An aunsvvere by the Reuerend Father in God Thomas Archbyshop of Canterbury, primate of all England and metropolitane, vnto a craftie and sophisticall cauillation, deuised by Stephen Gardiner Doctour of Law, late Byshop of Winchester agaynst the true and godly doctrine of the most holy sacrament, of the body and bloud of our sauiour Iesu Christ Wherein is also, as occasion serueth, aunswered such places of the booke of Doct. Richard Smith, as may seeme any thyng worthy the aunsweryng. Here is also the true copy of the booke written, and in open court deliuered, by D. Stephen Gardiner ...

Canterbury.

[ 1] I Aske no more of the reader, but to read my book, and thē to iudge how much I am troubled with this author. And why may not I cite y^e grek commentaryes for testimony of the truth? Is this to be termed a callyng for ayd? Why is not then the allegation of all authors a calling for ayde. Is not your doing rather a caling for ayd, when you be fayne to flye for succor to Martin Luther, Bucer, Melancthon, Epinius, Ionas, Peter Marter, and such other, whom al the world knoweth you neuer fauored, but euer abhorred their names? May not this be termed a calling for ayd when you be driuen to such a straight and need, that you be glad to cry to such men for helpe, whom euer you haue hindered and defamed asmuch as lay in you to do?

[ 2] And as for pleading of those wordes, (really, corporally, sensibly and na¦turally) they be your owne termes, and the termes wherein resteth the whole contention betweene you and me: and should you be offended be∣cause I speak of those termes? It appeareth now that you be loth to here

of those wordes, and would very gladly haue them put in silence, and so should the variance betweene you and me clearely ended. For if you will confesse, that the body of Christ is not in the sacrament really, corporally, sensibly, and naturally, then you and I shal shake hands, and be both ear∣nest frends to the truth.

* 1.1And yet one thing you do here confesse (which is worthy to be noted & had in memory) that you read not in any old author, that y^e body of Christ [ 3] is really and sensibly in the sacrament. And hereunto I adde, that none of them say, that he is the bread and wine, corporally nor naturally. No ne∣uer no papist said, that Christes body is in ••he sacrament naturally nor carnally, but you alone, (who be the first au••, or of this gros error, which Smith himself condēneth and denieth,* 1.2 that euer Christiā man so taught) although some say that it is there really, some substantially, and some sen∣sibly.

Now as concerning the high mistery which S. Denys speaketh of, he declareth the same to be in the meruelous and secret working of God in [ 4] his reasonable creatures (beyng made after his image and being his liue¦ly temples, and Christes misticall body) and not in the vnreasonable and vnsensible and vnliuely creatures of bread and wine, wherin you say the deep and darke mistery standeth. But notwithstanding any holines or godlines wrought in the receauers of them, yet they be not the more holy or godly in themselfes,* 1.3 but be only tokens, significations, and sacraments of that holines, which almighty God by his omnipotent power worketh in vs. And for their holy significations they haue y^e name of holines which almighty god by his omnipotent power worketh in vs. And for their ho∣ly significations they haue the name of holynes, as the water in baptisme is called aqua sanctificans: Vnda regenerans, Halowing or regenerating water, because it is the sacrament of regeneration, and sanctification.

* 1.4Now as concerning Chrisostomes saying, that Christ is in our hands, Chrisostome saith (as I haue rehearsed in my book) not onely that he is in [ 5] our hands, but also that we se him with our eyes, touch him him, feele him and grope him, fixe our teeth in his flesh, tast it, breake it, eat it, and digest it, make red our tongues, and dye them with his bloud &c. which thinges cannot be vnderstand of the body and bloud of Christ, but by a figuratiue speech, as I haue more at large declared in my iiii. book the viii. Chapter. And therfore S. Augustine De verbis Domini sermone. xxxiij. saith cleane cō¦trary to Chrisostome,* 1.5 that we touch not Christ with our hands, Non tangi mus Dominum saith he. This speech therfore of Chrisostome declareth not y^e inward worke of God in the substaunce of the visible sacrament, but sig∣nifieth what God worketh inwardly in true beleuers.

And whereas you say, that my notes be Descant voluntary without y^e Tenour part, I haue named both the booke and chapter, where S. Dyo∣nyse [ 6] telleth how the priest when he commeth to the receauing of the sacra¦ments, he deuideth the bread in peeces, and distributeth the same to all y^t be present: which one sentence contayneth sufficiently all my three notes. So that if you be disposed to call my notes Descant, there you may finde the playne song or tenor part of them. And it is no maruel that you cannot iudge well of my Descant, when you see not or will not see the Plain song wherupon the descant was made.

Now followeth Tertullian of whom I write thus.

Furthermore they do alledge Tertullian that he constantly affirmeth,* 1.6 that in the sacrament of the alter we do eat the body and drinke the bloud of our saui¦our Christ. To whom we graūt that our flesh eateth and drinketh the bread & wine, which be called the body & bloud of Christ because (as Tertullian saith) they do represent his body and bloud, although they be not really the same in very deed. And we graunt also, that our soules by fayth do eat his very body & drink his bloud, but that is spiritually, sucking out of the same euerlasting life. But we deny that vnto this spirituall feeding is requiring any reall and corpo∣rall presence.

And therfore this Tertullian speaketh nothing against the truth of our ca∣tholick doctrine, but he speaketh many things most playnly for vs, and agaynst the Papists, and specially in three poynts.

First in that he sayth that Christ called bread his body.

The second, that Christ called it so, because it representeth his body.

The third, in that he sayth, that by these wordes of Christ, This is my body, is ment, This is a figure of my body.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Really and sen∣sybly be not foūd in any old au∣thor.
• * 1.2

  Smyth.
• * 1.3

  Holines in the sacraments.
• * 1.4

  Christ in our hands.
• * 1.5

  Augustinus de verbis domini sermone. 3.3.
• * 1.6

  The aunswere to Tertullianus De resurrectio∣ne ca••nis,