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 conclusion of this treatise.

NOwe deare brethern I beseche you for the mercye that ye loke fore in Christ Iesu / that you accept thys worke w^t a syngle eye and no contentyons harte For necessite hath cōpelled me to wryte yt / because I was in¦formed both of my lorde of win¦chester and other creadyble persons / that I had by the meanes of my fyrst treatise offended many men. Which thinge maye well be true: For yt was to slender to enstructe all thē w^c haue sins sene yt / alb•• yt yt were suffecyent for their vse to whom yt was fyrst deliuered, And therfore I thought yt not onlye expedient but also necessa¦rie / to enstructe them further in the truth / that they might se plaine euidēce of that thing wher in they were offended.

By this wearke you shall espye their blasphe¦mies & the venemous tonges wher w^t they s••la¦under not onlye them that publyshe the truthe / but euyn the truth yt seelfe. They shame not to saye / that we affyrme yt to be onlye bred and no¦thinge els. And we saye not so: but we saye that besyde the substance of bred / yt is the sacrament of Christes bodye and bloud. As the yuye han∣gyng

before the tauerne doore ys more then ba∣re yuye. For beside the substance of yuye / yt ys a signe / and signifyeth that there is wyne to be sould. And this sacrament signifyeth vnto vs and poynteth oute before oure eyes that as ve∣rely as that bred is broken / so verely was chri∣stes bodye broken for our synnes: And as that bred is distributed vnto vs / so is hys bodie and fructe of hys passyon distributed vnto all hys faythfull. And as the bred comforteth the bodie so doth the fayth in Christes deth cōforte oure soules. And as surelye as we haue that bred and eate yt wyth oure mouth and teth / and knowe by our senses that we haue yt w^t in vs / and are partakers therof: no more nede we to doubte of hys bodye and bloud / but that thorough fayth / we are as sure of thē / as we are sure of that bred As yt is sufficientlye declared in my boke.

Agayne you maye perceyue how wyckydlye they report on vs w^c affyrme that we dishonou∣re yt w^c geue yt the right honoure that yt ought to haue. And you do playnlye dishonoure yt / w^c geue vnto yt the honoure that is onlye dew vn¦to god. We geue yt the same honoure that we ge¦ue vnto the holye scripture & worde of god / be∣cause yt expresseth vnto our senses the deth of our sauyoure / and doth more dypelye prent yt w^t in vs. And therfore we calle yt an holye sacra¦ment / as we calle goddes worde / holye scriptu∣re. And we receyue this sacrament w^t great re∣uerence / euyn as we reuerrentlye reade or hea∣re preached the holye worde of God w^c contey∣neth the helth of o{ur} soules. And we graunt that

hys bodye ys present with the bred as yt ys w^t th•• word / and with both yt ys verelye receyued and eaten thorough fayth. But yf we shuld kne¦le downe and praye vnto the holye scrypture / men might count vs soles / and might lawfullye saye / that we do not honoure the s••ripture by that meanes / but rather dishonoure yt. For the right honoure of a thinge ys / to vse yt ••or that entent that yt was institute of god. And he ••hat abuseth yt to any other purpose / doth in dede dis¦honoure yt. And lykewise yt is in the sac••amēt w^c was institute to kepe in memorye ••he d••th of christ / w^c ••f we do any other wise honoure / then we do the holye scripture (vnto the w^c we maye in no wise make our prayers) I saye that then we shulde v••ter••ie dishonoure yt. Auoyde ther¦fore this poynt of Idolatrye / and all ys saffe.

Finallye we saye that they speak•• well and faythfullye w^c saye that they goo ••o the bodie & receue the bodye of Christ / and that they spea∣ke vilynously & wickedlye w^c saye that t••ey on¦lye receyue bred or the signe of his bodye for in so sayinge they declare theyr inside ly••e. For the faythfull wyll reakyn that he is euyll repor¦ted of and reputed ••or a traytoure and a nother Iudas / yf me•• shuld saye of hym that he did on¦lye receyue the sacramēt / and not also the thyn¦ge which the sacramēt doth signifye. For albe it he onlie eate••h the bred & sacramēt w^t his mouth and teth: yet w^t his harte and fayth i••wardlye / he eatethe the very thinge yt sellfe w^t the sacra∣ment owtwardlye dothe represent

And of this springe the maner of speakinges

that the old fathers do somtyme vse / w^c at the ••irst sight mought seame cōtrarie to o{ur} sentense But yf they be will pōdered / yt ma••e sone be se¦n•• / ••ow they shuld be taken. For many tymes when they speake of the sacrament & outward eatyng / they applye vnto the sacrament & owt∣ward eatinge / the frute and cōditions of the in¦warde eatinge and thinge yt s••llfe •• because that in a ••aythfull man they are so Ioyn••t••ye Ioy∣ned that the one is neuer w^t oute the other. As by ••xāple / Marye is named the mother of god and yet she is not the mother of hys godhed by the w^c parte onlye he is called god / but because she is hys mother / as touchinge his manhode / and the godhed is so annexed w^t the mā••ed that they both / make but one person / therfore ys she called the mother of god / w^c in dede yf y•• b•• wy∣selye weyed / sha••be founde to be ••bused speache And yet neuerthelesse yt may very will be vsyd yf men vnderstond what ys ment therbye / but yf thorough the vse of thys speache / men shuld fal•• in to suche an erroure that wold affyrme ou¦re ladye to be in dede the mother of hys god∣hed / then necessyte shuld compell vs to make a dystynctyon betw••ne the nature of hys god∣hed and the nature of hys manhod / and so to expound the mater vnto them / and bringe them home agayne in to the ryght vnderstondynge. As we are now cons••rayned to do in thys sa∣crament / because you mis••construe the sayin∣ges of the scrypture and Doctoures. Whych notwyths••ondyng (yf a man vnder••••ond them) saye verye well.

And many suche maner of speaches are conta••¦ned in the scripture: As where christ sa••eth Io¦an. 3. there shall no man ascend in to heuin / but he that discēdeth frō heuē / the sone of mā w^c ys in heuin. Thys text doth saye tha•• the sonne of mā was thē in heuē / whē he ••pake thes word••s vnto n••codemus here o•• yer••h w^c thinge all wi¦se mē cōsent to be vnderstond / propter unitatem personae: That is to saye / for the vnite of the per¦son. For albe it his godhed was in euerie place at that tyme / yet was not his māhod (by the w^c he was called the sonne of man) in heuin at that tyme. And yet christ sayd that yt was in heuen for the vnite of his {per}son, For his godhed was in heuen ād because the godhed ād manhode ma¦de one {per}son / therfore yt was ascrybed vnto the manhod w^t was on••ye vere••ied vppon the god¦hed / as saint Au••ten ad Dardanum doth dely∣gentlye declare.

And lyke wise in the sacramēt o•• baptime / be¦cause the inward workinge of the holye gos•• is euer ānexed in the faythfull / vnto the outward ceremonye: therfore somtyme the frute of the in¦ward baptyme ys ascrybed onto the outward warke. And so the scripture vseth to speake of the outward bapt••me as though yt were the in¦ward: that is to saye / the spryt of god. And ther¦fore s. Paule sayeth that we are buried w^t chri∣ste thorough baptime. And yet as s. Austene ex¦poundeth yt / the outeward baptime dothe but signifie this buriall. And agayne paule sayeth / as manye as are baptised haue put christ vppō thē. And yet in dede oure outeward baptyme

doth but signifie / that we haue put christe vp∣pon vs. But by the inward baptime (which is the water of liffe and spirite of god) we haue in dede put him vppon vs and lyue in hym and he in vs. Whiche notwithstondynge ys verye fal¦se for all the outeward baptyme / in them that receyue yt not in fayth. And vnto them yt is but abare sygne / Wherof they get no profyte / but dampnacyon.

And here you maye euydentlye {per}ceyue howe yt ys some tyme in scripture ascrybed vnto the outeward worke & ceremonye / w^c ys onlye true in the inward veryte. And this place shall ex∣pound all the old doctoures whiche seame con∣trarye to our sentense, And therfore Marke yt well.

Thus haue you my mynde further vppō the sacrament of the bodie and bloud of Christe. Wherin yf you reaken that I haue byn to lon∣ge in repeting one thinge so often / I shall praie you of pardon. But surelie me thought I cold not be shorter. For the worlde is suche now a dayes that some wolde heare and can not: and so¦me do heare and will not. And therfore I am cōpelled so often to repete that thinge whi¦che a wise man wolde vnderstond with halue the wordes.

¶Praye Christen reader that the wor¦de of GOD maye encrease & that God maye be glorifyed thorough my bondes AMEN.

Notes

• August.
• Augusti¦nus ad bo¦nifacium