The. iii. chapyter

BUt now good chrysten readers all this exposicyō, were it neuer so trew, neuer so comely, nor neuer so cunnyngly handeled / yet were it (as I tolde you before) very farre from the purpose, For this exposicyō myghte be good ynough, & yet myght Thryste in those wordes teache the thynge that we speke of […], that is to wytte besyde the teachyng them that hym selfe was the very brede yt was descended from heuyn to gyue lyfe to the world, and that he sholde suffre deth for the synnes of ye world and that they shold byleue these thyn ges, and so eate hym […] by fayth / he myghte I saye teche in those wordes also, that he wolde gyue vnto men his very body & his very […] to eate, and his very bloud to drinke, and that he wolde that they shold byleue that lesson also. And wrth ye spy rituall eatynge therof, by farth receyue and eate also his very blessed body flesshe and bloude by the mouth not in his owne flesshely forme as ye flesshely Iewes mysse toke it, but (as hym selfe than ment it and parte there expowned it, and by his institu […] dyd after more clerely declare it) informe of brede and wyne in ye blessed sacrament of the aulter.

It is I trow good readers to no man almost vnknowen, that the holy scrypture of god is in suche meruelous maner, by the profound wysedome of his holy spyryte, for ye more plentuouse profyte of his chyrche, de uised, indyghted, and wryten, that it hath not onely that one sense trewe which we call the litterall sence (that is to wytte that sence whiche for the fyrst lessō therof, god wold we shold perceiue and lerne) but also diuerse other sensys spirytuall, pertaynynge to the profyte of our maners, and instrucciōs in sūdry vertues, by meane of […], openyng of misteries, and lyftynge vppe of the soule into ye lyuely lyght and inward hygh sighte of god. And all those manyfold senses (diuers in the waye and all tendynge to one ende) maye be conuenient and trew, and all by one spyrxte prouyded, and in to diuerse spyrites by the same one spyrite inspyred, for spyrituall profite to be by many meanes multyplyed and encreaced in […] chyrche.

But neuer hath any good māben accustumed to playe the pageaunt yt mayster Maskar playeth vs here, with a spyrytuall exposicyon of allegoryes or parables, to take awaye yt very fyrste sense that god wolde we shold lerne of the letter / and bycause of some allegories, turne all ye playn worde for ye first right vnderstāding, into a secundary sense of allegoryes.

Of this maner […] of scrip ture I make mencyon in my letter agaynst Frythes false handesynge of this same place of saynt Iohan. And there I shewed in what wyse yt false heretikes ye Arrianys vsed by ye same meanys, to take ye godhed from Cry stes persone / as fryth and these felowes by the selfe same maner of ex pownynge the scrypture, do take awaye Chrystes manhed from Chry stes blessed sacrament.

In that pistle I shewed also that I wold in allegoricall exposycyons fynde no faute, but be well content with them, so that men mysse vse thē not, to the takynge away of the trew litterall sense bysyde.

This thynge I there shewed good readers in the self same pystle, that mayster Masker maketh here as though he could & wold answere. And yet as though he had neuer herd my wordes but slepte while he redde them, he playeth here the selfe same pageaunt hym selfe, whyle with his allegorycall exposycyō of spyrytuall eatynge of Chrystes godhed and of his body by byliefe of his passyon, he goth about to take awaye from vs ye very lytterall trewth, of the very eatynge and bodely receyuynge of Chrystes owne very flesshe & bloud

Now wyll I not say any maner blame at all, to any man that wyll exspowne all the whole processe of Genesis, by allegories / and teche vs certeyne conuenyent vertues, vnderstā den by the four floodes of paradys, and tell vs that paradyse is grace, out of whyche all the flodys of all vertues flowe, and water the erth, callynge the erth mankynd, that was made therof, beynge barayne & frutelesse but yf it be watered with ye floodes of vertue / and so forth in some suche maner expowne vs all the remanaunt. Or lo that thus doth, doth in my mynde ryght well. But mary yf he wolde do it in the maner & with the mynde, that mayster Masker expowneth vs Christes wordes, all in allegoryes here, and wold teche vs suche a spyrytuall sense, to make vs byleue that those wordes were to be none other wyse vnderstādē bysyde, but that there were no such floodes flowynge forth of paradyse, nor no suche paradyse at all / I wold wene verely that he were a very heretyke.

I fynde no fawte also with them,¹ that expowne the story of Sampson tayenge the foxes togyther by ye taylys, and settynge a fyre in them, and sendynge them so in to the felde of ye Phylistyes to burne vp the corne / in those I saye that expowne that story by the deuyll, sendyng his heretykes in to the corne felde of god the catholyke chyrche of Chryste, wyth ye fyre of false wordes to desiroye ye corne, bothe of […] we farth and good wutkys, tayed togyder by the tayles, in token that all theyr here sies be theyr hedes neuer so farre a sūder, yet are theyr tayles tayed togyther in that ye all tende towarde one ende, that is to wytte to the destruccion of all manee grace and goodnes / & that the tayeng of the fyre and theyr tayles togyther signiifeth also yt for theyr foxly false hed, finally in the ende the hote fyre of hell shalbe so fast tayed ī all theyr tayles wrabelynge there together, ye neuer shall they gete ye fyre fro theyr taylys, nor fro the bandes of hell be seuered or breke asundre: with this al legorye of those good men that thus expowne yt story, I fynd no faute at all. But on the tother syde if any mā wold expowne it so by that spirituall allegorye agaynst these heretykes, yt […] […] […] word therwith enforce hym selfe to take away the sytterall sense, and say the text signifyed nothyng […], and that there was no suche thynge done indede / hym word I […] for an hereiyke to.

And in […] wyse good readers yf mayster Masker here dyd onely expowne all those wordes of Chryste, as thynges spoken of spyrytuall eatyng by waye of allegory / that waye word I well allow / for so doth not onely: suche as he is, but also good faythfull folke to. But now whā he draweth all Christe wordes to those allegoryes of a false wyly purpose, to make men wene (& so sayth hym self for his part) yt they signifye none other thyng: this is the poynt ye proueth mayster Masker an […].

And therfore as I sayd, all his ex policyō is […] of fro the purpose, & approcheth not to the poynt. For the questyō is not whither those wordes may be well veryfyed & expowned of spyrituall eatyng by way of an allegory / but whyther it may bysyde al ye, be trewly expowned of the very bodyly eatyng of Cryste blessed body indede. For […] it so may / than […] there no mā of so siēdre wytte, but he may well se, ye all mayster Maskers allegorycall exposicyon of his onely spirituall eatyng, […] fro the pue pose quite, & dare not cōe […] ye point

Wherfore to thentēt ye ye may […] rely se, ye in this exposicyō of his ([…] holy as he wold haue it seme) he doth but clerely mokke (sauynge that it is myche worse thanne mockynge, to make men fall fro the fayth) I shall geue you of the same wordes of Chryst wrytē in the syxt chapyter of saynt Johan, another exposycyon my selfe / in which I shall bysyde all suche spyrytuall exposicyons, as this man vseth therin by waye of […] or parables, declare you ye very lytterall sense of those wordes: My flesshe is veryly meate & my bloude veryly drynke. So that ye maye se therby, yt our sauyour veryly spake & ment, not onely suche a spyrytuall ratyng as mayster Masker sayth he onely ment / but also the very bodyly eatyng & drinkyng of his very fleshe and bloude in dede. whiche exposicyō of myne, yf it be in that poynt trewe / than must it nedes folow (ye se wel) that his exposicyon is farre fro the purpose. For all though there were not one false word therin / yet were it in dyssemblynge of the trouth, very lewd̄ and falsely handelyd.

And now that myne exposycyon shalbe trewindede, that shall you ere I seue you so clerely perceyue and see, that I trust there shall neuer any suche heretyke as thysis, be able to blynde any man after that redeth it / except some such as wyllyngly lyste to wynke, or […] he put out theyeyen, wyll hold theyr heddes to hym them selfe.

Now to the entent ye may the bet ter perceyue & marke, whyther myne exposycyon agre with the texte, and whyther I leue any thyng vnto wched: I shall fyrst gyue you the wor des of the texte it selfe in englysshe all to gyther, and than expoune it you piece by pyece after. And yet hadde it not bene euyll to begyn somwhat before at Chrystes dyscyples goynge in to the shyppe in the euenynge, and Chrystes owne walkynge after vppon the see, and after ye on the morow the people comyng after to seke hym in other shippes / which piece maistee Masker left out and word not medle with, bycause it hath an hard allegory declared by holy doctours, whyche she we that the shyppe in whiche the discyples went, […] the chyrch which was but one / and the other diuerse shyppes that came after, betokened the dyuerse chyrches of herety kes. And yet in that one shyppe that sygnyfyed the chyrch, there were as appered after, both good & badde to gyther. But lette this piece passe for this onys / I wyll begyn ye texte but there as mayster Masker begynneth hymselfe. So good chrysten readers these be the wordes.

Footnotes

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