Marginalia1551. MarginaliaThe Sea of Rome a sinke of all sinne. had much swarued from the true religion and worshypping of god, and is with horrible vices stayned and polluted: which I therefore (quoth he) pronounce to be the sincke of all euill, and shortly wil come to vtter ruine by the scourge of God, except it do fall the sooner to repentaunce: Wherwith he briefly complayned of the filthy abuse of our Englishe Church

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MarginaliaPurgatory. Beyng then asked what his opiniō was concernyng purgatory, and what the Scholemen iudged thereof, he answered, that the subtill reasons of the Scholemen concernyng purgatory, seemed to him to be no lesse vaine, and fryuolus, then disagreyng from the truth: adding thereunto, that whē we bee rapt vp to the cloudes to meete Christe commyng to iudgement with a great number of Angels in all glory and maiesty, thē euery one shalbe purged with fire as it is wrytten: The fire shall goe before him, and shall flame rounde about his enemies, and the fire shall burne in his sight, and round about him shall be a great tempest:  

MarginaliaPsal. 97. & 50. saying that diuers of the olde writers approued this his sentence concernyng purgatorye.

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When he was asked whether wicked and vngodlye people in the holy communion did eate the body of Christ, and drynke his bloud:MarginaliaThe wicked eate not the flesh of Christ. he aunswered that such kynde of men did not eate Christes most blessed fleshe, but onely tooke the sacrament to their own damnation: saying that Christ would not gyue his most pure and holy fleshe to be eaten of suche naughty and impure persons, but would withdrawe hymselfe from them. And that (quoth hee) that is obiected by s. Augustine, that Iudas receiued the selfe same thing which Peter receiued: that I think to bee vnderstanded of the externall sacrament. And, the lyke kynde of phrase of speakyng (sayde he) wee may vse concernyng the baptisme of Magus : that Simon Magus receaued that whiche the Apostles did receaue. In deede as concerning the sacrament of the externall baptisme, Simon Magus receaued that which the Apostels dyd: but that internall grace, wherewith the Apostels were endued, and that holy spirite wherwith by baptisme they were enspired, hee lacked.  

And so (quoth he) the wicked and forsaken people, whiche rashely presume to come to the holy table of the Lord, do receyue the sacrament and the self same which good and godly men receaue: but the body of Christ, they do not receiue, for Christ doth not vouchsafe to deliuer it thē. And thus he said was his opinion and belife, although hee knewe others to be of a contrary iudgement.

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Being then after this demaunded whether hee thought Christes presence to be in the sacrament or no, MarginaliaHow Christ is present in the sacramēt. he aunswered that Christ dyd geue & offer to faythfull and Christian men, his very reall body and bloud verely and really vnder the sacramentes of bread and wine, in somuch that they which deuoutly come to bee partakers of that holy foode, are by the benefite thereof vnited and made one with Christe in his fleshe and body. And therfore hee saide that Christ dyd distribute his body spiritually that he gaue it truely, MarginaliaThe Capernaites grosse errour of Christes bodily presence in the sacrament. not so yet neuerthelesse that by these and the like wordes we should conceyue any grosse or carnall intelligence such as the Capernaites  

once dreamed of: but that (quoth he) we might labor and endeuour to expresse by some kynde of wordes the ineffable maiestie of this mysterie. For the maner whereby Christ is there present, and ministreth to the faithfull hys fleshe, is altogether inexplicable: but we must beleue (quoth he) and thinke, that by Gods mighty power & the holy operation of his spirite, thys so notable a mistery was made: & that heauen & earth was ioyned together in that moment, as the blessed man s. Gregory sayth: þ^elowest partes are ioyned w^t the highest: By which is vnderstand that holy food, wherby they which be regenerate by þ^e holy ghost in baptism are nourished to immortality. And further he said þ^t christs body was receiued in þ^e said sacramēt by faith: which being receiued, both body & soule wer quickned to euerlasting life.

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MarginaliaTransubstantiation. Beyng then required to say hys mynde about transubstantiatiō, he gaue aunswer that he had much traueled in þ^t poynt, and that he first much fauoured and enclined to that part which mainteyned transubstantiation: in searching the verity wherof most studiously, he had bene no little whyle occupied, and found to aryse therabout infinite, and almost inexplicable absurdities. In confutyng wherof, whē he had but finally contented hymselfe, he sayd he tooke in hand the Scholemens workes, and perused Gabriell and other writers of that sort, for that by theyr helpe and ayde hee hoped that all inconueniences which did spryng and aryse by maintenance of transubstantiation, myght be cleane conuinced and wyped away. Of which hys hope he was vtterly frustrate (sayd he) for that he dyd finde in those workes many fond and fantasticall thyngs, which were both to foolish to be recorded in writyng, and also to be alledged about such a mystery: and truly (sayd he) euer after the readyng of them, my former zeale and opinion, touchyng the maintenance of transubstantiation dyd euery day more and more decrease, and therfore in conclusion perswaded hymselfe to think that there was no such transubstantiation as the Scholemen i- imagined and fayned to be, saying that in dede the auncient writers were playnly agaynst the mayntenance thereof: amongst whom he recited by name Iustine,  

Irene,   and Tertullian,  

Commentary     Close

Tertullian was a major patristic writer and theologian.

notorious aduersaries to the same.MarginaliaConsecration what it meaneth. Furthermore he added hereunto, that þ^e whole schole vnderstode not what this word Consecratio was: which he defined to be the full and entire action of the whole Communion.

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Beyng demaunded also whether we ought to worship Christ present in hys holy Supper, he told vs that we are bound so to doe: and that it was most agreyng to piety & godly religion. Likewyse beyng asked whether he would haue the visible sacrament to be worshipped,MarginaliaNothyng to be worshypped that may be seene. which we see wyth our eyes, and is lyfted vp betwene the priests hands: he answered that nothyng which was visible and to be sene with the eye, is to be adored or worshypped, nor that Christ wold be eleuated into any hygher or pulled downe into any lower place, and that he can neyther be lyfted vp hygher, nor pulled downe lower.

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MarginaliaThe sacrament not to be caryed about. Agayne, beyng asked what his iudgement was about þ^e custome and maner in carying about the Sacrament in solemne pompes, processions and otherwise: he sayde that hee alwayes misliked and reproued that order: In so much that about. xvi. yeares agon openly in the pulpyte at Cambridge he spake agaynst that abuse and disalowed that ceremonye, shewyng that Christe had expressed by playne and euident wordes a very fruitfull and right vse of this Sacrament, when he sayde Take ye: (by whiche phrase quoth hee, he doth expresse that he will gyue a gyft): Eate ye: (by which wordes he doth declare the proper vse and order of that his precious gyft): This is my body: (wherby he doth euidently and playnely shewe what by that gyft they shoulde receaue and how royall and precious a gyft he would giue them(: & therefore he iudged such pompous and supersticious ostentations vtterly to bee condempned and taken as plaine mockeries and Coūterfaite visars.

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His iudgement also beyng asked about the Commemoration of the dead, and the remembraunce of thē in Orisons, whether he thought it profitable or no: he aunswered that it seemed to him to be no lesse profitable than religious and godly: and that might bee well proued out of the bookes Machabees. MarginaliaIn this poynt the iudgement of Doct. Redmā is not to followed. The which bokes although Sainct Hierome adiudgyng as not authentike, thought good to bee read in the Temples onely for the edifying of the Churche, and not for the assertion of opinions: yet with me the opinions of the other wryters, to whom those bookes are allowed as Canons, preuayleth: which hee in that point thinketh good to be read.  

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Beyng furthermore required to shew hys mynde about trentall Masses and Masses of Scala cœli  

, MarginaliaTrentall Masses disproued. he shewed them that they were altogether vnprofitable, superstitious, and irreligious, flowing out of the fylthy and impure fountayne of superstition, not yeldyng the fruite whiche they promised to bryng forth. MarginaliaSacrifice of the masse disproued. The sacrifice of the Supper of the Lord (the Eucharist I meane) that sacrifyce he sayd could not be offered for the sinnes of the quicke and the dead.

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Finally, of his owne voluntary will, & no man (as farre as I can call to remembraunce) demaundyng of him, hee shewed his opinion concernyng Iustification by Christ. I lament (sayde he) and repent, beseching God forgiuenes for the same, that so seriously and earnestly I haue withstand this proposition: MarginaliaFaith onely iustifieth. that onely fayth doth iustifye, but I alwayes feared that it shoulde be taken to the liberty of the fleshe, and so should defile the innocency of life whiche is in Christ. But that proposition: that onely fayth doth iustifie, is true (quoth he) swet and full of spirituall comfort, if it be truely taken and rightly vnderstanded. And when hee was demaunded what hee thought to be the true and very sense therof: I vnderstand (quoth hee) that to be the liuely fayth, which resteth in our onely Sauiour Iesus Christ & imbraseth him: so that in our onely Sauiour Iesus Christ, all the hope and trust of our saluation be surely fixed. And as concernyng good workes (sayd he) they haue their crowne and merite, and are not destitute of their rewardes. MarginaliaWorkes do not merite saluation. Yet neuertheles they do not merite the kingdome of heauen. For no woorkes (sayd he) coulde purchase and obteyne that blessed, happy and euerlasting immortality: no nor yet those thinges whiche we do vnder grace by the motion of the holy Ghost. For that blessed and immortall glory is giuen & bestowed vppon vs mortall men, of the heauenly father for his Sonne our Sauiour Christes sake, as Saint Paule testifieth. The gift of God is eternall life.  

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MarginaliaRom. 6. And these be the resolutions which I heard him geue to the questions by M. Nowel proposed.MarginaliaThe iudgement of D. Yonge about the [illegible text]. From which his sentēce & iudgement so heard by me & of hym vttered (as I remēber) I neuer declined or varied. I besech our lorde Iesus Christ to cease these troublous stormes wherewith the church is tossed, and vouchsafe for his holy name sake, tenderly to behold and loke vpon hys poore wretched flocke so miserably scattered and dispersed, beseching him also of hys

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