Of the institution of the sacrament of the blessed bodie and blood of Christ, (by some called) the masse of Christ eight bookes; discovering the superstitious, sacrilegious, and idolatrous abominations of the Romish masse. Together with the consequent obstinacies, overtures of perjuries, and the heresies discernable in the defenders thereof. By the R. Father in God Thomas L. Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.

That your Romish Doctrine is contrary to the Iudgement of Ancient Fathers.

SECT. VI.

IF this your profession had beene a Catholike Doctrine, doubtlesse Saint Augustine (who is so devout in his fervent Meditations

upon this holy mystery) would not have oppugned it, as he did, when unto that Question of Volusianus (whether the Body of Christ before his birth did fill the Body of the blessed Virgin) he answered, d 1.1 That every body, be it greater or lesse, wheresoever it is, must needs fill that space wherein it is, so that the same Body cannot be the whole in any part thereof. So hee: which is directly Contradictory to your Article of Trent, for here is expresse mention of Relation to place and space.

And whereas for usuall colour of a Possibility, that the whole Bo∣dy of Christ is in every part of the Hoast, you have obiected the Ex∣ample of Man's Soule, which is said to be whole in every member and part of the Body: S. Augustine (as if hee had fore-seene your mystery of Errour) pre-occupateth, saying, a 1.2 The nature of a Soule is farre different from the nature of a Body. And againe the same holy Father, seeking to finde out some Similitude, whereby wholly to resemble the Existence of God in respect of place, in the end saith, that Quality hath a prerogative to make some Similitude hereof: and hee doth instance in Wisedome, which (saith hee) is as great in a little man as in a great man; but denyeth that Quan∣tity hath any such Priviledge, for speaking of Quantity and Magni∣tude, In all such Quantity, or magnitude (saith hee) there is lesse in the part, then there is in the whole. And by this same Maxime (con∣cerning whole in respect of Place) hee distinguisheth the God-head from the Man-hood, by which you haue confounded them. And yet againe else-where (as though hee thought this your delusion could never be sufficiently contradicted, or rather derided) hee will further have you not to be so Childish, as not to know, that b 1.3 The little finger is lesse than the whole hand, and one finger is lesse than two, and that one finger is one where, and the other another where. Vpon which where, and where, being notes of distinct places, we may aske, where are your Disputers now? Nay yet further∣more, passing from grosser Bodies, hee saith as much of Ayre, yea, and of the most subtil of subtils, the light of the Sunne; one part where∣of (saith hee) commeth in at one Window, another at another window, yet so, that the lesse passeth through the lesse, and the greater through the greater.

Moreover, if Saint Gregory once Bishop of Rome had beleeved that Christ his Body is whole in every least indivisible part of the Hoast, he would never haue condemned the Eutychian Heretique for beleeving c 1.4 The Body of Christ to have beene brought into such a subtilty, that is cannot be felt. But a greater subtilty there cannot be, than for a divisible Body to be enclosed in every the least indivisible point. Shew vs this Doctrine taught by any Catholike Doctor in

the Church within the compasse of the twelve hundred years after Christ, and then shall we conceive better of your Cause. And lest you may talke (as you vse) of one body penetrating another, wee say unto you, as Damascen said vnto his Reader, that d 1.5 This is impossible, but that either the one or the other must be divided a∣sunder.

Notes

• d 1.1

  Aug. Nullum cor∣pus potest esse ubi{que} totum, quantum∣cun{que} corpus, vel quantulum••un{que} cor∣pusculum loci occu∣pet spacium, cun∣dem{que} locum sic oc∣cupet, ut in nulla e∣ius parte sit totum necesse est: longè a∣lia natura est animae, quàm corporis, quan∣to magis Dei? l. 1. Ep. 3. ad Ʋolusian: [Whose question to S. Augu∣stine was; Vtrum Christus intemeratae foeminae corpus im∣pleverit?]
• a 1.2

  In eo, quod di∣citur Deus ubi{que} car∣nali cogitationi re∣sistendū est, & mens •• Corporis sensibus amovenda, ne quasi spaciosa magnitudi∣ne opinemur Deum per cuncta diffundi, ut aër, aut lux: om∣nis enim huiusmodi magnitudo minor in sua parte, quàm in ro∣to: sed ita potius, ut est magna sapientia etiam in homine, cu∣ius corpus est par∣vum.—Nam si duo fint homines aequali∣ter sapientes, quo∣rum alter est corpo∣re grandior, non plus sapiuntambo, quam singuli; sic in minore corpore non minor est sanitas, cum mi∣nora, & maiora cor∣pora tam sana sint.—Dispar est profecto in membrorum mo∣libus quantitas: sed par est in disparatis sanitas—quae non quantitas, sed quali∣tas est. Non potuit ergo obtinere quan∣titas corporis quod Qualitas. Aug. Ep. 57. ad Dardan.
• b 1.3

  Idem. Minor est unus digitus, quam tota manus, & minor est digitus unus quam duo; & alibi est iste digitus, alibi ille, alibi coetera manus—Nec solùm immobilibus corporis articulis—sed etiam aeris partes suos implent locos—Lucis{que} pars alia infun∣ditur per hanc fenestram, alia per aliam, & maior per maiorem, per minorem autem minor. Idem. To. 6. Ep. fundamenti. c. 16.
• c 1.4

  Adiungebat (Haereticus) omne illud, quod in Domino palpari potuit, post resurre∣ctionem in subtilitatem aliquam esse red actam. Greg. Exposi. Moral. li. 14. c. 31.
• d 1.5

  Damascen. lib. 1. de Orthodox. fide. c. 4. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.