The Pope confuted The holy and apostolic Church confuting the Pope. The first action.…The Pope confuted The holy and apostolique Church confuting the Pope. The first action.…

And yet notwithstanding, may not all these so many and so monstrous absurdities which you see plainly with your eyes, and which the very course of nature can in no wise digest, prevail with you to call your ^*gross and fleshly fat imaginations to the spiritual understanding of these words? wherein if you can not find in your heart to credit your own senses and reason, nor to yield to your judgement (holy father) yet ought the authority of Augustine not so lightly be regarded, who in his book de Doctrina Christiana, discoursing upon the manner of discerning the properties of words, whether they be properly spoken, or figuratively, amongest other his rules he setteth down this for a special note, namely:² that where any speech will seem to command sacrilege, or an heinous and wicked thing, the same speech, should be construed for a figurative speech. And least any man should cavil here that this note doth not appertain unto the Eucharist, let Augustine be hearkened unto, being the expositor of his own words, who doth apply this chiefly too those words uttered of eating Christ his flesh and drinking his blood:³ In which words of Christ, saith Augustine, because a wicked thing seemeth to be commanded: hereof he concludeth on this wise. It is a figure therefore, saith he, commanding to participate with the passion of our Lord Jesus, & sweetly and profitably too lay up within the closets of our remembrance that Christs flesh was wounded & crucified for us? What can be more manifest then these words of Augustine? what more authentic then his authority? which if we yield unto to be truth in deed, then either mu•• you abandon this new framshapen puppet of Papistical ⟨p. 100⟩transubstantiation, or incur the blemish of horrible wickedness, and withal yield over to many other gross absurdities, quite against nature and kind, whether ye will or no.

And yet notwithstanding, may not all these so many and so monstruouse absurdities which you see plainely with your eyes, and which the very course of nature can in no wise disgest, preuaile with you to call your