A boke made by Iohn Frith prisoner in the tower of London answeringe vnto M mores lettur which he wrote agenst the first litle treatyse that Iohn̄ Frith made concerninge the sacramente of the body and bloude of, christ vnto which boke are added in the ende the articles of his examinacion before the bishoppes ... for which Iohn Frith was condempned a[n]d after bur[n]et ... the fourth daye of Iuli. Anno. 1533.

¶The articles wherfore Iohan Frith died which he wrote in newgate the .23. ••aye of Iune / the ye¦re of oure Lorde 1533.

I Doute not deare brethern / but that yt dothe / some deale vexe you / to see the one parte haue all the wordes / and fr••aly to speake ••hat they lyste / ād the other to be put to sy••ence / and not to be hard•• indifferently. But referre youre maters to god / whiche shortly shall Iudge after a nother fasyon. But in the m••ane ceason / I shall reher∣se vnto you the articles for whyche I am con∣dempned.

¶ They examined me but of two arti∣cles whyche are these.

Fyrste whyther I thoughte / there were no purgatory to purg•• the sowle after this present ly••fe.1 And I sayd / that I thoughte there was none. For man ys made but of two partes / the body and the sowle. And the body ys purged by the crosse of Christe / whyche he layeth apon ••ue¦ry chylde that he receauyth: as affliction / world¦ly opressyon / persecucion / emprisonment & cet. and dethe finishith synne. And the sowle is pur¦ged by the worde of god / whiche we receaue tho¦row faythe / vnto the healthe and salluacyon bo¦the of body & sowle.

Now & yf I dyd knowe any thirde {per}te wherof we are made / I wolde also gladly graūt them 3. pur¦gatory but seyng / I knowe none suche / I must

denye the popes purgatory. Neuertheles I co¦unte nether parte a necessary article of our fay∣the / necessarely to be beleauyd vnder payne of dampnacyon / whyther ther be suche a purgato∣ry or not.

The seco••de article was thys / whyther that I thoughte / that the sacramēt of the aulter was the body of Christe. And I sayd ye / that I tho∣ughte that yt was bothe christes body / and also our body / as s. Paulle saythe. 1. Cor. 10. cha.

In that yt ys made one brede of many gray∣nes yt is our body sygnifying that we though we be many / are yet one body: and lyke wyse of the wyne in that yt is made one wyne / of ma∣ny grapes.

And agayne in that yt is broken / yt is Chr••¦stes body / signyfyeng that hys body shulde be broken / that is to say suffer dethe / to redeme vs from our inquites,

In that yt was distributed / yt was christes body / sygn••fyeng that as verely / as that sacra∣ment is distributyd vnto vs / so verely ys Chri¦stes body / and the frute of hys passyon distribu¦ted vnto all faythfull men.

In that yt ys receauyd / yt is Christes body sygnifying that as verely / as t••e outwarde mā receauyth the sacrament with his tethe / & mou∣the / so verely dothe the inward mā / thorow fay¦the / receaue Christes body & frute of his passy¦on / and ys as sure of yt / as of the brede that he ea••yth.

Well sayd they / do you not thincke / that hys very naturall body / bothe flesshe and bloude ys

really contayned vnder the sacrament / and the∣re actually present / besyde all similitudes. No sayd I / I do not so thincke. Notw^tstonding I wolde not that any shulde counte that I make my saynge (whiche is the negatiue) any artycle of the faythe. For euen as I saye that you ough¦te not to make any necessary article of y^• faythe of youre parte (whiche is the affyrmatiue). So I saye agayne / that we make none necessary ar¦ticle of the faithe of owre parte / but leue yt in∣different for all men to Iudge therin / as God shall open his harte / and no syde to condempne or dispise the tother / but to nourishe in all thin¦ges brotherlye loue / and to beare others infyr∣mytes.

The texte of saīt Austyn whiche they ther ale¦gyd agenst me / was this: that in the sacrament Christe was borne in his owne handes. Wher∣vnto I sayd / that s. Austyn dothe full well expo¦unde him sellfe. For in a nother place he saythe Ferebatur tan{quam} in manibus suis. That is / he was borne after a certen maner / in his owne handes And by that he saythe after a certen maner / ye may sone perceaue what he meanythe.

How be yt yf s. Austyn had not thus expoun¦did hym sellfe / yet the saythe ad Bonifacin̄ / that the sacrament of a thinge / hathe a similitude or propertie of the thinge whiche yt sygnifyethe. And for that cause yt hathe many tymes / the na¦me of the verye thīge which yt sygnifieth. And so he saythe that he bare him sellf / because he ba¦re the scrament of his body and bloude whiche dyd so ernestly expresse him sellfe / that nothyng

myght more do yt, If you reade the place of S•• Austen ad Bonifacium / wh••che I allege in my laste boke / ye shall sone see them answeryd.

A nother place they allegyd out of Chriso∣stum / which at the fyrste blusshe semyth to make well for them. But yf yt be well wayed / yt ma∣keth moche lesse for them then they wene. The wordes are these.

Doist thou see brede & wine? do they departe from the into the draug••te as other meates do? God forbidde for as in ware when yt cōm••th to the fyer / nothynge of the substance remay∣n••th nor abundyt••: so lyke w••se thyncke that the mysteryes are consumyd by the substance of the bod••.

These wordes I expound••d / by the wordes of the same doctor sainct Chrisostum / whiche in a nother hom••lye saythe on this maner. The inwarde eyes as sone as they se the breade / they flye ouer all creatures and thyncke not of the breade that is baken of the baker / but of the bre¦de of euerlastyng lyffe / whiche ys sygnifyed by the misticall brede.

Now conferre these places to g••ther ad you shall ••erceaue / that the laste expoundyth the firste clerely. Fyrste he saythe / doyst thou see bre¦de and w••ne / I answere by the seconde / nay. For the inwarde ••es as sone as they see the bre∣de / thynck•• not of yt / but of the thynge yt sell∣fe that ••s sygnyfyed therby. And so he seyth yt and se••th yt not. He seyth yt wyth hys out∣warde and carnall eyen / but hys inward eyen seyth yt not, That ys to saye / regarde not the

brede or thyncke not on yt Euē as we cōme••ly saye / whē we playe a gayme necglygēly (by my truthe I see not what I doe) meanyng that ou¦re mindes / is not apō that thīge whyche we ••ee w^t o{ur} outwerde eyn. And like wise we may ans¦were the next parte / where he saythe.

Doo they departe from the in to the draugh¦te / as other meates doo? Nay forsouthe sayd I for other meathes doe ōly come to nouryshe the body / and to departe in to the draughte. But thys meate that I here receaue / ys spyrytuall meate / receyuid with faythe / ād nourysheth vs euerlastyngly / bothe body and sowle / ād neuer enterith into the draughte. And euē as before the outwarde eyn doe see the breade / and yet the inwarde eyn doe not regarde that or thyncke a∣pon yt. So lyke wise the outwarde man dyge∣s••yth the breade / & castythe yt in to the draugh¦te. And yet the inwarde man dothe not re∣garde that nor thyncke apon yt•• But thynky∣the on the thyng yt sellfe that ys sygnyfyed / by that breade.

And therfore said Crysostum euen a lytle be¦fore the wordes whyche they here allegyd / lyfte vp youre mynde ād hartes (sayde he) where by he monishith vs / to loke apon & cōsyder those heuenly thinges / wyche are represented and sy¦gnyfied by the breade ād wyne / and not to mar¦ke the breade and wyne in yt sellfe.

Here they wil saye vnto me / that yt is not cry¦sostūs mynde (for by his exāple he playnly she wyth that there remanyth no brede nor wyne) that I denye. For the example in thys place /

prouith no more but that ye shall not thinke on the brede and wine / no more then yf they werre not there / but only on that thinge which i•• sign••¦fied by them. And that ye may ••uidently p••rce∣ue by the wordes folowing where he saith / thin¦ke that the misterys are consumed by the substā¦c•• of the body.

Now wither Chrisostum thought that there remayned brede or non •• bothe wayes shall oure purpos•• be prouyd. Firste yf he thought there re¦mayned still brede & wine / then we haue our pur¦pose. Now yf he thought that the brede and wi¦ne remayned not / but were chaunged / then are the br••de & wine nether misteries nor sacramen¦t••s of the body & bloude of christe. For that that is not / can nether be mister•• nor sacrament.

Finally yf he speake of the outwarde appe∣raūce of breade: then we knowe that that remay¦nith styll and is not consumed by the substance of the bodie. And therfore he muste nedes be vn¦d••r••tond as I take him.

I thincke many m••n wonder how I cā dye in this article / seyng that yt is no necessary arti¦cle of oure faythe / for I graunte that neyther {per}te is an article necessary to b•• beleauyd vnder payne of dampnacion / but leue yt as a thinge in different / to thincke therin as god shall instyll in euery mans minde / and that neyther parte cō¦dempne other for thys mater / but receyue eche other in brotherly loue / reseruinge eche others inffirmite to god.

The cause of my dethe is this / because I can not in consciens abiure and swere / that our pre¦lates

opinion of the sacrament (that is / that the substaunce of brede and wine is verely chaun∣ged in to the fleshe and bloude of our sauiour Ie¦sus Christ) is an vndouted / article of the fay∣the / necessary to be beleauid vnder paine of dāp¦nacyon.

Now thoughe thys opynion wer in deade true (wiche thinge they can nether proue true by scripture nor doctors) yet coul••e I not in consciens graunte that yt shulde be an artycle of the faythe necessari•• to be beleuid &c. For the¦re are many verites / whiche yet may be no ••uche articles of our faithe. Its true that I lay in •• I wrote this / how be yt I wolde not receaue rōs whē this truthe for an article of oure faythe For you may thinke the contrary w^t out all Ieo¦perdy of damnacion.

¶The cause why I can not beleue there opinion of transmutacion is this.

• [ 1] Fyrste because I thincke verely that yt ys faulse ād can nether be proued by scripture nor faithfull doctoures / yf th••y be well pondered.
• [ 2] The second cause is this / because I will not bynde the congregacion of Chris••e (by myn ex∣ample) to admitte any necessary article by syde oure crede / and specialy none suche as can not be proued true by s••ripture. And I say that the churche / as they cau••e yt / can not cōpelle vs to receaue any su••he articl••s to be of necessite vn∣der payne of dampnacion.
• [ 3] The thirde cause is / because I dare not be so presumptuous in entering in to goddes Iudg¦ment / as to make the prelates in this poynte an

• necessary article of oure faythe. For then I shul¦de dampnably condempne all the germanes ād Allmaynes / wyth infinite moo / whyche in dea∣de do not bealeue nor thyncke that the substan∣ce of brede and wine ys chaunged in to the sub¦stance of Christes naturall body. And surely I can not be so folishe hard•• as to condempne su¦che an infinite nombre for oure prelates plea∣sures.

Thus all the Germaynes and Allmaynes / bothe of Lutherrs syde and also of Oecolampa¦dius / doo hooly approue my mater. And surely I thincke ther ys noman that hathe a pure con¦science / but he wyll thyncke that I dye ryghtuously. For that this transub∣stāciation shuld be a necessary arti¦cle of the faythe / I thyncke no man can say yt w^t a good con¦science / all though yt we∣re true in dede.

Per me Iohn Frythe

Notes

• 1

  Articl••
• article.
• Another question.
• ¶An an¦swere.
• S. Au∣stins tex.
• Chriso∣stomus.
• Chriso∣stom••s wordes.
• The ex∣posicyo•• of ••aync•• Chryso∣sto. text.
• the true meaning of Chri∣sostom{us} wordes.
• Solutiō
• Conclu∣••ion.
• Beholde he cause of my de¦the.
• Note.
• 3. ca••••es.