OF THE Masse.

TO begynne this our li­tle treatise of the Masse, first of all it is conueni­ent to interprete thys terme Masse,The originall of the terme of the Masse. of the auncient Romaynes called Missa. Some haue honored this Mis­sal sacrifice to haue taken his beginning of the Hebrues, bringing in the place of Daniell speaking of Maozin, Daniell. 11. as if they woulde signifie the Masse by Maozin. But this terme is verye straunge from Missa, or Masse. And there is other He­brewe wordes which are more nearer, to witte, Messa, whiche is as much to saye as conculcation or treading down, whereof mencion is made in the histo­rie of the Kynges of Israell. Another terme also is founde,4. Kings. 11. Missa. very conformable vnto this common tearme Masse, [Page] namely Messall, that is to saye,Ios. 19. Messall. hell or graue. But I am well assured that the high priests of Rome wyll not take the originall of their sacrifice of the Masse from the Hebrues, acknowledgynge their Masse and Messall to be a concul­cation, graue, or hell.Messal. Hell. Further (to speake the trueth) the Authour of the romaine religion Neuma Pompilius neuer thought of y^e Hebreus when he first in­stituted y^e Masse. Much lesse terme this Missa or Masse can haue hys originall of the Greekes, seyng they haue no sa­crifice of that name, not withstandyng that some haue made some reason to bryng in this terme of Greke Myzein, that is to saye in Englishe, to whysper, or hyde in secrete. As if the Messalian sacrificers had receyued of the auncient Gréekes Idolatours, to keepe secrete the chiefe and principall wordes of their Masses, to the ende they shoulde not be vnderstand of thassistance, but haue ob­serued to murmour, & blowe betwene their téeth the Canons, & other speciall [Page] wordes, which neyther they vnderstode them selues, nor other, whiche behelde them. Neuertheles, neither the Hebrue termes nor Greeke vocables in no wise can be appropriated to the Missall sacri­fice. Wherefore it behoueth to haue re­course to the trewe originall of the terme Missa or Masse taken of the aun­cient Latyns the Romaines,Masse taken of the aunci­ent Latins Romains. whiche were accustomed to vse these termes, Missus, Missa, Missilis, and Missio. As we saye in Englishe a messenger, a message, and missiues, for letters sent. For when the auncient Idolaters Romaines woulde geue leaue vnto the assistaunce at their Sacrifices cele­brated to goe home, they caused to be pronounced in the ende of the Sacrifice these wordes.Apud Graecos Sacerdos fun­ctus misterio sic renuncia­bat: Laois aphesis qua [...] populū mis­sum faceret. I, licet, Missa est. Depart it is permitted the assemblye hath leaue to retyre or departe. And in processe of tyme, for that thys songe dyd note vnto the people a licence to go home moste agreable and desyred, as a songe and terme most comfortable and pleasaunt, [Page] it hath bene kepte,Apul. lib. 11. de asin. a [...] and the sacrifice ho­noured with this terme Masse or Missa. To confirme this poynt, there is two thousande yeres paste, and the same termes be songe yet vnto thys present daye, Ite Missa est, whiche doeth signi­fie a leaue geuen to the companye or assemblye to departe and goe home.

In suche sorte that those whiche doe haunte the temples or churches, as soone as they do vnderstande this plea­saunt songe, Ite Missa est, a man maye see them ordinarelye to awake, & leape for ioye, as beyng assured to haue li­cence to go to dynner.

The Arabian Machomistes instru­cted of long tyme by the monke Sergi­us, as we haue declared, haue this terme of the Masse in great commen­dation,In the booke of the discriptiō of Affrick by Ihon Leon Affricain. Messa of the Turkes. with which vocable they haue honoured three townes or Cities cal­led Messa situate vppon the mouthe of the Ocean, vppon the poynt whiche doeth make the begynnynge of the mounte Atlas.

[Page]Nere vnto the same townes in the sub­urbes, there was a temple muche re [...]e­ [...]ensed by the Idolatrous Turkes, for that they did beleue that in Messa shuld be borne the iust bishop promised & pro­phesied by Machomet. They dyd beleue also that vppon the coaste of the sayde place of Messa, Ionas was cast after he was swalowed vp of the Whale.

Messalamans. In the boke of the great turkes courte by frere An­tony GueffreiThey haue also this name Messala­mains in as great honour as we haue the name of Christians. As if they woulde signifie by this vocable Messa­lanian saued.

Moreouer, the Mahomatists do ho­nour also their priests with the name of Masse,in the booke aboue sayde. Messen. Messit. calling them Messen, and theyr temples Messit or Meschit. Those then which are inforced to bryng to lyght the Anotomy or discription of the Masse, the pieces, the groundes, the patches, & encreasements, oughte to describe it with great reuerence, hauynge due re­spect to the auncient religion Pompili­on and Alcoran of Mahomet.

[Page]Nowe after that we haue resolued the name of Masse, and of Missa, in the Latyne tongue,Pontife. boke 1. of com­mentaries. to haue taken her be­ginning of the auncient romain Idola­tours, & not of the Greekes or Hebru­es. It behoueth vs to come to the gar­ments of the Messalian sacrificers. But in passing by we must not omit y^e name Bishoppe, to haue hys originall also of the Romaynes as we haue declared in our commentaries. Also the name Papa or Pope had his beginning of the auncient Idolatours, who were wonte to call vpon their God Iupiter calling him Papa Iupiter, specially the Bithi­nians and Scithes. The whiche name Pope is taken of the Greke worde Pa­pus that is to saye great father. And also the very tytle written vppon all the re­questes presented vnto the great Ro­mayne Bishoppe, is moste blessed fa­ther, and to the lesse purple Bishoppes moste reuerende father, and to the ly­tle Bishoppes reuerende father. Hol­dynge all this worde father or Papa, a [Page] great father, which was wonte to be a common name for all bishops. But af­terward the great romaine bishops did reserue it for them selues onely. There is also another name reserued for the litle bishops, called curates, whiche are superintendentes in euery lytle parishe, 2hauyng borowed this name Curate of the auncient Curions of Rome. If one will not deduce the etimologie or signi­fication of the same from the Greeke word Cura,Cura. Curio, sacer­dos, Cure, qui in sua cura, id est in sua par­rochia sacris praeerat. Tit Liu. lib. 1 Decad. 1. that is shauing or polling, for that the auncient Curions & Sacri­ficers had their pollings & head shauen after the forme of the Babilonians, or of the Herculians bishops, called for the same cause Stephanophores, as bea­ring a crown vpon their heads. Wher­fore me thinketh that all the members of the missall sacrifice had their begin­ning of the Pompilion religion, & that one should do wrong vnto the auncient romain Idolators,Tit. Liu. Fe­nest. Pompo. Let. if he shuld take from thē the original of the names of Masse, of bishop, & of curate, as it is iustified and [Page] euident by y^e auncient romain histories. Touching the vestiments of the Masse sacrificers Neuma ordeyned y^t it should be whyte, called by y^e Latin word Alba an aulbe. The which name aulbe hath cōtinued to this day for the vestiment of the priest celebrating Masse.Aulbe. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. cap. 17. Super tunicā aeneā pectori tegumen. Tit. lib. Deca. 1. Aboue the aulbe was also ordeyned for the sacrifi­cer to weare a lytle Iacket paynted in colours. And aboue that an ornament for the brest of brasse or copper, after­ward chaunged into gold or siluer, whi­che the Massalians called a Cheasuble,Chasuble. they vsed also a vaile to couer their head in sacrificing called an ammas first instituted by Eneas.Virgil. lib. Ene. 3. pur­pur [...]o velare comas adoper tus amictu, fit capite ante aras phrigio velamus ami­ctu. These be the principal vestiments instituted by Numa, more then 700 yeres before the incarnation of Iesus Christ. True it is that afterward manye enrichementes of the Iewes were added thereto, as the Stole, the Ephod, the Zone, or Gyrdle, the me­ter or Thear, and certayne other orna­mentes, the goodlyer to garnyshe the great whore of Babilon.

[Page] But the Massalians wyllynge to disguyse the originall of their vestements of the masse haue imagined the aulbe to fygure the con­uersation of Iesu christ in his fleshe, Titelman in [...]racta. de ex­ [...]osi. myniste. [...]issae. & Ga­ [...]e Biel. in lib. [...]e exposi. [...]issae. or the puritie of his bodye incarnate in the wombe of the virgyn. Other do interprete the whyte colour to sygnifye chastitie and continence. Others playing and mocking the passion of Iesu christ do sophisticallye sygnifye by the aulbe, the whyte garment presented by He­rode vnto christ when he was sent backe (as a foole) to Pilate. Philo the Iewe a more excel­lent philosopher, in his treatise of dreames, doth subtelly say the aulbe doth sygnifye the certentie of the moste cleare lighte of god, which he calleth ens: the linnen also whereof the aulbe is made, thei do interprete the subteltie of the scriptures. And as touching the am­mas inuented by Eneas, they disguyse it to be the vayle wherwith christ was couered when the Iues in the house of caiphas did mock him in buffeting hym. Titelman one of the most subtel massalians doth sophistically say by the ammas to be sygnifyed the diuinitie of christ hid vnder the humanitie. Some other also do cōfes the ammas to be come in, in place of the Ephod of the Iewes. The zone, the manipule and the stole, whiche be thre kyndes, they fy­gure the thre cordes wherewith christ was bonde and led before the priestes, and before [Page] the lieutenaunts of the Romaines in Iewrye. Biel another subtell massalian doth interprete by zone the roddes wherewith christ was whipped, by the stole layed a crosse, to sygni­fye the gibber or gallowes that christ cary­ed vppon his shulders. The manipule also ca­ried vppon the left arme to fygure the bonde of loue wherewith christ was holden. Ano­ther mummerie by the zone wherewith the aulbe is trussed to sygnifye the bonde of the charitie of god. The stole put vppon the am­mas in the necke of the massalian in forme of the crosse to fygure the obedience of Ie­sus christ vnto the death of the crosse. The manipule caryed vpon the left hand to fygure eternall felicitie of Iesus christ. Another so­phistrie by the ammas to fygure fayth, by the stole the humilitie of obedience, by the ma­nipule, the watch and hartye deuotion of the massyng sacrificer. Titelman doth surmyse otherwyse of the manipule on the left hand, to be fygured the force and battell of christ agaynst all powers visible and inuisible, as a bockler against all temptations: and the hem­mes of the manipule to fygure a fynall per­seueraunce. He doth sophist also by the left hand to be vnderstande the humain infirmi­tie of christ, the which bound with the ma­nipule, doeth fygure christ holden as it were ouercome by the diuinitie. Brunus another [Page] Massalian doctour doth imagin by the mani­pule the care of the massyng priest to chase a­way euill affections, or otherwyse to fygure the cord wherwyth Christ was bound by the Iewes: by the Stoel, to be figured the yocke of the Lord, the which the Massalian ought to haue garnished with armes of righteousnes on the left side & on the right. The other painted ornament firste instituted by Neuma the magician they haue disguysed it wyth the name of planet as a wauering vestment, others wyse called a cape or a chasuble, whiche they doe sophist to represent the purple to be pre­sented vnto christ in the iudgement hal of Pi­late, to mocke him, calling him king of the Iewes. Another sophistry by such a garment to be figured the nature of christ, where the dei­tye was hid. Philo the Iue platonising, doth interprete by this vestment decked with dyuers colours, to be figured the starres & heauenlye signes. Then the Massiliā sacrificer thus rigged with his aulbe, Ammas, his zone, manipule starres, & with his chasuble or cape of diuers colors, must stretch out his armes, to play two personags at one, representing by his chasuble or cape (whereof the part before is lesse then that behind) the first church frō Abel to christ. And by the part behind more large & also en­riched with the signe of the crosse to figure the christiā people. This chasuble must accord [Page] with the Ammas which was before vpon the bedde, to signifie the coniūction of christ and his church. The aulbe also must be agreable to the chasuble to signifie christ to be applyed vnto our infirmites. Beside the vestments aboue said, Philo the Iue doth adde the mitre to figure the riall diademe of the massalians which ought to haue their heddes anoynted with creame,Philo in lib. de profug.or with holy oyle to signifye the princelines of the priestes. The whych ornament of the mytte is nowe reserued for the greate sacryfycers onely.

Yt restith to descend to the discription of the partes of the Masse, the originall wherof particularly we desire according to the trueth. Fyrst to the masses called high celebrated on Sondaies. The Mas­salian sacryfycers, haue taken of the re­ligion Pompilian to coniure a clensyng water called hollywater,Apul. lib. 11. of the golden Asse. Proclus in li. de sacrifi. & Gag. Proel. Platoni ca [...]u. consecrated to sprinkle the assystauntes at the sacrifice. The comuration and enchaunting insti­tuted by Neuma was of sea or salt wa­ter, for thys cause sayth he, that the salte was participant of a fyery nature, or of [...]er very apt to puryfye.

[Page] Eius aquae as­persione, pec­cata, preser­tim periuria, mendatiaque dilui crede­bant. Blond. lib. de Rom. trium. Ouid lib. Fast 3. in the law of the discourse the religion by Choul. i. Holy water stocks of two sortes. Diis superis sacra facturus corporis ablutione purga­batur: cum vero inferis li­tandum erat sola aspersio sufficiebat. Blond. lib. 2. de. Rō. trium Macro. lib. 3. Satu. cap. 1. In Delii Apo­lonis templo praecipua erat equa sacrifi­cantium vsui accommoda quam ad ali­os vsus hau­sisse magni criminis in­star erat. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4 cap. 17. Platine Si cinis vitu­la aspersus populum iudae­rum munde­bat, multo magis aqua sale conspersa po­pulum sancti ficat & insi­dias diaboli auertit ca. aquam de cō ­secrat. di­stinct. 1. Law of god corrupted.For this cause the aunciaunt Romain Idolatours did sprynckle with thys salt water coniured (as with Mercury wa­ter) purging and cleansyng the faultes of the people, specially of periured and lyers. To conserue this water halowed and coniured, they had two sortes of ho­ly water vessels. The one great fixed and made fast at the entrie of their tem­ples, where they did worshippe theyr Images: to the ende to sprynckle with the same salted water those which dyd enter into the sayde temples. The other holy water vessel was cariable, to trans­porte of the same water through theyr temples or houses: to the ende to water them for theyr cleansings & purifyings. They whiche oughte to celebrate the Masse, if it were to the inferiour gods, it was sufficient that the sacrificing priest did sprynckle him selfe with the same purging water. But if the sacrifi­cer did celebrate Masse to the superiour gods, he muste bathe his whole bodye, and washe all hys members. It was al­so [Page] defended to apply this purging water to any other vse, saue for clensings and purginges. Alexander the firste of that name: next successour of the appostles of Iesus christ. And one of the first corrup­tours of the holy sacramentes ordayned of god, folowing the same institution of Pompilius contynued this Idolatry of coniuring and consecrating of holye water, to chase away diuills. But the better to colour this Pompilian witch­craft he inuented this comparison. Yf it be so (saith Alexander) that the ashes of a redd cowe offered vp in sacrifice ming­led with water of the fountaine pury­fied the people of the Iues. By muche greater reason the water coniured with salt shoulde purifie christians & chase a­waye diuills. Is not this a breakinge & corrupting of the holy lawe of god, to ac­cord with the Romaines taughte in the auncient doctrine and religion of Neu­ma Pompilius the coniurer. Yf Alex­ander had not beene so much geuen to the vse of salt, instituted by the auncient [Page] Idolatours for their clensing water, he would rather haue followed the iudai­call ceremony,Num. 19. and haue ordayned ashes to consecrate the purgynge water. And where he would thynke to vyser his do­yng by the miracle of Elizeus which did puryfie the water with salte.4. Kyngs. 2. Moyses al­so dyd the lyke wyth the woode showed vnto hym, when the people of Israell were in suche necessitie of swete water to drinke.Exod. 15. But by these myracles it is not recited that Elizeus nor Moises had instituted a purgynge water to puryfye the people of the Iewes. And it shal not be founde, that there was at anye tyme amongs the iudaicall ceremonies any o­ther purging water, but with the ashes of the beast offred vp for burnt sacrifyce.Num. 19. Wherfore Alexander and his like must fréelye acknowledge the inuention of their Salte and coniured water for the purginge of synnes, to haue taken hys originall of Neuma Pompilius, more then. 700. yeares before the incarnati­on of Iesus Christ.

[Page]This purging water was so well obser­ued of the Romayne Idolatours,Histo. tripart. lib. 6. cap. 35. that more than. 360. yeares after the incarna­tion of Iesus Christ, it is recited howe the Emperour Valentinian entryng in-into the temple of the goddesse fortune,Valentinian the emperour against holy water sprin­keled. a sacrifycer watchyng the sayd Temple dyd sprinkle him with thys blessed pur­gyng salted water, whiche he had taken out of the holly water stocke beynge at the entraunce of the said temple, wher­wyth the Emperour beynge chauffed smote the Pryest holdyng the holly wa­ter stycke, saying he was rather defyled then puryfyed. By these true Histories the Massalians may vaunt themselues, the first part of their Masse sacrifice to be very auncient. And that their holywater stockes,Holy vvater very aunciēt. & salted clensing & purging wa­ter, are of the auncient doctrine of Neu­ma pompilius & not of the Euangelicall doctrine of Iesus Christ, whyche they call new doctrine, & new Testament, as diffring from the auncient Ceremonies of the Iewes and Panyms Idolatours. [Page] But againe I cannot meruell inough, wherefore Alexander did enterprise the restoring of the Pompilion Idolatrye,Against salt holy water of Alexander pope of rome seing he had a meane to reinstitute the ceremoniall water after the fashion of the Iues. And this doing to followe ra­ther the law of god then Neuma Pom­pilius, for he had easye meanes to reco­uer ashes to make a purging water af­ter the maner of the Iues: namely of holy and precious ashes, to say of the ashes kept in their shrienes, and comming of courtaines Towells & vessels consecra­ted,Ca. Omnes de consecrat. de­stinct. 4. & ca. Altaria. & ca. Vestimenta. destinct. 1. which the byshop Cleament prede­cessour of Alexander had forbidden to be applyed to any prophane vse. But being worne with oldnes, to be burned in the fyer. And the ashes to be put into the Fount. Were not these holye ashes, to haue moued Alexander to restoore the ashye and purginge water after the ma­ner of the Iues, if he had not beene so denty of salt and found a better taste, to continue the auncient Romain religi­on? Other ashes might haue ben found [Page] by the successours of Alexander: To witte,Ca. Altaria de consecrat. distinct. of the rounde hostes vnleuened & consecrated, which the great bishop Higinus ordeyned to be burned (which falling vpon the earth might not be left for the massing sacrificer) and the ashes of the same hostes to be put into the shri­nes. Other ashes also might haue bene gotten of the rattes, myce, and other beasts deuouring the sayde consecrated hostes, and ordeyned to be burned,In lib. cantel. Miss. and the ashes to be put into the shrynes.

Seing then that Alexander woulde not followe the ceremoniall lawe of God, to ordeyne a water blessed, salted, conse­crated and coniured: Why did he not at the least put his salte in the hoste of the Massalian sacrificer,Leuit. 2. [...] which they saye is offered to God as a health sacrifice? In doing whereof he shoulde haue folowed the ceremonie of Moyses, by the whiche he commaunded y^t salt should be offered in all sacrifices, & therw^t to sprinckle the sacrifice offered for health. But if Alex­ander and his successours woulde haue [Page] folowed the lawe of God, they woulde haue inuented nothing of their owne braynes, they would neuer haue made them selues so renowmed to haue lefte the memorie of their institutions.The occation of inuenting newe idola­tries. For this occasion they would in nothing fo­lowe the lawe of God, but contrarywise haue forbidden to put salt into the roūd hostes consecrated to celebrate the mis­sall sacrifices. They haue forbidden also to put ashes into their holy water, to the ende that in all their institutions, men shuld know, that they borow nothing of the law of God, nor of y^e law of Moyses, much lesse of the euangelical law of Ie­sus christ, but only haue taken thought to bring in inuentions, notwithstan­ding that they were inuented by thaun­cient Painims and Romain Idolators 700 yeres before the incarnation of Ie­sus Christ. To finishe thys fyrst parte of the Masse: it had bene more expedi­ent (O Massalians) that in place of your sacrifices, and coniured salt wa­ter, wherewith you sprinkle the people [Page] to haue clearely declared the holy ghos­pell, causing the people to vnderstande,The true ho­ly water of al christians. that the purifying and washing of their sinnes, did hang onely on the bloode of Iesus Christ, who is strong inough to driue awaye diuelles, to bring vs from hell,Hebre. 9. to preserue vs from death euerla­sting, and to deface in vs all spottes of synne, withoute vsing of adiurati­on and coniurynge with salte, to driue awaye Diuelles, accordynge to the Witchecrafte of Pompilius, and the heresie of the Samaritains,Epipha. lib 1. tom. 1. sec. 9 & 17. conte. haec. which dyd beleue to be purified by washyng them­selues euery day with holy water.

After the Asperges song,2. part of the masse. and the holy coniured water sprinkeled vpon all the aulters, Images, and assistaunce at the missall sacrifice,Procession. followed the Proces­sion, whyche some woulde attribute to Agapet Byshoppe of Rome.Platine But it was instituted moore than a thou­sande yeares before hym:Tit. Liuius in his decades. whyche the auncient Romayne Idolatours did call Supplication.

[Page] Supplicatio­nes quas nos processiones vocamus, fie­bant circa de­lubra fana (que) & puluiuaria in quibus honos dijs dabatur, praecedentibus pueris ingenuis ac sacerdotibus coronatis ac lauream te­nentibus ma­nu voce mo­dulata tanen­tibus carmen subsequente maximo pontifice vel cu­rione: deinde sequentibus patriciis ac senatorib. cū coniugibus et liberis plerū (que) coronatis. Apul. lib. 11. de asin. aur. Blond. lib. 2. de Rō. trium. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 5. cap. 27. in the booke of the dis­course of the auncient re­ligion of the Romains. Apul. lib. 11. of the golden Asse. Alex. ab Alex. lib 50. cha. 27.The maner instituted by Neuma to go in procession, to appeace the wrath of their gods, or to obteyne peace, or to praye to god for the fruites of the earth, the order was in this sort. First before the procession went yonge children, then the priests cled in whyte surplusses, sin­ging hymnes, prayses, and songes, to the honour of theyr goddes. After mar­ched the high Bishoppe or Curate, than the auncient Senatours of Rome, with their wyues and children, and some tyme the common people did assist the same also. In this procession was ca­ried commonly the pagent or shryne of the God Iupiter, or Anubis, by some of the priestes cledde in whyte surplices, (theyr heads being shauen) and hauing a crowne vppon theyr heades. Thys crowne was in suche reputation, that the Emperour Commodus Antonius himselfe the high bishop caused his head to be shauen and shorne round, expresly to beare the Pagent of the god Anubis. Before the Pagent or shryne went a [Page] torche bearer carying a taper lyght in his hande. When the procession dyd passe through the streates, there were restyng places prepared, to serue for sta­tions for the priestes pagenporters to breath themselues. During the proces­sion, the temples were opened, the aul­ters and Images perfumed with en­cense, and the reliques of the gods visi­ted. In the dayes appoynted for proces­sion, it was kept holy, the shoppes being shutte, the Halles of iustice closed and the prisoners vnchayned. Who coulde better paynt forthe the order of the pro­cessions obserued vnto this daye by the massalians, instructed from the father to the sonne by the religion of Pompili­us?Herodote in his histories. Ierem. in epi. ad Iudeos in Babilonem abducendos Ne verticem deraditote neue barbam vellitote. What other anthour can there be alledged for the ceremonies obserued in the processions but Neuma Pompi­lius? If the massalians wyll not runne further for theyr shauen crowned heads their vestiments, and whyte surplyces, whych the auncient Idolatrous Egip­tians were accustomed to vse or to the [Page] priests the goddesse Isis, or to the Ba­bilonians sacrificers, whiche had theyr their heads and beards shauen. For as touchyng the lawe of god the contrarye was obserued,Liuit. 19. nec in gyrum ac rotundū at­tonde bitis comam vestram nec radetis barbam Eze­ch. 44. and the priests were for­bidden to clippe rounde their heades and heares, and that they shoulde not haue shauen beards. And as for the law of the ghospell, there is no lyke ce­remonie commaunded by Iesus Christ nor by thapostles. They must then take their course vnto thauncient religion of Pompilius.Banner of procession. Moreouer in the procession there is added a crosse & a banner. This banner was called by the auncient Ro­main Idolators Labarum, which was a signe reputed holy & reucrend, aswell by the dictators & emperours, as by the souldiers going on Warfare.Ex libris Mes­salae ad octa­nianum Au­gustum. In this banner, first Antenor caused this Itali­an word Truye or Troye (after y^e name of Troia) to be painted, which sigfinieth in English a Sow. The which banner Antenor vowed & dedicated to the tem­ple of Iuno queene of the heauens, for [Page] that,Apul. lib. 11. de asin. aur. that the Sowe was the sacrifice consecrated vnto the same goddesse. Af­terward the auncient Romains caused to be paynted in their banner Mercu­ries mace.in the booke of the dis­course of the auncient re­ligion of the Romains. In the whiche was painted the portrature of two Dragons or Ser­pents enterlased. Than after was pain­ted an Egle for the armes of the Emperour of Rome. But Constantine the great, Emperour in Grecia, caused to be grauen a figure in Greke letters of an Χ interlaced with an ρ, and at the two sides α & ω in this signe

meanynge to signifie thys worde [...], Christe. This banner was caryed vppon a pole of Woode in crosse wyse, the banner beinge foure square after the fashion of an ensygne of crimsyn or violet Saye, the bourders enriched w^t fringe of golde or of siluer & precious stones. After this maner haue our Massalians enriched their Pompilious processions, in y^e which were caried banners as thei shoulde go to warre.

[Page]But in place of painting there the name of Iesus Christ they haue painted the I­mages and liknesses of diuers gods and godesses he saincts & she saincts patrons of euery parishe. This in sūme is the be­ginning of the Missall procession, for the second part of the Masse. Was there e­uer so great Idolatry emongs the Isra­lites, when they woulde celebrate their feasts of sweat bread, to eate the paschall lambe a figure of the holye sacrament of of the supper, which y^e massalians haue disguised by their sacrifices of y^e Masse? dyd they euer cause to be carryed in pro­cession the flesh & bloud of the vnspotted lambe? Did they euer lay it vp in shriene to be caryed in procession throughte the streates? The brasen serpent (notwyth­standinge they abused it) dyd they euer cause it to be borne in a shryne vpon the shulders of the priestes which had theyr heades and beards shauen.In the yere of Christ. 1264. As the great byshop Vrbain did ordain to carry in procession the consecrated host by the massa­lians. And instituted a solempne feast a [Page] thursday euery yeare, to thende to turne the vse of the sacrament into a more detestable idolatry, then al his predecessours had done before him? After the sprink­ling or holy water, & the procession done Neuma ordained that the Massing sacrificer to celebrate the sacrifice,3. part of the masse, are the aulter, taper and lyght. being clo­thed w^t his aulbe, & chasuble or tunicle painted, the head crowned, & beard sha­uen shuld approch to the alter, to the end to make all things ready for the sacrifice furnished with a Lampe or Taper light which cōmonly was of Tede or pinapole tree.Ouid. lib. 4 de fast. Apul. lib. 11. de asin. aur. Plutar in Neuma. For without an alter & fier no sacrifice could be celebrated. He ordained also that the massing priest shuld turne hymself to the alter toward y^e East. Porphier the hereticke did not only continue this Pompilius witchrast but also did ordain the porches & thimmages to be tourned toward the East, to the end y^e those that entred into y^e temples in bowing themselues before them should addresse theyr praiers toward the East,Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. cap. 17 like as y^e Per­lians doe worship the sunne in the east. [Page] Be not these institutions Massalians and Pompilions contrary to the aunci­ent ceremoniall lawe of the Iewes, in the whiche it was forbidden to addresse prayers towarde the East, for a diffe­rence from the auncient Idolators.

Acknowledge then (O Massalians) that the erection of your aulters toward the East,Exod. 20. Leuit. 26. Deut. 5. Esay. 40. your lampes and tapers lyght, your pictures & Images reuerensed in your missall sacrifices to haue taken their beginninge of the auncient Ro­main religion appoynted by you from one to another. For the pictures & ima­ges wherewith your aulters be decked and adorned to celebrate your missall sacrifices, can not take theyr originall of the law of God, y^t which doth not forbid onely the sufferynge of any Images in the churches, but also to make them, and reuerence them. Vnto whome can God be made lyke? What Image, picture, or what portrature can be in­uented for hym? Neuerthelesse, by a moste detestable and abhominable [Page] herisie,Abhomina­ble idolatrie you (O Massalians) haue cau­sed the Image and likenesse of the Tri­nitie one God and three persons to be prynted in your rounde hoostes whyche you cause to be worshipped.

Neuerthelesse the two doctours Massalians Titelman and Biell interprete the aulter o­therwyse, when the massyng priest doeth ap­proche laden with his chalise of golde to fy­gure Christ carying the crosse vnto the mountayne of Caluery, then the priest kyssyng the aulter to fygure the marriage and weddyng synge of christ with hys churche. The right hand of the aulter to fygure the people of the Iewes, and the left hande the people of the Gentiles. Durand. lib. rubr. de m [...] tat. For this cause Durand a subtel mas­salian hath written, that the missall memorie oughte to beginne at the right hande of the aulter, and on the same part to ende. And yet notwithstanding the principal aperies are celebrated at the left hand of the aulter. Touchīg the fyer and lyghted taper, they fygure christ: as beyng the fyer that consumeth the rust of our synnes, or otherwyse the fyer of charitie compassing aboute the christian people, and the bournyng taper to sygnifie the lyght of fayth, the ioyes to come, and the incarna­tion of christ.

[Page] Be not these detestable sophistries, the which Neuma the Sorcerer neuer thought of, when he instituted the aulter, the fyer, and the bur­ning taper to sacrifice.

4. part of the Masse.To continue the order of the missall sacrifice, the Massalian priest approching to the aulter, the taper burning and cled and adorned with his aulbe and chasu­ble tourning his face toward the East, beholding the Images gilt and carued, before all thyngs must say hys Confiteor and confesse him self,Confiteor. in acknowledging hys offences,Rem diuinā facturus ad suam leuan­dam culpam se inprimis rerum dicere debebat & noxae penite­re ac fateri admissum, vultū (que) sub­mittere. Alex. ab Alex, lib. 4. cap. 17 Blond. lib. 1. de Rō. trium. and aske pardon of the gods and goddesses, of the he saincts and she saincts, requiring iust and reasona­ble things. As Pythagoras doth saye in his golden verses, and Orpheus in hys hymnes, for Neuma the Sorcerer este­med the conscience of the Priest massa­lian to be well purged by hys confessi­on. And that without Confiteor the sa­crifice coulde not be well celebrated.

Beholde than, neyther Damaze nor Pontiam Byshoppes of Rome, can not geue the glorye to themselues that they [Page] first instituted the Confiteor, For the Massalian sacrificer: for more than a thousande yeres before them, it was forged by the auncient Romain Idola­ters. And yet is continued to this pre­sent day, that the priestes celebratinge their missall sacrifice shall pronounce or murmour a Confiteor, in a language neyther vnderstande of them, nor of the assistaunts, addressing their praiers and requestes vnto the gods and goddesses, to the he saincts and she saincts, in place of reuerensing, honouring, praying, & worshipping the true, onely and almightye God, creator of all goodnes.

Neuerthelesse, the Alcoran of Titelman doth interprete the Confiteor of the Massa­lian to signifye the confession of christ for the synnes of the people. Cap. 9.

After the Confiteor murmured to obserue the religion and ceremonies of Pompilius,5. part of the masse. the massyng priest ought to tosse and retosse, tourne and retourne,Turnings & beckings. along the aulter: Liftyng vp his hands, [Page] than letting them downe?Hae sunt ver­ [...]igines in sa­ [...]tis a Numa [...]nstitutae dex [...]eram ad os­ [...]ulum ferre [...] se in orbē [...]ircumagere. [...]lond. lib. [...]le Rō. trium. Macro. in Sa­ [...]urnali. with prayers and meditations towarde the East. For Neuma the sorcerer, had an opinion of great holines to be in these tournynges bowings & conuersions of the priests bo­dy. This is the occation (as a man maye coniecture) of the adding to of this plea­sant song at the enterance of the Masse, when the sacrifycer begynneth to make his noddes, & tournes, I will enter (saith he) vnto the Alter of god which maketh my youth to reioyse.The entraūce of the masse. Hath he not iuste cause of reioysing seyng the Table cloth layed, the Table furnished, the bancket prepared the Musick of orgaines, and o­ther instruments sonding, the odors and encensing, the cup full of wine, the colla­cion ready, the pot and offring to fyll hys purse? Be not al these meanes to reioice the youth of the sacrificer, entringe vnto the alter, to masse, turne, & daunce after the maner prescribed vnto him by y^e Ma­gician Numa Pompilius?Plin. lib. 28. And not onely the Romaynes, but also the other Idolatours in celebratynge their sacrifyces [Page] were wont to tourne, and retourne, lyf­ting vp the right hand vnto their mouth then tournyng all their body, the whych turnynges and noddings were accomp­ted holye.

Titelman in hys alcoran doth resite that the massing sacrificer in making his trauersinge a long the aulter, doth make .7. courtesies or sa­lutations vnto the assystaunce in his sacrifice. To the end to chase away the .7. deadly sinnes by the seuenfold grace of the holy ghost. but in making his .7, courtesies in his Masse dance, he ought to tourne hymselfe toward the assi­staunce (except before the preface, and kissing the paxe) what time he is occupied in the breaking of the round hoost, to transubstanciat him into an accidence without a substaunce.

These beckynges bowynges,6. part of the masse. Organes. tour­nynges, and towynges fynished by the Massalian sacryfycer, Numa ordayned the sounde of Orgaynes, flutes, and Vyolles, to synge hymnes, prayses, and songes, to the honour of their goddes in the name of whome, the Myssall sacry­fyce was celebrated.

[Page]This part of the Masse hath bene enry­ched wyth diuers songes, by diuers by­shoppes of Rome. Some as Flaman & Diodore did institute Anthemes The­lesphore,Antiphones. Collectes. y^t Collects: Leon or Gelase the Graduels,Graduels. Gregory or Gelase, the Traictes,Sequences. Gothgere abbot of Sandall, the Sequenses. Whiche are diuers songes of musicke seruing to adorne & enriche the missall sacrifice. But if the commenta­ries of the auncient Romaines bishops instituted by Neuma were discouered,Hymnorum plures species erant, hypin­gos Dianae, Apollini pean & prosoedia Dionisio di­thiranibus, Cereri iulus: Veneri eroti­chus: praeter quos fuere prosoedion, hyporchema, & stafimon. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. cap. 17. much greater deuersitie, of songs ballets hymnes, odes & cantiles, shuld be found dedicated and consecrated to diuers gods & goddesses. euen like as the diuersitie of diuers songes of musicke hath increased according to the diuersitie of diuers Mis­sall sacrifices ordayned to dyuers gods & goddesses he sainctes and she sainctes. For like as the auncient Idolatours did celebrate their sacrifices to dyuers gods & goddesses. So the Massalians conty­nued the celebration of their Masses to dyuers he and she sainctes, One in the [Page] name of our lady, another in the name of Sainct Sebestian,Diuers masses other of the holye ghost & other of Requiem,Drye masses. in so much y^t they made a difference betewene drye Masses & other common Masses, wher­in they made the soppe stieped in wyne. In such sort that therof came an infinite number of Missal sacrifices vnto diuers he and she sainctes. Vnto the whiche were songe diuers songes and sequen­ces. Be not these horrible and abhomi­nable corruptions of the holy sacrament of the supper of Iesus Christ, thereof hauing made an Idolatrie after the fa­shion of the auncient sacrifices institu­ted by the coniurer Neuma? Where­fore the Bishoppe Vitalian ought not to glorifie him selfe that he enriched the sacrifice of the Masse with the sounde of Organs. For more then 1200 yeres be­fore him this institution was published by the Magician Neuma.

But to stuffe this babilonicall sacrifyce, the massalian Alcoranists haue interpreted the diuersitie of their musicall songes, by a pytha­goricall, [Page] philosophie. Touching the collectes, that is to saye, the patched praiers they haue cōmaunded, that they shalbe songe in number odde, to wit, 3, 5, or .7. the .3. to figure the trinite the .5. to represent the fyue woundes of christ, the .7. to figure the .7. wordes of christ vpō the crosse, or elles the .7. giftes of the holy ghost. Moreouer for a more subtill pithagoricall di­uinitie, the Massesayer oughte not to passe the number of .7. by the ordinance of pope Inno­cent the third of that name: the sophist Biel in his alcoran of the interpretation of the Masse, doth adde that the nūber of the collects shuld be equall to the praiers of the secrets, that is to say praiers of the Massemonger murmured in secret to the end they be not contempned of the people. After the collects is the song of the graduell more sharpe & graue a figure of the confession of the publicans hauing heard the preaching of Iohn baptist. Notwythstandyng the song of the graduell was not song in the Missall sacrifices from Easter vnto the feaste of penticost, to figure the blessed estate of the world to come.

Further besyde the sounde of orgay­nes,7. part of the masse. and songes of Musick the auncient Romaynes Idolatours were wonte to [Page] vse in their sacrifices parfume of encens whiche they caused to be keepte in a lyt­tle vessell called Acerra a censour.Perfume of encence. In this litle Frankensens coffer were put the odours whych the sacerficer did take to encence the Aulter, the Images,Blond. lib. 1. de Rō. trium. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. cap. 17. iliacis tempo­ribus veteres non thu [...]e, sed cedri, & citri fumo deos adolebant. Platine the hoostes or sacrifices specially in the Mas­ses celebrated vnto the god Ianus, and vnto the goddesse Vesta, whyche toke pleasure in encence & wine offered vnto them. For in the time of the Troians, in stead of encence, cedre and Citron were vsed for parfume. It was not then Leo bishop of Rome that first instituted the vse of encence and encensing in the Mis­sall sacrifice. For more then .700. yeares before the incarnation of Iesu Christ y^e auncient Romain Idolatours dyd vse encence in their sacrifices.Tit. Liui. lib. 3 Decades. 3. And also the Romaines did retayn the word in latin. Thus, which signifieth encence, of the auncient word Thyo, that is to say I sa­crifice, bycause the Idolatours did vse in all their sacrifices encence,Tit. Liui. lib. 9. Decad. 3. they had also a portable encensor to encence wythall. [Page] Neuerthelesse, some wryte that the auncient Romaine Idolators celebra­ting theyr sacrifices vnto the Goddesse Ceres vsed the gumme of Pyne called Tede,Ouid. de fast. lib. 3. in stede of encence, for whyche cause Ceres was called of the Poetes Tedifere.

By the Alcoram of Titelman, the encense is interpreted the prayer of the Massalian, for that it doeth mounte vp into heauen in a sa­uour of swetenesse, euen as the smoke of en­cence doth rise vp on heyght. He doth sophist also with Biel his companion, the censour to fygure the grace of the holy ghost. These subtell Alcoranists alledge the place of Tobie, who chased away the deuyll by the perfume of the broyled lyuer. The same Biel interpre­teth otherwyse, the encense to fygure Mary Magdalenes annoynting of christ, and be­cause christ was twyse annoynted, the en­cense muste be also offered twyse in the mis­sall sacrifice.

8. part of the masse. Plin. lib. 1. cap. 3. Offertorie.For another parte of the missall sa­crifice celebrated by the auncient Ido­lators, was the Offertorie, of the fyrst fruictes offered, to the honour of the [Page] gods in the name of whom the sacrifice was celebrated. This Offertorie was for the massinge sacrificer, whiche he might frely carye into hys owne house, for the nourishement of him selfe and his familie: notwithstanding there wer other offeryngs distributed to those that wer nedefull. After by y^e couetousnes of y^e Massalians, this vsage was chaunged into an offertorie or offering of siluer or golde to enriche the coffer, which some woulde haue attributed to Leo bishop of Rome,Platine notwithstandinge that the Offertorie was practised moore then a thousande yeres before him. And to the ende to iustifie this by the Romaine hi­stories: When Neuma had instituted the Ministers of the religion, as Bi­shops, Augures, Sauliens, Feciaux, Curions and others,Blond. lib 2. de Rō. trium. he ordeyned also the meanes howe to nourish and enter­tayne them, he commaunded to make of the common reuenues foundations, for the nourishment and maintenance of the religions Vestales. Folowinge [Page] his example manye particuler persons did the lyke.Sacerdotiorū siue benefici­orum duo erant genera, vnum quorū collatio ad rep. aut prin­cipem aut ad pontificum collegium spectabat: Al­terum quorū collatio ad aliquam familiam eius (que) successores pertinebat, quae beneficia vitis patrona­tus censeban­tur. Blond. lib. 2. de Rō trium. A dispence for many be­nefices. Tit. Liuiuius lib. 30. The foun­ding of be­nefices. Vacations & setting ouer Offertorie. Tertia sacer­dotiorū opu­lenta, a solutionibus inue­niebat, quas inferiores su­perioribꝰ pontificibus im­pendebant quale apud nos est cum pontifici ro­mano fructus primos anti­stites & his minores sa­cerdotes ad obtinuenda beneficia pe­cuniam dis­soluunt. Biond. lib. 2. de Rō. trium. Cicero in oratione pro do­mo sua ad pontifices Blond. lib. 3. de Rō. trium. So that benefices became riche by foundations. The same bene­fices were of two sortes. The one at the presentation & bestowing of the prynce, or of the comon welth or of the colledge of bishops. The other were at the pre­sentation of some particuler patrons of the sayde benefices, by whome they were founded and endowed with great riches. Of the whiche benefices the great bishoppes of Rome haue vsurped authoritie to geue dispensation to haue two at once, euen as it is recited in the historie of Liuie, of Fabius Maximus, who had by dispence two benefices than when he was created bishop, more then two hundred yeres before the incarna­tion of Iesus Christ. This was then first reuenewe of the Massalian sacri­ficers to haue benefices rychely foun­ded. The seconde reuenewe was the Offertorie, or offerynge, the Offertory and oblations. The thyrde reuenewe was the vocations and the first fruicts, [Page] whiche the Idolatrous Romaine Bi­shoppes were accustomed to take, for the vacation of the benefices whyche they gaue, solde, or dispensed with.

The fourthe reuenewe was deathes, annualls, legacies, and bequestes ge­uen, to pray vnto their gods for the sou­les of the departed. The whiche is ve­rified this daye by the monuments and tombes of the auncient Idolatours.

The first reuenew was amerciaments, condemnations and confications leuied by the bishops of Rome: as the place & house of Cicero (when he was banished) wer cōfiscate to the colledge of the prie­sts, & dedicated specially to the sacrifices celebrated in y^e temple cōsecrated to the goddesse Libertie. Passing by I thought good to recite this summe of thauncient romain sacrificers, to the end that vnto all it maye be knowen, that all the abu­ses and Idolatries, succeded in the churche of Iesus Christ are not newe: But had theyr originall restored & ta­ken of the auncient romaine Idolators: [Page] As the foundations of Masses, Obites, Mounthmindes the dispensing of many benefices, annalls, vaccantes, tran­slations, offeringes & Masse boxe, amer­cementes and confiscations, adiudged by the sentence of the bishop of Rome, as are also other ordinances restored by the new Romain Bishops & continued frō the one to the other.The yere of our lord. 383. Blond. lib. 2. de Rō. trium. To this porpose it is recited in the Romain histories that synce the raign of the Emperour Valentinian the .xii. of y^t name, great sedition happened at Rome betwen y^e christians, & the Idolatours priests whych stryued amongs themselues, whether had more enriched the church by fundations, laga­cies, bequests, offerings & other inuen­tions: in such sort that the heathen Idolatours & infidels which did vsurpe again the temple presently called the church of S. Peter at Lians, did fight against the christians of Rome which would haue dedicated the same to their deuotion.

After the offertorie the Aleoran of Titleman doth hold that the masse monger must for a time kepe silence, Cap. 35. to figure the fliyng of christ [Page] or feare of the disciples to confesse him before the Iewes. Then after the sacrificer doth singe on hygh Per omnia secula seculorum for thys that christ after that he was in secret did shovv himself openly in the house of Lazarus, Then he syngeth sanctus sanctus sanctus: to sygnifie the song of the Iues whē christ entred into Ierusalē. This musyke ended the sacrificer must secretly murmur, betwene his teath, counter­fetting sadnes without anye tourninges, but yet he muste playe a domme mommerie by sygnes of crosses drawen here awaies & there awaies as we shall hereafter declare.

After the offertorie we must come to the ix. part of the Masse,9. part of the Masse the round host of floure. Plutar in Numa. the most ryche & most dentie for the Massalians. That is the hoste or sacryfyce. Wherein dothe consist the principall end or marke of the masse sacrifice.Pollux in o­nom. lib. 6. Mysteriis per­actis, qui sa­cris intererāt, rotundis pa­nibꝰ, quos in honorem deorum adhib e­bant stantes resceban̄tur nec nisi sacri­ficio perfecto vesci licebat. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. cap. 17 In the time of the coniu­rer Numa the Romaines had not yet in vse to kill & offer vp the bloud of beastes But aboute the ende of the Masse sacri­fice, it was ordained to eate and cōmu­nicate togither wythin the temple lytle round Cakes consecrated to the honour of the gods in whose name y^e Masse was [Page] celebrated. The lytle rounde hosts of fyne flowre were eaten by the sacrificer and the assistants standing and not sit­ting. The flowre whereof they were made was called Mola, whereof com­meth this worde immolare, to offer.

There was diuers hosts, that is to saye, diuers lytle round cakes, dedicated vn­to diuers gods lyke as they had diuers sacrifices of the Masse. With the same round hosts was offered wyne (the aul­ters seruinge in place of tables.) And whyles the sacrificer and the assistaunts at the sacrifice did eate & communicate together the foresayd lytle round cakes, consecrated to the honour of their gods, there was song hymnes, and pleasaunt songs. Some playing vppon Orgaynes and Cymbales.

Before the deuouryng of this rounde hoste prynted with pictures, the massalian doctours haue ordeyned that the Sacrificer shal vse ad­iurations and coniuringe by sygnes of the crosse, fyrst he ought to make thre crosses vp­pon the rounde hoste to fygure the threfolde doctrine of christ. To witte, by the father, by [Page] himselfe, and by the holy ghost, in pronoun­cing these words: Haec dona, haec munera, haec sancta sacrificia illibata. Other doctours Alco­ranists & Massalians interpret the third crosse to signifie the treason of Iudas who deliuered his maister into the hands of the Iues. Beside the foresaid thre crosses, doth folow fiue mo, to figure the fiue dayes of respit from paulme sonday to good fryday, or otherwise to repre­sent the fiue woūds of christ, two in his hands two in his feete & one in his right syde. Of the which fiue crosses, the thre first must be made vpō the chalice & vpon the round host to figure the deliuering of christ vnto the priestes, scribes & Pharisies: or to figure the price that christ was sold for, to wit thre tymes ten which is .30. pence. The two other crosses are seperatly made: the one (being the fourth) vp­on the host, thother vpon the chalice alone, to play the two persons of christ & iudas: which the massalian sacrificer doth continuing styll his mocks & mummeries, stretching out hys armes to figure christ stretched on the crosse. Then he lifteth vp his round host printed full of pictures to cause it to be worshipped. And that he beginneth agayne to make thre other crosses. One vpon the host, another vpon the cuppe, and the thyrde vpon hymselfe, to playe the personages of thre estates: of those that be in heauen, in purgatorie, and in earth.

[Page] He smiteth afterward vpon his brest, to play the personage of the these hangyng vppon the crosse, whiche repented hym selfe.

But the smiting of the stomack must be with the thre hyndermost fyngers of the hande, for the thombe and the next fynger be reser­ued to consecrate and transubstantiate the round host. Moreouer he must smyte his brest thre tymes to fygure the threfolde offence of the heart, mouth and deede. In lifting vp hys voyce to represent the thefe or the centurion, which confessed god in the passion. Sixe other crosses are made once againe, thre vppon the chalice couered, to figure the thre houres that Christ hanged on the crosse on lyue: and the thre other crosses are made vpon the chalice discouered (with the round hoste lifted vp a­gain) to fygure the thre houres that christ hanged vpon the crosse dead. Then after the mas­salian hath kissed his chalice there are yet two crosses more, to fygure the mysterie of the bloude and water issuyng out of christs syde. Besyde the dumme mummeries abouesayde, the priest must take the couering cloth from the chalice, and couer it with the plantyn to figure the breaking of the vaile of the temple in the middest at the death of christ. This done the round host is put frō aboue the chalice, & is couched vnder the corporas to figure the buriyng of christ. The priest thus hauing played [Page] the person of the hanged thefe, of the traitour Iudas of christ, & of the publicans, playeth af­terwarde the personage of the centurian, in singing the Pater noster. But the Alcoran of Durand expoundeth by the seuen petitions of the Pater noster the seuen wepings of the vir­gin Marye, or the seuen vertues, or the seuen giftes of the holy ghost, or the seuen Beatitu­des, or the seuen deadly synnes. This song fi­nished, the Massalian a lytle whyle kepeth si­lence, to fygure the silence or rest of christ in the tombe. Re diuina & ceremoniis celebratis, sa­cerdos tunc, I, licet succla­mabat, qua voce illos qui inter fuerant, missos facie­bat. Alex ab Alex lib. 4. cap. 17 Parts of the masse ordey­ned by Neu­ma 700 yeres before the incarnation of Iesu christ. Another aperie or mūmerie doth the Massalian play with his round hoste, the vvhiche he layeth vppon the paten to fygure the vnitie of the diuinitie with the humani­tle: but when he playeth the secrete mysterie, then the host is hyd out of syght.

The sacrifice thus finished & the litle roūd hosts eatē, Numa ordeined to sing these wordes: I, licet (vel) It [...]e missa est, that is to say, go it is graunted, y^e assem­ble is suffered to go home. Be not all these partes of the Masse sacrifice ordey­ned by Numa the coniurer more then 700 yeres before the incarnation of Ie­sus Christ, to witte, the vestments, the aulbe, the chasuble, the holy purginge water coniured with salt to chase away [Page] diuells, the aulter, the taper light, the the turnings and trauersings along the aulter, with prayers and meditations toward the East. The processions with shrines and relikes carried vppon the shulders of the priests clothed in whyte surplices & crownes vppon their heads: the Confiteor made to the he sainctes & she saincts: the playing on the Organs, the Canticles, Peanes, Hymnes, and Odes: the Censour and the Encens: the communion of lytle round bread conse­crated in the name of their godds: and in thend this song Ite missa est: Do ye not acknowledge (O ye Massalians) that ye haue borowed all these partes & mem­bers of your Masse of Pompilians reli­gion? Why doe you holde this worde Masse,Math, 27. Luke. 20. Mark. 14. 1. Cor. 11. seing Iesus Christ did name it a supper, or the partaking of his bodye? Why haue ye taken vp these vestemen­tes, the Aulbe, & paynted Chasuble pro­per to the auncient romain Idolators, of the which garments Christ ordeyned nothing? Why haue ye geuen more [Page] credit vnto the witchcraft of Pompilius to chase away diuels w^t salt water coniured, & called holy water, then vnto the holy ghospel of Iesus Christ, the which doth assure you in his name to driue a­wai diuels, & not with witchcraft of salt?Mark. 16. Who but the spirite of Neuma, did in­spire you to shaue your crowne round: & to deck your selues w^t whyte surplices, to beare the shrines & banners in pro­cession? When Iesus Christ celebrated his holy supper & instructed his apostles of the cōmuniō of his body & blood, did he cōmaund thē to folow the religion of the aūcient romain Idolators, to haue their alters enriched w^t images, to vse turnings & trauersings alonge the alter, to be shorne roūd, to haue aulbs & chasubles, addressing their praiers & cōfession to he & she saincts, to pipe w^t organs, to ꝑfume their alters & images w^t encence to, go to the offrings, to cary monie to the priests box, to eat litle roūd hosts cōsecrated, & laste of all to sing Ite missa est?

But I well perceyue (O Massalians) your Masse subtelties, wherby you shal [Page] confesse to me, that the body and chiefe parts of the Masse toke their beginning and creation of Numa Pompilius.

Neuerthelesse the deckinges and enri­chings were inuented by other bishops of Rome: speciallye by a monke called Gregorye the first of that name, that came to the Popedome. Who was in­structed in the Magike and Philosophie of Pythagoras, and had also studied the lawes of Tullius Hostillius, king and successour of Numa, to the end to make his name euerlastinge by addinge some new thinge to the missall sacrifice, he ordeyned to singe nyne tymes these wordes in Greeke,Platine. Volaterran Kyrie eleyson Kyrie eleyson. For Gregory did greatly esteme this num­ber nyne: euen as the auncient romayn Idolators had recourse vnto the nouen­diall sacrifice for signes and monstrous wonders.Quoties pro­digium nun­ciabatur, sacrū nouendiale per nouem dies agebatur Tit. Liui. lib. 1 Decades. 1. He did also ordeine that in the Massesacrifice shuld be song two words of Hebrue, to accompanye the two wordes in Greke. And that at certaine tymes men shoulde synge these two [Page] wordes Allelu ya: and certayne tymes they shoulde not.

In place of which Allelu ya, is song another song called the tract, with sharpenes of voyce prolixitie of song, and heauinesse of notes of musicke, to fygure the miseries of this world, and he that syngeth Allelu ya, must be higher then he that houleth the graduel, as the alco­ran of Titelman doth recite.

Is there not witchcraft inough in your sacrifice (O Massalians) onlesse ye put therevnto Hebrue and Greke wordes? and mingle together Pithagoricall numbers and nouendiall songes, and institute a difference of dayes to singe and not to sing Hebrue words, and in­uent crosses and dumme mummeries? Be not these corruptions of the holye sacrament of the supper ordeyned of God?Platine. Sabellie. Some other haue enriched the missall sacrifice,Gloria patri Agnus dei Kis [...]g the Paten or­dey­ned. as Damase bishoppe of Rome with a Gloria patri, Sergius with an Agnus dei, songe three tymes (which Titelman expoundeth to figure the Ascention of Christ) Innocent the kissing of the priests Paten.

[Page] The which paten of gold by the doctrine of the Alcoran dothe signifie the diuinitie of christ. cap. 14. The Gloria in excelcis by Symmachus, the which song pronounced in a voyce swete & basse, Cap. 56.57. doth signifie (as holdeth the Alcoran of Titelman) the warlike & childishe voice of Christ, beyng yet in the cradle. O blasphemye and detestable mommry of the sonne of god. Leo the second instituted the kissynge of the paxe: whych the Alcoran of Titelman sayeth doeth signifye the vnion of christians. Pax kissing. And that the kissynge of the paxe came in, in the place of the holy communiō obserued in the first church next the Apostles.

This kissing of the Paxe was songe of the Massalian sayinge these wordes Pax domini: and making 3. crosses vpon the Chalice when the thyrd parte of the hoost is cast into the wine, to fygure the incarnation of Christ: or for the thréefold peace, of the time, of the spirit, and of the euerlastyngnes to come. Moreouer the forging of the Canon of y^e masse is attri­buted to Alexander,The canon of the masse. Gelace, Syricie, Leo, and Pelage. These be peeces pat­ched to, according to the humours of the [Page] Bishops of Rome, the authours and re­storers, the founders and augmentours of the masse sacrifice.

The best enrychynge instituted in the Masse sacrifice must not be forgotten to witte certayne places of the olde & new testament called the epistles and Ghos­pells.Platine. Sabellie. The epistles and ghospels cut in the masse. The whiche the Messalians haue cut & mingled with the Pompilian Ido­latry & therein haue prophaned the lawe of god, euen as dyd the Apostate Sergi­us doctour of the Machomet, the whiche decked the Alcoran with many places of the holy byble, & patched a hotchpotch of fables & heresies, w^c the holy law of god.

The massalians haue ordeyned two persons to sing the epistles and ghospelles to the ende to enriche their Massedaunce: to wit, the sub­deacon, who marcheth before to play the per­son of the first law of the Iewes: and the dea­con. whiche commeth after with more great dignitie to represent the lawe of the ghospell: the whiche deacon carieth vppon his brest a quoshon to figure the humblenes of hart The subdeacon receyueth not the blessing of the Massing sacrificer as the deacon doth, for this (saye the Massalian doctours) that God sent his prophetes inuisiblie.

[Page] But the deacon playinge the personage of the law of the gospel, he receiueth blessyng as be­ing sent among wolues, because christ sent his Apostles as men visibly. It is ordained that the deacon shall weare a stoell crosswise hanging vpon his shulders, one end ouer the other, to figure force & continence ioyned together in the massemonger. The deacon playing his pa­gen and singing some pece of the gospell in a language vnderstanded neither of him nor of the assistantes must turne himself towarde the north standing vpright. Because (saith Titelmā) the north part is cold and malicious. And therfore he must make a crosse to chase away the deuills of the north. Be not these sorceries and conflictes more horrible than al the cōmenta­ries of the aūcient Romain bishops idolators?

Against the long possessi­on and pre­scription of Idolators.Doth not this approue the Alcoran of Machomet, the long possession whereof Turks presently haue had for these .900. y^e yeres past, hauing conquered countres Realmes,Against Turks and Empiers, prospered in al their interprises, & stil obseruing the abominable law sette oute in the Alcoran?Against the people of Is­rael offering to Moloch. Were the people of Israell excused be­fore God (when they dyd sacrifice in the valley of Tophet to Moloch w^t innocēts bloud) by alledging the long possession, [Page] & accustomed vsage, for the space of .1200.4. Kings. 16 23 yeres before this Idolatrie was algeto­ther destroied by the good kinge Iosias?Against the idolatrie of the brasen serpent. Num. 21. Did the Israelits murmur agaynst the vertuous king Ezechias whē he destroi­ed the brasen, serpent whiche was made by the expresse commaundement of god 900. yeres before? Were the same people excused of their Idolatries committed in Dan & Bethell,Against the image set vp by Hierobo­am. 3. Kings. 12. wherein were the Ima­ges of two heffers of gold instituted by their kinge Hieroboam, vnder pretence of long possession, & that they had conti­nued this Idolatrie for the space of .300. or .400. yeres. The Iues,Against the infidelitie of the iewes. now vacabōds shall they be excused before the maiestye of god by showing the long possession of their ceremoniall lawe instituted yea of god himself .3. thousand yeres ago?

Also you (O massalians) can you aledge against god the continuance and longe possession of celebratinge your Pompi­lian Masses long time, and that you and your predecessours haue vsed sold & put to vsurie your Missall sacrifyces? is this [Page] reason sufficient to grounde vpon long possession, as your predecessours sena­tors of Rome did alledge vnto Theo­dose the Emperour, their Pompilian religion to haue been obserued more then a .M. yeres? This is not an excuse suf­ficient to bring in long possession & vsage of long tyme obserued, for the confirma­tion of your Idolatries. For if god of his mercie & wonderfull patience did suffer the Iewes in their vnfaithfulnesse, the Turks in their Alcoran law, & the chri­stians in their Masse Idolatries: It is not for vs to dispute of the incomprehen­sible secretes of god, but with all humi­litie to take againe the waye of truth, when it shall please him to geue it vs, after long and déepe darknes, whereunto the people in all ages hath fallen & tour­ned from the true worshippinge & ordi­naunce of god: euen so as briefly before we haue declared of the Israelites the chosen people of god, the which notwithstanding y^t they had Moyses & the pro­phets which did admonish thē by many [Page] miracles & threatenings, how they shuld honor god & kepe the law, neuerthelesse they neuer ceased by mens inuentions to cōmit idolatries. So that during the raigne of the princes Iudges of Israel when the people were gouerned as in Aristocratia, than after submitted vnder the yoke of kings as in a monarchie, and last of all brought vnder the gouerne­ment of the priests hauing gotten both the temporalitie & spiritualitie, the lawe of god hath bene corrupted, the sacrifices and sacramentes defaced & defiled, and idolatry continued more then 1600 yeres from the law written by Moyses, vnto the incarnation of Iesus Christ. What maye one hope for then of the people of Rome instructed in all Idolatrie as a dry tree, a heathenishe & bastard people? But these Massalian heritikes can not vaunt themselues of very long possessi­on of their Masse sacrifices, except of the ix. pieces before described, restored & boro­wed of Numa Pompilius, for the other parts of y^e Masse wer inuented at diuers [Page] times by diuers antichrists corruptours of the holy sacraments ordained of God And to vnderstand the times & yeres of y^e chiefe builders, Agapet Pope of Rome raigned in the yere of christ .533. & brought in the processiō after the order prescribed by Numa. The Confiteor, was restoored by Damase raigning the yere .577. The Kyrie eleyson & the Letanies, by Grego­ry raigning in the yere .593. The graduel the collects & the Traict by Gelase raig­ning in the yere 493. The Sequences by Gothere abbot of Sandale. The Gloria in excelcis by Simmach raigning in the yere .508. The incens & the offertorie re­stored from the auncient doctrine Pom­pilian by Leo y^e third of that name in the yere .800. The kissing of the pax by Innocent y^e first of that name in the yere .408. Agnus dei instituted by Sergius in the yere .697. The commemoration of the dead inuented by Pelagius in the yere. 558. The Canon forged by Gelase, Siri­cie, Leo, & Pelagi raigning in the yeare. 800. The transubstanciaciō instituted by [Page] the bishops of Rome about the yeare of christ 1062. Wherfore of what impuden­cie are these Alcoranists Masse doctours to be condempned, the which faulsely do affirme that the holye Apostles of Iesus Christ did celebrate their missal sacrifice. Seinge y^t this sacrifice was not restored to his integritie after Numa Pompili­us but after Christ .800. yeres? In what approued histories is there mentiō made that such Idolatrie was commytted by the holy apostles of god? How is it pos­sible to beleue or to thinke it, whē as this great whore of Babilion hath not bene restored with her deceipt & maske of ho­lines till longe time after the incarnati­on of Iesus Christ.

But it behoueth to returne to our hi­storie of Rome, more & more to discouer the true original of the masse.Continuing of histories. We haue declared in discouering the parts & chief members of the masse sacrifice, how the auncient Romains before they were ac­customed to sacrifice w^t the blood of bests did vse litle round cakes consecrated in y^e [Page] honour of their gods, the which standing they did eate within the temple aboute the end of the sacrifice. These litle roūd hosts of wheate flowre were taken vp of the massalian sacrificers: but they haue enriched the witchcraft & idolatrie of Numa Pompilius in so much as they haue decked the litle rounde hosts with ima­ges & pictures printed within the round circle of the sayd hosts,Abhomina­ble idolatrie. Against the idolatrie of the rounde Hosts. to thend to make them more holy, euen to be worshipped, by thinuention of Honorius antichrist of Rome, the yere 1226, the which Numa y^e coniurer neuer practised, ne yet came to this abominable idolatrie. What more detestable heresie can ther be discouered then to paint the maiestie of god in form & likenes of a man, as the Antropomor­phits imagen? Who taught you (o mas­salians) to corrupt the holy sacrament of our lord Iesus christs supper, in making litle roūd hosts, if not Numa y^e cōiurer? When Iesus christ celebrated hys holy supper w^t his apostles, did he ordeyne to haue litle roūd hosts, & to print them ful [Page] of pictures & likenesses of men, to adiure & coniure w^t crossings & blessings odde or euen, & to make them to be worshipped? Acknowledge then (o Massalians) your principal part of y^e masse to wit, your litle roūd hosts to haue takē their beginning of Numa more then 700 yeres before y^e incarnatiō of Iesus christ, who neuer cō maūded you this roūdnes of hosts, nor y^t they shuld be rather roūd then square, thre cornered, or eight cornered. But so far was he frō chusing y^e figure of roūd­nes after the fashion of Numa, that con­trariwise when he instituted the holy sa­crament of the cōmunion of his body, he vsed breaking of y^e bread in morsels, which he distributed to his disciples for a simbol, signe, & figure, signifiyng really & sa­cramētally his body by y^e vertue of tho­ly gost. And y^e massalians haue not only chosen the fashion rounde in their lytle consecrated hosts printed full of pictures to cause them to be worshipped after the maner of the auncient Romaynes, but further they haue exceded al Idolators. [Page] For in the tyme of Neuma Pompilius, those that assisted at the sacrifice of the Masse did eate together standinge the said lytle round hosts consecrated. But since the Massalians haue reserued for them selues the communion of the sayd litle rounde hostes consecrated, vsing no charitie towarde those that stoode by at their missall sacrifice. Is this to followe the ordinaunce of Iesus Christ, who brake the bread and gaue it to his Apo­stles? Iesus Christ the euerlasting sacri­ficer, was he alone at the aulter, eating one lytle round host grauen full of ima­ges, when he celebrated the holye com­munion of his body? Can you (O Mas­salians, toto abhominable, and muche lesse charitable Idolators than all the auncient Romains) so muche playe the subtell sophisters that you wyll make men to vnderstand that your masse sa­crifice (wherein the sacrificer alone de­uoureth all the lytle round host printed full of pictures without geuyng parts to any other) is a cōmunion, & by a mer­ueylous [Page] witchcraft to cause the assistans at y^e sacrifice to beleue, y^e thei haue cōmunicated together w^t the priest, not with­standing that they neyther receyued nor did eate any portion of the rounde hoste.

And besyde this for a more extreme idola­trie. the massalian doctours expounders do de­clare the roūd host to be deuided in thre parts, one for those which ar in paradise, another for those whiche are in purgatorie to haue remis­sion of their synnes, and the thyrde drenched in wyne for those whiche are lyuyng in thys worlde. But the Alcoran of Durand declareth the thre parts of the host broken, to represent the thre fashioned body of christ, in the sepul­chre sleping, in the earth lying, and after resing againe. The other subtell doctour Biel, because he would not confesse the bodye of christ in the round host to be brused and broken, doth subtelly defyne the breaking of the hoste to be done in an accidence without a substance. Be not these horrible heresies to make the soules to communicate which are in heauen, or in purgatorie, instituted by Sergius doctour of the Machomet, by the meanes of one round host deuoured by the massalian.

But you (O Massalians) maye here obiect vnto me the vse of the primatiue churche obserued in y^e communion of the holy supper, whereas euery one of the [Page] assemblye in the temple did take a por­tion of the broken bread consecrated to eate and communicate together.A communiō of holy bread The which vse hath bene kept vnto this daye in your Missal sacrifices celebrated vpon Sondayes, the which you cause to be di­stributed by morcelles of holy bread vn­to thassistaunts within the temple. But in this auncient communion doth abide nothing but an image onely. Because the Massalians absing the holye sacra­ment, haue reserued for them selues on­ly the litle rounde hoste conscrated to be deuoured,Notable differences be­twene the round host & the holye bread. without geuing any portion vnto the assistaunts: vnto whome they leaue the bittes of holy bread, which are foure square for the moste parte. The round host without leauen, and the holy bread is with leauen. The rounde hoste is without salt, & the holy bread w^t salt. The rounde host is printed full of pictu­res, & the holy bread is w^tout print or pi­cture. The rounde host is worshipped, & the holy bread is receyued w^t thanks ge­uing. The round host is deuoured of the [Page] priest, & the holy bread is deuided among thassemble to cōmunicate & to eate together. The round host is stieped in wyne, the holy bread is eaten without wyne. To be short there is as great difference betwene these two kynds of cōmunion, as there is betwene thauncient lawe of the Idolators & the lawe of the ghospell. Prouided always that they agre in one poynct, that is, that both in the one & the other there is a corruption of the holy sacrament of the supper ordeyned of god. It resteth to come downe to the deepe Maze of Idolatrie.Transubstan­tiation. We haue recited the history of the people of Israel, which did not content them selues w^t the heauenly bread Manna geuen vnto them of God, during the tyme that they were in the wildernes: but did murmur against god and Moyses their leader, requiring to eate fleshe. The people also of Rome beinge Heathen and Infidelles, were not contented with the institution of Pompilian touchynge the communi­on of the lytle rounde Cakes;Blond. lib. 1. de Rō. trium.

[Page]But the bishiops of Rome, Idolators, did institute the killing and offering vp of beastes, to the ende to eate and com­municate the fleshe of the offerings in in their sacrifices, specially the shepe, the Sowe, the Goate, and the Beofe, whi­che firste were ordeyned by Euander king of Arcadie. To the ende therefore that the Massalian should not go out of kynde from the Idolatries of their pre­decessours, they haue folowed this communion of fleshe, and are not contented with the lytle rounde, vnleauened hosts consecrated and prynted full of pictures: but haue in tyme inuented a new witch crafte,Hosts of meale are chaun­ged into flesh and wyne in to blood. to chaunge theyr litle hostes of floure into flesh and bone, the bread be­ing no more bread, but an accidence w^t ­out substaunce: and by this meanes to chaunge their rounde host of meale into an host of fleshe and bloude. The wyne also offered in their Masse challices to be chaunged into bloude: the wyne beyng no more wyne, but an accident without substaunce. Was there euer any witch­crafte [Page] more abhominable and heresie more detestable than this transubstan­tiation of the Masse? When the chil­dren of Israel were weryed with the ea­ting of Manna, and the heauenly bread, demaunding flesh, was the Manna tur­ned into fleshe bones and bloode?

When the Romains the auncient Ido­laters did chaunge theyr round hosts of meale, and demaunded to eate of the fleshe in their sacrifices, did they vse this witchcraft of transubstantiation?

Wherefore I do frely affirme that the Massalians haue lately instituted this addicion of the Masse, yea more than 1000 yeres after the incarnation of Ie­sus Christ.In the yere of Christ. 1062. in Chrono. log. Fon. Volater. This heresie began to sprede abroad greatly in the tyme of the Anti­christ Nicolaite, crept into the Romaine bishopricke by the conspiratie of Hilde­brant, hauing chased awaye by force the other chosen bishop, namely Benedict the .xij.Lanfranc, de sacr. of that name in the yere of Iesus christ 1062. Afterward it aduaunce it self by a conspiratie holden in the Lateran [Page] at Rome during the ecclesiasticall tyr­ranny of Innocent the third of y^e name: about 200 yeres after the solemne recantatiō of Berengarius deane of S. Mau­rice of Angiers.Against tran­substantiatiō. Against the which ab­hominable witchcraft & herisie, we must briefely bring in by the way of recapitu­lation the institutions of y^e sacraments ordeyned of god.

First the fruites of the knowledge of good & euill,Trees of lyfe forbidden to our first father Adam, as holy signes & sacraments of feare & obedience, wherevpon did hange life & death, were they chaunged & con­uerted into knowledge or death, leauing the nature of trées & fruits, & reduced in to an accidence without substaunce?Heauenlye Manna, & the rock flowing water. the Manna from heauen, & the rock flowing with water of life, sacraments agreing with the holy sacrament of the supper, were they changed into an accidence w^t ­out substaunce?Lambes offe­red by Abell. the lambes without spot offered by Abel in sacrifice wel pleasing to god, were they chaūged into another nature?Circumcision The lytle skynne cutte of for a [Page] note & marke of the couenaunt vnto the good patriarch Abraham, & his posteri­tie, was it chaunged into an accident w^t ­out substaunce?Pascal lambe. The blood of the Pas­chal lambe for thassuraunce of the helth of Israell, was it chaunged into another substaunce? The fleshe of the vnspotted lambe, ordeyned to be eaten in the daye of the Passeouer, a true figure of the ho­lye sacrament of the Supper, was it chaunged into an accidence withoute substaunce?

The brasen Serpente,Brasen Ser­pent. by the onelye syght whereof health was geuen vnto disseases, left it to be a serpent of brasse, was it chaunged in beynge ordeyned a sacrament and holy sygne vnto the peo­ple of Israell? The oblations offered in sacrifices,The offered sacrifices. as well of earthlye beastes as vnleauened bread, and other holye sygnes ordeyned of GOD for Sa­cramentes and holye Sygnes, to cleanse the people of Israell: Were they chaunged into an accidence with­out substaunce? All the holye Sygnes [Page] ordeyned of god in the church of Israell, not withstanding that they did repre­sent really & sacramentally, that whiche they did figure, & not as a simple sygne without effect, yet so it is that there was neuer none so horrible an heritike that did inuent this witchcrafte of transub­stantiation. Yet muste you confesse (O Massalians) that the good & holy fathers of Israell were adopted graffed & rege­rated by faith in Iesus Christ, begotten before all worldes:A conference of the fayth of the aunci­ent fathers of Israel with ours. and that they were nourished & got euerlasting lyfe by Ie­sus Christ, & that they & we haue but one only God, and one only Iesus christ our mediatour & redemer. And that thei through faith did sacramentallye com­municate, and spirituallye partake the blood of Iesus Christ for their saluation and euerlasting lyfe. And there is no difference (as touching God) betwene them that were before the incarnation of Iesus Christ, & we that are after the incarnation. But they & we are the churche of God bought with the bloode [Page] of the iuste & vnspotted lambe Iesus Christ.S. August. cō ­tra Faust. lib. 20. cap. 21. & 14. lib. 19. & con. Petilan. lib. 2. ca. 37. 77 Furthermore that they had faith in the promise to come: and obserued the sacraments & holy signes of the sacrifice whiche oughte to be finished by Iesus Christ. And that we by the newe lawe do celebrate the memorie and remem­braunce of the sacrifice already finished by Iesus Christ, hauing the fruition of his promise accomplished.1. Cor. 10. August. in Psalm. If then the Israelites did eate of the same heauenly bread, & drynke of the same water of life (by faythe) that we do in one only Iesus Christ: If they had holy sygnes to repre­sent actually & really the death of Iesus Christ to come, euen as we haue had holy signes of his death present or past: they for the tyme to come, & we for the tyme past: Wherefore is it then that the Massalians haue inuented this newe Witchcraft of tourning one holy sacra­ment ordeyned of God into a Witch­craft of transubstantiation, and an acci­dent without a substaunce? If god (to make knowen his power, & to declare [Page] the hardnesse & stiffeneckednesse of Pharao) pleased to do merueylous thynges by Moyses & Aaron,Against the miracles alledged by the massalians. Exod 7.8.14. in chaunging a rod into a Serpent, the water of the riuer into bloode, & into Frogges, the duste of the yearthe into lyce, and further to make the sayleable sea drye, and to do manye other miracles: Is this to bryng in a transubstantiation of lytle rounde hostes, vnleauened, prynted full of pi­ctures, into an accidence without sub­staunce? In what place of the holy scrip­ture (when there is mencion made of holy Sygnes, Sacramentes, or Sacri­fices, ordeyned of God) is it sayde the Sygne or Sacrament is chaunged?

Contrariwise, God wyllyng to accom­modate hym selfe to the infirmities of man hath ordeyned vnto him from time to time common Sygnes, for notes & markes of the assuraunce of the thynge sygnified. Wherein the myght of God is moore renowmed & magnified by ge­uynge vnto vs with the holye sygne the thynge represented, by the power of [Page] fayth & the holy Ghost, than if the selfe sygne were reallye chaunged by some visible myracle.

For the Sacramentes doe conteyne in them more spiritualnes then fleshlynes, for which cause God did alwayes blame his people Israell by his Prophetes, for taking his sacraments ouer fleshlye,The expositiō of Iesus christ of the com­munion of his body. as we haue before briefly declared. But tel me (O Massalians) when Iesus Christ would expounde, that he was the true bread of life which came down from heauen, to geue euerlasting life, & how these sacramentall words oughte to be vnder­stand, to eate his flesh & drinke hys blood, when the Capharnaites your predeces­sors wer offended, did he teach by his in­terpretation that to eate his flesh ought to be vnderstande by a litle rounde hoste transubstantiated? The rounde hoste of flowre, and the wyne to be no more bread & Wyne, but an accidence with­out substaunce? Is thys your abhomi­nable Witchecrafte the doctrine of Iesus Christe?

[Page]Nothing lesse: But Iesus Christ as a true lawe geuer,Iohn. 6. vnto whome the in­terpretation of his lawe appertayned, answered vnto the Doctours Caphar­naites, that they were to grosse & carnall and that they did abyde in the flesh as ye do (O Massesayers:) Notwithstanding that the fleshe alone profiteth nothing: saying that these sacramentall wordes were spirituall.Iohn. 6. The fleshe (sayeth he) profiteth nothing, it is the spirite that quickneth. Moreouer (O Massayers) howe can ye safelye make to agree your transubstātiatiō w^t the doctrine of Iesus Christ, whiche doeth promise & assure to geue euerlastinge lyfe to those whyche eate his fleshe & drynke hys bloode, if ye take these wordes carnallye? For you can not be ignoraunt that your bodyes (notwithstandynge that they haue de­uoured the lytle rounde hostes transub­stantiated into fleshe & bone, & supt and lycked the wyne chaunged into bloode) do dye & are mortall, by the necessitie of the lawe. Wherefore lyfe euerlastyng [Page] promysed by this communion, maye not be vnderstand of the body nor of the mortall fleshe. You muste then of necessitie acknowledge, for a sure interpretation that to eate the bodye and dryncke the blood of Iesus Christ ought to be refer­red vnto the lyfe spirituall & heauenly, & that the fleshe profiteth nothing,Iohn. 6. but the spirituall worde & communion of the body & blood of Iesus Christ by fayth & in spirite geuyng euerlastyng lyfe. This interpretation is often recited by the holy apostle Iohn in many places when he vseth these termes, he that commeth vnto me, shall neuer hunger, he that beleueth in me shall neuer thruste, but shal haue euerlasting lyfe. Are not these termes sufficient playne to interprete this holy sacrament of the body & blood of Iesus Christ, withoute running vnto your witchcraft of transubstantiation.Conference of baptisme vnto the sa­crament of the supper.

Another lyke interpretation of the do­ctour & authour of the sacramental law is described, when Iesus Christ was asked of Nicodeme the meane howe a [Page] man coulde be regenerate & borne a­gaine. Is it possible (sayeth Nicodeme) that man should enter into his mothers wombe & be borne agayne? Did Iesus Christ answere vnto this demaunde, y^t in the holy sacrament of Baptisme the water was turned into y^e body into flesh and into bloode, & transubstantiate into a carnall wombe to be thereby agayne engendred & borne? Is there not as great reason after your witchchraft here to vse this answere as in the holy sacra­ment of the supper? for by thone of these two holy sacraments we be regenerate, & by thother nourished. And y^e regenera­tion is as merueylous vnto mans wis­dome, as the norrishement. For after mans carnall iudgement it seemeth vn­possible, twise to be engendred. But our good god hath vsed like interpretation for the regeneration as he did for the comu­nion of his fleshe & his blood namely that these sacramental termes must be spiri­tually vnderstand, & not carnally: for the fleshe profyteth nothynge but the spirit [Page] quickneth. That whych is of the flesh,Iohn. 3. is fleshly that which of y^e spirit is spirituall.

The holye Apostle geuynge vnto the Corinthians that which he receyued at the hand of God,1. Cor. 11. did admonishe them of the second comming of Iesu Christe, in loking for the which he commaunded to communicate the body & bloode of Iesus Christ by breaking of bread, & the cuppe of blessyng called the newe Testament and the new couenant contracted by the blood of Iesus Christ. For as much then as we are assured of the second cōminge of Iesus Christ. Being gon vp into hea­uen, and sytteth on the right hand of god his father, vntill the day appoynted that he must come againe to iudge the quicke and the dead. How do ye agrée (o Massa­lians) with this yssue, when as by your magicke you saye that euerye daye you cause to come downe, and make to re­tourne the bodye of Iesus Chryste in fleshe and bone, before the tyme appoin­ted of hys second comming, be come?

[Page]This witchcrafte was restored by you from the fyrst authour of your Masse sa­crifice Numa Pompilius:Tit. Liuius. 1. Decade. 1. who by hys witchcraft gaue to vnderstande that he caused hys Nymphe & goddesse Acgerie and also his Iupiter Elicius to descende from heauen,Valcai. Max. lib. 1. cap. 3. by whose meanes the hea­uenly secretes & mysteryes were reue­led vnto him. Euen so by your withcraft the rounde host consecrated, is transub­stantiated into the true & reall bodye of Iesus Christ: The bread being no more bread. Howe haue ye learned this bolde­nes to bruse & breake in pieces the bodye of Iesus Christ accordinge to the inuen­tion of Sergius the second of that name your predecessour bishop of Rome? Are not you more detestable hangmen, then your predecessours lieutenaunts of the churche of Rome,iohn. 19. Exod 12. Num. 9. which crucified Iesus Christ, but without brusing & breaking his bodye in pieces, as it was prophe­sied before.Corruption of the holy sacraments. And that more is, you are not content to breake it in thre pieces, but in your Masse sacrifice ye haue en­terprised [Page] to drowne or steepe one portion of it in the wyne chaunged into blood to deuour it.Against tran­substantiatiō. To confirme your witchcraft of transubstantiation, haue ye not ordey­ned to preserue your lytle rounde pryn­ted hosts, the whiche you do kepe & laye vp so curiouslye in bores & shrynes after they be chaunged into fleshe & bone, & into the reall bodye of Iesus Christ? Is not thys a detestable herisie to beleue that the bodye of Iesus Christ can re­ceyue corruption? Yea,Harman. cōtt. & often it is ea­ten of wormes, mytes, rattes & myce. Can you interpret,Blond. Platine. that this is an acci­dence without substaunce, seing y^t your hosts become often stinking, & corrupt w^t in your boxes? Many times also deuou­red of earthly brute beasts, y^t which you cause to be burned & their ashes to be put into the place for reliks. When y^e bishop of Rome Victor the iij. of y^e name, recey­ued poyson by your transubstantiated wyne, was it an accidence without sub­stance? Or when themperour Henry y^e 7. of that name, was poysoned in eating [Page] a litle round host consecrated, was it an accidence without substaunce, seing it gaue him his deathes wound? There is a more manifest appearaunce in the heauenly Manna geuen vnto the people of Israel,Neem. 1. Psal. 78.104. Iohn. 6. Sapi. 16. the which notwithstanding that it became corrupt (if it were kept) yet be­ing put in the secret place of the arcke of the couenaunt, it was preserued with­out corruption: was it therefore tran­substantiated into flesh & bone, to be cal­led the heauenly bread, the bread which came down from heauen, the bread of lyfe, & the bread of angels?

The expositiō of the sacra­mētal words.Now it remaineth to bring into iudge­ment the subtel reasons of y^e Massayers, which for the whole foundation of their witchcrafte, do carnally abyde in this word Est, saying these words are expres­sly written. This is my body, this is my blood, when Iesus christ did institute the cōmunion of his body & of his bloode vn­der y^e signes of bread & wine. But I be­seche all that are zelous of the honour of god diligently to cōsider the holy institu­tion [Page] of the sacrament, by the which god wold declare & signifie the cōmunion of his body by y^e bread, & the drinking of his blood by the wine & the cup. All will con­fesse y^t the true & principall nourishment of the body of man is conteyned vnder y^e kinds of bread & wine: so y^t the true bread is often taken in y^e holye scriptures for y^e nourishment & life of man. But let vs begin to bring in y^e places of the Bible. To y^e first man created to the lykenes of god,Genes. 3. for punishmēt of his offence was it not said vnto him before, y^e he must eate his bread in y^e sweat of his body?Genes. 28. Is there any man so ignoraunt y^t wil not confesse all y^e food & life of man to be vnderstād by y^e bread? when Iacob prayed vnto god to geue him bread & clothing, did not he vnderstand by y^e bread al y^t was necessary for his nourishmēt?Exod. 16. Neem. 9. Psalm. 78. Sapi. 15. Iohn. 6. Genes. 14. when it is recited y^t god made it to rain bread vpon y^e people of Israel in the wildernes, & that w^t this heauenly bread y^e children of Israel wer filled, was not this terme bread vnder­stand of the heauenly Manna sent of god for the nourishing of the people Israel?

[Page]This manna is it not called the breade of heauen, & the breade of angells geuen vnto the people without trauell?Genes. 41. Genes. 47. Num. 21. Leuit. 26. When Melchisedech would releue the hooste of the good Father Abraham dyd he not presente vnto hym breade and Wyne? When Abraham wold gratifie and re­fresh y^e .3. angels apearing to him, did he not offer to thē Cakes baked in y^e ashes. Gaue he not to Agar breade for her no­rishment? The mother of Isaac fauou­ringe her wel beloued sonne, gaue hym bread. Ioseph in Egipt offred bread vn­to his brethren for their norrishement. When one wil discribe a famine & darth dothe he not saye, there lacketh breade? When god promiseth any fauour vnto people keping his commaundementes,iohn. 4. Psalm. 104. Math, 4. Luke. 4. iohn. 6. Math. 4. doth he not geue them assurance of sufficient breade? When he commended the poore, as his members, dyd he not com­maund to geue them bread? It is than the bread that nourisheth & maintaineth the hart and life of men.Luke. 9. Math. 15. When Satan toke vpon him to tempt Iesus Christ, to [Page] declare vnto vs that he was very man, dyd he not chose bread, to entyre hym to chaunge stones in bread?Math. 6. Luke. 11. When Iesus Christ did celebrate his feasts, to geue food one time vnto 5000 men, the other time vnto 4000 persons, did he not shew his might vnder y^e signe of bread? when he taught vs to make our praiers vnto god did he not ordeyne the lords prayer, to besech god to giue vs our daily bread? And not only in the holy Bible is there mencion made of bread for corporall & common food. But also in the sacrifices celebrated by the priests of the Hebrues, there was a law prescribed of the bread ordeyned of god,Exod 21. Leuit. 24. Math. 11. 1. Kings. 21. Esay. 30. Prouer. 20. Ezech. 4. Mala. 1. Psal. 23. Ezech. 12, Ozec. 7. namely swéete bread without leauen. Other bread there was called shewbread, which the priests did renew euery weeke & eate, which Dauid vsed being presented vnto him by Ache­melech y^e high priest. Contrariwise this terme bread is applied vnto bread of wickednes, vnto bread of lying, vnto bread of sorowe, vnto vncleane bread of idola­trie, vnto vncleane bread offered at the [Page] aulter, [...]eu. 8. Math. 4. Luke. 4. vnto the bread of trembling & vnto the bread of teares. The Ephraimi­tes also are called the bread of ashes not turned: that is to say in part baked & part not, circumcised Idolators. Wherefore, O Massayers Capharnaites, ye muste not be so hardned & rooted in your flesh­lynes, that you regard not the phrases of the holy scriptures in y^t which the terme of bread is somtyme taken for the earth­ly & bodily bread,Math, 15. as when it is said, that man liueth not by bread only but also by all that procedeth out of y^e mouth of god. Sometime also bread is taken for the worde of god & for doctrine, when Iesus Christ cōmaunded his apostles to take hede for eatyng of the leauened bread of the Scribes & Pharisies,Math. 15. Marke. 7. are not these termes of bread & leauen taken & inter­preted for the doctrine of the Pharisies heretikes? When the woman of Cana­an did demaund grace & mercye for the healthe of her doughter holden wyth a soore disease. Dyd not Iesus Christ an­swere, that it was not lawefull to take [Page] the bread of the children and geue vnto doggs? In this answere is not the bread taken for life & health, & not only for the corporall nourishment? Seing then that bread is taken for the lyfe of man, the which hangeth chiefly of bread & wyne, and that the goodnes of god willing to applie it selfe vnto our infirmities wold chuse those two signes, notes & markes notable, to signifie his body & blood, na­mely bread & wine, being two substaun­ces common to all nations, is that an oc­cation to imagin a carnall transubstanti­ation, as if w^tout the same god were not able inough to figure & represent really & sacramētally life to be geuē vnto vs: yea euerlasting life by the cōmunion of the holy bread & wine consecrated, figures, & signes of his body & blood.Math. 6. Mark. 14. Iohn. 6. Iesus Christ spake these words, y^t the bread was his body & the wine his blood, he saide also y^t he is the liuing bread, that he is y^e bread of life, that he is the liuing bread which came down frō heauen, he saith also y^t he y^t eateth of this bread shall liue foreuer. [Page] Is this to bring in that by this word (is) Iesus Christ is turned & transubstantiated into bread, & is no more christ, but an accident w^tout substaunce? O detestable heresie, O Massalians haue ye more reasō to interpret carnally these words (this is my bodye) to chaunged the bread into his body, than when he affirmeth y^t he is the bread, to chaunge him into bread, cō ­sidering that it is written that the partaking of this bred giueth life euerlasting? Iesus christ said hoc est corpus meum. He saith also:Iohn. 6. Math, 26. iohn. 6. Hic est panis qui de celo descendit: In both these places is there not this word (is) bestowed? Muste we therefore bring in a witchcraft of tran­substantiation, in place of sounde inter­preting of the scriptures, by a likenes or familier comparison of bread with Ie­sus christ, causing vs to vnderstand that by him life euerlasting is geuē vnto vs? And by him our spirituall nourishment is giuen vs like as by the bread we haue our bodily foode. How so euer it be we must always haue recourse vnto y^e true [Page] interpretation of Iesus Christ, the true lawgeuer, & authour of the holy sacra­ment, who putting forth his institution said in the first place, y^t he was the bread of life, than after y^t this bread is his flesh & his body which must be geuen for the health of the world. He said that his flesh is true food, & his blood the true drinke he saith, that he that eateth his fleshe & drinketh his blood shall abyde in him. How doth he interpret this eating?Iohn. 6. Ie­sus Christ doth interpret it himselfe by these words. He that commeth vnto me shal neuer hunger, he y^t beleueth in me shall neuer thrust. Is not this the true eating & the true drinking, neuer to haue hunger & neuer to haue thrust? Beho­ueth it to get faith, which cōsisteth in spi­rit: behoueth it to addresse our selues vnto Iesus Christ our heauenly bread, our spiritual drink, to fil vs for euer, to quen­che euerlastingly our thrust of sinne, to runne vnto a witchcraft of transubstan­tiation & to forge an accidence without a substaunce. Wherefore (O Massalians) [Page] haue ye inuented another interpretati­on, than that of Iesus Christ, who wit­nesseth that the fleshe profiteth nothing, but the spirite quickeneth? and that his words are not carnall, but spirituall, ge­uing spirite & life by fayth & hope that he is the sauiour of the worlde, incarnate, dead & crucified to geue vs eternall lyfe, & after rose again, ascended into heauen, and sitteth on the right hand of god hys father, abiding an euerlasting priest pro­piciator, mediator & redemer.

Let vs returne again to this terme (is) which tormenteth the braines of y^e Mas­sayers so soore, [...]ohn. 15. to imagin a transubstan­tiation. If Iesus Christ hath sayde that he is the true vine, [...]ohn. 14. that god his father is a husbande man, and we are the bran­ches. Is this to bring in this terme (is) a Witchcrafte of chaunging god into a husbandman, Iesus Christ into a vine, & vs into vinebranches? If Iesus christ is said to be the vnspotted lambe y^t blotteth out the sins of y^e worlde: is this to bring in a trāsubstantiatiō? if Iesus christ hath [Page] saide that he is the dore of the shepefold, by the which we must enter to saluatiō, & that he is the shepehard & we the shepe must we therfore ratch these places of y^e holy scripture so far, that necessarily we must beleue a transubstantiation, for as much as this terme (is) is there? When Iesus christ admonished his disciples saiyng to them that they were the salt of y^e earth,Math. 5. did he chaunge & transubstantiate them into pillors of salt as he did y^e wife of Loth?Genes. 19. If Iesus christ hath said by his apostles y^t we are y^e tēple of god wherin y^e holy gost doth dwel: is this to imagin y^t we are trāsubstātiat into a pece of stone?1. Cor. 3. 2. Cor. 6. If y^e apostle haue said that christ is y^e rock out of y^t which did com y^e liuing water to wash vs frō our sinnes:1. Cor. 10. is this craftily to deuise a changing of Iesus christ into a rocke or materiall stone?1. Cor. 12. If the apostles haue witnessed that we are the bodye of Christ: Is this to brynge in that we are vanished awaye, and are no moore men, but chaunged into an accidence withoute a substaunce?

[Page]I foresée well (o massayers) moore than hardened, that you will obiect, that in all these places before alledged wherin this word (is) is founde, that no mencion is made of sacramēts, which must be depe­ly considered, for asmuch as they be holy mysteries ordeyned of god, which also is true. And also this worde (is) is not only found in y^e holy scriptures before noted,Genes. 17. Exod. 12 13. but also when there was speaking of the holy sacraments ordeyned before of god vnto y^e people of Israel, was it not writ­ten that circumcision is the band & coue­naunt of god?Genes. 17. Num 10. Psalm. 68.94. Math. 21. iohn. 2. In thother holy sacramēt of the cōmunion of the paschal lambe, is it not sayd y^t the lambe is the passeouer or passage? Is this to bring in a witch­craft of transubstantiation? will ye not cōfesse (o massalians & chaungers of substances) that in these places of holy scrip­tures speaking of the sacraments, thys word (is) can not otherwise be expoūded but to signifie: & that circumcision was y^e signe & marke of the bande & couenaunt contracted betwen god & Abraham: and [Page] that the paschal lambe was also the sign of tholy passage: for remembraunce of their deliueraunce frō Egipt. The arck of the couenaunt for another sacrament whereof it is written, that it is the true power of the lord. Is this to saye that it was transubstantiated into y^e maiesty of god? It behoueth to interpret the holye scripture w^t discretion & humilitie, w^tout sophistrie & Witchcraft, to vnderstande soūdly the true meaning of words, & not to abide in the letter y^t killeth: but to re­ceyue the word of god in spirit that quic­keneth. If than the holy arcke be named the lord & called god, for that in it he ex­ercised his might, & shewed his wonders and mysteries, to draw the people of Is­rael, by an outward signe to remember god, & to feare & obey him. Also if Iesus christ is called the bread that came from heauen, the bread of life, that the bread brokē is his body, & the wine is his blood, that the cup is the new testament, that by these outward signes of bread & wine he might cause vs to vnderstand our life [Page] and nourishment of saluation to stai on­ly vpō Iesus christ, & that by his death & bloodsheding we are so assured of euerla­sting life, as y^e bread & wine are nourish­ment for y^e body, & that it pleased him to ordein these holy signes, to serue vs for sacramēts for y^e trial & confirmation of our faith: is this an occasiō to play y^e Capharnaites or y^e Nicodemiās to dout of y^e po­wer of god. How is it possible to eate the body & drink y^e blood of Iesus christ? how is it possible to be regenerate & borne a­gain? Then seing we haue a promise geuē vnto vs by the word of god, wherfore (o Massaliās) haue ye imagined a carnal trāsubstantiatiō, mistrusting the incom­prehensible power of god? oght it not to suffice you to beleue simple that the bo­die & blood of Iesus christ is offered vnto vs really & sacramentally to cōmunicate for our nourishment, & to geue vs euer­lasting life by the bread & wine consecra­ted with geuing of thanks, the bread be­ing truly his body: & the wine his blood, which ought to be receiued worthely by [Page] faith, & in purenes of conscience, as holy signes & marks of the godly badge, with out enquiring euer subtilly the meanes otherwise then Iesus Christ hath enter­preted (saying) the fleshe ꝓfiteth nothing it is the spirite that quickneth, & that his wordes were spirite & life. Ought we to doute, that god hathe not the power to make vs partakers of the body & blood of Iesus Christ, by the holy signes of bread & wine consecrated, the bread neuerthe­les remaining bread, & the wine, wine. If it were otherwyse, thys shoulde not be called a sacrament but a myracle, as when Iesus Christe tourned the water into wine that he vsed a miracle of tran­substantiatiō changing water into wine But he did not then ordain a sacramēt,Iohn. 2. as he did of the cōmunion of his body & blood, by the holy figures of bread & wine Was it not as easy for god to make the wine to be chāged into blood,Exod. 4.7. or the bread into flesh, as for Moises & Aaron to chāg the water of y^e riuer into blood to apꝓue y^e hardnes of pharoo, or whē y^e clouds were turned into y^e flesh of quals which rained [Page] vpon the people of Israell, alwayes god did not ordeyne these miracles to serue for ordinary sacraments, but would ap­ply himself to our infirmitie, geuing vnto vs signes holy & not trāsubstantiated, which are nother vain nor fantasies, but are outwarde signes, which we can sée, touch, eate, & taste, abiding in their sub­stance, & neuertheles representing sacramentally, y^t which is comprised & signifi­ed by them, wherein our triall of fayth doth stand, to declare vs by a sacramen­tal worke to be of the number of them y^t are regenerated & nourished by the holy sacraments of baptisme & of the supper.A compari­son of the two holy sa­craments. If it be lawful to vse cōparisons of y^e .ij. holy sacraments of baptisme & of the supper, notw^tstanding y^t there is difference betwene regeneration, which doth not reiterate (for it sufficeth once to be rege­nerate & borne again.) But the nourish­mēt must be often done again according to the order of nature, & other differen­ces largely discribed by the holy apostles and ministers of the worde of god. Yet [Page] the same end, the same god, the same Ie­sus Christ is shewed & declared aswel in baptisme, as in the supper. By the blood of Iesus christ we be regenerat & by the same blood nourished. By the blood of Iesus christ we are renewed, set, & graf­fed, & by the same blood we are kept & pre­serued frō hunger & thrust for euermore By the blood of Iesus christ we are spoyled of thold corrupt skinne, & cled wyth his body, of y^e self same also we haue our nourishment & euerlasting life. By the blood of Iesus christ we haue accesse in­to the kingdom of heauen. And by the same blood we haue the fruition of the kingdom, for vnto the same purpose the holy apostle witnesseth, we are al bapti­sed by the vertue of one holy spirit, & we haue all dronke of one spirituall drinke geuen vnto vs by Iesus Christ. Be not these comparisons taken out of the holy scripture, to iustifie that Iesus Christ is the only ende, vnto the whiche tendeth as well Baptisme as the holy Supper? It foloweth then that the sygnes of the [Page] sacramētal water for baptisme, & bread & wine for y^e supper of Iesus christ, ar holy signes, ernes, gages, paunes, marks, seales, & sacraments, instituted of god for profe & assurance of our faith. Wel then (o Massalians) seing ye haue inuented a witchcraft of transubstantiation for the sacramēt of the supper:Against the Massalians. why haue ye not also subtelly deuised the same witchcraft in the sacrament of baptisme? why haue ye not ordeyned the sacramentall water (after that it is by you coniured & bewit­ched with salt to driue away diuelles) to be changed into the blood of Iesus christ, the water to be no more water but acci­dence without substaunce, as ye haue imagined of the bread & wyne? What difference can you shew, but sophistries, sophismes, & masse subtelties. If ye con­tinue your heresie by this worde (is) it is also founde in the water of Baptisme, whiche is called renuynge & regenerati­on, the same is also named the holy gost, and the garment w^t which, & by whiche we are clothed, renued & borne again in [Page] the blood of Iesus christ. Then seyng (o Massalians) that you cōfesse that ye can not fynde a seconde Berengarie, to make a decre of recantation, to thend to enlarge your witchcraft of transubstan­tiation vnto the holy water of baptisme and by the same meane to chaunge your spittell & salte water, your oyle, your creames, your salte & other drougges, wherewith you haue corrupted the holy sacrament of baptisme. Wherfore then are ye so hardened & waxt olde in your Pompilian religion, y^t you would pluck Iesus christ from the right hand of god, to make him to discende in body & blood by your whispering Witchcraft (as Iu­piter Elicius did) before the day apoyn­ted of his second comming?Luke. 1. Malach. 4. A compari­son of the sunne with Iesus christ, the vvhiche S. Iustyne the martyr vsed in his treatise of the exposition of fayth. chap. 3. I can bring you in the similitude of the sunne called by some apostles the sunne of rightuous­nes Iesus christ, because that light com­meth frō heauen by this great & bright star. And euen so the spiritual light is geuen vnto vs by Iesus christ, who hath restored vs to light, out of y^e night & darke­nes of sinne.

[Page]Well then (o ye Capharnaits carnall & grosse) vnderstand nowe a comparrison sufficient ynough to showe you the in­finite power of god to be much more per­fite then your abhominable inuention of transubstanciation. Doe ye not acknow­ledge (if you haue not your eyes blinded & holden in the depth of the darknes of frowardnes) that the sun doth geue vn­to vs his light, his beames, his force, his heate and strength. And yet the bodye it self of the sunne doth rest & abide in hea­uen? Doe not ye saye ordinaryly in your common language, when the windowe of the house toward the sunne is open, y^t the sunne commeth into the house? Yet the sun remaineth alwayes in heauen? Behoueth it to snatch & katch y^e body of the sunne, causing it to come downe and be transubstantiate in this earthly place before it can geue his heate, his beames his light, and nourishement to plantes, herbes trées & earthly creatures? Are ye so brutishe (o Capharnaites) that ye will not confesse the true sonne of righteous­nes [Page] Iesus christ, to haue much more po­wer then this star of the sunne create and mortal? If then the mortal creature haue this power to geue vs y^e vertue, & strēgth of his body, by his beames, by his light, & by his heat sent down into y^e earth realy, & effectuously y^e body notw^tstāding abiding in heauē. It behoueth to beleue that god the euerlasting creator hath muche more power to geue vs the true sonne of righ­tuousnes Iesus Christ to geue vs y^e force and vertue of his body and bloode shed for vs, by the beames, light, & heat of his holy spirite, without constraining him by your witchcraft to be plucked frō the righthād of god, & to be drawen out of heauen by your trāsubstātiatiō into erth. Wherfore hath not Iesus Christ this power to geue vs his light, & to offer to vs his body & his blood, to entre w^tin vs, if by faith & pure cō ­science we wil receyue him by the vertue of his holy spirit, euē as wel & better than the sonne entreth into our houses by his might & power, w^tout drawing it out of heauen to chaunge the substance thereof? The sunne is one only body created, abi­ding in heauen, y^e cause of the growing of [Page] plants, trees, & herbes, which geueth nourishmēt by force & heat vnto al thīgs liuīg vpō the erth, & in one & the same moment hath power to quicken, heat, & nourish an infinite number of plants, trées, herbes & earthly creatures, w^tout seperating, diui­ding or plucking his body frō heauen to trāsubstantiat it. The body also of Iesus christ which he hath caried into heauen & set at the right hande of god, hath it not more force, more vertue, & more strength, to regenerate vs, to féede & nourish vs, to geue his vertue, his light & his beames, to inspire, quicken, sustayne, lighten, & in a moment make vs through faith parta­kers of his body & blood: to make vs mem­bers of his members, knit together in him & by him, by his true promise contey­ned vnder the bages & holy signes, left vnto vs till that the second cōming of his humanitie be seen vpon the earth. Where­fore (o Massayers) haue ye inuented this witchcraft of transubstantiation, to blas­pheme against god, to lessen his power, & lesse to esteeme his power & vertue then the vertue of y^e sunne his creature? wher­fore will ye pluck the body of Iesus christ [Page] from heauen before the time appoynted, to change his substāce into your litle roūd hosts vnleuened & printed ful of pictures,Iesus Christ as god ay­deth all. which you cause to be worshipped, seing that Christ as god, doth ayde his churche euerlastingly, & hath power to regenerat feed, & nourish vs, yea w^t euerlasting life & food, by his promise witnessed & assured by his holy sacraments of Baptisme, & of his holy supper. For other comparisons (o Massayers) familier & homely, consider how the earthly & mortall princes are estemed reuerenced, & honored for the sacred signes ordeyned by them. I wyll only set forth vnto you two, that is to say waxe & metalles: of thone is made the seale of the prince wherwith is sealed the graces, pardons, & forgeuenesses, the letters & priui­leges graunted by the prince. He that coū terfeiteth this seale is he not punished for treason, euen as if he he had hurt the very person of the prince. Doth not this seale represent y^e very person of the prince as if he himself were there present? yet y^e waxe notw^tstanding y^t it is called y^e seale of the prince) is not therfore trāsubstantiat, but remaineth stil waxe, yet after that it hath [Page] receyued y^e reuerend print of y^e prince it is no more called waxe, but y^e princes seale. The metalls of golde & siluer marked for the coyne of the prince to serue for money, although they be called no more gold, nor siluer, but haue changed their names at y^e wil of the prince, be it into the name of ducate, crown, shillings, pence, or other na­mes, do thei leaue to be metals & y^e same substance thei wer before? this only diffe­rence there is, y^t thei are apointed, & stam­ped w^t the print of the prince, whiche doth really represent him, in such sort, y^t he that clippeth or coūterfeiteth this monie, is punished as for y^e crime of treason, and as he had hurt the ꝓper person of the prince.1. Cor. 11. By much better reason the bread & wine con­secrated & marked to be sacramēts of y^e body & blood of Iesus christ, do really repre­sent him, & not in painting. Wherfore he y^t vseth it vnworthely shall haue euerla­sting damnation, as a traitour to the ma­iestie of god. If ye (o Massalians, Nicolai­tains, & transubstantiators) are not suffi­ciently satified w^t thinterpretation of Ie­sus christ & of his apostles, ne yet with si­militudes & familier cōparisons, to bring [Page] you to the true way, & certain forme ordeined of god, for the celebration of his holy sacraments, in abolishing your Masse and Pompilian idolatries, casting away also your abhominable witchcraft of transub­stantiation, at the lest, yet wil ye geue no credit vnto the interpretation of thaunci­ent doctours of the church? Heare than y^t which S. Augustin doth recite against A­damantin,August. ca. 12. authorities of the auncient doctours. The expositi­on of sainct Augustine. euen as y^e blood in many places of the holy scriptures is called the water & the rock christ. So is the bread called the body of Iesus christ, the which thre places must be expoūded to be figures & signes. When that (saith the same doctor) Iesus christ spake these words, hoc est corpus meū, lib. de doctri. christi. & in prefati. Psal. 3 this is my body, & gaue thē bred. He gaue thē the signe of his body, for he thought o­therwise y^t it was a thing vnlawfull, & to vncourteous, to deuour the flesh & body of Iesus christ,lib. 10. de can. des. cap. 5. sa­crificium de consecr. de­stinct. 2. if there wer not a figure ther namely, y^e bread to put vs in minde of the fleshe & body of Iesus christ to haue bene offered vp, for our life, & euerlasting food. Moreouer the same doctor vseth this interpretatiō, the visible sacrament, is y^e testa­mēt, y^t is to sai the holy signe of y^e inuisible [Page] sacrifice. The like interpretations are de­scribed by Tertullian against Marciō the heritick:Tertul. lib. 1. & 3.4. wherfore then (o massaliās) haue not you folowed y^e autoritie of the holy doctors of the church, which wold not blas­pheme against god by a witchcraft of trā ­substanciatiō?Vt quid paras dentem & vē trem, crede & māducasti. ca. Vt quid de cōsecratione distinct. 2. August. in li. de remedi. poeniten. & in ioh. tract. 25. cap. 6. S. Hierom in epist. ad Eph. but haue frely acknowled­ged the sacramēt to be a signe or holy visi­ble figure, signifiyng in spirite & by faith, y^t which is inuisible? wherfore prepare ye y^e mouth & the belly to deuour the fleshe of christ corporally? why do ye not offer your soules by liuely faith worthely to eat Ie­sus christ? why did you not interpret y^e ea­ting of y^e body of Iesus christ by the nota­ble distinctiō of the holy doctor Ierom, saying the flesh of Iesus christ is vnderstādid fleshly whē there is mētion made of y^e she­ding of the bloud & crucifiing of the body of Iesus christ for our saluation.Ca. dupliciter [...]adē distinct. But spi­ritually when it is said, y^t the fleshe is the true meat which must be eaten. For ano­ther holy doctor I wil alledge Gelase Bi­shop of Rome,Sainct Gelase against Euty­chius & Ne­storius. who disputing against the heritiks Eutichians & Nestoriens, doth affirme y^t the bread & wine consecrated & made sacramēts, do not leaue in substance [Page] still to bread & wine, but are figures & sig­nes of y^e body & blod of Iesus christ, by the misterie of y^e sacramēt.S. Ambrose in his booke of sacraments. chap. 11. Wil ye haue more large witnesses of s. Ambrose who vpon y^e epistle to the Corinthiās hath expoūded eating & drinking the bread & the wine, to signifie, the flesh & the blod of Iesus christ offered for vs?Origin in Le­ui. homil. 7. Origin also in his homilies hath expoūded y^e sacramēts to be figures, which must be examined spiritually & not carnally: for this (saith he) y^t the letter kil­leth, if it be not vnderstād spiritually,S. Chrisostom in homil. 31. ca. 15. com. 1. Psalm. 22. whē it is writtē to eat the flesh of christ. Wherfore S. Chrisostom warneth to honor this sacrament, in offring the soule vnto god, for which christ was crucified, and that by this holy sacramēt of bread & wine, is sig­nified vnto vs the likenes of the body & blood of Iesus christ. To make an end, it behoueth to be ruled by the holy interpretation of our doctor Iesus Christ, & of his apostles, to honor & reuerence his holy sa­cramēts ordened of him for outward sig­nes, to lift vp our minds to heauē to take y^t which is represented by the same signes not to esteme thē as vain paintings or fā ­tasies, but worthely to receiue thē in liue­ly [Page] faith by y^e vertue of the holy gost, to the end to be fed & nourished w^t heauēly bred, in y^e helth of our soules, to com to life euer lasting. Let vs then be assured in Iesus Christ as membres of his body:1. Cor. 10. Let vs all come into vnitie to cōmunicate one only bread, & to drinke one only wyne, made of many graines knit together, to the end y^t we may say w^t the holy apostle,1. Cor. 12. all we the faithful are y^e body of Iesus christ, saued & redemed by his body crucified, & blod shed for vs. Thus dwelling & abiding by faith in Iesus christ, eating him, & drinking his blood. Let vs beleue surely y^t he was cru­cified, dead, & risen again, & his body ascended into heauen,D. August. in ioan. tract. 30. Act. 1.3. sitting at the right hand of god in a certen place, vntil y^t he returne w^t his humanitie, as he went vp. Neuer­theles his power & diuinitie are distribu­ted vnto vs, & spred ouer all y^e earth, in all places, specially in y^e holy sacramēts, whi­che he hath lefte vnto vs for gages, & out­warde triall of our faythe, for a remem­braunce of the deathe and passion of our Sauiour Iesus Christ.