|Zwynglius.| Fynallye Zwinglius was a man of suche learnynge and grauyte (besyde eloquence) that I thynke no man in Christendome myght haue compared with hym, notwithstondynge he was slayne in battayle in defendynge hys cytye, and cōmōwelth, agaynste the assaulte of wycked enemyes, whiche cause was moste ryghtuouse.
And yf hys mastershyp meane, that that was the vēgeaunce of God, and declared hym to be an euyll parson because he was slayne: I maye say nay, and shewe euydēt examples of the contrarye. For somtyme God geueth the vyctorye agaynst them that haue moste ryghtuouse cause, as it is evydent in the boke of Iudicum, |Iudi. 20.| where all the chylderne of Israell were gathered together to punyshe the shamefull sodometrye of the trybe of Beniamyn, whyche were in nōbre but .25. thousande. And the Israelytes were .CCCC. thousāde fyghtynge men, whiche came in to Silo, and asked of God who shulde be their capytayne agaynst Beniamyn. And they beynge but .xxv. thousāde slewe of the other Israelytes .12. thousande in one day: Thē fledde the chylderne of Israell vnto the Lorde in Silo, and made greate lamentacyon before hym euen vntyll nyght. And asked hym counsell sayenge. Shall we go any more to fyght agaynste the trybe of Beniamyn oure brotherne or not? God sayde vnto them yes, go vp and fyght agaynste them. Then went they the nexte day and faught agaynste them, and there were slayne agayne of the Israelites .18. thousande men: Then came they backe agayne vnto the house of God, and sate downe and wepte before the Lorde, and fasted that daye vntyll euen, and asked hym agayne whether they shulde anye more fyght agaynste theyr bretherne or not. God sayde vnto them yes, to morow I wyll delyuer thē in to your hādes. And the nexte day was the trybe of Bēiamyn vtterly dystroyed, sauynge .600. men which hydde themselues in the wyldernes. Here yt is evydent that the chylderne of Israell loste the vyctorye twyse, and yet not withstondynge had a iuste cause, and faught at Godds commaundement. Besydes that, Iudas Machabeus, was slayne, in a ryghtuouse cause, as yt is manyfest in the fyrst boke of the Machabees. |Machabe. 9.| And therfore yt can be no evydent argument of the vēgeaunce of God, that he was slayne in battayle in a ryghtuouse cause, and therfore me thynketh that this manne ys to malaperte so bluntly to enter in to Goddes Iudgement, ād geue sentence in that matter before he be called to counsell. Thus haue I suffycyētly touched hys preface, for those poyntes that he afterwarde towched more largely haue I wyllyngly passed, because I shall towche them earnestly hereafter. Nowe lette vs see what he proueth.
|Master More.| ❧ It ys a greate wonder to see vpon how lyght and sleyght occasyons, he ys fallen vnto these abhomynable heresyes. For he denyeth not nor can not say nay, but that our sauyour sayde hym selfe, my fleshe ys verely meate and my bloode ys verely drynke. He denyeth not also that Christ hym selfe at his last souper, takynge the breade in to hys blessed handes, after that he had blessed yt sayde vnto hys discyples. Take you thys and eate yt, thys is my bodye, that shall be geuen for you. And lykewyse gaue them the chalyce after hys blessynge and consecracyon, and sayde vnto them, thys ys the chalyce of my bloode of the newe testament, whyche shalbe shedde out for manye, do ye thys in remembraunce of me.
|Fryth.| ¶ It is a greate wonder to see howe ygnoraunte their proctoure ys, in the playne textes of scrypture. For yf he had any iudgement at all he myght well perceyue that when Christe spake these wordes, my fleshe ys verely meate and my bloode ys verely drynke, he spake nothynge of the sacramēte. For yt was not instytuted vntyll hys laste souper. And these wordes were spoken to the Iewes longe before, and ment them not of the carnall eatynge or drynkynge of hys bodye or bloode, but of the spirytuall eatynge, which is done by faythe and not wyth tothe, ād bellye. Wherof Saynt Austen sayeth vpon thys Gospell of Iohan, why preparest thou other tothe or bellye? beleue and thou haste eaten hym. So that Christes wordes must here be vnderstonde spirytually. And that he calleth hys fleshe verymeate, is because that as meate by the eatynge of yt & digestynge yt in our body dothe strengthen these corruptyble membres, so lykewyse doth Christes fleshe (by the beleuynge that yt taketh our synne vpon yt selfe and suffered the death to delyuer vs) strengthen our immortall soule. And lykewyse as drynke when yt is dronken, doth comforte and quycken our frayle nature, So lykewyse both Christes bloode by the drynkynge of yt in to the bowells of our soule, that ys by the belevynge and remembrynge that yt ys shedde for our synnes, comforte and quycken our soule vnto euerlastynge lyfe. And thys is the eatynge and drynkynge that he speaketh of in that place. And that yt is so you may perceyue by the texte folowynge which sayeth. He that eateth my bodye & drynketh my bloode dwelleth in me and I in hym, which ys not possyble to be vnderstonde of the Sacrament. For it is false to saye, that he that eateth the Sacrament of hys bodye and drynketh the sacrament of hys bloode, dwelleth in Christe and Christe in hym. For some man receyueth yt vnto hys condempnacyō. And thus doth .S. Austen expounde yt sayenge. Hoc est enim Christum manducare, in illo manere, & illum manentem in se habere. Thys is the very eatynge of Christe, to dwell in hym, and to haue hym dwellynge in vs. So that who so euer dwelleth in Christ (that ys to saye) beleueth that he is sent of God to saue vs from our synnes doth verely eate ād drynke hys bodye and bloode, although he neuer receyued the sacrament. Thys ys the spirytuall eatynge necessarye for all that shalbe saued. For there ys no man that cōmeth to God without this eatynge of Christ, that is the beleuynge in hym. And so I denye not but that Christ speaketh these wordes, but surelye he ment spyrytually. As S. Austen declareth, ād as the place playnely proueth.
And as towchynge the other wordes |Mat. 26.| that Christe spake vnto hys dyscyples at hys laste souper, I denye not but that he sayde so, but that he so steshely mēt as ye falsely fayne, I vtterly denye. For I saye that hys wordes were then also spyrite and lyfe, and were spyritually to be vnderstonde. And that he called yt hys bodye, |Ioan. 6.| for a certayne propertye, euen as he called hym selfe |Ioan. 15.| a very vyne, and hys dyscyples very vyne braunches, and as he called hym selfe a dore: |Ioan. 10.| not that he was so in dede, but for certayne propertyes in the symylytudes. |Gen. 35.| As a man for some propertye sayeth of hys neyghbours horsse, this horsse is myne vp and downe, meanynge that yt is in euery thynge so lyke. |Gen. 32.| And lyke as Iacob buylded an aulter and called yt the God of Israel, and as Iacob called the place where he wrasteled with the Angell, the face of God, and as the pascall lambe was called the passynge bye of the Lorde. |Ezech. 5.| And as a broken potsherde was called Hierusalem, not for that they were so in dede, but for certayne symylytudes in the propertyes, and that the very name yt selfe myght put men in remembraunce what ys ment by the thynge, as I suffycyently declared in my fyrste treatyse.
|More.| He muste neades confesse, that they that beleue that yt ys the very bodye and hys very bloode in dede, haue the playne wordes of our sauyoure hym selfe vpon their syde, for the grounde and foundacyon of their faythe.
|Fryth.| ¶ That is very true, and so haue they the very wordes of God, whiche saye a broken potsherde ys Hierusalem, and that Christe is a stone, and that Christe is a vyne and a dore. And yet yf they shuld beleue or thynke that he were in dede any of these thynges, they were neuerthelesse deceyued. For though he so sayde, yet I saye hys wordes were spirituall ād spiritually to be vnderstonde.
|More.| ❧ And where you saye that I flye from the faythe of playne and open scryptures, and for the allegorye destroye the true sence of the letter.
|Fryth.| ¶ I answere that some textes of scripture are onelye to be vnderstonde after the letter: As when Paule sayeth, Christ |Rom. 4.| dyed for our synnes & rose agayne for ourre iustificacyō. And some textes are onely to be vnderstonde spirytually or in the way of an allegory: As whē Paule sayth, |1. Cor. x.| Christe was the stone. And when Christe sayeth hym selfe. |Johā. xv.| I am a very vyne. |Johan. x.| I ā the doore. And some must be vnderstōde both lytterallye, and spirytuallye: As when God sayde, out of Egypte called I my sonne, |Ozee. 11.| whyche although it were lytterallye fulfylled in the chylderne of Israel when he brought them out of Egypte with greate power and wōders, yet was yt also mente ād veryfyed in Christ hym selfe, |Math. 2.| hys very spyrytuall sonne, which was called out of Egygte after the death of Herode. And agayne yt is very spiritually fulfylled in vs whyche through Christes bloode are delyuered from the Egypte of synne, and from the power of Pharao the devyll. And I say that this texte of scripture, this is my bodye, ys onely spirytually to be vnderstonde, ād not lytterallye. And that doth S. Austen also confyrme, which wryteth vnto Adamantus and sayeth. These sentences of scripture, Christ was the stone, the bloode ys the soule, and thys is my bodye, are fyguratyuelye to be vnderstonde (that is to say) spiritually, or by the way of ā allegorye, & thus haue I. S. Austē whollye vpon my syde, whiche thynge shall yet hereafter more playnely appere.
|More.| ❧ Nowe hys example of hys brydgromes rynge I very well alowe. For I take the blessed sacramēt to be left with vs for a very token and a memoryall of Christe in dede. But I say that the whole substaūce of the same token & memoryall, is hys owne blessed bodye. And so I saye that Christe hathe lefte vs a better token then this man wolde haue vs take yt for. And therin he fareth lyke a mā, to whō a brydgrome had delyuered a goodly golde rynge with a ryche Rubye therin, to delyuer to hys bryde for a token. And then he wolde lyke a false shrewe, keape a waye that golden rynge and geue the bryde in steade thereof, a proper rynge of aryshe, and tell her that the brydgrome wolde sende her no better. Or els lyke one that when the brydgrome hadde geuen soche a rynge of golde to hys bryde for a tokē, wyll tell her playne, ād make her beleue, that the rynge were but coper or brasse, to mynyshe the brydgromes thanke.