Concerning consubstantiation.

The Papists, from what we have said, imagined that two great miracles were wrought in the eucharist by virtue of the consecration of the elements, the changing of the substance of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, and the subsistence of the accidents of the bread and wine, independent of any subject; both of which may easily be refuted; for the former evidently contradicts the analogy of the entire Christian faith, whilst the latter is at war with all sound philosophy. And, as to that virtue which there is in the act of consecration, of which they make so much account, it is nothing more than a magical device of the devil and of human ingenuity.

When some of the ancient Doctors perceived these absurdities, they rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, and coined that of consubstantiation, which teaches the co-existence of two substances in the same place, or the presence of the body and blood of Christ, not under the forms of bread and wine, but in, or under the bread and wine itself. These persons maintained that the signs were not transubstantiated, or changed as to their substance; but that they were consubstantiated, by which they meant, that the bread and wine remained; but that the body and blood of Christ were substantially present with, in, and under the bread and wine, and eaten and drunk with the mouth.

Lombard refers to this view, and asserts that it was already before his time advocated by certain persons; and calls it a paradox a strange view.

Guitmund attributes it to Herengarius, after his recantation, and calls it impanation.

Others regard Walrame as the originator of this view, against whom Anselm wrote two books which are still extant.

Others, again ascribe it to Rupert, who lived shortly after Guitmund, about the year of our Lord 1124.

Peter, cardinal of Cambray, declared that he would rather embrace consubstantiation than transubstantiation, had not the church of Rome decided differently. He lived about the year of our Lord 1416.

At length Luther, falling in with the opinion of this cardinal of Cambray, as he himself testifies, did not at first regard it as an article of faith, to believe that the substance of the bread remains, or does not remain with the body of Christ, but maintained that either view might be held without subjecting their advocates to the charge of heresy. Subsequently, how ever, it seemed more probable to him that the bread should remain, and that the body of Christ’should be present in. with, and under the bread. This is now the generally received opinion of those who call themselves Lutherans. They interpret the words of Christ, This is my body, thus, In, with, and under this bread is my body; and they boast equally as much as, the Papists, that they retain the words of Christ in their literal sense, without any trope or figure. And whenever they contend with the Papist, they refer the particle This to the bread alone, which itself, according to their view, is the body of Christ. But when they are brought into controversy with us, whom they call Sacramentarians, then the particle This, no longer refers to the bread only, but to the bread, with the body of Christ which is invisibly concealed in it, and the sense of the words, This is my body, they affirm to be this: This bread, and my body which is concealed in this bread, is my body. This their gloss, they prove, as they say, with plain and familiar illustrations, so that Christ, when he gave his body invisibly in the bread, said, This is my body, just as the farmer says of the grain in his sack, This is grain, pointing to the sack; or as the merchant, in speaking of the money in his purse, says, as he holds it up, This is my money; or as the mother says of her child lying in the cradle, This is my child, pointing to the cradle; or as the vender of wine says, as he hands the cup, This is wine. These illustrations are gathered from their writings and disputations.

But the same thing happens unfortunately to these good men, which the poet says of another class of persons:

Stulti dum vitant vitia, in contraria currunt.

Fools when they run from certain vices, rush into the opposite extremes.

For instead of the absurd miracle of the Papists, in regard to the subsistence of the accidents of the bread and wine, independent of any subject, they imagine another still more absurd, viz: the penetration of two bodies; so that they may be said to have wandered farther, than the Papists themselves from the words of Christ, whether we regard the letter or sense of the words. For the words, if taken literally, must be thus understood: This, that is, this bread, is my body; and if we have respect to the sense, or true meaning of the words, it must be: This visible bread which is broken and given is my true and essential body given for you. It is my true body, not by any change of the essence, as the Papists believe, (for the Word did not assume bread, neither was bread delivered or crucified for us,) but it is my true body in a mystical sense, and according to a sacra mental form of speech, as Christ himself, and Paul, and all the orthodox fathers have understood it. The interpretation which the advocates of transubstantiation put upon the words of Christ, is far from being their literal and true sense; for it is not true that the Papists retain the letter, seeing that they put in the place of the words of Christ, this is my body, this gloss: This thing, or indefinite substance contained under these forms is my body; much less, therefore, do the consubstantialists retain the literal and true meaning of the words of Christ, seeing that they substitute their own words in the place of what Christ said, saying, in, with, and under this bread is my body; or, the bread and the body of Christ, which is invisibly concealed in this bread, is my body For neither is the bread by itself, nor the bread with the body of Christ concealed in it, properly the body of Christ; as a purse, whether full or empty, is not properly and without a figure of speech called .money. And as to the various illustrations, or forms of speech, which they bring* forward for the purpose of establishing their view, they are evidently foreign; for as it respects the instances to which we have already referred, that which is expressed by them is plain, as soon as it is uttered, that grain is in the sack, money in the purse, an infant in the cradle, and wine in the cup. But that the body of Christ is in the bread, does not appear so clearly, neither can it be proved, since there is an article of the Christian faith which declares that it is in heaven.