The. iii. chapyter

BUt one thynge wyll I yet reherse you, that I haue hytherto dyfferred, that is to wytte my fyrste argument agaynst fryth, whiche (as I shewed you before) mayster Masker lette go by, as he hath done many thynges mo; and made as though he saw them not. That argument good readers was thys,

In this heresye besyde the comon fayth of all catholyke chrysten regyons, the exposycyōs of al the old holy doctours & sayntes be clere agaynste Fryth, as whole as agaynste any heretike that euer was hitherto herd of. For as for the wordes of Chryste of whyche we speke touchynge the blessed sacrament / though he maye fynd some olde holy men that bysyde the lytteral sence doth expowne thē in an allegorye, yet he shal neuer fynde any of them that dyd as he doth now after wicliffe, Ecolampadius, Tyndale, & Sutnglius, denye the lyterall sence / and say that Chryste ment not that it was his very body & hys very bloud in dede / but the olde holy doctours & exposytours bysyde all suche allegoryes, do playnely declare & expoune, that in those wordes our sauyour as he expressely spake, so dyd also well and playnely mene, that the thynge whych he there gaue to his discyples in the sacrament, was in very dede hys very flesh and bloud. And so dyd neuer any of the olde exposytours of scrypture expowne any of those other places in whyche Chryste is called a vyne or a dore. And therfore it appereth well, that the maner of spekynge was not lyke. For yf it had / thā wold not the olde exposytours haue vsed suche so farre vnlyke […] in the expownynge of them.

Thys was lo good readers the fyrste argumēt of myne that maister Masker mette with, and whiche he sholde fyrste therfore haue soyled.

But it is suche as he lysted lytle to loke vppon. For where as he maketh mych a do to haue it seme that bothe these wordes of our sauyour at hys laste souper, thys is my body, and his wordes of eatynge of his fleshe, and drynkynge of his bloude, wryten in the syxte chapyter of saynte Iohū, sholde be spoken in a lyke phrase and maner of spekyng, as were his other wordes, I am the dore and I am the very vyne: I shewed there vnto Fryth (whome mayster masker maketh as though he wolde defende) yt by thexposycyōs of all the olde holy doctours & saynte yt haue expowned all those. iiii. place before, ye differēce well appereth, syth none of them declare hym to be a very material dore, nor a naturall very vine. This saith no man not so myche as a very naturall fole. But that in the sacrament is his very naturall body, his very flesshe and his bloude, this declare clerely all the olde holy exposytours of the scrypture, whiche were good men and gracyouse, wysw and well lerned bothe. And therfore as I sayd the differēce may sone be perceyued, but yf mayster masker lyste better to byleue hym self than all them. which yf he do (as in dede he doth) than is he myche […] fole than a naturall fole in […].

For as for his. iii. places of saynt Austayne, Tertulyane, and saynte Chrysostome, whom he bryngeth in his secunde parte: I shall in my secunde parte in takynge vp of his secund course, whan we come to frute, pare hym I warraunt you those thre perys so nere, that he getteth not a good morcell amonge them. And yet peraduenture ere I come at it to.

For so is it now good reders, that I very certaynly knowe, that ye boke whiche Fryth made laste agaynst the blessed sacrament, ys come ouer into thys realme in prente, and secretely sent abrode into the bretherns hands, and some good systers to. And for as mych as I am surely enformed for trouth, that Fryth hath in to that boke of his, taken many textes of old holy doctours wylyly handeled by false frere Nuy skyn byfore, to make it falsely seme that tholde holy doctours and sayntes were fauerouse of theyr false heresye: therfore wyll I for the whyle sette mayster maskers secund part asyde tyll I haue answe red that pestylent peuyshe booke of Iohn̄ Frith / about which I purpose to go as soone as I can gete one of them / whych so many beyng abrode, shall I truste not be longe to. And than shal I by the grace and helpe of almyghty god, make you, the […] & the fashed of Fryth and frere Nuys kyn bothe as open and as clere, as I haue in thys wurke made open and clere vnto you, the falshed and the foly of mayster Masker here.

And where as I a yere now passed and more, wrote and put in prynte a letter agaynste the pestylent treatyse of Iohn̄ Fryth, whyche he than had made and secretely sent abrode amonge the bretherne agaynste the blessed sacrament of thaulter, which letter of myne as I haue declared in myn apology, I nathelesse caused to be kepte styll and wolde not suffre it to be put out abrode into euery man nes hands, bycause Frythes treatyse was not yet at that time in prente: yet now sythe I se that there are comen ouer in prente, not onely Frythes boke, but ouer that this maskers boke also / and that eyther of theyr bothe bokes maketh mencyon of my sayde letter, and wolde seme to soyle it, and laboreth sore there about: I do therfore nowe suffre the prenter to putte wyth thys boke my sayd letter also to sale.

And for as myche also as those authorytees of saynt Austayn, saynt Chrysostome, and Turtuliane, whych master maysker layeth in hys secunde parte, I shall of lykelyhed fynde also in Frythes boke, and therfore answere theym there, and all mayster Maskers whole mater to, before I retourne to his secund part, whyche yet I wyll after all thys (god wyllyng) not leue nor let go so: in the meane while may mayster mas kar (syth it is ashe saith so great plea sure to hym to be wryten agaynst, ha uynge as he bosteth all solucyons so redely) loke and assay whither he can soyle these thynges wyth whyche I haue in this fyrst parte ouethrowen his whole heresye, and proued hym very playne, a very false fole all redye. Of whose false wyly foly to be ware our forde geue vs grace / and of all suche other lyke, whych with folyshe argumentes of theyre owne blynde reason, wresting the scripture into a wronge sense, agaynste the very playn wordes of the text, agaynst the xposycyons of all the olde holy sayntes, agaynste the determynacyons of dyuers whole generall counsayles, agaynste the full consent of all trewe chrysten nacyons this. xv. hundred yere before theyr days, and agaynste the playne declaracyon of almyghty god hym self, made in eue ry chrysten coūtrey by so many playn open myracles, labour now to make vs so folyshely blynde and madde, as to forsake the very trew catholike fayth, forsake ye socyetie of the trew catholyque chyrche, and wyth fundry sectes of heretike fallē out therof, to set both holy dayes & fastyng days at nought, & for the deuyllis pleasure to forbere & abstayne from all prayer to be made either for soules or to saynte iest on our blessed lady ye immaculate mother of Chryste, make mockes at all pylgrymages, and crepynge of Chrystes crosse, the holy ceremonyes of the chyrche and the sacramen tes to, turne theym into tryflynge, wyth lykenynge theym to wyne garlandes and ale polys / and fynally by these wayes in the ende and conclusyon, forsake our sauyour hym selfe in the blessed sacramente / and in stede of his own blessed bodye & his blood, wene there were nothynge but bare brede and wyne, and call it ydolatrye there to do hym honour. But woo may suche wreches be. For this we may be sure, that who so dyshonour god in one place wyth occasyon of a false fayth: standynge that false bylyefe and infydelyte, all thonour that he dothe hym any where besyde, ys odyouse and dyspyghtfull and reiected of god, and neuer shall saue that faythlesse soule from the fyre of hel. From whcche our lorde geue theym grace trewely to tourne in tyme, so that we and they to gether in one catholyque chyrche, knytte vnto god to gether in one catholyque fayth, fayth I saye, not fayth alone as they do, but acompanyed wyth good hope, and wyth her chyefe syster well workynge charytie, maye so receyue Chrystes blessed sacramentes here, and specyally that we may so receyue hym selfe, his very blessed bodye, very fleshe and blood, in the blessed sacrament our holy blessed howsyll, that we maye here be wyth hym incorporate so by grace, that after the shorte course of this transytorye lyfe, wyth hys tender pytye powred vppon vs in purgatorye, at the prayour of good people, and intercessyon of holy sayntes, we maye be wyth them in theyr holy felyshyppe, incorporate in Chryste in hys eternall glorye Amen.