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. xxii. chapyter.

MAster Maskar cometh at last to the mockynge of those wor des of my pystle, wherin I she we

that yf men wolde denye the cōuer∣syon of the brede and wyne into the blessed bodye and blood of Chryste, bycause that vnto his owne reason the thynge semeth to implye repug∣naunce, he shal fynde many other thynges bothe in scrypture, and in na ture, and in hande craftes to, of the trouthe wherof he nothynge dou∣teth, whyche yet for any solucion that hys owne reason coulde fynde, other than the omnipotent power of god, wolde seme repugnant to / of whych maner thynges, other good holy do, ctours haue in the mater of the bles∣sed sacrament vsed some ensamples byfore.

¶ Nowe for as myche as in these wordes I speke of the apperynge of the face in the glasse, and one face in euery pyece of the glasse bro∣kē in to twēty: mayster Maskar hath

caughte that glasse in hand and moc∣keth and moweth in that glasse, and maketh as many straunge faces and as many pretye pottes therin, as yt were an olde ryueled ape. For these are his wordes so.

Then sayth he, that ye wote wel that many good folke haue vsed in thys mater many good frutefull ex samples of goddes other workes: not onely myra cles, wryten in scrypture / vnde versus? (where one I praye ye?) But also done by the comen course of na ture here in erth. (If they be done by the comē course of nature: so be they no myracles) And some thyn∣ges made also by mans hande. As one face beholden in dyuerse glasses: and in euery pyece of one glasse broke into twenty &c. Lorde howe thys pontyfy call poete playeth hys parte. Because (as he sayeth) we se many faces in many glasses: therfore maye one bodye be in many places / as though euery shadowe and symylytude representynge the bodye / were a bo∣dyly substaunce. But I aske More / when he seeth his owne face in so many glasses / whyther all those faces that appere in the glasses be hys own very face hauynge boldely substaunce skynne, fleshe, and bone, as hathe that face / whyche hathe hys very mouth, nose, yien &c. wherwyth he faceth vs oute the trouthe thus falsely wyth lyes? and yf they be al hys very faces / thā in very dede there ys one body in many places / & he hym selfe beareth as many fa∣ces in one hoode. But accordynge to hys purpose /

euen as they be no very faces / nor those so many voy¦ces, sownes, and symylytudes multyplyed in the ayer betwene the glasse or other obiecte and the body (as the phylosopher proueth by naturall reason) be no very bodyes: no more is yt Chrystes very bo∣dye, as they wolde make the byleue in the brede in so many places at ones:

¶ Now good reders to thende that you may se the custumable maner of mayster Maskar in rehersynge my mater to his owne aduauntage / syth my wordes in my letter that touche this poynt be not very longe / I shall reherse them here vnto you my self / so good reders thus shal you fynd yt there in the. xxvi. lefe.

I wote well that many good folke haue vsed in this mater many good frutefull examples of goddes other workes, not onely myracles wryten in scrypture, but also done by the co∣men course of nature here in erth and some thynges made also by mannys hand as one face byholden in dyuers glasses & in euery pyece of one glasse

broken into. xx. and the merueyle of the makynge of the glasse it selfe such mater as it is made of. And of one worde comyng whole to an hundred earys at onys and the syghte of one lytell eye present and beholdynge an whole great cuntrey at onys wyth a thousande such other merueyles mo, such as those that se them dayly done and therfore merueyle not at theym, shall yet neuer be able no not thys yonge man hym selfe, to geue suche reason by what meane they maye be done / but that he maye haue such re∣pugnaunce layed agaynste it that he shall be fayne in conclusyon for the chyefe and the moste euydent reason to say that the cause of all those thyn∣ges is bycause god that hath caused theym so to be done, is almyghty of hym selfe and canne do what hym lyste.

¶ Lo good Chrysten readers here you se your selse, that I made none

suche argument as mayster Maskar bereth me in hand. Nor no man vseth vppon a symilytude, to cōclude a ne∣cessarye consequence, in the mater of the blessed sacrament / vnto whyche we can brynge nothynge so lyke, but that in dede it muste be farre vnlyke, sauynge that it is as semeth me some what lyke in this, that god is as able by his almyghty power, to make one body be in twenty places at ones, as he is by comē course of nature which hym self hath made, able to make one face kepynge styll hys owne fygure in hys owne place, caste yet and mul∣typly the same fygure of yt self, into xx. pyeces of one broken glasse / of whyche pyeces eche hathe a seuerall place. And as he is able by the nature that hym selfe made, to make one self worde that the speker hath brethed oute in the spekynge to be forth with

in the eares of an whole hundred per sones, eche of theym occupyeng a se∣uerall place, and that a good dys∣taunce a sundre. Of whyche two thynges (as natural and as comen as they both be) yet cā I neuer cease to wonder, for all the reasons that euer I redde of the phylopher. And lyke wyse as I veryly truste, that the tyme shall come, whan we shall in the clere syght of Christe godhed, se this great myracle soyled, and wel perceyue howe yt ys, and howe yt maye be, that his blessed bodye ys bothe in beuyn and in erth, and in so many places at ones: so thynke I veryly that in the syght of hys god∣hed than, we shall also perceyue a better cause of those two other thyn∣ges than euer any phylolopher hath hytherto shewed vs yet / or ellys I wene for my parte I shall neuer

perceyue theym well.

¶ But nowe where as mayster Maskar mocketh myne argument, not whych I made, but whyche hym selfe maketh in my name / and ma∣keth yt feble for the nonce, that he maye whan he hathe made yt at hys owne pleasure soyle yt, as chyldren make castelles of tyle shardes, and than make theym theyr passe tyme in the throwynge downe agayne: yet is yt not euyn so, so feble as his own, where he argueth in the negatyue, as I saye the sample for thaffyrma∣tyue. For as for the tone that he ma∣keth for me: though thargument be nought for sacke of forme, yet hol∣deth it somwhat so so, by the mater in that the consequent that is to wytte, that god may make one body to be at ones in many places, is what so euer mayster masker bable, a trouth with

out questyon necessary.

¶ But where he argueth for hym selfe in the negatyue, by that that the bodyly substaunce of the face is not in the glasse, that therfore the bodyly substaunce of our sauyoure Chryste is not in the blessed sacrament: that argument hath no maner holde at all. For thantecedent is very trewe / and (excepte goddys worde be vn∣trewe) ellys as I haue all redy by the old holy expositours of the same, well and planely proued you, the cō∣sequent is very false.

¶ Now yf he wyll saye that he ma∣keth not that argument, but vseth onely the face in the glasse for a sam∣ple & a symylytude: than he she weth hym selfe to playe the false shrewe, whan of my bryngynge in the selfe same sample, he maketh that argu∣ment for me. And therfore now whā

vppon those facys in the glasse, he maketh and faceth hym selfe that lye vppon me, and than scoffeth that I face out the trouth with lyes, and thā proueth neuer one: he doth but shew what prety wordes he coulde speke, and how properly he coulde scoffe, yf the mater wolde serue hym.

¶ And yet I pray you good readers consyder well the wordes of that ar∣gumēt that he maketh in myne name. we se many faces in many glasses: therfore may one body be in many places. Now spake not I you wote well of many faces sene in many glassys (as he bothe falsely & folysshely reherseth me) but of one face sene at onys in many glassys.

For that is lyke to the mater. For like as all those glasses, whyle onely one man loketh in them / he seeth but hys owne one face in all those places / so be (as saynt Chrysostom declareth)

all the hostes of the blessed sacramēt beynge in so farre dystaunt seuerall places a sondre, all one very body of our blessed sauyour hym selfe, and all one hoste, one sacryfyce, and one oblacyon.

¶ And as properly as mayster mas ker scoffeth at that sample and symy sytude of the glasse: I wolde not haue mysse lyked myne owne wytte therin, yf thinuencyō therof had ben myne owne. For I fynde not many samples so mete for the mater, to the capacite of good and vnlerned folke, as it is. For as for the poynt of which mayster Masker maketh all the dyf ficultye, that one substaunce beynge but a creature myghte be in many places at onys: euery man that is lerned seeth a sample that satisfyeth hym shortely. For he seeth and per∣ceyueth by good reasō, that the soule

is vndiuisyble and is in euery parte of the body, and in euery parte it is whole. And yet is euery member a seuerall place. And so is the blessed substaunce of the spyrytuall body of Chrystes flesshe & his bonys, whole in euery parte of the sacrament.

¶ But thys sample of the soule can not euery man vnserned cōcey∣ue and imagyne ryghte / but of the glasse bath for his capacite a more me tely symisitude, & that y^t in one poynt also doth more resemble the mater. For the soule forsaketh euery mem∣ber y^t is clene deuided from the body. But the blessed body of our sauyour abydeth styll whole in euery parte of the blessed sacrament, though it be broken into neuer so many places / as the image and forme of the face avy∣deth whole styll to hym that byhol∣deth it, in euery parte of the broken

glasse. And thus good readers as for thys sample and symylytude of the face in the glasse, mayster Masker maye for his folyshe facynge yt out, be myche ashamed yf he haue any shame, whan so euer he loketh on his owne face in the glasse.

¶ And for conclusyon, thys beynge of the body of Chryste in dyuers pla ces at ones, syth the olde holy doc∣tours and sayntes sawe and percey∣ued, that the soule of euery man why che is a very substaunce, and perad∣uenture yet of lesse spirituall power, than the flesshe and bones of our sa∣uyour Chryste be now, and yet very flesshe for all that and very bonys also styll: they rekened not that the beynge therof in dyuers places at ones, wolde after theyr dayes begyn to be taken for so straunge and harde a thynge as these heretykes make yt

nowe. And therfore they made no∣thyng so great a mater of that poynt / but the thynge that they thought men wolde moste meruayse of, was the conuersyon and turnyng of the brede and the wyne into Chrystes very flesshe and bloud. And therfore to make that poynte well open, and to make it synke into mennys brestes: those olde holy doctours and sayntes (as I sayde in these wordes whyche maister maskar mocketh) vsed many mo good samples of thynges done by nature.

¶ But than were they no myracles sayth mayster Masker. And what than good master Masker? Myghte they not'serue to proue y^t god myght do as mych by myracle, as nature by her comen course? Those wordes so were by maister masker (you se wel) very well and wysely put in.