grossely theâ— applied al thingâ—s to the flesh They were altogether flesh could perceiue noâ—hing of the spirite Christ endeuoured to teach theÌ„ the misteri of his incarnacion who being the fourme of God thought it nor obbri to huÌ„ble him selfe into the fourme of a seruauÌ„t they would nedes vnderstande his wordes to bespokeÌ„ of y â— bodie whiâ—h thei knew to be borne of Marie the carpeÌ„â—ers wife Is not this Iosephes sonne sayed they whose father mother we knowe Howe standeth thys then wyth hys wordes when he sayeth I came from heauen But he answered their fleshelye talke saiynge Murmure not among your selues For no man can come vnto me excepte my Father whiche sente me drawe â—im and I shall rayse him in the last day It is written in the Prophete All shal be taughte of god Euerâ—e one that hath hearde of the father and hath learned cometh vnto me Not y â— any man hath sene the father saue only he y â— is of god He hath sen the father By this seing of the father may you easily most deare brithern perceiue what seing what eateinge comminge vnto Christe it is that is ment in al this Chapi Euen the gostly eateing seing and comeing vnto Christe For though a maÌ„ be neuer so muche of God yet shal not his fleshely eie see God And to declare hys meaning more plainly he saith He that beleueth in me hath euerlasting life Al that he hath spokeÌ„ before of the eating comming seing al that he speaketh afterward is conteined in those few wordâ—s he that beleleueth in me hath euerlastinge lyfe I am the breade of life Your fathers dyd eate manna in wildernesse and are dead Thys bread is it y â— caÌ„e froÌ„ heaueÌ„ y â— if any maÌ„ shal eate of it he shal not die I am y â— liueing bread which came froÌ„ heauen If any man eate of this bread he shall liue for euer And the breade y â— I shall geue is my flesh which I shal geue for the lyfe of the worlde Here is the whole mattier here haue we a playne promise say thei y â— the bread that Christ shoulde geue to his disciples at his maundie was his fleshe Oh blinde asses How long wil it be ere you pearce the flesh enter into the spirite Because his outwarde wordes soâ—ne flesh You wyl not once thinck vpon any spirit but euen as the Iewes dyd sticke styl in the flesh fleshly eatyng But because you wyl not seme to murmur contend as y â— Iewes did saiyng how caÌ„ this maÌ„ geue vs his flesh to eat You wyl beleue you say that it was a thynge very easy to do And theÌ„ you reproue y â— Iewes of vnbeleue because they wer not so grosse as you to beleue that Christ would thrust his natural bodi into a peice of bread that thei might without grudge of stomack eat it You declare your selues neither to sauour the spirit nor yet to vnderstand the phrases of the letter The Iewes could take the phrase a right saye howe â—aÌ„ this maÌ„ gâ—ue vs his flesh to eat Thei doubted not how he should geue theÌ„ his fleshe in the fourm of bread for thei knew y â— after y â— phrase of the Hebrue tong he ment by bread food As thoughe he shoulde haue sayde You re fathers were fedde in the wildernes with Manna and yet they are dead but the foode wherewyth I shal feede you is my flesh not that you shal eat it as your fathers dyd Manna and so dye but I will geue it for the lyfe of the worlde so that if you wyl beleue and putte youre trust herein for that is the eatynge of my fleshe you shall neuer die the death of the soule for the bodye is morâ—al and must nedes dye That this was his meanyng is playne by the answere that he gaue to their contention Certes sayeth he I say vnto you except ye eate my fleshe drynke my bloud you shall haue no lyfe in you Who so eateth my flesh and drinketh my bloud hath euerlastyng lyfe and I wil rayse him vp at the last day And then he openeth the phrase of the Hebreue more playne and saythe My fleshe is very food and my bloude very drincke he that eateth my fleshe and drinketh my bloud tarieth in me and I in hym And as my liuynge father sent me and I liue through hym eueÌ„ so he that eateth me liueth through me â–ª Now tel me you fleshmongers if the Iewes hadde then torne Christ in peaces with their teth and eaten him euery morsel should they haue liued throughâ— hym Oh beastly blynd This is the fode that came from heauen Not as your fathers dyd eate manna and are deade but such as â—ate â—his tode shal neuer die If this be spoken of the sacrament howe agreeth it wyth the wordes of s. Paule to the Corinth who so â—ateth this bread and drinketh this cup vnworthily eateth drinketh his owne iudgement Howe chaunced it y â— Iudas was not saued by it Howe can youre pristes that breake they faste with it dayely be damned Yea if this be spoken of the sacrameÌ„t then is that also spoken of the sacrament when he sayeth Excepte you eat my fleshe drincke my bloud you shal haue no life in you And theÌ„ how could the thefe y â— was crucified w t Christ be saued For I am right sure he neuer receiued the sacrament Yea in what takeinge be all the children yonglinges that die before they come to yeres of discrecion to receiue this sacrameÌ„t Thus maye you se deare bretherne howe 〈◊〉 these men are from the spirite and yet they woulde seme so spiritual y â— they haue captiuated all theyr senses reasone also to beleue the thinge that was neuer taught and that after suche sorte that they declare them selues therin to be moost fâ—eshely nothinge perceyueinge the wordes of Christe when he sayeth The wordes that I speake are spirite and life It is the spirit that geueth life y â— flesh profiteth nothing Nowe frinde Hoggherd I thinke you be ashamed of your misreporting of this piece of scripture or if you be pasâ—e shame yet I truste the godlie minded do so plainelie perceiue your slender iudgemente herein that they wyll gâ—ue you leaue to lye tyl your tong faile you ere thei wyl credite your wordes But nowe commeth the hardest piece of worke into hand Yea and so clearkly handled as you thinke that no maÌ„ can be able to auoide your reasones At his last supper you say Christe toke breade blessed it brake it and gaue it to hys disciples and bade them take and eate this is my bodie And then to shewe them what bodye it was saye you that he ment he added these wordes Whâ—châ— for your synnes shal be broken Then subtyle ly you aske thys question What bodie saye you was it that was broken for our trespas And then you phantasie wyth your selfe that we wyll not saye a
can be equal of value with the body If Christ therfore daily offred vp be the remeÌ„braunce of his bitter death then is his bitter death better then he himself And yet you haue not all done with Christes longyng One thyng you say you woulde haue noted by the way And that is that Christ longed to eate the passeouer with his disciples not onelye to fulfil the lawe but also to shew them more of hys wyl which was that he would geue theÌ„ a perfect pledge of eternall lyfe according to his promise made to them before as is mencioned you say in the. vi of Ihon geuynge his fleshe to be communicate that they myght therby be incorporate in hym and he in theÌ„ And theÌ„ you ioyne hereunto his thrustyng on the crosse And vpoÌ„ this longyng and thurstyng well and clarkely you gather the greate desire that Christ had to fulâ—yl his promyse that he made when he said The bread that I shall geue is my fleshe ☞ Men of learnynge and iudgemente in the scriptures may easely perceiue your ignorauÌ„ce in this matter I wil not therfore go aboute to opeÌ„ it to them But for their sakes that be not yet fully grounded in the true vnderstandynge hereof I wyl take soÌ„what more paynes in the openyng of this ignoraunce of yours nowithstandyng that I haue spoken somwhat largely of the mattier in the confutation of the former parte of your answere wher you claymed thys promyse of Christ as you do here ☞ Marke therfore good christian brothers to you I speake y â— ar not yet so fully instructed in Christ but that you sauour somwhat of the Phariseis leuen yet would gladly be deliuered from the blyndnes of errour marke I â—ay how far wide this man is from the true meaning of Christ in this place He hath non other occasioÌ„ at al to applâ—e this piece of scripture to his purpose but only for that ther is bread menâ—ioned It fareth by hym euen as it doth by the patrons defeÌ„dours of Purgatorie For whersoeuer he findeth bread named in the scripture ther he laith a straw as a marke to 〈◊〉 his coÌ„mune places by eueÌ„ as thei did wheÌ„ thâ—i found ani meÌ„cioÌ„ of fire IhoÌ„ Frith hath opened their folly at large in his dispuâ—atioÌ„ vpoÌ„ Purgatori Would God I were able to do halâ—e so muche in this matter â–ª But take it in good parte deare brethreÌ„ that I shal writ And if you shal find it consonaÌ„t agreable to the scriptures then embrace it and geue God the thankes otherwise hold it accurâ—ed and do not once opeÌ„ your eies vpon it For the mo y t should embrace my doctrin being vngodlâ— the greater should my dam nation be But being assertained by y â— spirit of truth that I teach nothing but that I fynde in the boke of truth I am bold to byd you mark and learne the true vnderstandynge of these wordes of our sauiour Christ The bread that I shal geue is my flesh ¶ Our sauiour Christ perceiuing y â— the fleshlye minded Iewes â—oloed him more for y â— thei had eateÌ„ the loues which he had multipliâ—d then for the miracle or wonder y â— he had wrought â—oke occasion at â—he questiaÌ„ which thei asked him saiyng Rabbi or Mayster when caÌ„mest thou hyther as who shoulde saye we haue sought and layd wayt to knowe howe and whan thou shouldest passe the sea but we coulde not perceyue any ship prepared for thy passage Hast thou therefore coÌ„ueighed thy selfe ouer by miracle as thou diddest multiplie the fiue loues He toke occacioÌ„ I sai here aâ— to declare vnto them that all hys wordes and dedes are to be loked on with the spiritual â—ie and not with the carnall And euen at the firste he sayeth vnto them Ye folowe me not because you haue sene the wonders But because you haue eaten of the breads and are satisfied As who shoulde say you pretende a woÌ„derous desire to se the woÌ„ders that I work â–ª as men that woulde therby be allured to embrace and folowe my doctrine but youre intente is none other but to be fed at my hande and so to lyue Idlely without labour and trauaile more then to wander vp and downe after me But I shall tel you what you shall do if you wil folowe me Worke for the meate that perisheth not but that remayneth into lyfe euerlastinge which meate the sonne of man shall geue you For this is y â— meat that god the father hath appoynted Then sayed they What maye we do to worke the workes of god He answered vnto theÌ„ in this wise This is â–ª the worke of God that you beleue in him whome he hath sente TheÌ„ brake they out in theyr owne likenes and agaynste theyr wylles vttered theyr faulse dissimilacion sayeinge What myracle workest thou therefore that we maye se it and beleuethe What workes doste thou Our fathers eate Manna in the wildernes as it is written He gaue theÌ„ bread froÌ„ heauen to eate But our sauioure sayd vnto theÌ„ Moises gaue you not 〈…〉 or verie bread in dede froÌ„ heauen For y â— is the true bread y â— descended froÌ„ heauen geueth life to the worlde Then sayde they Lorde geue vs this bread alwayes These mens mynd was altogether vpon materiall breade Let vs neuer lacke this bread say they Well Christ maketh them answere I am the bread of lyfe sayeth he who so coÌ„meth vnto me shall not honger and he that beleueth in me shall neuer thurste But I haue told you that you haue both sene me and not beleued Here may you learn to eat the bread y â— Christ speaketh of It nedeth you not to prepare tooeth and throte nother bealye nor stomake but beleue you shall not â—onger nor thurst You shall haue plentie of his heaueÌ„ly foode He that commeth to me sayth Christ he that beleueth in me To come vnto Christ and to beleue in Christ is all one thinge as appeareth by the wordes folowing Euerie thing that my father geueth me shall come vnto me and I will not caste him out that cometh vnto me For I descended frome heauen not to do my wil but his will that sent me And thys is the wil of mi father y â— seÌ„t me that I should not lose ani thinge y â— he gaue me but that I should â—ayse it again in the last day Yea this is the wyl of my father y â— sente me y â— euery one that seeth the son and beleueth in him should haue life euerlasting I wil raise him at the last day He that seeth the son and beleueth in him To see and to beleue to eate and come to Christe is all one thyng The Iewes therfore murmured at his wordes in that he sayed I am the liuinge breade that descended frome heauen and they sayde Is not this the sonne of Ioseph whose father and mother we knowe How sayth he thaÌ„ y â— he descended froÌ„ heauen Behold these carnal Iewes how
what differeth it frome a brute beast And yet hath iâ— reasone but not at libertie that shee maye do hir office Euen so the man that hath his reasone captiuated to any opinion is â—conserneinge that opinion euen as a chylde or brute beast So that in your skoffes and geste's wherein you woulde seme to be pleasant you make an ape of your selfe and toyewyth your owne shadowe And theÌ„ wyttily and lyke an Hosyar you lyken the example of the authour to the appointtynge of a man to knowe his lâ—gge frome hys hoose This done you turne to your graue stâ—le agayne as thoughe your former wordes hadde ben excedeynge merie and pleasante And madly you saye the authour meaneth by hys example that Chrste poynted to hys naturall body when he sayed Thys is my bodie and in this you declare your selfe not to vnderstande his meaneing and yet you woulde sâ—me to answere hym to the ful saying that you would gladly knowe what Scripture the Authoure hathe to proue that Christ ment nothyng of the bread when he spake those wordes For if it wyl not be fouÌ„de in the scripture you are not bounde to beleue it you saye for it is but his fantacie And so you conclude that the authour sayeth by his example that if Christe ment not of hys naturall bodie he made a falsely I amsorie frend Hogard that your iudgement is so slender that knowinge this to be an exaÌ„ple you can not perceiue wher of it is an example What râ—sonable man woulde be so madde to brabble about a thing so folyshely as you do vnlesse he were either a verie fole or else hadde hys reasone so captiuated and were so maried to hys opinion that he coulde se nothinge that maketh agaynste hym The Authour intendeynge to declare that these wordes Thys is are not wordes wherwith ought maie be made bringeth thys example of hym selfe If I tell the sayeth he that thys is my head These wordes this is do not make it so But it was so before I spake those wordes Other wyse I shoulde not saye trulye when I saye Thys is my heade For if the speakeynge of the wordes shoulde make it my heade then should it not be my head tyl the wordes were spoken And so wet it a lye to say it is my head when in dede it wer but in turning froÌ„ som other substauÌ„ce to be my head And thys exaÌ„ple proueth that it Christ had meÌ„t by these wordes Thys is my body y â— the bread was turned into his bodye no doubt it was his bodye before he sayd it or else he had lied in sâ— sayeinge whiche thynge is not possible that is that the veritie it selfe shoulde lye wherefore he ment no suche thynge But in sayeinge thys is my body he intended to declare vnto hys faythful disciples in them to vs the misterie of his church and congregacioÌ„ which is of many made one euen as the breade is of many graynes and the wyne of many grapes As you mought haue easily gathered of the staâ—e next foloweinge if your reason had not ben captiuated ¶ The ballad Wel theÌ„ to say lo Thys is my body Hath not made it so Thou seyst w t smal studie Wherfore shortely go Make other wordes redi These wyl do no seruice The answere Here lo ye triumphe like a noble fyer As though ye had proued al that ye speak Which is that our sauioure christe was a lieâ— WheÌ„ that he dyd say wheÌ„ he bread did breake This is my body his power was to weake He coulde not performe that he there dyd saye He muste seeke other wordes that to conuaye ☞ The confutacion ☞ Yet you harpe styl on one strenge and that sowneth al a garre He triumpheth you say as one that had proued all that he had sayed as in dede he hath sufficiently and then your vnderstandeing is no better but to burden him wyth the affirmeing of that which he neuer thought and no meruayle for you haue captiuated your reason to your fonde flyshly opinioÌ„ and â—â—icke faste vpon your commune argumente A posse ad esse And then you conclud that who so euer denieth the thinge to be done denieth that god is able to do it declareinge your selfe to taste nothynge of the spirite of God but altogether of the fleshe euen as the fleshely Caparnaites dyd whiche would haue eaten hym euen as he went on the grouÌ„de because he sayed that they could haue no lyfe in them onlesse thei did eate his flesh meaneinge therby the beliefe that thei shoulde haue in hym to be y â— spiritual fode so eaâ—e him by fayeth For if he had spokeÌ„ ther of the eateinge of hys naturall and reall bodye in the sacrement it shoulde folowe that all suche as dye before they receyue the Sacramentâ— shoulde haue no lyfe in them that is shoulde be dampned And contrarywyse al that 〈◊〉 once receyue the sacramente shoulde neuer dyâ— that is neuer be damned For he sayeth He that eateth my fleshe and drincketh my bloude tareth in me and I 〈◊〉 him And agayne he shall 〈…〉 I would you woulde credite saynte Augustyne vpon these wordes or else your selfe put of your carnall cies and put on the spectakles of the spirit and knowe that the wordes whiche Christe spake in the .vi. of Iohn are spirite and lyfe and not grosse and carnall as you take them ¶ The ballade What if in scripiure Were wrytten one lyne Wherwith our sauiour Thy god and myne Into thys nature Dyd tourne bread and wine Couldest thou do thys ☞ The answer What if in scripture ther be one lyne As ther is in bede whiche I before tel To proue that our Lorde doth thy god myne Dyd consecrate hys body fleshe and fell Agaynste them which chiefely ye do repel Naye amyte saâ— you that Christ did so dâ— Coulde you mayster parsone do the same to Ye for soth syr Christe dyd that for oure sake And not for thapostles at that tyme alone For priestes for that purpose then he dyd make Geuynge power to them al euerie one To consecraâ—e hys body wheÌ„ he was gone Sayenge do thys in my remembraunce Which to this day hath had continuance Ye I graunte say you that the Lorde dyd sayâ— Do thys in mi commemoracion Then is it nomore that well se ye maye But a remembraunce of christes passion It is lefte for a remembraunce I knowe And yet christes true body as I wyl showe The pascal lambe offred in the old law Was of christes offeringe can onelye â—igure The rocke of stone out of which y â— Iewes 〈◊〉 Water flowynge out for them 〈…〉 Which stone figured christe as â—aith scripture Then yf the sacrament be now no more But a fygure onely then these before Were as good then as is the sacrament But christ was a prieste muche more excellente Which made amendes for our transgression Leauynge his sacrament of suche perfection That wher as the other were figures onely Hys is both a fygure and
a minister It is god y â— doeth the dede But I praye you syr by your leaue Whose membre is he Paule sayeth that who so toupleth hym selfâ— wyth an harlot is the meÌ„bre of an harlot and he that worketh vice is the seruante of synne then tell me I praye you whose minister he is The meÌ„bre of an whore the seruaunt of sinne and the minister of Christe Non coherent Theâ—e thinges agre not It is necessarie that they be fyrst meÌ„bres of Christ and afterwardâ— ministers But here your counsailours wil say for I take them to be more subtile then you bi reasoÌ„ y â— they are trained in a more subtile kind of liuinge then you are that the wycked ministers in the church are the ministers of God as well as the godlye For Iudas whoe was by the testimonie of Christ a dyuel was notwithstandeynge Christes minister and Apostle Yeâ— he cured diseases and wrought other miracles as well as the othere Apostles dyd Cracke me thys nut saye you Forsoeth syr you shall sonâ— haue it cracked and I beseche God the kernell maye do you good I graunte that as Iudas was the minister of Christe and wrought miracles so are all priestes that do resemble Iudas the ministers of Christ as Iudas was and maye do all that Christe hath comaunded them euen as he dyd Iudas was a dyuell but not 〈…〉 Iudas beynge presente that one of them whiche put his hande into the dishe with hym shoulde betraye him the disciples beganne to â—ske him one after an other whiche of them it was Is it I sayde one is it I saide an other They sawe nothing in Iudas his conuerâ—acion wherfore they shoulde suspecte hym more then them selues But your sacrificeinge priestes are so far gone that their conuersacion declareth them to be the membres of the diuel and the ministers of baâ—â—e They are of those priestes to whom God sayth by hys prophet You offer defyled bread on my aultare and yet you saye Wherin haue we poluted the Euen in that sayth the Lorde you saye the table of the Lord is but a vyle thynge What other thing I praye you do your sacrificeing priestes They â—an not a byde the Lordes table nor the Lordes supper they muste haue an aultare and sacrifice Thei can not be content with communion â—t the Lordes table accordeinge to the fyrst institucion in honeste apparayle but they muste haue a priuate Masse in masking cotâ—s bashed full of turnes halte turnes beâ—keinges duckinges crosseyngâ—s kysseynges tosseynges and tumblinges besydes the irreuerent breathynge out of wordes vpon breade and wyne and theÌ„ holdeynge them vp to be worshiped as goddes Yet once agayne marke the wordes of the prophete Which of you sayeth the Lord shetteth the dores and setteth fyre on mine aultars â—â—thout hyr I haue no delite in you sayth the Lorde of hostes and wyll receyue no gyfte at your haÌ„de Nowe tel me whether these wordes agree not wyth your priestes prouerbe No penye no pater nosteâ— Let me se if your 〈◊〉 will do this heaueÌ„ly worke of theirs without hire Yea will they not compel men to giue theÌ„ wages for doinge it Howe saye you by the Masses at burialles are not men constrayned to haue them and to paye for them It shal not nede to reherse their dirige grotes mariages monie christeninge crisomes beadrolle bribes and suche other pillage If the kynge shoulde take of euerie hoseling person as they cal theÌ„ yerely .ii. peÌ„ce as they do at easter what would be sayed trowe you If he shoulde suffer none to be maried without a tribute what gurdgeinge woulde ther be amonge the people Well I saye no more but the plage of God shall fall vpon thâ—se hirâ—lings and make them dispised of al nacions because they haue not kepte the wayes of the Lorde But nowe for your text of scripture do this in the remeÌ„brauÌ„ce of me whervpon you grounded your folishe faith of consecratinge and sacrifiâ—eing priestes we must first consider what it was that Christ bade them do in his remembraunce Consecrat his bodie and bloude sayâ— you for that was the thinge that he hym selfe dyd But they that vnderstande the thynge aright say that he commaunded them to deuide breade and wyne amonge them as he had done immediatly before For Paul speakyng of the same thinge sayeth So often as you eate this breade and drincke thys cup you shall declare the death of the Lorde till the come The eateinge of the breade therfore and dryackeing of the cup are the thinges that Christ commaunded his Apostles to do in hys remembraunce and not the consecrateinge of his bodie and blonde as you saye So oft as ye shall do these thinges saith Christ ye shall do it in the remeÌ„braunce of me As though he should haue saied So ofte as you shal come together and be partakers al of one breade and cup to thentente to declare your selues therby to be al members of one bodie through the fayth you haue coÌ„ceiued in me you shall do it in the remeÌ„braunce of me the onely head of the bodie wherof you be meÌ„bres callinge to your remeÌ„braunce this thinge that I haue here done to certifie you of your redemption by my death bloud shedâ—ing and that euery one of you is as well pertaker therof as you are of this breade wine whiche I haue deuided amoÌ„gest you This is y â— true meneing of do this in the remeÌ„brauÌ„ce of me not as you phantaâ—ie geueing powre to priestes to consecrate Christes bodie and bloude Wel now you procede thinke to wine your spores by vanquisheing a maÌ„ of armes of your own appointing For I neuer knewe any that was so folishe oâ—lesse it wer one of your teachinge y â— would say y â— this sacrameÌ„t was noght els but a signe of christs passioÌ„ For we agaâ—st whoÌ„ you fight so manfulli do beleue confesse that it is in significacion the veri bodi bloud of Christ y â— is the natural proprites therof coÌ„sidred spiritually applied do declare vnto vs the efficacie streÌ„gth of y â— bodie and bloude of Christ in geueing life to our soules the couplinge of vs together into one bodie by faieth These aâ— things of great importauÌ„ce valure in y â— cies of y â— spiritual meÌ„bres of christ though in your fleshely eies whiche cannot dicerne the thing of y â— spirit thei be vile and of no valure Well you go forward with the triall of your mastries with your owne manne and laye sorâ— to his charge with certayne exampls The pascall lambe you saye whiche was offered in the old law was an onely figure of christs offring wherin you helpâ— the scripture for it was alsâ— a remembraunce of the deliueraunce out of Egipt But to our purpose another exemple you bâ—inge of the rocke of stone out of the whiche flowed water and that stone you saye figured Christe and that is true But I thynke it a maÌ„ should aske you