thynges sette a parte, I mynde chiefly to haue respecte to the truthe. My firste question is this. Howe Christes body is in the Sacramente, accordynge to youre mynde or determination?
☞ Then aunswered a Doctoure: he is there as touchynge his substaunce, but not after the maner of his substaunce.
Harps. He is there in suche sorte and maner, as he may be eaten.
Cran. My nexte question is: whether he hathe his quantitie, and qualities, forme, figure, & such lyke properties.
Harps. Are these your questions, said mayster Harpesfielde? I maye lykewise aske you, when Christe passed through the Virgins wombe, an rupit necne? When they had thus a while contended, there were diuers mindes in it.
All the Doctours fell in a buszyng, incertain what to aunswer: some thought one way, som another: and thus mayster Doctours could not agree.
Then maister Cranmer sayd thus: you putte of questions with questions, and not with answeres: I aske one thyng of you, and you aunswere an other. Once agayne I aske: whether he haue those properties, whiche he had on the earth?
Tresh. No, he hath not al the quantities and qualities belongyng to a body.
Smith. Stay you maister Tresham: I wil answere to you mayster Doctour, as Damascene speaketh. Transformatur panis. &c.
The breade is transformed, and the wyne. &c. But yf thou wylt enquire how: (modus impossibilis) the maner is impossible.
☞ Thē two or thre other added their answers to this question, somewhat doubtfully. A great hurly burly was among them, some affirming one thing, and some affirming an other.
Cran. Doe you appoint a bodye, and cannot tell what maner of body? Eyther he hath not his quantitie, or els you are ignorant howe to aunswere it.
Harps. These are vaine questions, and it is not mete to spende the tyme on them.
west. Here me a whyle. Lanfrancus, some time bishop of Canterbury doth answer in this wise vnto Berengarius, vpon such like questions. Salubriter credi possūt, fideliter quæri nō possūt
They may be wel beleued, but neuer faithfully asked.
Cran. If ye thinke good to aunswer it, som of ye declare it.
Harps. He is there as pleaseth hymself to be there.
Cran. I would be beste contented wyth that answere, if that your appoyntinge of a carnall presence had not driuen me of necessitie to haue enquired for disputations sake how you place him there, sithens you will haue a naturall body.
☞ Whē agayn he was answered of diuers at one tyme, some denying it to be quantum, some
saying it to be quantitatiuum, some affirmynge modum quanti, some denying it, some one thyng some another: vp starte Doctor Weston, and doughtely decided, (as he thought) all the matter, saying: it is, Corpus quantum, sed non per modum quanti. It is a body (sayeth he) hauing quantity, but not accordyng to the maner of quantitie.
[Back to Top]☞ VVhereunto mayster VVarde, a great Philosopher,
Ward was described as a philosopher in 1563 (p. 988), this was changed to 'sophister' in later editions (1570, p. 1629; 1576, p. 1390; 1583, p. 1461).
The description of Ward's argument as a 'goodly tale' (1563, p. 988) was changed to a 'formall tale' (1570, p. 1629; 1576, p. 1390; 1583, p. 1461), probably to avoid appearing to commend him.
ward. We must consider (sayth he) þt ther are duæ positiones, two positions. The one standeth by the order of parts with respect of þe whole. The other in respect of that which conteineth. Christ is in þe sacrament in respect of þe whole. This propositiō is in one of Aristotles predicamēts called Situs. I remēber I did entreat these matters very largely, when I did rule and moderate the Philosophicall disputations in the publike scholes. This position is sine modo quātitatiuo, as by an ensample: you can neuer bring heauen to a quantitie. So I conclude that he is in the sacramēt quantum sine modo quantitatiuo.
[Back to Top]These wordes he amplified very largelye: & so high he climed into the heauens, with Duns his ladder, and not with the scriptures, that it is to be marueyled how he coulde come downe agayne without falling: to whom maister Crāmer sayd.
Cran. Then thus do I make my argument.
In heauen his bodye hath quantitye, in earth it hath none, by your saying.
Ergo he hath two bodies, the one in heauen the other in earth.
¶ Here som would haue answered him, that he had quantitie in both, and so put of the antecedent: but thus sayd maister Harpsfield.
Harps. I deny your argument, thoughe some would not haue had him sayd so.
Cran. The argument is good. It standeth vpon cōtradictories, which is þe most surest hold.
Harps. I deny that there are contradictions.
Cran. I thus proue it. Habere modum quantitatiuum & non habere, sunt contradictoria.
Sed Christus in cœlis vt dicitis, habet modum quātitatiuum, in terra non habet.
Ergo duo sunt corpora eius in quæ cadunt hæc contradictoria. Nam in idem cadere non possunt.
west. I deny the minor.
Harps. I answere that the maior is not true. For habere quantū, et non habere, nō sunt cōtradictoria nisi si cōsiderauerint eiusdē ad idem, eodem modo & simpliciter.