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that book, Rabanus, making answer unto an idle question moved by bishop Heribaldus concerning the eucharist, What should become of it after it was consumed, and sent into the draught, after the manner of other meats? hath these words, "Nam' quidam nuper, de ipso sacramento corporis et sanguinis Domini non rite sentientes, dixerunt; hoc ipsum corpus et sanguinem Domini, quod de Maria virgine natum est, et in quo ipse Dominus passus est in cruce, et resurrexit de sepulchro3- -cui errori quantum potuimus, ad Egilum abbatem scribentes, de corpore ipso quid vere credendum sit aperuimus: for some of late, not holding rightly of the sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord, have said; that the very body and blood of our Lord, which was born of the virgin Mary, and in which our Lord himself suffered on the cross, and rose again from the grave-against which error writing unto abbot Egilus, according to our ability, we have declared what is truly to be believed concerning Christ's body." You see Rabanus's tongue is clipt here for telling tales: but how this came to pass were worth the learning. Steuartius freeth himself from the fact, telling us in his margin, that' "here there was a blank in the manuscript copy;" and we do easily believe him: for Possevine the Jesuit hath given us to understand, that manuscript" books also are to be purged, as well as printed. But whence was this manuscript fetched, think you? out of the famous monastery of Weingart; saith Steuartius. The monks of Weingart then belike must answer the matter; and they, I dare say, upon examination will take their oaths that it was no part of their intention to give any furtherance unto the cause of the protestants hereby. If hereunto we add, that Heribaldus and Rabanus both are ranked among heretics by Thomas Walden, for holding the eucharist to be

initio pag. 669.

• Vide Mabil. act. Bened. sec. 4. par. 2. pag. 596.

Lacuna hic est in MS. exemplari.

u Ad istos enim quoque purgatio pertinet. Possevin. lib. 1. biblioth. select. cap. 12.

w Ex MS. cod. celeberrimi monasterii Weingartensis.

* Wald. tom. 1. doctrinal. in prolog, ad Martinum V.

y Id. tom. 2. cap. 19, et 61.

subject to digestion and voidance, like other meats; the suspicion will be more vehement: whereunto yet I will adjoin one evidence more, that shall leave the matter past suspicion.

In the libraries of my worthy friends, Sir Robert Cotton, that noble baronet, so renowned for his great care in collecting and preserving all antiquities, and Dr. Ward, the learned Master of Sidney College in Cambridge, I met with an ancient treatise of the sacrament, beginning thus: "Sicut ante nos quidam sapiens dixit, cujus sententiam probamus, licet nomen ignoremus;" which is the same with that in the Jesuits' college at Louvain, blindly fathered upon Berengarius. The author of this treatise, having first twitted Heribaldus for propounding, and Rabanus for resolving, this question of the voidance of the eucharist, layeth down afterward the opinion of Paschasius Radbertus, whose writing is yet extant, "quod non alia plane sit caro, quæ sumitur de altari, quam quæ nata est de Maria virgine, et passa in cruce, et quæ resurrexit de sepulchro, quæque et pro mundi vita adhuc hodie offertur: that the flesh, which is received at the altar, is no other than that which was born of the virgin Mary, suffered on the cross, rose again from the grave, and as yet is daily offered for the life of the world. Contra quem, (saith he) satis argumentatur, et Rabanus in epistola ad Egilonem abbatem, et Ratrannus quidam libro composito ad Carolum regem; dicentes aliam esse against whom both Rabanus in his epistle to abbot Egilo, and one Ratrannus in a book which he made to king Charles, argue largely; saying that it is another kind of flesh." Whereby, what Rabanus his opinion was of this point in his epistle to abbot Egilo or Egilus, and consequently what that was which the monks of Weingart could not endure in his Penitential, I trust is plain enough.

2 Ant. Possevin. apparat. sacr. in Berengario Turon.

aal. Elgionem, et, Helgimonem, male. Neque enim alius hic intelligendus, quam Ægil. ille, cui in Fuldensis abbatiæ regimine proxime successit ipse Rabanus.

I omit other corruptions of antiquity in this same question, which I have touched elsewhere: only that of Bertram I may not pass over; wherein the dishonesty of these men, in handling the writings of the ancients, is laid open, even by the confession of their own mouths. Thus the case standeth. That Ratrannus, who joined with Rabanus in refuting the error of the carnal presence, at the first bringing in thereof by Paschasius Radbertus, is he who commonly is known by the name of Bertramus. The book, which he wrote of this argument to Carolus Calvus the emperor, was forbidden to be read, by order from the Roman inquisition, confirmed afterwards by the council of Trent. The divines of Douay, perceiving that the forbidding of the book did not keep men from reading it, but gave them rather occasion to seek more earnestly after it, thought it better policy, that Bertram should be permitted to go abroad; but handled in such sort as other ancient writers, that made against them, were wont to be. "Seeing therefore (say they) we bear with very many errors in other of the old catholic writers, and extenuate them, excuse them, by inventing some device oftentimes deny them, and feign some commodious sense for them when they are objected in disputations or conflicts with our adversaries we do not see, why Bertram may not deserve the same equity, and diligent revisal; lest the heretics cry out, that we burn and forbid such antiquity as maketh for them." Mark this dealing well. The world must be borne in hand, that all the fathers make for the Church of Rome against us, in all our controversies. When we bring forth express testimonies of the fathers to the contrary, what must then be done? A good face must be put the matter; one device or other must be invented to

upon

b De Christian. Eccl. success. et statu, vol. 2. pag. 58. et 217.

c Quum igitur in catholicis veteribus aliis plurimos feramus errores, et extenuemus, excusemus, excogitato commento persæpe negemus, et commodum iis sensum affingamus, dum opponuntur in disputationibus, aut in conflictionibus cum adversariis non videmus, cur non eandem æquitatem et diligentem recognitionem mereatur Bertramus; ne hæretici ogganniant, nos antiquitatem pro ipsis facientem exurere et prohibere. Index expurg. Belgic. pag. 5. edit. Antverp. ann. 1571.

elude the testimonies objected; and still it must be denied that the fathers make against the doctrine of the papists. Bertram for example writeth thus ; "The things, which differ one from another, are not the same. The body of Christ, which was dead, and rose again, and being made immortal now dieth not, death no more having dominion over it, is everlasting; and now not subject to suffering. But this, which is celebrated in the Church, is temporal, not everlasting; it is corruptible, not free from corruption.' What device must they find out here? They must say this is meant of the accidents or "forms of the sacrament, which are corruptible; or of the use of the sacrament, which continueth only in this present world." But how will this shift serve the turn, when as the whole drift of the discourse tendeth to prove, that that, which is received by the mouth of the faithful in the sacrament, is not that very body of Christ, which died upon the cross, and rose again from death? "Non male aut inconsulte omittantur igitur omnia hæc: it were not amiss therefore (say our popish censurers) nor unadvisedly done, that all these things should be left out."

If this be your manner of dealing with antiquity, let all men judge whether it be not high time for us to listen unto the advice of Vincentius Lirinensis; and not be so forward to commit the trial of our controversies to the writings of the fathers, who have had the ill hap to fall into such huxters' handling. Yet, that you may see how confident we are in the goodness of our cause, we will not now stand upon our right, nor refuse to enter with you into this field; but give you leave for this time both to be the challenger and the appointer of your own weapons. Let us then hear your challenge, wherein you would so fain be answered. "I would fain know (say you) how

Quæ a se differunt, idem non sunt. Corpus Christi, quod mortuum est, et resurrexit, et immortale factum jam non moritur, et mors illi ultra non dominabitur, æternum est, nec jam passibile. Hoc autem, quod in Ecclesia celebratur, temporale est, non æternum; corruptibile est, non incorruptum. Bertram. de corp. et sang. Dom.

e Secundum species sacramenti corruptibiles: aut de re ipsa et usu sacramenti; qui non contingit, nisi præsenti in seculo. Index expurg. pag. 7.

can your religion be true, which disalloweth of many chief articles, which the saints and fathers of that primitive Church of Rome did generally hold to be true? For they of your side, that have read the fathers of that unspotted Church, can well testify (and if any deny it, it shall be presently shewn) that the doctors, pastors, and fathers of that Church do allow of traditions, &c." And again: "Now would I fain know, whether of both have the true religion; they that hold all these abovesaid points with the primitive Church, or they that do most vehemently contradict and gainsay them? they that do not disagree with that holy Church in any point of religion; or they that agree with it but in very few, and disagree in almost all?" And the third time too, for failing: "Now would I willingly see what reasonable answer may be made to this. For the protestants grant that the Church of Rome, for four or five hundred years, held the true religion of Christ: yet do they exclaim against the abovesaid articles, which the same Church did maintain and uphold; as may be shewn by the express testimonies of the fathers of the same Church, and shall be largely laid down, if any learned protestant will deny it."

If Albertus Pighius had now been alive, as great a scholar as he was, he might have learned that he never knew before. "Who did ever yet (saith he1) by the Church of Rome understand the universal Church?" That doth this man, say I, who styleth all the ancient doctors and martyrs of the Church universal, with the name of the saints and fathers of the primitive Church of Rome. But it seemeth a small matter unto him, for the magnifying of that Church, to confound urbem and orbem: unless he mingle also heaven and earth together, by giving the title of that unspotted Church, which is the special privilege of the Church triumphant in heaven, unto the Church of Rome here militant upon earth. St. Augustine surely would not have himself otherwise understood, whensoever he speaketh of the unspotted Church and therefore, to

Quis per Romanam Ecclesiam unquam intellexit aut universalem Ecclesiam, aut generale concilium? Pigh, eccles. hierar. lib. 6. cap. 3.

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