The answere to the fyrst parte of the poysened booke, which a namelesse heretyke hath named the souper of the lorde. By syr Thomas More knyght

The. v. chapyter.

NOw handelynge hys exposy∣cyon and his doctryne of faith not onely thus falsely but also thus folyshely to, as ye do now perceyue: yet as though he hadde wonderfull wysely declared some hygh heuenly mysteryes that neuer man had herde of byfore, in y^e fourth lefe he bosteth his great cunnynge in cōparyson of myne and sayth.

Had mayster more 〈◊〉〈◊〉 vnderstanden 〈◊◊〉〈◊◊〉 sentence, who so byleue in me hath lyfe euerlastyng, and knowen what Paule with the other 〈◊〉〈◊〉 preched, especyally Paule beynge a yere & an halfe amonge the Lorinthyes, determynynge not neyther presumynge, not to haue knowen any other thynge to be preched them (as hym selfe sayth) then 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Cryste, and that he was crucyfyed: had M. More vnderstoden this poynt, he sholde neuer thus 〈◊◊〉〈◊◊〉 Cryste and his suffycyent scryptures,

〈◊〉〈◊〉 haue so belyed his euangelystes and holy a∣postles, as to faye they wrote not all thynges neces∣sarye for our saluacyon, but lefte out thynges of ne∣cessyte to be beleued / makynge goddes holy testa∣ment insuffycyent and imperfyte, fyrste reueled vnto our fathers, wryten efte sonys by Moyses and then by hys prophytes, and at the laste wryten bothe by his holy euangelystes and apostles to. But turne we to 〈◊〉〈◊〉 agayne and let More mocke styll & lye to.

¶ Had maister Masker vnderstā∣den the selfe same shorte sentence of Cryst y^t he speketh of, & had mayster masker well vnderstanden also the tother short sentence of saynt Poule y^t he now to wcheth / & after those two textes well vnderstanden, had loked vpon his own boke agayne: he wold rather haue eaten his owne boke but yf he be shamelesse, thā euer haue let any man se his false foly for shame.

¶ For fyrst as for the fyrst text to w∣chyng the brede & the bylief, his false & folysh hādelyng ye perceyue more than playn, in y^t he sayth it is nothyng but fayth, where Chryste sayth it is hym selfe.

¶ Now the place that he to wcheth of saynt Pouse in hys fyrste pystle to the Corynthyes, I meruayle me mych to se the madnesse of this Mas ker, that bryngeth it forth for his pur pose here. For as you se, he meneth to make men wene, that by that place it were proued agaynst my confuta∣cyon, that thapostles left no necessa∣ry thynge vnwryten.

¶ Now of any other apostle ye se well he bryngeth not one worde for y^t purpose of his, nor of saynt Pouse neyther, but this one place / whyche place syth he bryngeth forth for the profe of theyr heresye, that there is nothynge necessaryly to be byleued but yf it may be proued by playne and euydent scripture: it appereth playn that mayster Masker there mysse ta∣keth saynt Pouse, and weneth that he preched nothyng to them of Crist

but onely hys passyon. For ellys he myghte notwithstandynge the wor∣des of that place, preche to them dy∣uerse thynges of Cryst by mouth, & leue it with them by tradycyon with∣out wrytyng to, whych neyther hym selfe nor none of his felowes neuer wrote any tyme after. And of trouth so he dyd, as I haue proued at length in my worke of Tyndals confuta∣cyon. Of whiche thynges one is a∣monge dyuerse other, the puttyng of the water with the wyne in y^e chalyce whyche thynge Chryste dyd at his maundy whan he dyd instytute the blessed sacramēt / and after he taught the order therof to saynt Pouse hym selfe by his owne holy mouth / and saint Poule so taught it agayne to y^e Corynthyes by mouth, and lefte it them fyrste by tradycion without any wrytynge at all. And whan he wrote

vnto thē afterward therof, he wrote it rather (as it well appereth) vppon a certayne occasyon to put them in re membraūce of theyr dewty in doyng dew reuerence to it, bycause it is the very blessed body of god, than in that place to teche them the maser and the forme of consecratyng the sacramēt. For he had taught them that myche more fully before by mouth, than he doth there by that wrytyng. For as ye wote well though he tell thē there what it is whan they drynke it, that is to wyt the bloude of our lorde: yet he telleth them not there wherof they shall consecrate it. For he neyther na∣meth wyne nor water. And yet sayth in the ende that at hys commynge to them agayne, he wyll set an order in all other thynges. And where wyll mayster Masker shew me all those thinge wrytē, & proue it to be al 〈◊〉〈◊〉

¶ But here you se how madly may ster Masker vnderstandeth y^t place of saynt Pouse, whan he taketh it in that wyse, that he wold therby proue vs that we were bounden to byleue no more but that Chryst dyed for vs.

¶ And of trouth you se that speking of fayth byfore, thys is his very con∣clusyon. In whych whan I redde it and confuted it here now before: yet marked I not therin so myche as I do now. For though he sayed there, yf we onys eate hym and drynke hym by faith, that is to saye yf we hyleue hys flesshe and body to haue bene broken, and hys bloud shedde for our synnys, than are our sowlys satysfyed and we be instyfyed: I marked not as I say that he ment so madly as all men maye now se he meneth, that is to wytte that men be bounden to byleue nothyng ellys, but that Chryst was crucyfyed and dyed for our sinnes. Maister masker maketh vs a prety short crede now.

¶ But that he thus meneth in dede, he now declareth playnely, whan he wolde proue agaynste me that no ne∣cessary thynge was lefte vnwryten, by those wordes of saynt Poule by which he wryteth to the Counthyes,* 1.1 that he preched nothynge amonge them but Iesus Chryste and that he was crucyfyed.

¶ And as mayster Masker mysse vnderstandeth those wordes of saint Poule: so I perceyue that longe be fore mayster Masker was borne, there were some suche other folys that mysse toke those wordes after y^e same fonde fasshyon than / and ther∣fore affermed y^t aduowtry was no dedely synne / as these folyshe folke afferme now y^t it is no dedely synne for a frere to wedde a nonne. And there argumēt was that yf auowtry had ben dedely synne, saynt Poule

wolde haue preched that poynt vnto the Corynthyes. But he preched as hym self sayth in his pystle nothyng vnto them but Chryst and hym cru∣cyfyed / and theruppon they conclu∣ded y^t auowtry was no dedely synne.

¶ But saynt Austayne answereth those folys and thys fole to, that he preched not onely Chrystes crucy∣fyxion. For than had he lefte his re∣surreccyon vnpreched, and his ascen cion to, which both we be bounden as well to byleue as his crucyfyxion, & many other thynges mo besyde. And therfore as saynt Austayne sayth to preche Chryste, is to preche bothe euery thynge that we must be boūde to byleue, and also euery thynge that we muste be bounden to do to come to Chryste. And not as those folys & this fole techeth, that we be iustifyed yf we byleue no more but onely that

Chryste was crucifyed and dyed for our synnys.

¶ And whan mayster Masker saith y^t by affermyng any necessary pointe to be lefte vnwryten in the scrypture I make goddes holy testament insuf fycyent and vnperfyte, for all that it was fyrst reueled vnto our fathers, and efte wryten by Moyses, & than by his prophetes, and at laste wryten bothe by his holy euangelystes and apostles to: to this I saye that god∣des testament is not insufficyent nor imperfyte, though some necessary thynges be lefte out of the wrytyng. For I say that his testament is not the wrytyng onely, but all the whole thynge reueled by god vnto his chyr∣che, and restynge and remaynynge therin, parte in wrytynge and parte without wrytynge styll, as it was all together fyrst without writing geuē.

And se now good readers the wytte of mayster Masker in this worde of his. For yf I make the testament of god vnperfyt and insuffycyent, by∣cause I saye y^t some necessary poyn∣tes therof be not yet wryten: dothe not he good readers say and afferme therby, that it was all together vn∣perfyte & vnsufficyent, all the whyle that god taughte it hym selfe by his owne reuelacyon of spyryte, and that our sauyour taught it hym selfe by his own blessed mouth, tyll Moyses and the prophets & thapostles wrote it wyth the penne?

¶ And whan so euer that mayster Masker is able to proue that al these thynges whiche we be bounden to by leue more than that Chryst dyed for our synnys, are so fully wryten by Chrystes apostles, that they lefte none of them all vnwryten: whan he

shall haue proued thys, let hym than come hardely and byd maister More mocke on and lye on to. But nowe whyle he sayeth so, so farre out of season: whyle my worke of Tyn∣dalys confutycyon hath proued my parte so playnely, that neyther hym selfe nor all the heretikes of them all shall well auoide it whyle they lyue: now may mayster More be bolde to byd maister masker go mokke on and lye on to.

¶ And thys maye I nowe saye to mayster masker the more boldely, syth you se that he vnderstādeth not, or ellys wyllyngly mysconstre weth the place of thapostle that he bryn∣geth forth hym selfe, & saynt 〈◊〉〈◊〉 gospell to, and wolde make vs went that it were inough to saluacyon, to byleue no more but that Chryst was crucyfyed for our synnys. And than

sholde we not nede in dede to byleue that we sholde do penaunce for our synnys our selfe, nor to byleue the presence of Chryst in the blessed sa∣crament neyther. Whych poynt they wolde haue now taken for indyffe∣rent, and many necessary pointes mo. wherof mayster masker wolde take awaye the necessyte, bycause saynte Poule sayth he preched nothynge to the Corynthies but Chryst and hym to be crucyfyed. Which argument of mayster masker were not euyn very stronge, all though saynt Pouse had at that tyme preched them nothynge ellys, bycause he myght than haue bygonne wyth that, and preche them many mo thynges after, or sende it vnto them by wrytynge.

¶ But nowe wolde I fayne that mayster masker hadde gone a lytell ferther in the same pystle. For 〈◊〉〈◊〉

within thre lynes after it foloweth,

My prechynge was not among you in persuasyble wordes of mannes wysdome.

¶ these word{is} I laye not agaynst mayster Masker / for he kepeth hym selfe sure inough for that poynt, and is ware well inough that he speke no persuasyble worde of mannes wyse dome. But than sayth saynt Poule ferther.

But my prerhynge was a∣monge you in shewyng of spyryt and of power, to thentent that your fayth shold not be in the wysedome of men, but in the power of god.

¶ Here maye mayster Masker se that saynt Poule bycause he taught straunge doctryne, proued his doc∣tryne not by subtyll phylosophycall reasonyng, nor by rethorike & goodly freshe eloquence, but by myracles & the myghty hand of god.

¶ Nowe yf mayster Masker ther∣fore wylde byleued / reason is that he do as saynte Pouse dyd, syth he tea∣cheth as harde thynges & as straūge to chrystē men, and as farre agaynst the christen fayth as saynte Poule & the other apostles taughte eyther Iewes or Paynyms, thrnges hard and straunge & farre from y^e fashyon of theyr false persuasion.

¶ For settynge asyde all the whole hepe of his other heresyes: this one that he setteth forth in this pestylent booke of his, agaynste our sauyour hym selfe in the blessed sacrament, is as straunge and as execrable in all good chrysten earys, and euer hath ben synnys Chrystes dayes, as euer was the prechyng of Chrystes god∣hed amonge y^e gentylys or y^e Iewes eyther. And therfore yf he wyll loke to be byleued as saynt Poule was:

reasō is that he do myracles as saint Poule dyd.

¶ If he saye that he nedeth not, for he proueth his doctrine by scrypture: therto fyrst we saye and saye trew, y^t in his so sayeng he lyeth. And bysyde that we saye that though he proued his doctryne by scrypture in dede: yet syth it semeth to the whole chry∣sten nacyons, that the scrypturs pro∣ueth not his parte but the contrary, and so haue thought so longe / ther∣fore as our sauyour hym selfe and his apostles after hym, whych by the scrypture proued theyr parte very truely to the Iewes, dyd yet for all that proue the trewth of theyr such exposycyon by myracles: so muste mayster masker proue his exposiciōs by myracles to be trewe. For ellys syth oure sauyour though he wolde not wurke myracles at euery man∣nes

bydding, sayd yet of the Iewes,* 1.2 that yf hym self had not done among them suche wurkes as no man ellys had done, theyr infydelyte sholde not haue ben imputed vnto theym: we maye well be bolde to say to mayster masker, that excepte he wurke myra cles to, he canne of reason blame no man, that in thexposycyon of holy scrypture beleueth better all the olde holy doctours and sayntes, and all the hole catholyke chyrche than hym.

¶ And therfore whyle mayster mas ker wolde seme to play saynt Poule & be an apostle here, to teche englyshe men a new faith as saynt Poule dyd the Corynthyes / and than techynge thynge as straunge & as vncredyble to christen men, as his were to the Paynims, & can not do myracles for his doctrine as saynt Poule dyd for his / but hath against him for our part

suche a multitude of myracles, that for the profe of any one thynge there were neuer shewed so many / & whan maister Masker in stede of myracles proueth his exposycions of scripture so folyshe hym self and so false, that to suche as marke hym well he maye surely seme to mene nothynge ellys but to mokke: we may go forth in the mater, and let mayster Masker yet agayne mokke on styll and lye on to.

Notes

• * 1.1

  1. Corin. 2
• * 1.2

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