A Golden Chain

Reason II. This bodily presence overturns the nature of a true body, whose common nature or essential property it is, to have length, breadth, & thickness, which being taken away a body is no more a body. And by reason of these three dimensions, a body can occupy but one place at once, as Aristotle said,¹ the property of a body is to be seated in some place, so as a man may say where it is. They therefore that hold the body of Christ to be in many places at once, do make it no body at all; but rather a spirit, and that infinite. They allege that God is almighty; that is true indeed, but in this and like matters we must not dispute what God can do, but what he will do. And I say further because god is omnipotent, therefore there be some things which he cannot do, as for him to deny himself, to lie, & to make the parts of a contradiction to be both true at the same time. To come to the point, if God should make the very body of Christ to be in many places at once, he should make it to be no body while it remains a body: and to be circumscribed in some one place and not circumscribed, because it is in many places at the same time: to be visible in heaven and invisible in the sacrament; and thus should he make contradictions to be true: which to do, is against his nature, and argues rather impotency then power. Augustine saith to this purpose.² If he could lie, deceive, he deceived, deal unjustly, he should not be omnipotent. And, Therefore he is omnipotent, because he can not do these things. Again, He is called omnipotent by doing that which he will, and not by doing that which he will not: which if it should befall him, he should not be omnipotent.

Reason II. This bodily presence ouerturnes the nature of a true bodie, whose common nature or essentiall propertie it is, to haue length, breadth, & thicknes, which beeing taken away a bodie is no more a bodie. And by reason of these three dimensions, a bodie can occupie but one place at once, as Aristotle said,¹ the propertie of a bodie is to be seated in some place, so as a mā may say where it is. They therefore that hold the bodie of Christ to be in many places at once, doe make it no bodie at all; but rather a spirit, and that infinit. They alleadge that God is almightie; that is true indeede, but in this and like matters we must not dispute what God can do, but what he wil doe. And I say further because god is omnipotent, therfore there be some things which he cannot do, as for him to denie himselfe, to lie, & to make the parts of a contradiction to be both true at the same time. To come to the point, if God should make the very body of Christ to be in many places at once, he should make it to be no bodie while it remaines a bodie: and to be circumscribed in some one place and not circumscribed, because it is in many places at the same time: to be visible in heauen and inuisible in the sacrament; and thus should he make contradictions to be true: which to doe, is against his nature, and argues rather impotēcie then power. Augustine saith to this purpose.