A19563:1289
An answerAn aunsvvere
An answer by the Reverend Father in God Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury, primate of all England and metropolitan, unto a crafty and sophistical cavillation, devised by Stephen Gardiner Doctor of Law, late Bishop of Winchester against the true and godly doctrine of the most holy sacrament, of the body and blood of our saviour Jesus Christ Wherein is also, as occasion serveth, answered such places of the book of Doct. Richard Smith, as may seem any thing worthy the answering. Here is also the true copy of the book written, and in open court delivered, by D. Stephen Gardiner ...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 ...
London: printed by John Daye, 1580London: printed by Iohn Daye, 1580
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
His chief purpose is to prove that evil men receive not the body and blood of Christ §1in the Sacrament, which after this authors doctrine, is a very superfluous matter. For if the sacrament be only a figure, and the body and blood of Christ be there only figuratively, whereto should this author dispute of evil mens eating, when good men can not eat Christ in the sacrament, because he is not there. For by the effect of this authors doctrine, the Sacrament is but a visible preaching by the tokens and signs of bread and wine, that in believing and remembering Christs benefits, with revolving them in our mind, we should in faith feed upon Christ spiritually, believing that as the bread & wine feedeth & nourisheth our bodies, so Christ feedeth & nourisheth §2our souls, which be good words, but such as the words in Christs supper do not learneds, & yet may be well gathered, not to limit the mystery of the supper, but to be §3spoken & taught touching the believing & remembering Christs benefits, with the revolving of them in our mind, thereby to learn us how to feed upon Christ continually without the use of the visible Sacrament, being called of S. Augustine the invisible sacrament,1 where §4in by faith we be nourished with the word of God, & the virtues of Christs body & blood, which the true teaching of the church calleth spiritual manducation only, without which no man is to be accounted a true member of the mystical body of Christ. And therefore who so feedeth upon Christ thus spiritually, must needs be a good man, for §5only good men be true members of Christs mystical body, which spiritual eating is so good a fruit, as it declareth the tree necessarily to be good, and therefore it must be and is certain conclusion, that only good men do eat and drink the body and blood of Christ spiritually, that is to say, effectually to life. So as this author shall have of me no adversary therein. And if this author had proved that to be the true doctrine that Christs very body and blood is not present in the visible Sacrament, then might he have left this fourth book unwritten. For after his doctrine, as I said before, good men do not eat Christs body in the Sacrament under the visible signs, for because it is not there, and then much less should evil men reach it.