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 consecracyon of the Sacrament.

NOw as for a nother quiet∣nes of euery mans cōsciens this yongman byddeth eue¦ry man be bolde / whether the blessed sacrament be cō¦secrate or vnconsecrate (for though he moste specyallye speaketh of the wyne / yet he speaketh yt of both) and byddeth not ••are / but take yt for all that vnbles¦sed as yt ys because the prest (he sayeth) cā not deceyue vs nor take from vs the profiet of chri¦stes ins••itucion / whether he alter the wordes or leaue them all on sayd. Is not thys a wōderfull doctrine of this yonge man. We wotte well all / that the prest can not hurte vs by his ouersight

or malice / yf there be no faulte vppō oure owin partye / for that perfectyon that lacketh on the prestes parte / the great mercye of god as we tru¦ste of hys owyn goodnes supplyeth. And ther∣fore as holye Chrisostome saieth / no man can ta¦ke harme but of himselfe. But now yf we se the thynge disordered oure owyn sellfe by the prest and Christes institucion broken / yf we thā wit¦tingly receyue yt vnblessed and vnconsecrated / and care not whether christes instituciō be kept and obserued or no / but reakon yt is as good w^t oute yt as w^t yt / then make we our sellffes par∣takers of the faute and lese the profyte of the sa¦crament / and receyue yt w^t dampnacyon: not for the prestes faute / but for oure owyn.

I had thought that no turke wolde haue wre¦sted a mannes wordes to vnfaythefullye for he leauith oute all the pith of mi mater for my wor¦des are these. I wyll shew you a meanes how ye shall euer receyue yt according to Christes in∣stitucion / although the prest wolde w^t drawe yt frō you. Fyrst ye nede to haue no respecte vnto the prestes wordes w^c ministreth yt. For yf ye re¦mēber for what entent Christ did institute this sacrament / and knowe that yt was to put vs in remembraunce of hys bodye breakynge & bloud sheding / that we might geue him thankes for yt and be as sure of yt thorough faith accordinge to his promises / as we are sure of the brede b••ea¦tinge of yt: yf as I saye / ye remember this thyn¦ge (for w^c intent only the preste speaketh those wordes) then yf the prest leue oute those wor∣des or parte therof / he can not hurte you. For

you haue all readie the effecte ād finall purpose for the w^c he shuld speake thē. And againe yf he shuld whollie altre thē yet he cā not deceiue you For then ye be sure that he is a lyear / ād though you se the prest brynge you the wine vncōsecra¦ted yet neuer sticke at that. For as surelye shall yt certifie youre cōscience and outwarde senses ••hough he cōsecrate yt not (so thou cōsecrate yt th•• sellf•• that ys to saye / so thou know what ys ment therbye and geue hym thākes) as though he made a thoussand blessynges ouer yt. And so I saye that yt is euer consecrated in hys harte that beleueth / though the prest cōsecrate yt not. And contrarye wyse yf they cōsecrate yt neuer so muche •• and thy cōsecracion be not bye / yt hel¦peth the not a rishe. For except thou knowe what ys ment therby / and beleue / geuinge than¦kes for his bodye breakinge and bloudshedyn∣ge / yt can not profyte the.

Nowe where you saye / that yf we se the thin¦ge disordered by the prest / & Christes institucy¦on broken / & wyttinglye receyue yt / we make o{ur} selffes partakers of the cryme.

I answer that yf the reformacyon therof laye in o{ur} hādes / then sayd you trouth / but sith this ys writin to priuate parsones w^c maye not re∣forme this mater / and that the reformacyō ther¦of reasteth onlye in the hande of your prince ād parliament (for the erroure cōsisteth not in the misorderyng of the mater by one prest onlie but rather of the doctrine of thē all / sauyng suche as god hath lightened) to thes p̄uate {per}sons I saye that youre doctrine shuld soner be the occasion

of an insurrexion w^c we labour to eshew) then ••¦ny quietinge of them by Christes doctrine. And therfore syth there ys an other waye to wode / sauyng all vpright / we wyll auoyde that pary∣lous pathe. But when ye se Christes institucy¦on broken and y^• one kynd left out vnto y^e laye peple / why ar ye partaker therof?

How be yt as for his beleue that taketh yt no better but fore bare bred & wine yt maketh him lytell matter cōsecrated or not / sauynge that the better yt is consecrated the more yt is euer noy¦ous to him that receyuyth yt hauinge his cōsci¦ens combred w^t suche an execrable heresie / by w^c well aperreth that he putteth no defference be∣twene the bodye of our lorde in the blessed sacra¦ment / and the comon brede that he eatyth at hys dynner / But rather he estemeth yt lesse. For the tone yet I thynke or he begyn / yf he lacke a prest / he wyll blesse yt hym sellfe / the to¦ther he careth not as he sayeth / whether yt be blessed or no.

What I reaken yt more then bred and wyne I wyll shew you here after in declarynge the mynde of S. paule vppon thys sacrament / and that in the conclusion of this boke. And in the meane season I will saye no more but that he be lyeth me. And as for there blessinges & cōsecra∣cion profite not me / except I cōsecrate yt my sel¦fe with fayth in Christes bloude / and with ge∣uynge hym prayse and thankes for hys inesti∣mable goodnes / which when I was his enemie reconciled me vnto his father bi his owin deth This consecracy•• •• muste I set by yt / yf I will

haue any profyete of his deth w^c the sacrament representeth vnto me. And yf I my self do thus consecrate yt / then shall I be sure of the frute of his deth. And I saye againe / that as the prestes do now vse to cōsecrrate yt / yt helpeth not the poore comēs of a rishe. For there cōsecraciō shuld stonde in preachinge vnto thē the dethe of chri¦ste w^c hath delyuered them oute of the Egypt of synne and from the fyry fornace of Pharo the de¦uell. And as for theyr wagginge of ther fingers ouer yt / and sayng, vi. or .vij. wordes in laten / helpeth them nothing at all for how can they be¦leue by the meanes of his wordes whē they kno¦we not what he sayeth? And as touchinge the co¦men breade that I eate at my dynner / whether I haue a preste or not / I blysse yt w^t my harte (and not w^t my fyngers) and hartely geue God thankes for yt. For yf I haue an hundreth pre¦stes to blesse yt / yet am not I excused therbye. For except I blesse yt my sellfe / yt profiteth me no more then yf yt were vnblessed. And yf I bles¦se yt my sellfe / than I care not what the preste prate. For as longe as I vnderstonde hym not yt profiteth me nothinge. But in good faieth I wene the bushoppes & ther proctoure w••te not what a blessinge meaneth. Therfore deare bre∣thern hearkyn to me. To blysse god / ys to geue him praise and thankes for his benefites: to blis¦se a kynge or a prence / is to thanke him for hys kindenes / and to praye to god for hym / that he maye longe reigne to the lawde of god ād welth of his cōmens. To blisse a mans neyghboure ys to praye for him and to doo hym good. To blisse

my brede or meate / is to geue god thākes for yt To blysse my sellfe / is to geue god thāke for the great benefites that I haue receyued o•• him / & to pray god that of his infinite goodnes he will increase those gyftes that he hath geuin me and fynishe his worke w^c he hath begon in me / vnto his lawde and prayse / and as touching this fles¦he / to fullfyll his will in yt / and not to spare yt but scorge / cut and burne yt: onlye that yt maye be to his honore and glorie. This ys the forme of blessynge / and not to wage two fyngers ouer them. But a lacke / of thys blessing our bushop∣pes be ignorant.

But as for those that are good and faythfull folke and haue any grace or any sparcle of rea∣son ī there hedes / wyll (I verely thīke) neuer be so farre ouer sene / as in this article (the trouth wherof god hath him sellfe testified by as many open miracles as euer he testified any one) to be¦leue this yonge man vppon his baren reasons a¦gaynste the faithe and reason both of al•• olde ho¦ly wryteres and all good christen people thys xv.C. yeres.

As for the miracles / I meruell not at them / neither may they make me the soner to beleue yt for Christe told vs before that suche delusions shuld come / that yf yt were possible / the very ele¦cte shuld be deceyued by them. And s. Paule ex∣orteth vs to be ware of suche signes & wonders And therfore I doo as moses teacheth me whē I here of suche a wonder / then strayght I loke on the doctrine that is annexed w^t yt. Yf yt tea∣che me to referre all the honour to god & not to

creatures / ād teache me nothinge but that will stond w^t goddes worde / then will I saye / that yt is of god. But yf yt teache me suche thinges as wyll not stond w^t his worde / then wyll I deter∣myne that yt ys done by the deuell / to deiude the people w^t damnable Idolatrye. When Paule and Barnabas preached at Lystra and had don a myracle emonge them / the people ranne and wold haue don sacrifice vnto them. But the apo¦stles ranne amonge them and ••are their clothes cryinge vnto them / syrs what you doo? we are euyn corruptible men as ye are and preache vn∣to you / that you shuld la••ue this vayne supersti¦tion / & worship the leuynge god / w^c made heuen erth / the see / & all that in thē•• &c. here the apostel¦les refused suche hono{ur} & worship. And therfore I am sure they wolde not suffer ther Images to haue yt•• Now whē I see a miracle done at any Image / & {per}ceyue that yt brīgeth men to the wor¦shipping of yt sellfe / cōtrarye to the facte & doctri¦ne of the apostelles / whiche wold not receyue yt thē selues / I must nedes cōclude / that yt is but a delusiō done by the deuell to deceiue vs & to brī¦ge the wrath of god vppō vs. Euin soo I saie of the sacramēt / sith the miracles that are done by yt / do make mē thīke otherwise then scripture will / & cause mē to worship yt: I doubte not but they are done by the deuell / to delude the people Thou wilt {per}auenture saie that god will not suf¦fer him to abuse the sacramēt of his bodie & blou¦de. Yes verelye / god will suffer yt / and doth suffer yt / to see whether•• we will be faithfull ād abide by his worde or not. And meruell not ther

of / for god suffered hym to take vppe the very naturall bodye of his sonne Christ and set hym on a pynnacle of the temple. And after he toke hym vppe agayne / and leade him to an exceding mountaine. And therfore thīke not but that he hath mo••e power ouer the sacramēt then he hade ouer Christes owyn bodie. And therfore when they tell me / loo here is christ: ••oo there is christ (as Christ prophecyed) loo he is at this auitre loo he is at that / I will not beleue them.

Neuerthelesse yf I shuld graunt that all the myracles whyche were done / and ascrybed vn∣to the sacrament / were very true miracles ād do¦ne of god himsellf (as I doubt not but some of them be true) yet there vppon yt doth not ••olo∣we that the Sacrament shulde be the verye, na¦turall bodie of Christe. For we haue euydent stories that certayne persones haue byn deliue¦red frō bodelye diseases thorough the sacramēt of baptime. And yet the watter is not the holye gost nor the very thinge yt sellfe wherof yt is a sacrament. The shadow of Peter hath healed many. And yet was not that shadow Peters o¦wyn person We reade also that napkyns & hād ••herchers were caryed from Paule vnto them that were syke and possessed wyth vnclene spire¦tes / and they receyued ther helth. And yet yt were neuerthelesse madnes / to thinke that Pau¦les bodye had byn actuallie or naturallie in thos¦se thynges. And therfore thys ys but a verye weake reason / to Iudge by the myracles the pre¦sence of Chrystes bodye. And surelye you mought be ashamed to make so slender reasons.

For god maye worke miracles thorough many thinges w^c are not his naturall bodye. And as touchinge the olde doctoures whom you fayne to make w^t you / and the trouth of your opinyon w^c you saye hath byn beleued of all good christē p••ople this .xv.C. yeres / is suffecyentlye decla¦red before / & proued to be but a poynt of your old poetrye.

Notes

• More.
• Frith.
• More••
• Frith.
• More.
• Frith.
• ☞
• To blesse
• More.
• Frith.
• Mat. 14
• 2 Thes. 2
• Detrorm.
• Acte. 24.
• Math. 4
• Actes. ••
• Actes. 1••