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A18690 A mirrour of Popish subtilties discouering sundry wretched and miserable euasions and shifts which a secret cauilling Papist in the behalfe of one Paul Spence priest, yet liuing and lately prisoner in the castle of Worcester, hath gathered out of Sanders, Bellarmine, and others, for the auoyding and discrediting of sundrie allegations of scriptures and fathers, against the doctrine of the Church of Rome, concerning sacraments, the sacrifice of the masse, transubstantiation, iustification, &c. Written by Rob. Abbot, minister of the word of God in the citie of Worcester. The contents see in the next page after the preface to the reader. Perused and allowed. Abbot, Robert, 1560-1618. 1594 (1594) STC 52; ESTC S108344 245,389 257

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for if he should call that which were before aire water or earth by the name of fire stones and bread aire earth and water would sooner cease to be and fire bread and stones would come in their place then God would call any creature by a wrong name He called bread his bodie therfore bread is vnderstanded to be made the body of Christ You saie the vnderstanding of man taketh his beginning of senses which i S. Austen saith that which you s●● i● bread as your eyes also tell you He saith it is that which our eies tell vs it is tell me it is bread I saie in the matter belonging to faith my vnderstanding is informed by Gods word which telleth mee it is k In signification and mysterie after the maner of Sacraments but not in substance the bodie of Christ and Theodoret saith it is beleeued to be and it is worshipped for it is so And he giueth the same very word of * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Worshipping to the holie mysteries the which in the same sentence he giueth to the immortall bodie of Christ sitting at the right hand of his father And no wonder for seeing it is one bodie whether it be worshipped in heauen or l Vig●lius saith that the flesh of Christ now that it is in heauen is not vpō the earth Therfore seeing it is in heauē it cannot be worshipped vpon the 〈◊〉 vpon the Altar one worship is alwaies due to it Thus it is witnessed by Theodoret that the holy mysteries of Christ are worshipped and adored not as the signes of his bodie and blood but as being indeed his bodie and his blood Therefore worship is not giuen to them as to images which represent a thing absent but as to mysticall signes which really contain the truth represented by them Looke Bellarmine lib. 2. de Sacrament cap. 27. pro horum testimonijs R. Abbot 12. NOw come to be handled the words of Theodoret whom the Answerer vseth in the same honest maner as he hath done Gelasius yet cannot stoppe his mouth but that he still standeth at defiance with Transubstantiation Theodoret in his Dialogues debateth the whole matter of Eutyches his heresie not only as Eutyches himselfe held it as before hath bene shewed but also as some would seeme afterwards to correct it by saying that though Christ reteined the substance of his manhood while he continued on the earth yet after his ascension it was turned into the Godhead as of which there was thenceforth no longer vse Now hauing disputed the matter at large and brought the heretick to this latter shift he taketh an argument from the Sacrament to proue the remaining and being of Christs bodie and blood For signes or samptars are not admitted but of such things as haue being Séeing therefore we receiue the mysticall signes in token of the bodie and blood of Christ it is certaine that the bodie and blood of Christ haue their owne nature and being Now the hereticke taketh occasion of this mention of the sacrament to reason thus a Euen as the signes of the Lords bodie and o Theodor. dial 2. blood before the priests inuocation are other things but after the inuocation are chaunged and made other then before so the Lords bodie after his assumption or taking vp into heauen is changed into the diuine substance Whereby being changed and made other he meaneth not any reall chaunging into the very body and blood of Christ for he denied that Christ had now any substantiall bodie neither doth he vnderstand the loosing of their owne former substance for he expresly yéeldeth the contrary as was shewed before in handling the place of Gelasius but only intendeth that they are other in vse and name being now made signs of the body blood of Christ which he once truly tooke but afterwards did fo●go This is plaine inough by the circumstance of the place and by that which he had confessed before in the former Dialogue that the bread and wine were signes not of the diuine nature of Christ but of those things whose names they did beare namely the bodie blood But to the obiection Theodoret answereth thus Thou art taken in the net which thy selfe hast made For the mysticall signes do not depart from their owne nature after consecration For they cōtinue in their former substance and figure and forme and may be seene and touched as before But they are vnderstood to be the same which they are made and are beleeued so and adored as being the same that they are beleeued Now therfore conferre the image with the principall and thou shalt see the likenesse For the figure must be like vnto the truth Verily that bodie of Christ hath also the same forme as before the same figure and circumscription and to speake all at once the same substance of a bodie But it is made immortal after his resurrectiō c. Here it is plainly auouched that the mysticall signes continue not only in figure and shape but also in substance the same that they were before and so as that in them we must take notice how Christ continueth the same in substance of his bodie after his ascension For the mysticall signes are the figure image of Christs bodie and the figure must be correspondent to the truth And therefore if we finde not the true and proper substance remaining in the mysticall signes neither can it be auouched in the truth that is in Christs bodie What construction now then shall we haue of these words Mary this The mysticall signes remaine in their former substance that is to say the formes haue a new subsistence by themselues and the accidents remaine without the substance Bread and wine after consecration remaine in their former substance that is to say there is the colour of bread and wine the taste of bread wine the force and strength of bread and wine the quantitie and qualitie of bread and wine but there is no substance of bread and wine I wonder whether these men be perswaded of the truth of these vnreasonable and senselesse expositions If they be it is fulfilled in them which is written b 2. Thes 2. 11 God shall send vpon them strong delusiō that they may beleeue lies which beleeued not the truth c. If not then c Esa 5. 20. Wo saith the Prophet to them that call good euill and euill good which put light for darkenesse and darknesse for light The thing is plaine inough The mysticall signes saith Theodoret remaine in their former substance What was their former substance The verie true and proper being or substance of bread wine They continue therfore in the true and proper being and substance of bread and wine But the Answerer goeth from substance which Theodoret nameth to subsistence of his owne forging and yet euen there confoundeth himselfe without recouery For what was their former subsistence Mary they subsisted before in the natures of
might more presume of his learning and reading as indéed he doth being as it séemeth far in loue with himselfe thinking nothing to be learned but that that he liketh of sitting vpon the circle of his owne braines and calling the scriptures and Doctors before him and charming them that whatsoeuer they speake or howsoeuer plainly yet they shall meane no otherwise then he will haue them to meane And straunge it is to sée what madde and vnreasonable meanings he fathereth vpon them whilest he séeketh to shift off their cleare and euident testimonies Which I perswade my selfe doe for the most part beare that sway in his conscience that he cannot extinguish the light thereof nor satisfie himselfe that he hath truly answered vnto them Whosoeuer he is I wish both him and you to remember that which S. Austen saith to Petilian the Donatist c August cont lite Petil. lib. 3. cap. 30. There is nothing more wretched or vnhappie then for a man not to yeeld to the truth wherewith he is so shut in that he cannot finde any way out Now if this matter had by your good dealing rested in priuate betwixt you me M. Spence as my intentiō was it should I wold not haue brought either your name or mine owne into this open light censure of men But sithence I perceiued both by your selfe and also otherwise that you had communicated the matter to your fellows who are wont to brag greatly both in corners and abroad if any thing of theirs remaine vnanswered truly howsoeuer you would be willing that I should sit downe as a conquered aduersary and so yéeld you some what wherof to triumph in secret amongst your disciples and followers and to be a means to subuert the faith of others I haue against this mischiefe thought it necessarie to publish this whole matter that though it be no good to you yet it may be good to them whom you séeke to hurt as Bernard saith d Bernard in Canti Ser. 6● though the hereticke arise not from his filth yet the Church may be confirmed in the faith To come to your words you thank me for wishing you good I would you had accepted of the good that I wished you and then I would haue accepted of your thankes But you differ from me in iudgement what is good If I iudge of good one way and you another way who shall be iudge betwixt vs. Not your part for I say they are partiall for you Not our part for you say they are partiall for mée I must answere you with Optatus his words against the Donatists e Optat. cont Parmen Donat. lib. 5. No iudgement of this matter can be found in the earth we must require a iudge from heauen But why knocke we at heauen when we haue here the testament of Christ in the Gospell S. Paul saith f 2. Tim. 3. 15. The scriptures are able to make a man wise vnto saluation through the faith which is in Christ Iesus If your iudgement did entierly depend vpon the scriptures you I should not differ in iudgement But whilest you set one foote in the scriptures another foote beside the scriptures and g Hilar. de Trinit lib. 1. take not your vnderstanding from the sayings of the scriptures as Hilary saith you should but labor to draw the scriptures to those fond opinions which you haue presumed without the scriptures I maruell not that you go lame and halting in your iudgemēt and I cannot yéeld to iudge with you because you iudge without God Tertullian of olde said but I would not haue you thinke he spake it of the Papists h Tertul. de resurr carni● Take from hereticks their Heathenish conceits that they may decide their questions only by the scriptures and they cannot stand As for your regard of truth how great it is appeareth by your froward and wilfull answeres wherewith you shut your eyes against the cleare sun-light rather séeking shifts to cast a mist before it then framing your selfe to walke in the comfortable light thereof But to let that passe I will now leaue you to be a looker on in this matter and will henceforth apply my selfe to him that hath taken vpon him to be the Answerer for you P. Spence Sect. 2. IF ye finde S. Chrysostomes place so expounded as I haue set downe then is it but a I alleage it to no other purpose then the words thēselues do manifestly yeeld See the answer wrangling to alleage it to the ende you do contrarie to Chrysostomes minde that is to vrge words contrary to the authors knowne meaning not caring for truth but to cauill If your thousand Bishops of Armen●a because of the b I opposed nūber against number neither to be followed for their multitude but for their reason and proofe number do in this point which without them you fauour otherwise beare such a swaie with you why shall not the number of Bishops in other matters do the like if partialitie of iudgement would permit you would you haue a reason why your thousand of Armenian Bishops yea if they were ten thousand were not herein meete iudges thē wo●e ye well they did wrangle as you do vpon Christes wordes against their owne consciences wres●ing words sillables to serue their sorie turne Why so Because the Armenians forsooke both the Latine and Greeke Church Anno dom 5 27. for that they condemned Eutyches and Dioscorus in the Calcedon Councell for denying the two natures of Christ and superstitiouslie they c But how or where do●h it appeare that they began to hold this point vpon that occasion held this point of wine alone fearing least the water mixed therewith should signifie Christs two natures as in the Greeke Latin Church it doth So that if your thousand Armenian Bishops moue you so you must be an Eutychian and for that cause must you forbeare water in the wine and then tell mee why your thousand Armenians must not moue you to hold with them that ●o childe is christened with water alone but with water and oyle as they hereticallie held besides many other d VVherof the Church of Rome hath verie great store toyish and most childish vanities I stand not vpon the validitio of the Trullane Canons of the sixt Councell but it is inough that besides their testimonie not de iure but de facto of the Churches mingling water with wine the s●me is otherwise by infinit testimonies proued to be vsed You condemne not you say the Churches that vse water and wine for that point but for their superstitious standing in it and shall not we condemne more iustly the superstitious contradicting humor of those that make a religion and a superstition to vse it with wine conteining so auncient and so vniuersall and so well witnessed a custome You dare not flatly denie it but you would haue it seeme only probable that Christ put water to the wine at
elementes not visibly and corporally and to be perceiued with the eye but inuisibly and spiritually and to be conceiued with the vnderstanding Where I make not that conteining or couering or being vnder a physicall or locall matter but I meane it partly in respect of signification in which maner saint Austen saith that a August de catechi rud cap. 4. in the old Testament the new was hidden and that b Ibid epis 89. the incarnation of Christ was couered or hidden in the time of the old Testament the reason of which maner of spéech he elswhere maketh to be this c Ibid. de Bapti●mo cont Donat. lib. 1. cap. 15. because it was hiddenly signified So he saith againe that Christ did d ●bid in Ioh. tra 2● couer grace in those wordes which hee vsed in the sixth of Iohn of eating his flesh and drinking his bloud meaning that he did obscurely signifie the same To this purpose Bertram saith as touching the sacrament that it e Bert. de co● sang domi sheweth one thing without in figure but within it doth represent another through the vnderstanding of faith partly in respect of the secret inuisible working of the spirite of God f Cypria de caena domini whose diuine maiestie as Cyprian speaketh doth neuer absent it selfe from the holy mysteries but doth though without appearing to the eie hiddenly worke the effect of that which is signified Thus we may say as touching Baptisme that it is the bloud of Christ couered or hidden in the visible element of water that doth clense vs from our sinnes In which maner the councel of Nice saith g concil Nice In fine ex cut h●r Tonstallo To. 1. concil Our Baptisme must be considered not with bodily eyes but with the eyes of the mind Thou seest water but consider the power of God couered or lying hidden in the water Thinke the water to be full of the sanctification of the holy Ghost and of diuine fire And thus doth Chrysostome declare the nature of all Christian mysteries in which saith he h Chrys in 1. cor hom 7. we see not that which we beleeue but we see one thing and beleeue another and therefore the beléeuing man is otherwise affected in them then the infidell For sayth he the infidell hearing of the water of Baptisme thinketh it to be meerely water but I doe not simply see that which I see but I behold it in the cleansing of the soule through the holy Ghost Heereupon hée compareth these mysteries to bookes which an vnlerned man taketh and séeth the letters but vnderstandeth nothing thereof But one that is learned findeth great matter laid vp or couered and hidden in them so the infidell hearing of our mysteries séemeth not to heare them but the expert Christian beholdeth great vertue in the things that are hidden in them Thus things which are signified by our mysteries are said to be couered hidden in thē because they are not perceiued with the bodily eie but only with the eie of the faithful and beleuing mind The meaning then of the words aboue named according to the doctrine of S. Austen must be thus that in the sacrament of the flesh and bloud of Christ it is not meere bread wine that we receiue but it is in vnderstanding and spirituall grace and blessing the flesh and bloud of Christ not appearing so to the sense which discerneth onely bread and wine but yet as in all other mysteries of Christian Religion so in this fayth beholdeth heauenly grace couertly and hiddenly conteined through the holy Ghost and by the visible elementes perceiueth the inward force of the flesh and bloud of Iesus Christ The reason whereof is because the visible signes which beare the name of the flesh and bloud of Christ are Sacramentes and therefore not onely haue the name but conteine the force and power of that true flesh and blood of Christ where in he suffered for our sinnes And so by these visible things which thus inuisibly spiritually and only by way of vnderstanding and mysterie are the flesh and blood of Christ is signified that true body of Christ which is visible palpaple full of grace vertue maiestie and glory No other meaning can the Answ make of these wordes by S. Austen vnlesse he will contrarie those generally receiued groundes which Saint Austen setteth downe and surely hard it is to find in Austen that Christ hath one bodie visible palpable full of grace vertue maiestie and glorie another not so as these words import if they be vnderstood as the Answerer taketh them And if he will haue the word Forme as I knowe his meaning is to import such emptie formes as he maketh without substance S. Austen will deny him that for that he maketh it the generall name of the outward signe in all Sacraments when he defineth a Sacrament thus i De co 〈…〉 〈◊〉 dist ● ca. ●●r It is a visible forme of inuisible grace But now if I séeme partiall in expounding these words let the same Saint Austen as Gratian citeth him euen in the verie next words iustifie this exposition For thus he saith k Ibid. cap. Hoc est The heauenly bread which is the flesh of Christ is in it maner called the bodie of Christ whereas it is indeed the Sacrament of his bodie euen of that bodie which being visible and palpable was put vpon the Crosse and the offering of the same flesh which is performed by the hands of the priest is called the passion death and crucifying of Christ not in the truth of the thing but in a signifying mysterie Where S. Austen plainly calleth the heauenly bread of the Sacrament the flesh of Christ yet not as being flesh verily and indéed for then it sho●ld truly properly be called the body of Christ But now it is so called but only in it maner whereas it is indéed but a Sacrament of his bodie which manner he declareth in the other point to be not in the truth of the thing but in a signifying mysterie And if I be partiall here also let the glose expound it l Ibid in Glo● The heauenly bread that is the heauenly Sacrament which doth truly represent the flesh of Christ is called the bodie of Christ but vnproperly Wherupō it is said in it maner not in the truth of the thing but in a signifying mysterie that the meaning may be thus It is called the bodie of Christ that is the bodie of Christ is signified If this wil not serue let him heare also the maister of the sentences whom he may not dislike vnlesse he can say Hic magister non tenetur He hauing set downe the words which the Answ vrgeth saith thus m Sent. lib. 4. dist 10. Marke here diligently that S. Austen here vseth a trope or figure wherby the signs do beare the name of the things signified by them For here the visible forme
forsooth Gelasius must forget what he hath to proue and must say for you that the Sacrament is nothing but a signe and then howe serueth it for an argument against Eutyches if it be but bare brad in one nature onely whereas if you looke vpon the whole testimonie of Gelasius as I set it downe largely to you you shall see yea with halfe an eye that the meaning of these wordes An image and similitude of the body and bloud of the Lord is performed in the celebration of the mysteries is no other but this that his being in the Sacrament both in a diuine substance as himselfe tolde you and also ioyned with the naturall properties of bread is a figure and resemblance of his two natures remaining in heauen vnconfused Thus you care not howe foolishly you make the authour to speake so he affoord you wordes and sillables to make a shew Looke vpon Gelasius and bethinke your selfe I haue answered him at large Looke a in the end and there you shall find it because it was written before yours came to my hand I was loth to write it againe in his orderly place for that writing is somwhat painfull to my weake head and yeares Wherefore I craue you to beare with me in that matter R. Abbot 19. THe wordes of Gelasius are these An a Gelas cont Euty Nestor image or resemblance of the bodie and bloud of Christ is celebrated in the action of the mysteries or sacraments Héereby Gelasius giueth to vnderstand that the sacrament is not the verie bodie of Christ but the image and resemblance of his body It is more plaine by that which he addeth We must therfore think the same of Christ himselfe which we professe in his image that is to say in the Sacrament Marke how he distinguisheth Christ himselfe and the image of Christ The Sacrament therefore which is the image of Christ is not Christ himselfe Thus the wordes themselues doe manifestly giue that for which I alleaged them But the Answ telleth me that I alleage Gelasius héere contrarie to his owne meaning euen by mine own confession How may that be Forsooth I would before haue Gelasius his drift to be that as Christ is in heauē in two natures so héere vpon the earth in the sacrament is bread with the body and so both in heauen and héere would haue two seuerall natures but nowe in this place I would haue the Sacrament to be nothing but a signe and bare bread in one nature onely But hée knoweth that he speaketh vntrueth both in the one and in the other Of the former he himselfe hath acquited me before saying b Sect. 9. you would haue the Sacrament a memorie of Christ as though hee were absent Then belike I would not haue the bodie of Christ really present héere vpon the earth in the Sacrament Of the other I acquited my selfe in that very place which he taketh vpon him to answer For I added immediately vpon the alleaging of those words thus Yet are not the Sacraments naked bare signes as you are wont hereupon to cauill but substantiall and effectuall signs or seales rather assuring our faith of the things sealed therby and deliuering as it were into our hands and possession the whole fruite benefit of the death and passion of Iesus Christ To answere him to both in a word thus I say that as the water of Baptisme doth sacramentally imply the blood of Christ though the blood of Christ be in heauen so likewise the bread and wine in the Lordes Supper do sacramentally imply the bodie and blood of Christ though the same bodie and blood be in heauen and not vpon the earth And therefore neither did I before say nor do now that the Sacrament consisteth of two natures really being vpon earth but of bread and wine being on earth and the bodie and blood of Christ being in heauen the one receiued by the hand of the bodie the other only by the hand of the soule which only reacheth vnto heauen Againe as water in Baptisme is not therefore bare water because the blood of Christ is not there really present so no more is the bread of the Lords table bare bread although there be no reall presence of the bodie but it doth most effectually offer and yéelde vnto the beléeuing soule the assurance of the grace of God and of the forgiuenesse of sinnes That which he further addeth as touching the drift and purpose of Gelasius how lewdly it peruerteth his wordes and maketh them to serue fully for the heresie of Eutyches against which Gelasius writeth I haue declared before and so well haue I bethought my selfe héereof as that I doubt I may in that behalfe charge the Answ conscience with voluntarie and wilfull falshood and desperate fighting against God Pet. Spence Sect. 20. YOur terme of Seales applied to the Sacraments is done to an ill purpose to make the Sacramentes no better then the Iewes Sacramentes were To handle that matter would require a greater discourse which willingly I let passe But yet I must tel you that the said opinion is verie derogatorie to the a Vntrueth for the passiō of christ hath had his effect from the beginning of the world effect of Christes passion of the which the Sacraments of Christes Church take a farre more effectuall vertue then the Iewes Sacraments did Read our treatises of that matter for I list not to runne into that disputation R. Abbot 20. HE disliketh that I call the Sacramentes Seales Yet héere his owne conscience could tell him that we make not the Sacrament bare bread and wine as he and his fellows maliciously cauill Though waxe of it selfe b● but waxe yet when ●● 〈◊〉 with the Princes signe● it is treason to offer despight vnto it So whatsoeuer the bread and wine be of themselues yet when they are by the word of God as it were stamped and printed to be Sacramentes and seales it is the perill of the soule to abuse them or to come vnreuerently vnto them But why is not the terme of s●ales to be approoued in our sacraments Surely S. Austen calleth them visible a August lib. de catech●z ●ud ca. 26. hom 50. de v. Tit. poen●t Seales and why then is it amisse in vs Forsooth because it maketh our sacraments no better then the sacraments of the Iewes Indéede our Sacramentes are in number sewer for obseruation more easie in vse more cleane in signification more plaine and through the manifest reuelation of the Gospell more méete to excite and stirre vp our faith and in these respects they are better then the sacraments of the Iewes but as touching inward and spirituall grace they are both the same neither is there in that respect any reason to affirme our sacramentes to be better then theirs For they did b 1 Cor. 10. ● eate the same spirituall meate and drinke the same spirituall drinke that we doe The same I say that we