|More.| ❧ But a lacke this wyll not be. For as S. Paule sayeth, the contagyō of heresye creapeth ou lyke a cāker. For as the cāker corrupteth the bodye forthere and forther, & tourneth the hole partes in to the same deadly sycknes, so doth these heresyes crepe forth amonge good symple soules, tyll at the laste it be almost past remedye.
|Fryth.| ¶ Thys is a very true sayēge ād maketh well agaynst hys owne purpose. For in dede thys contagyō begā to sprynge euē in S. Paules tyme. In so moche that the Galathyans were in a maner wholy seduced from hys doctryne. And he sayde to the Thessalonyans, |1. The. 2.| the mystery of iniquyte euen now begynneth to worke. |1. Ioā. 4.| And saynt Iohn testyfyeth that there were all readye many Antichrystes rysen in hys dayes. And also Paule prophesyed what shulde folowe after hys tyme. |Act. 20.| Actes. xx. sayenge: Take ye hede to your selues and to all the flocke, ouer whyche the holye Gost hath put you overseers, to feade the congregacyon of God whyche he purchased wyth hys owne bloode. For I knowe thys well, that after my departynge shall enter in greuouse wolues amonge you, which shall not spare the flocke. And euen of your selues shall aryse men, speakynge perverse thynges, to drawe dyscyples after them, and therfore watche, & ce. Thys canker then began to sprede in the congregacyon, and ded full sore noye the bodye, in so moche that within .iiij. C. yeare there were very many sectes scatered in euerye coste. Notwithstandynge there were faythfull fathers that dylygently subdued thē wyth the swerde of Goddes worde. |Siluest.| But surely sens Siluester receyued suche possessyons, hath the canker so crepte in the churche, that it hath almoste lefte neuer a founde member. And as Cistercensis wryteth in the .viij. boke, that day that he receyued revennues, was a voyce harde in the ayre cryeng ouer the courte which sayde, Thys daye is venome shed in to the churche of God. Before that tyme there was no Byshope greadye to take a cure. For it was no honoure & profytte as it is now, but onely a carefull charge which was lyke to cost hym his lyfe at one tyme or other. And therfore no man wolde take it, but he that bare suche a loue and zele to God and his flocke, that he coulde be content to shedde hys bloode for them. But after that it was made so honorable and profytable, they that were worste bothe in lernynge and leuynge, moste laboured for it. For they that ware vertuous wolde |Mat. 7.| not entangle them selues with the vayne pryde of thys worlde, ād weare .iij. |Mar. 15.| Crownes of golde, where Christe ded weare one of thorne. |Ioā. 19.| And in conclusyon it came so farre, that who so euer wolde geue moste money for it or beste coulde flatter the Prynce (which he knewe well all good mē to abhorre) had the prehemynence and gotte the best Byshopryke, and then in steade of Goddes worde, they publyshed their owne commaundemētes, and made lawes to haue all vnder them, and made men beleue they coulde not erre what so euer they ded or sayde, ād euē as in the rowines ād stede of Moses, Aarō, Eliazer, Iosue, Calib, and other faythfull folke, came Herode, Annas, Caiphas, Pylate and Iudas, which put Christ to death: So now in the steade of Christe, Peter, Paule, Iames, ād Iohn, and the faythfull folowers of Christe, we haue the Pope, Cardynalles, Archebyshoppes, Byshoppes, and proude prelates, with their proctoure the malycyous mynyster of their master the Deuyll, which not withstondynge transforme thē selues in to a lykenes, |1. Cor. 11.| as though they were the mynysters of ryghtuousnes, whose ende shalbe acordyng to their workes. So that the bodye is cākered longe agone, ād now are lefte but certayne small mēbres, which God of hys puyssante power hath reserued vncorrupted. And because they see that they can not be cankered as their owne fleshe is, for pure anger they burne them, leaste yf they cōtynued there myght seame some deformyte in their owne cankered carcase, by the comparynge of these whole membres to their scabbed body.
|More.| ¶ Techeth in a fewe leaues shortely all the poyson that Wyclefe, Ecolāpadius, Tyndall, & Zwynglius haue taught in all their bokes before, cōcernynge the blessed Sacramente of the aulter: not onelye affyrmynge it to be verye breade styll (as Luther doth) but also (as these other beastes do) sayeth it is nothynge els. And after the same syr Thomas More sayeth. These dregges hath he dronken of Wyclefe, Ecolāpadius, Tyndall, and Zwynglius, and so hath he all that he argueth here besyde, whych .iiij. what maner folke they be, is metely well perceyued and knowen, and God hath in parte, wyth hys open vengeaunce declared.
|Fryth.| ¶ Luther is not the prycke that I ronne at, but the scrypture of God. I do neyther affyrme nor denye any thynge, because Luther so sayeth but be cause the scrypture of God doth so conclude and determe. I take not Luther for soche an autoure that I thynke he cānot erre, but I thynke verely that he both may erre and doth erre in certayne poyntes, although not in suche as concerne saluacyon and dampnacyō. For in thē (blessed be God) all these whome ye call heretykes do agre ryght well. And lykewyse I do not alowe thys thynge because Wyclefe, Decolampadius, Tyndall, and Zwinglius so saye, but because I see them in that place more purely expounde the scrypture, and that the processe of the texte doth more fauoure their sentence.
And where you saye that I affyrme yt to be breade styll as Luther doth, the same I saye agayne, not be cause Luther so sayeth, but because I can proue my wordes true by scrypture, reason of nature, and doctours. Paule calleth it breade saynge: |1. Cor. 10.| The breade which we breake, is it not the felowshyppe of the bodye of Christe: For we though we be manye, are yet one bodye and one breade: as manye as are pertakers of one breade. And agayne he sayeth. |1. Cor. 11.| As often as ye eate of this breade, or drynke of this cuppe, you shall shewe the Lordes death vntyll he come. Also Luke calleth it breade in the actes sayenge: |Act. 2.| they contynued in the felowshyp of the Apostles and in breakynge of breade, & in prayer. |Luc. 22.| Also Christe called the cuppe, the frute of vyne, sayenge. I shall not from hence forthe drynke of the frute of the vyne, vntyll I drynke that a newe in the kyngdome of my Father.
Furthermore nature doth teche you that both the breade and wyne contynue in their nature. For the breade mouldeth yf it be kepte longe, yea, and wormes breede in it. And the poore mouse wyll ronne away with it, and desyre none other meate to her dyner, whiche are euydēt ynough that there remayneth breade. Also the wyne yf it were reserued wolde wexe sower, as they confesse thē selues, and therfore they howsell the laye people but wyth one kynde onely, because the wyne can not contynue nor be reserued, to haue readye at hande when neade were. And surely as yf there remayned no breade it coulde not moulde nor wexe full of wormes: Euē so yf there remayned no wyne, it coulde not wexe sower, and therfore it is but false doctryne, that our Prelates so lōge haue publyshed. Fynallye that there remayneth breade myght be proued by the auctoryte of many doctours, which call it breade and wyne, as Christ and hys Apostles ded. And thoughe some sophysters wolde wreste their sayenges and expounde them after their fantasye, yet shall I alledge thē one doctoure (which was also Pope of Rome) that maketh so playne wyth vs that they shalbe compelled with shame to holde their tonges. For Pope Gelasius wryteth on this maner. Certe sacramenta quæ sumimus corporis et sanguinis Christi diuinæ res sunt & propterea per illa, participes facti sumus diuinæ naturæ, & tamen non desinit esse substantia uel panis & uini, sed permanēt in suæ proprietati naturæ. Et certe imago & similitudo corporis & sanguinis Christi in actione misteriorum celebrantur. That is to saye, surely the sacramentes of the bodye and bloode of Christe, are a godly thynge, and therfore through them are we made partakers of the Godly nature. And yet doth it not cease to be the substaunce, or nature of breade and wyne, but they contynue in the propertye of their owne nature. And surely the Image and symylytude of the bodye and bloode of Christe, are celebrated in the acte of the mysteryes. Thys I am sure was the olde doctryne which they cā not avoyde. And therfor wyth the scrypture, nature, ād fathers, I wyll conclude that there remayneth the substaunce, and nature, of breade and wyne.
|More.| And where ye saye that we affyrme it to be nothynge els, I dare saye that ye vntrulye reporte of vs all. And here after I wyll shewe you what it is more then breade. And where ye saye that it is meately well knowen what maner of folke they be, and that GOD hath in parte wyth hys open vengeaunce declared.
|Fryth.| ¶ I answere that Master Wyclefe was noted whyle he was lyuynge, |Wiclefe.| to be a man not onely of moste famous doctryne, but also of a very syncere lyfe and conversacyon. Neuerthelesse to declare your malycyous myndes and vengeable hartes (as men saye) xv. yeares after he was buryed, you toke hym vp and brente hym, whiche facte declared your furye, although he felte no fyre. |Mat. 10.| But blessed be GOD whiche hath geuen suche tyrauntes no further power, but over thys corruptyble bodye. For the soule ye can not bynde nor burne, |Mal. 2.| but God maye blesse where you curse, and curse where you blesse.
|Ecolampadius.| ¶ And as for Oecolampadius, that notable learned man, hys moste aduersaryes haue euer commended hys conversacyon and Godlye lyfe, which when God has appoynted hys tyme, gaue place vnto nature (as euery man muste) and dyed of a canker.
|Tyndal.| And Tyndall I truste lyueth, well contente with suche a poore Apostles lyfe, as GOD gaue hys sone Christe, and hys faythfull mynysters in thys worlde, whiche is not sure of so many mytes, as ye be yearly of poundes, although I am sure that for hys learnynge and Iudgement in scripture, he were more worthye to be promoted, then all the Byshoppes in Englande. I receyued a letter from hym, whiche was wrytten sens Chrystmas, wherin amonge other matters he wryteth thus. I calle GOD to recorde agaynst the daye we shall appere before our Lorde Iesus to geue a rekonynge of our doynges, that I neuer altered one syllable of Godes worde agaynste my conscyēce, nor wolde do this daye, yf all that is in earth, whether it be honoure, pleasure, or ryches, myght be geuen me. Morover I take GOD to recorde to my conscience, that I desyre of GOD to my selfe in this wurlde no more then that without whiche I can not keape hys lawes, & ce. Iudge Christen reader whether these wordes be not spokē of a faythfull clere innocent harte. And as for hys behauyoure is suche, that I am sure no man can reproue hym of any synne, howbeit no man is innocent before God which beholdeth the harte.