|Augusti sermo circa sacraferia pasche.| Agayne .S. Austē sayeth. Qui manducat carnem meā & bibit meum sanguinem in memanet & ego in illo. Hoc est ergo manducare illā escam & illū bibere potum, in Christo manere & illum manentē in se habere, ac per hoc qui non manet in Christo & in quo non manet Christus proculdubio non manducat eius carnem nec bibit sanguinē, etiā si tanterei sacramentum ad iudicium sibi manducet & bibit. That is to saye, he that eateth my fleshe and drynketh my bloode, abydeth in me, and I in hym. This is therfore the eatynge of that meate and drynkynge of that bloode, to abyde in Christe and haue hym abydynge in vs. And therfor he that abydeth not in Christe, and in whome Christe abydeth not, without doubte he eateth not Christes fleshe nor drynketh not hys bloode, although he eate and drynke that sacramēt of so greate a thynge vnto hys dampnacyon. And euē the same wordes |Idē Beda super Cor. 10.| hath Bede vpon the Corynthyās 1. Corin. 10. Thys one place is suffycyent for to proue my purpose though he sayde not one worde more. For here he doth playnelye determyne, that he whiche abydeth not in Christe: that is to saye: he that is wycked or vnfaythfull, doth not eate hys fleshe nor drynke hys bloode, although he eate and drynke the Sacramēt of so greate a thynge. And so muste it neades folowe, that the Sacramente is not the verye naturall bodye of Christ. For then the vnfaythfull shulde eate hys fleshe, seynge he eateth the Sacrament of hys bodye. But that doth S. Austen denye, wherfor it muste neades folowe, that it is but onely a token of a remembraunce, ād a sygne of hys bodye breakynge, and a representacyon of hys passyon, |Rom. 5.| that we myght keape hys facte in memorye, and geve hym thankes for hys tender loue and kyndenes, whiche when we were hys enemyes toke vpon hym to suffer moste vyle death, to reconcyle vs vnto his Father, and make vs hys frendes. Thys sayenge hath S. Austen in a nother place also, |Augusti deciuita: dei lib. 21.| where he wryteth on this maner. Qui non in me manet, & in quo ego non maneo, non se dicat aut existimet māducare corpus meum, aut bibere sanguinem meum. |capi. 25.| Non itaq; maneat in Christo qui non sunt eius membra: non sunt autem membra Christi qui se faciunt membra meritricis. That is to saye, he that abydeth not in me, and in whome I abyde not, let hym not saye or thynke that he eateth my bodye or drynketh my bloode. They abyde not in Christe which are not hys mēbers. And they are not hys membres whiche make them selues the membres of an harlote. And these are also the verye wordes of Bede. Here is it playne proued agayne by the auctoryte of S. Austen and Bede, |Beda super. 1. Cor. 6.| that the wycked and vnfaythfull (whiche are not the membres of Christe) do not eate hys bodye nor drynke hys bloode, and yet they do eate the Sacramēt as well as the other. Wherfore you muste neades, graunte, that the Sacramēt is not the naturall bodye of Christ but a fygure, tokē, or memoryall therof. Now good Christē people counte not thys new learnynge which is confyrmed by suche olde doctoures and faythfull fathers.
Now were thys ynough for a Christē man that loued no contencyon. But because there are so manye sophysters in the worlde whiche care not what they saye, so they holde not their peace, I muste neades sette some bulwarke by this holy doctoure, to helpe to defende hym, for els they wyll shortelye ouer rone hym (as they do me) ād make hym an heretyck also. Therfore I wyll alleage hys master saynt Ambrose. Saynte Ambrose sayeth |Ambrosi de sacra.| Non iste panis qui uadit in corpus a nobis tā anxie queritur, sed panis uitæ æterne que anime nostre substanciam fulscit, qui autem discordat a Christo non manducat carnem eius, nec bibit sanguinem eius, & si tante rei sacramentum iudicium sue perdicionis accipit. That is, this breade that goeth in to the bodye ys not so gredelye sought of vs, but the breade of euerlastynge lyfe which vpholdeth the substaunce of our soule. For he that dyscordeth from Christ, doth not eate hys fleshe, nor drynke hys bloode, although he receyue the sacramente of so greate a thynge vnto hys dampnacyon and destruccyon. Furthermore, the greate clarke Prosper confyrmeth the same, sayenge. |Prosper in libro sentenciarum.| Qui discordat a Christo nec carnem Christi manducat, nec sanguinem bibit, etiam si tantæ rei sacramentum ad iudicium sue presumptionis quotidie indifferenter accipiat. That is, he that dyscordeth from Christ, doth neyther eate hys fleshe, nor drynke hys bloode, although he receyueth indyfferently euery daye the sacrament of so greate a thynge vnto the condempnacyon of hys presumpcyon. And these are also the very wordes of Bede |Idē Beda super 1. Cor. 11.| vpō the xi. Chapiter of the fyrste Epystle to the Corynthyans.
Now you may see, that it ys not saynt Austens mynde onely, but also the sayēge of many mo. And therfore I truste you wyll be good vnto hym. And yf ye cōdempne not these holye Fathers, then am I wrongfullye punyshed. But, yf you condempne them, then muste poore Iohan Fryth be contente to beare the burthen wyth them.
The mynde & exposiciō of the olde doctours upon the wordes of Christes maundye.
|More.| And where master More sayeth, that yf Chryste had not ment after the playne litterall sense, that both the hearers at that tyme, and the expositours sens, and all Christen people besyde thys xv.c. yeare wolde not haue taken onelye the litterall sens beynge so straunge and mervelous that yt myght seame impossyble, ād declyne from the letter for allegoryes in all suche other thynges, beynge (as he sayeth) and as in dede they be, so manye farre in nombre mo.
|Fryth.| ¶ As towchynge the hearers they were deceyued and vunderstoode hym not (I meane as manye as toke hys wordes fleslye as you do). And they had their answere of Christe (when they mourmured) that hys wordes were spyrite and lyfe: that is (as S. Austen sayeth) spirytually to be vnderstonde & not fleslye, as ys before declared. And as for the exposytours, I thynke he hath not one of the olde fathers for hym, but certen newe felowes: as Dominicus, S. Thomas, Occam, ād suche other which haue made the Pope a God. And as I haue shewed S. Austen maketh full for vs, and so do all the olde fathers. As Oecolompadius hath well declared in hys boke. Quid ueteres senserint de sacramento eucharistiæ. And some of their sayenges I shall alleage a none. And where you saye that all Christen people haue so beleued this .1500. yeares, that is very false. For there ys no doubte, but that the people thought as holye Saynt Austen and other faythful fathers taught thē. Which as I sayde, make with vs. Notwithstondynge in dede syth oure prelates haue bene made lordes and haue sette vp their lawes and decrees contrarye to the prerogatyue of all Prynces, and lyke moste subtle traytours, haue made all men beleue that they may make lawes & bynde mens cōscyences to obeye them: and that theyr lawes are Gods lawes, blyndynge the peoples eyes wyth two or thre textes wrongfully wrested, to avaunce their pryde, where they ought to obeye Kynges & Princes & be subiect to their lawes, as Christ & hys Apostles were euē vnto the death. Syth that tyme I say, they haue made mē beleue what they lyst, & make artycles of the faythe at their pleasure. One artycle must be that they be the church, ād cā not erre. And this ys the grounde of all their doctryne. But the truth of this artycle ys now suffycyently knowē. For yf quene Katheryne be Kynge Hēryes wyfe, thē they do erre, & yf she be not, they haue thē erred. It is nowe become an artycle of our fayth that the Pope of Rome must be the hede of the churche ād the vycar of Christe: & that by Gods lawe. It is an artycle of our fayth, that what soeuer he byndeth in earth, is boūde in heauē, in so moche that yf he curse wrōgfully, yet yt must be feared, ād infynite suche other which are not in our crede, but blessed be god that hath geuē some lyght in to oure Prynces harte. For he hath lately put forth a boke called the glasse of truth, which proueth many of these artycles very folysh fātasyes, ād that euē by theyr owne doctours, and so I truste you shall be proued in this poynt of the sacramēt. For though it be an artycle of our fayth, yt is none artycle of our Crede in the .xij. artycles, whiche are suffycyent for our saluacyon. And therfore we may thynke that you lye without all Ieoperdye of dampnacyon.
Neuerthelesse seynge hys mastershyp sayeth that all make for hym, & I say cleane contrarye, that allthe olde fathers make agaynste hym, it were necessarye that one of vs shulde proue hys purpose. But in dede in this poynte he wolde loke to haue the vātage of me. For he thynketh that mē wyll sooner beleue him which is a greate mā, thē me which am but a poore mā, ād that therfor I had more neade to proue my parte true, thē he to proue hys. Well, I am content, and therfor geue eare dere reader and iudge betwene vs.
|Tertullianus libro. 2. cōtra Marcionem. Tertullianus libro 4. cōtra Marcionem.| First I wyll begynne with Tertulyan, because he is of moste antiquyte. Tertullyan sayeth. Ipse (Christus) nec panem reprobauit quod ipsum corpus suum representat. That is to saye: Christ hym selfe ded not reproue or discōmēde breade which doth represent hys bodye. For the vnderstōdynge of thys place, you must know that there was an heretyke called Marcyō, which ded reproue creatures, & sayde that all maner of creatures were euell. This thynge doth Tertullyā improue by the sacramēt & sayeth. Christ ded not reproue or dyscōmende breade the which doth represēt his bodye: as though he shulde say, yf Christ had counted the breade euell, then wolde he not haue lefte yt for a sacrament to represent hys bodye, meanynge that it is a sacramente, sygne, token, and memoryall of hys bodye, and not the body ytselfe. And that this is hys mynde, doth playnly appeare in his fourth boke, where he sayeth. Christus acceptū panē et distributū discipulis, corpus suū illud fecit: hoc est corpus meū dicēdo, id est figura corporis mei. Figura autē non fuisset, nisi ueritatis e ēt corpus. Vacua res quod est phātasma, figuram capere non posset.
That ys to saye: Christe takynge breade and dystrybutynge vnto hys discyples made yt hys bodye, sayēge. This ys my body. But thys breade coulde not haue bene a figure of yt, excepte Christ had had a true bodye. For a vayne thynge or a fantasye can take no fygure. For the vnderstondynge of this place, you muste marke that this heretycke Marcyō agaynst whome thys auctoure wryteth, ded holde opynyon that Christ had no naturall bodye, but onelye a fantastycall bodye, ād this opynyon doth thys doctoure improue by the sacrament of the aulter sayenge. The sacrament ys a fygure of hys bodye: ergo Christ had a true bodye, ād not a fantastycall bodye: For a vayne thynge or fantasye can take no fygure. Loo, here doth this olde father which was longe before .S. Austen or .S. Hierome, expounde these wordes of Christe. This is my bodye: that is to saye, a fygure of my bodye. Therfor ye are to blame to call it new lernynge. Nowe because they shall not of temeraryous presumpcyon reiecte this olde father, I shall establyshe hys wordes by S. Austen, which commendeth Christes meruelous pacyence for sufferynge so lōge that traytour Iudas, as though he had bene a good man, and yet was not ignorāt of hys wycked thoughtes. |Augusti.| Adhibuit (inquit) ad cōuiuium in quo corporis & sanguinis sui figura discipulis commendauit ac tradidit. That is to saye: |in prefa. Psalm. 3.| he admytted hym sayeth S. Austē vnto the mandye wherin he dede be take and delyuer vnto the dyscyples the fygure of hys bodye and bloode. Here doth thys holye father .S. Austē call yt the fygure of hys body. And I am sure there is no mā so chyldyshe, but that he knoweth that the fygure of Christe ys not Christe hym selfe, the fygure of .S. Peter ys not saynt Peter hym selfe. And yet we do neuerthelesse commōly call those fygures by the name of the thynge that they do represente. As I maye saye when I see the fygure of .S. Peter, thys ys S. Peter to whome Christe delyuered the keyes of the kyngdome of heauē. And yet he were a foole that wolde thynke that fygure to be S. Peter hym selfe. For yt is onelye a representacyon of hym. Besydes that S. Austen sayeth. |Augusti in prefa. Psalm. 98.| Non hoc corpus quod uidetis estis manducaturi, nec bibituri illum sanguinem quem effusuri sunt qui me crucifigent. Sacramentum aliquod uobis commendaui, spiritualiter intellectum uiuificat nos, caro autem non prodest quicquam. That ys to saye: you shall not eate thys bodye that you see, nor drynke that bloode which they that crucyfye me shall shedde out. I haue geuen a certayne sacramente vnto you, yf yt be spirytually vnderstonde, yt quyckeneth you: but the fleshe profyteth nothynge. What thynges can be more playnely spoken?
Furdermore S. Austen sayeth. Sepe ita loquimur ut Pascha appropinquante crastinam uel perendinam Domini passionem dicamus: cum ille ante tam multos annes passus sit, nec omnino nisi semel illa passio facta sit. Nempe ipso die dominico dicimus bodie dominus resurrexit cum ex quo surrexit tot anni transierunt. Quare nemo tam ineptus est, ut nos ita loquentes arguat esse mentitos, quia istos dies secundum illorum quibus hæc gesta sunt similitudinem nuncupamus: ut dicatur ipse dies qui non sit ipse, sed reuolucio ne temporum similes eius: & dicatur illo die fieri propter sacramenti celebrationem, quod non illo die, sed iam olim factum est. Nonne semel immolatus est Christus in seipso? & tamen in sacramento non solum per amnuas Paschæ solennitates, sed omni die pro popuslis immola tur: nec utique mentitur qui interrogatus, responderit eum immolari. Si enim sacramenta quandam similitudinem earum rerum quarum sunt sacramenta non haberent, omnino sacramenta non essent. Ex hac autem similitudine plerumque etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt. Sicut ergo secundum quendam modum sacramētum corporis CHRISTI corpus CHRISTI est. Et sacramentum sanguinis CHRISTI sanguis CHRISTI est, ita sacramenta fidei fides est, Nihil est autem aliud ud credere, quam fidem habere, ac per hoc respondetur fidem habere propter fidei sacramenta. Et conuertere se ad Deum propter conuersionis sacramentum. Quia & ipsa responsio pertinet ad celebrationem sacramenti. Sicut de ipso baptismo Apostolus dicit. Consepulti (inquit) sumus Christo per baptismum in mortem, Non ait sepulturam significauimus, sed prorsus ait, consepulti sumus. Sacramentum ergo tantæ rei non nisi eiusdem rei uocabulo nuncupauit.