249. a.

C. 21. 249.

Rom. 12. 3.

ted out of Ambrofe. As thou haft received the fimilitude of Christ's Death, T. p. 109. in Baptifm, fo thou drinkeft the fimilitude of his Precious Blood, in the Eucharift. How doth he, or any one elfe, anfwer that of Bereng. If the Bread be turn'd into the very Body of Chrift, either the Bread is lifted up into Heaven, or the Flesh of Chrift is brought down to the Earth. That fhuffle in the Trent Conc. will not do; Chrift is in Heaven by a natural way of exifting, but in many other places, Sacramentaliter, Sacramentally, that is vid. inf. p. 12. they tell you. by fuch a way of exifting as they could not exprefs. So they fob us off with a Word, which fignifies juft as much as Hocus-pocuftice; that is, Nothing. All that Lancfranc faith is only this, this Argument is, secundum humanam fapientiam, non fecundum Divinam, according to human Wifdom, not according to what is Divine. This is the common fubterfuge or trick of Romantick and meer fpeculative Divines, efpecially in the Roman Church. When they have once taken up and pofitively afferted an Opinion or Notion, though never fo extravagant, and have ftrain'd their Wits to the utmost to make it good, and by all the fetches and fubtilties of Metaphyficks, or Philofophy, or Fancy colour'd it over and made it a fpecious Piece of Incomprehenfible and Unintelligible Nonfenfe; if any Sober and thinking, honeft-hearted Christian offerd to look into it, and judiciously examine it by the Light of God's word, and the plain Dictates of common Reason, and did not fwallow it at once by a meer blind Obedience, but upon the whole found, and perhaps Published, evident Truth against it; they prefently not only brand him with the opprobious name of Schifmatick or Heretick or worse, but tell him he must 2. Cor. 10, 5. captivate his Thoughts and Understanding, and not dive into thefe Mysteries, (which only themielves have made;) and prefently all the Texts, here mention'd by Lancfranc, are fhot at him, non plus fapere quam oportet fapere, He must not be Wife above what he ought to be Wife. Paul's preaching was not with enticing words of Man's Wisdom. And, beware leaft any Man 1 Cor. 2. 4. Spoil you through Philofophy and vain deceit after the Tradition of Men, after the Elements, or Rudiments, of the World and not after Chrift. Now as to the Chimera of Tranfubftantiation, I would fain know who have tranfgreffed the Apoftles directions, the Afferters or the Oppofers of it? What is the new Invention of it, and all the School-Divinity and Trumpery, by which the Metufiafts endeavour to maintain it, but Prefumptuous and Arrogant pretences, to be Wifer then all other fober Chriftians? What are all their Writings but tricks and enticing words of Man's Wifdom? but Metaphyfical Philofophy and vain Deceit? They were the Tranfgreffors who first contrived this montrous Opinion, and by all the Fallacies, Forgeries, Shifts and Devices, that human Wisdom can invent, have endeavour'd, and yet do endeavour, to impose it upon the whole Chriftian World; and now they would turn the Apostle's Battery, which is plainly level'd against themselves upon us, and bid us beware, and not pretend to be fo Wife as to examine it. At laft he gives us Berenga- c. 22. 250. rius his Opinion in these words; You believe the Bread and the Wine, at the Lord's Table, in the time of its Confecration to remain, as to their Subftance, immoveable; that is, that they are, or exift, Bread and Wine before Confecrated, and are, or exift ftill, Bread and Wine after Confecration. That they are therefore called the Flesh and Blood of Chrift, because they are Celebrated in the Church, in Memory of his Crucified Flefh, and the Blood which was fhed from his fide; that we being by this admonished T. p. 110. may always remember the Lord's Paffion, and remembring it may continually Crucify our own Flesh with the Vices, or Affections, and Lufts. I was the more willing to fet this down at large, because I am the more fully perswaded that he was abfolutely in the right; for these words of Chrift, this is my Body, this is my Blood, and his whole Inftitution, were taken up (as I have above obfèrved) from the Cuftom of the Jews then in ufe, of eating the Bread of Affliction after the Pafchal Supper; and this is my Body, was no more than a Hebrew phrafe, fignifying, this is in Remembrance of my Body,

as

P. 5, 6, 7.

C. 22. 250.

Heb. 7. 27.

T. p. 110. as this is the Btead of Affliction, that is, in Remembrance of the Bread of Affliction; and the Bread in the Eucharift is as much (and no more) Christ's Body, as the prefent Jews Cake is the Bread of Affliction, which was eaten fo long ago in Egypt. Against this Profeffion of Bereng. Lancfranc thus argues, If this be true, then the Jewish Sacraments were more Valuable and more Divine than the Sacrament of Chriftians; As Manna and the living Beafts, which the Jews Sacrificed, were better than a little Morfel of Bread and a fup of Wine. Alas! we Chriftians own but one Real, Bodily and Bloody Sacrifice, Sacrificed once for all, our Crucified Lord; who & c. 9. 28. was the real Substance, of which all the legal Sacrifices were but Shadows; and Berengar, hath truly taught us the end and meaning of Celebrating the Sacrament, by remembring that one Sacrifice of Chrift, to crucify our corrupt Affections and Lufts; to prefent, thus, our Bodies a living Sacrifice, Holy, Heb. 13. 15. Acceptable to God; to offer up Broken and Contrite Hearts, and the SacriPf. 51. 16,17. fice of Praife through Chrift to God Continually. Thefe are the Chriftians Sacrifices, which are infinitely prefer'd before thofe of the Law, and which our God will not defpife. This is the plain account of the first rife of the Metufiafts Doctrine, and I have thus briefly run over the greatest part of Lancfranc's anfwer to Berengar. because he feems to be one of the fift, if not the very first, who Publickly oppofed him; which is done fo flightly, as I confefs it feems to me, either a meer forced engagement, or a piece of worldly Policy, or both, as I have already hinted. Give me leave here once for all to make this moft ferious Enquiry.

Rom. 12- I.

Ifa. 1. 11. 16.

&c.

Matthew.

c. 6.

We find it in the Liturgies of the Eaft, as well as amongst us in the Weft; and likewife in many of the Antient Fathers, that Chrift, at his Inftitution of the Sacrament, did Eat, with all the reft, and Drink, the Bread and the Wine, which were there fet before them. St. Chryfoftom, not only plainly afferts it, but also gives a folid Reafon for it. His words are thefe. Vt, AHomil. 82. in poftoli & Populi, tunc temporis, un paxban, minime turbarentur, primus ipfe hoc fecit, váywv, incitans, vel inducens, eos, aτapáxws, citra Perturbationem ad Myfteriorum Communionem, ipfum fui ipfius fanguinem ipfe Bibit. That, his Apofties and the People, at that time might not be troubled, or as we fay, make no fcruple at it, he himself first did this, inducing. or moving, them without troubling themselves, to the Communion of the Myfteries, he himself drank his own very Blood. Without doubt Chryfoftom in this place had regard to what we read in St. John; Where when Chrift had fpoken to the People concerning their Eating his Flesh and Drinking his Blood, it is manifeft what a strange difturbance his words gave them. Except ye Eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and Drink his Blood ye have no Life in you; whosoever Eateth my Flesh and Drinketh my Blood, hath Eternal Life; for my Flesh is Meat indeed, and my Blood is Drink indeed. These words, litterally taken, were enough to astonish and confound any Man, as they then did thofe that heard them they cryed; How can this Man give us his Flesh to Eat? Again, This is a hard faying who can bear it. therefore, it is no wonder, that many, even of his Difciples, went back and walked no more with him. Now therefore to explain his Words, and to take away that, their old Scruple, if any thing of it ftill remain'd in their Minds, he himself Eat of the Bread and Drank of the Wine, to fhew that they were only Symbols or Signs, or Memorials of his Body or Flefb which was to be broken, and of his Blood which was to be fhed for us; and fhewed them that his Words were not to be taken litterally but in a fpiritual Senfe. It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the Flesh profiteth nothing; the Words that I speak unto you; they are Spirit and they are Life. So he expounds his coming down from Heaven, to do God's will, to raise up believers at the last Day, to be betrayed to Die, that is, to teach the words of Eternal Life, as we Mat. 26 39 read before, (that is his Doctrine) was the Life of the World; the Bread 63. that came down from Heaven, the Bread of Life. Manna was not litteJoh. 1. 4. c. 3.

7. 53, 54, 55.

V. 52.

60.

66.

63.

38, 39, 40.

64.

42.

19.

And

rally

tur.

2. p. 349.

rally Bread, no more was the Bread, which was Eaten, Chrift's very Body, T. p. 1107 but figuratively fo. Manna was for Food, and fo called Bread; and the Bread which Chrift did Eat, was not his very Flesh and Bones, but the living Bread, that is, the Spiritual lively Remembrance of his Death, whereof the vifible Bread was only a Sign. To the fame purpofe faith St. Jerom, Epift. 150. Dominus Jefus ipfe Conviva & Convivium, ipfe Comedens, & qui Comedi- Hebidia, quaft. The Lord Jefus, himself being the Gueft and the Banquet, Himfelf Edit. Col. Agr. Eating and being He that is Eaten. And a little farther, nequaquam in vetuftate Litera, fed in novitate Spiritus; By no means in the oldnefs of the Letter, but in the newness of the Spirit. Ad Paffionem veniens cum See allo Iren. gratias egiffet, tenens Calicem, & bibillet ab eo, & dediffet Difcipulis, 1. 5. c. 33. dicebat eis, Bibite ex eo omnes. Coming to his Passion given Thanks, holding the Cup, and had Drank of it, and had given it to the Difciples, he faid to them, Drink ye all of this. And that Chrift did partake of the Bread and Wine, at his Inftitution, is plain from Chryfoftom's Liturgy in the words Printed (out of my MS.) here above.

when he had

Thus far, I must think, is very plain for the Spiritual meaning of Chrift's words, this is my Body, this is my Blood.

Now let us fee how the literal Senfe will appear. This is my Body; that is, (fay the Metufiafts,) my very Flesh and Bones which I now have about me. This is my very Blood which now moves in my Heart, Veins and Arteries. Here I fhall humbly put this Queftion; Did Chrift Eat that his own very Flesh and Bones, which was then prefent with them? Did he Drink that his own very Blood, which was then difperfed throughout his whole Body? Did he then give his whole entire Body, Flesh, Bones and Blood (which was then there feen by all of them) to his Difciples in every Portion, nay, in every Mite, to be devoured by every one of them? The Affirmative is indeed a hard faying; for my own part I muft needs confefs that I cannot bear it.

So again; the Schoolmen have made a great Noife and fond Difputes about the meaning of the word, TT, This in Chrift's Form at his Inftitution of the Sacrament. Now can there be a more plain and eafy Senfe made of it then this Thing, this Morfel, or this Piece of Bread, which I now hold between my Fingers and my Thumb (or in my Hand,) is my Body? Now if this was made that his very Body and Bones, which was then there Prefent and Visible and Tangible before them, and was then that whole Body held between the Fingers and Thumb, or in the Hand of the felf fame Body, at the very selffame time, and yet the fame was given intirely and feparately to every one of the Communicants, whilft even all this time Chrift was himself there by; For my own poor Soul's fake I must heartily defire a clear Solution of this Amazeing Riddle. I muft my felf cry out, how could all this be? Whereas in a fpiritual Senfe all these Questions may be cafily, fairly, clearly and fully anfwer'd.

Edit. Col. Agr.

P. 497.

P. 88.

v. 52.

Labbe.

id. c.

The Story of Berengarius is notorious enough, and by the Barbarous ufage of him, we may eafily Imagine what any one elie was to expect, who should have dared publickly to own the fame Truth. He was ready to vindicate his Doctrine before the Bishops, or any one elfe publickly, fi mihi tutum fieret, if it Ep. ad Aseel. had been fafe for him; and he could have fatisfied Afceline himself, if he would T.1x. 1057.b. have admitted him to: a Conference with him, fi mihi fiat copia tecum agere. And he was ready to do the like to the K. of France, and to whom he would have, out of the Scriptures. How unfafe it was for him to do this, we may Labb. T. 9. guefs by what he there faith of the King, that he had wrong'd him, injustiffi- 1062. d. mè & Regia Majeftate indigniffimè, most unjustly and most unworthily of (or T. p. 111. not becoming) Royal Majefty; But we may more clearly fee it, by Duran- Labb. T. 1x. dus his account of the Synod at Paris, where it was decreed, that unless he and all his followers repented, they should be immediately fought out by the whole French Army, and wherever they were met together, they should be besieged

P

until

Ep. ad Ricard.

1060. d.

T. p. 1. until they should either confent to the Catholick Faith, or be taken and put to Death. Only this Violence brought this great Man to do what afterwards he did, by force to flop the Mouth of an Author or burn him, (which is the furest way to filence him) and to burn his Books, or (what is all one) to force him to burn them, one would think was a pretty fure Method to root out any Doctrine quite out of the World; his Enemies may then venture to boast, that he was publickly Confuted and Condemn'd, and fay what elfe they pleafe, when fcarce any Remains or Fragments of the whole proceedings are left but what they allow. This hath often been the Practice when Ecclefiaftical and Secular Powers have combin'd in Violent measures. But though Hand join in Hand, great is Truth and it will prevail.

13.

id. 1079. 3.

Baron. 1088. 15. &c.

Now I fhall not overmuch wonder at what followed. We have Berengarius his Story only from Popish Authors, and that (as is hinted) very imperfectBaron. 1059. ly, for what that Age did not relish is in a manner ali fupprefs'd and loft. He, fay they, Abjur'd his Doctrine, his Confcience troubled him and he again maintain'd it. He abjur'd it again, but still it was his Opinion to his Death; for had he at laft died a Convert to Rome, he would not then have been branded, as, cariofus nefaudiffimufque Hærefiarcha, A rotten and most infamous Archhæretick. And if those were his laft words, which W. Malmesbury (that flattering Monk) Records, we may justly put a fairer and truer Interpretation Baron, 1088. upon them then what that Papalin hath done; Chrift will appear to me for my Repentance, I hope, to Glory; or for others, as I fear, to Punishment. It is plain that he repented that he had ever Abjur'd; and he might be fearfull, that many fell off from the Truth by that his bad Example; and the Excellent Epitaph made for him after his Death fpeakes him fo brave a Man, as Baronius, if he had died at last his Creature, would never have past fo peevish a cenfure of it, or offer'd to disparage Hildebertus the Author of it (as he hath done) who notwithstanding was then an Arch-Deacon, and afterwards a Bishop. Baronius after all durft not abfolutely fay that he died a Metufiaft, at best he doubted of it, for he fays, He might find God's Mercy, if he died in the Catholick Church.

18.

ibid. 17. &c.

ibid. 20.

T. p. 112.

But now what can the Metufiafts make of all this. As to the Man, we have a very forrowful, but remarkable Inftance of the Frailty of human Nature, and muft lament the weaknefs of Flesh and Blood, when Men are fet in fo great a ftreight as to have the Option of either the Violating their Confcience, or meeting with certain Death, or Torments which are worfe. If the Bleffed Jefus himself in his Agony fweat drops of Blood, and fo earnestly pray'd that (Death) that bitter Cup might be removed from Him, as an Angel was fent from Heaven to strengthen Him; why fhould I wonder that a meer Man fhould fhrink at the fight of the King of Terrors? It is plain that there were many of the fame Sentiments with him, and all but he (even his own Bishop) were ftruck Dumb by the Menaces of the Pope, and the Tyranny of the Civil Power, or wrought off fome other way; He poor Man, alone could keep up his Courage against all things but Death. Lancfranc braves hitn c. 4. infin. indeed, Nonne præftabat fi veram Fidem &c. If you had thought your own belief was true, had it not been better for you to have ended your Life by an honeft Death, then to abjure it? It had been better indeed; but I fear there were not in thofe fad days, neither perhaps are there even in our own,

Heb. 12. 4. many able to refift unto Blood. I cannot but fufpect, that even Lancfranc

Baron. 1079.4.

Heb. 12. 3.

himself (as is above faid) and many more of the few Learned Men in that Age, were of Berengarius his Opinion; but by the blind Zeal and Fury, and Violence then reigning, they were wearied, and under these preffures on one fide, and the allurements of Quiotnefs and Eafe, and Promotions and the like, on the other, they fainted in their Minds; as it is now the cafe of many in the Greek Church, as fhall be bye and bye more fully afferted.

But now as to the Rafh Impious and Extravagant Practice of the Roman Church then towards Him, it will remain for ever fuch a notorious Mark of its

Their

1102. e.

Infamy and Madnefs, as all the Craft and Subtilty of the Devil or Man will T. p. 112. never be able to blot it out. Cardinal Humbert, by order of P. Nicholas and Baron. 1059. his whole Council, drew up the Form of his Confeffion, which was publickly 13. read and approved of by them all; and therefore Binius calls it, Fidei Ca- Labb. T. 1x. tholicæ Confeffionem, a Confeffion of the Catholick Faith. Now this Article in it, That the true Body of Chrift is (in the Sacrament) Senfibly, not only Sacramentally (for fo, non folum Sacramento muft fignify or fignify nothing,) but in Truth, Handled by the Hands of the Priests, and broken, and torn by the Teeth of the Faithful, is fo grofs and abominable an Affertion (and yet imposed upon Him by a Church which pretends to be Infallible) as their own Doctors themfelves, in that and all fucceeding Ages, have been afhamed of, and confounded at it. And the very Council of Trent it felf, (as Senfible of this) supr. 109. Q have minced the matter by faying, the Body of Chrift is prefent here (not in Veritate, in Truth, as it is in Heaven, and as Berengar. was forced to fay, but) Sacramentaliter, Sacramentally they cannot fay how. It is amazing to fee how they Sweat, and beat their Brains, to fave the Credit of the Pope, and the Council, by mollifying, ftretching, wrefting and variously turning and interpreting the words of the Form, every one according to his own Fancy and Conceit. Baronius names fome of that Age, and P. Lombard mentions fe- 1059. 18. veral of their conjectures, but at last he himself (to fhow his Scholaftick Nicety Distinct. 12. or Acuteness like a Master) plainly contradicts the Pope and Council. Form fay, fenfibly, not only Sacramentally but in Truth, handled and broken and torn; He out of his own forge Coins this Ridiculous diftinction, and faith, Senfibly and in Truth handled by the Priests, but broken and torn by the Teeth Sacramentally only. Baronius (it may be in favour of this 1059. 13. distinction) leaves out, (et,) and, reading it, tractari, frangi & atteri, to be handled, broken and torn; yet Lombard himfelf puts it in, in the very Paragraph beforegoing; now when it is there faid plainly by Berengarius his Form, in Truth to be handled and broken and torn, what pretence Lombard had for this fhuffle I cannot fee; fo that, in truth fenfibly to be torn, and, not in Truth but only Sacramentally to be torn, I think is a plain Contradiction; However it is manifeft that Lombard did not hold Tranfubftantiation in fo foul and grofs a manner, as Pope Nicholas and his whole Council did. The fecond Form of Berengarius his abjuration was abfurd enough, but not alto- Cone. Rom. gether in fo grofs Terms as the firft. That the Bread and Wine were Sub. Lab. T. x. 378 ftantially turn'd into the true and proper and enlivening Body and Blood of Chrift; and were the true Body of Chrift which was Born of the Virgin, and hang'd on the Cross, and fits at the right hand of the Father, and the true Blood which was fhed from his Side; not only by a sign or the virtue of the Sacrament, but in the Propriety of Nature and the Truth of the Subftance. Their Heat und Madnefs were now fomething abated; perhaps by the previous Difputes and Difquifitions, which were there held for fome days by the Members of that Council. They were far enough from being all of one Mind, multis hæc, nonnullis illa priùs fentientibus, many thinking thus, fome (as the matter is there minced) thinking otherwise, to wit, that all was only Figuratively to be understood; However the greateft part afferted the fubftantial Conversion of the Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Chrift; without doubt it was an eafy thing for the Pope to fecure a Majority; it is there faid, fome of the neighbouring Arch-Bishops, Bishops, and Religious Perfons, and of divers Regions and Provinces, met by the Pope's Precept; the number of them is not known, but we may well imagine that the greatest Part were Creatures of his own, culled, and pickt and called for his purpofe. Yet it is plain by this, that as yet the Doctrine was but a difputable Point; and that many great Men, fuch as were counted fit to be Members of a Council, held contrary Opinions to it. But this is most plain in P. Lombard himself; he again and again tells us of feveral Opinions concerning the Eucharift, then freely and without any publick Controul main

P 2

tain'd

T. p. 113.