the newe testament And if thow wilt saye that this worde is nother maketh nor signifieth any suche chaunge of the cuppe although it be saide of Christ that this cuppe is the newe testament yet Christ ment no suche chaunge as that Mary Sir euen so saye I whā Christ sayde of the bread which he toke and after thankes geuen brake and gaue them sayeng Take eate this is my body he ment no more any suche chaunge of the substaūce of bread in to the substaūce of his naturall bodye than he ment of the chaunge and Transubstanciacion of the cuppe in to the substaunce of the newe testament And if thow wilt saye that the worde cuppe here in Christes wordes dothe not signifie the cuppe it self but the wyne or thīg conteyned in the cuppe by a figure called Metonimia for y e Christes wordes ment and so must nedes be takē thow sayest very well But I praye the by the waye here note two thinges Furst that this worde is hathe no suche streynght or significacion in the Lordes wordes to make or to signifie any transubstantiacion Secōdly that the Lordes wordes wherby he instituted the sacramēt of his blood he vseth a figuratyne speache Now vayne than is it that some so earnestly doo saye as if were an infallible rule that in doctrine in the institucion of the sacramentes Christ vsed no figures but all his wordes are to be strayned to their propre significaciōs whā as here what so euer thou sayest was in y e cuppe nother y t nor the cup it selfe taking euery worde in his propre significaciō was y e new testamēt but in vnderstanding that which was in the cuppe by the cuppe y t is a figuratiue speache yea also thou cannest not verifie or truly saye of that whether thou sayest it was wyne or Christes blood to be the newe testament without a figure also Thus in one sentence spoken of Christ in the institucion of the sacrament of his blood the figure must helpe vs twyse So vntrue is it that some doo wryte that Christ vseth no figure in the doctrine of faythe nor in the institucion of his Sacramentes But some saye yf we shal thus admitte figures in doctrine than shall all the articles of our fayth by figures and allegories shortlye be transformed and vnlosed I saye it is lyke fault euē the same to deny y e figure where y e place so requireth to be vnderstanden as vaynely to make it a figuratiue speache which is to be vnderstāden in his propre significacion The rules wherby y e speche is knowen whan it is figuratiue wherby it is none S. Augustine in his boke De doctrina christiana geueth diuerse learned lessons very necessarie to be knowen of y e studentes in Goddes worde Of the which one I will rehearse which is thys If sayeth he the scripture dothe seme to commaūde a thing which is wicked or vngodlye or to forbidde a thing that charitie dothe require than knowe thou sayeth he that the speche is figuratiue And for exāple he bringeth the sayeng of Christ in y e .6 chap. of S. Io. Except ye eate the fleshe of the sōne of mā drinke his blood ye can not haue lyfe in you it semeth to cōmaunde a wicked or an vngodly thing Wherfore it is a figuratiue speche cōmaūding to haue cōmuniō felowship w t Christes passiō deuoutly holsomlye to laye vp in memorie that his fleshe was crucified and wounded for vs. And here I can not but maruel at some men surely of muche excellēt fynesse of wyt of great eloquēce that are not ashamed to wryte say y t this aforesaid sayeng of Christ is after S. Austin a figuratiue speche in dede howbeit not vnto the learned but to the vnlearned Here let any man that but indifferently vnderstandeth the latine tongue read the place in S. Austen if he perceaue not clearly S Augustines wordes mynde to be cōtrary let me abyde therof the rebuke This lessō of S. Augustine I haue therfore the rather set furthe bicause it teacheth vs to vnderstāde that place in Iohn̄ figuratyuely Euen so surely the same lesson with the example of S. Augustines exposiciones therof teacheth vs not only by the same to vnderstande Christes wordes in the institucion of the Sacrament bothe of his body and of his blood figuratyuely but also the very true meanyng and vnderstanding of the same For if to commaunde to eate the fleshe of the sonne of man and to drinke his blood semeth to commaunde an inconueniēce and an vngodlynesse and is euen so in dede if it be vnderstandē as the wordes doo stāde in their propre significacion and therfore must be vnderstanden figuratyuely spiritually as S. Augustine dothe godly and learnedly interprete them Than surely Christ commaunding in his last supper to eate his body and to drinke his blood semed to cōmaunde in sounde of wordes as great and euen the same inconuenience and vngodlinesse as did his wordes in the .6 chap. of S. Iohn̄ and therfore must euen by the same reason be lykewise vnderstanden and expounded figuratyuely spiritually as S. Augustine did the other Wherunto that exposicion of S. Augustine may seme to be the more mere for that Christ in his supper to the commaundement of eating and drinking of his body blood addeth Doo this in the remēbraunce of me Which wordes surely were the keye that opened
yet is not their nature chaūged but abydeth stil. And wher is thā the papistes transubstantiacion The same wrytour in y e secōde dialoge of y e same worke against thaforesaid heretike Eutiches wryteth yet more playnly agaynst this errour of transubstanciacion if any thing can be sayed to be more playne For he maketh the heretike to speake thus against hym that defendeth the true doctrine whom he calleth Orthodoxus As the sacramentes of the body and blood of our Lorde are one thing before the inuocacion and after the inuocaciō they be changed and are made an other so likewise the Lordes body saythe the heretike is after the assūpcion or ascension in to heauen turned in to the substance of God the heretike meaning therby that Christ after his assension remayneth no more a mā To this Orthodoxus answereth thus sayeth to y e heretike Thow art taken sayeth he in thyne owne snare For those mystical symboles or sacramētes after the sanctificacion doo not goo out of their owne nature but they tarye and abyde still in their substaunce figure and shape yea are sensibly sene groped to be y e same they were before c. At these wordes the papistes doo startle and to saye the truthe these wordes be so playne so ful so cleare that they can not tell what to saye but yet they will not ceasse to goo about to playe the cuttles and to cast their colours ouer them that the truthe which is so plainly told should not haue place This autor wrote saye they before the determinacion of the churche As who wold saye what so euer that wicked man Innocentius the Pope of Rome determined in his congregacions with his monkes and friers that must be for so Duns sayeth holden for an article and of the substaūce of our faithe Some do charge this autor that he was suspected to be a Nestorian which thing in Calcedon counsail was tried and proued to be false But the fowlest shifte of all and yet the best that they can finde in this mater whan none other will serue is to saye that Theodorete vnderstandeth by the worde substaunce accidētes and not substaunce in dede This glose is like a glose of a lawer vpon a decree y e text wherof beginneth thus Statuimus that is We decree The glosse of the lawer ther after many other prety shiftes ther set furthe which he thinketh will not well serue to his purpose and therfore at the last to cleare the mater he sayeth thus after y e mynde of one lawer Vel Dic sayeth he Statuimus id est abrogamus y t is or expoūde we do decree that is we abrogate or disanull Is not this a goodly and worthy glose who will not say but he is worthy in the lawe to be reteyned of counsail that can glose so wel and fynde in a mater of difficultie such fyne shiftes And yet this is the lawe or at least the glose of the lawe And therfore who can tell what perile a man maye incurre to speake against it except he were a lawer in dede which can kepe him self out of the briers what wynde so euer blowe Hitherto ye haue hearde three wrytours of the Greke churche not all what they doo saye for that were a labour to great for to gather and to tedious for y e reader But one or two places of euery one the which how playne how ful and how cleare they be against the errour of transubstanciacion I referre it to the iudgement of the indifferent reader And now I will likewise rehearse the sayenges of other three olde auncient wytours of the latine church so make an ende And furst I will begynne with Tertullian whom Cipriane the holy martyr so highly estemed that whan so euer he wolde haue his boke he was wont to saye Geue vs now the Maister This olde wrytour in his .4 boke agaynst Marcion the heretike saieth thus Iesus made y e breade which he toke and distributed to his disciples his body sayeng This is my body That is to saye sayeth Tertullian afigure of my body In this place it is playne that after Tertullianes expolicion Christ ment not by calling the bread his body the wyne his blood that either the bread was the naturall body or the wyne his natural blood but he called thē his body and blood bicause he wolde institute thē to be vnto vs sacramentes that is holy tokens and signes of his body and of his blood that by them remēbring and firmely beleuing the benefites procured to vs by his body which was torne crucified for vs and of his blood which was shedde for vs vpō the crosse and so with thākes receauing these holy sacraments according to Christes institucion might by the same be spiritually nouryshed and fedde to the encrease of all godlynesse in vs here in our pilgrimage iournaye wherin we walke vnto euerlasting lyfe This was vndoubtedly Christ our saueours mīde and this is Tertullianes exposicion The wranglyng that the Papistes doo make to elude this sayeng of Tertullian is so farre out of frame that it euen wearieth me to thinke on it Tertullian wryteth here saye they as none hathe done hitherto before him This sayeng is toto manyfest false for Origene Hilarie Ambrose Basil Gregorie Nazianzene saint Augustine and other olde autors lykewyse doo call the sacrament a figure of Christes bodye And where they saye that Tertullian wrote this whan he was in a heate of disputacion with an heretike couetyng by all meanes to ouerthrowe his aduersarie As who saye he wolde not take hede what he dyd saye and specially what he wolde wryte in so hyghe a mater so that he might haue the better hande of his aduersarie Is this credible to be true in any godlye wyse man How muche lesse thā is it worthy to be thought or credited in a man of so great a wytte learning and excellencye as Tertullian is worthilye estemed euer for to haue ben Lykewyse this autor in his furst boke agaynst the same heretike Marcion wryteth thus God did not reiect bread which is his creature for by it he hath made a representaciō of his body Now I praye you what is this to saye that Christ hathe made a representacion by bread of his body but that Christ hade instituted and ordayned bread to be a sacrament for to represent vnto vs his body Now whether the representacion of one thing by an other requireth the corporal presence of the thing which is so represented or no euery man that hathe vnderstanding is hable in this point the mater is so cleare of it self to be a sufficient iudge The seconde doctour and wrytour of the latine churche whose sayenges I promysed to set furthe is S. Augustine of whose learning and estimacion I nede not to speake For all the churche of Christ bothe hathe and euer hathe hade hym for a man of most singular learnyng witte and diligence