A19563:1452
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.
Winchester.
As in the wrong report of S Augustine,1 who speaking of the adoration of Christs flesh, given to be eaten, doth so fashion his speech, as it can not with any violence be drawn to such an understanding, as though S. Augustine should mean of the adoring of Christs flesh in heaven, as this author would have it. S. Augustine speaketh of the §2giving of Christs flesh to us to eat, and declareth after, that he meaneth in the visible Sacrament, which must be invisibly understanded & spiritually, not as the Capernaites did understand Christs words, carnally to eat that body cut in pieces: and therefore there may be no such imaginations to eat Christs body after the manner he walked here, nor drink his blood as it was shed upon the Cross: but it is a mystery and sacrament that is godly of God's work supernatural above mans understanding, and therefore spiritually understanded shall give life, which life carnal understanding must needs exclude. And by these my words, I think I declare truly S. Augustine's meaning of the truth of this sacrament, wherein Christ giveth truly his flesh to be eaten, the flesh he spake of before taken of the virgin. For the spiritual understanding that S. Augustine speaketh of is not to exclude the truth of Gods work in the sacrament, but to exclude carnal imagination from musing of the manner of the work, which is in §3mystery such as a carnal man can not comprehend. In which matter if S. Augustine had had such a faith of the visible sacrament, as the author saith him self hath now of late, and calleth it catholic, S. Augustine would have uttered it, as an expositor plainly, in this place, and said, there is but a figure of Christs body: Christs body and flesh is in heaven and not in this visible sacrament, Christs speech that was esteemed so hard, was but a figurative speech. And where Christ said, This is my body, he meant only of the figure of his body: which manner of saying S. Augustine useth not in this place, and yet he could speak plainly, and so doth he, declaring us first the truth of the flesh that Christ giveth to be eaten, that is to say, the same flesh that he took of the virgin.