Answer to a Poisoned Book - thomasmorestudies.org

1 Answer to a Poisoned Book by Sir Thomas More Page and line numbers correspond to The Complete Works of St. Thomas More (Yale University Press), volume 11. A complete concordance to this work can be found at #Concordance. Spelling standardized by MarisaWolfe and Katherine Stearns. CTMS 2014 The Answer to the first part of the Poisoned book, which a nameless heretic hath named The Supper of the Lord. By Sir Thomas More, Knight. 2 3 The preface. Sir Thomas More, Knight, to the Christian reader. Would God, good Christian readers, as I have often said, that every good Christian man, ye man and woman both, which are of 5 that inward good and gracious mind that they would not for all this world forsake the true faith themselves, had as much burning zeal and fervor in their hearts to see it outwardly kept and preserved among all others, as these that are fallen in false heresies and have forsaken the faith 10 have a hot fire of hell in their hearts that never can suffer them to rest or cease, but maketh them both day and night busily labor and work to subvert and destroy the Catholic Christian faith, with all the means that ever they can devise.

2 15 For surely, if all such as believe well themselves were as loath to hear any word spoken wrong against the faith as they would be to speak it themselves, there should neither fellowship of their matches, nor fear of any such as are after the worldly count accounted for their betters, anything let or withstand them, 20 both by word and countenance, to show themselves plainly to hate and detest and abhor utterly the pestilent contagion of all such smoky communication. The time hath been ere this when honest Christian people would walk so far off from all lecherous living that they would 25 not come so much toward it as to abide the talking, but followed the Apostle's precept that saith, let not fornication or any uncleanness be so much as named among you.

3 In that while was there much honest cleanness, and by shamefastness, 30 much was chastity conserved. But aftertime that in words folk fell unto more liberty, and such as would forbear the A godly wish Ephesians 5:3 4 doing would yet be well content to fall in the fellowship of foul and filthy talking, then began cleanness greatly to decay. For as the Apostle also rehearseth, evil communication marreth and corrupteth good manners. 5 But this decay from chastity, by declination into foul and filthy talking, hath bygone a great while ago and is very far grown on. But the time hath been even until now very late that, albeit of fleshly wantonness, men have not letted to use themselves in words both lewd and very large; yet of one thing 10 ever would every good man be well aware, that heresy would he no man suffer to talk at his table, but would both rebuke it and detect it, too, although the thing touched his own born brother.

4 Such hath been till of late the common Christian zeal 15 toward the Catholic faith. And albeit that I doubt not, but that (God be thanked) the faith is itself as fast rooted in this realm still as ever it was before (except some very few places, and yet even in those few, the very faithful folk many more than are the faithless, too), yet since 20 good men have of late not letted to hear the evil talk and uncontrolled to speak blasphemous words in their company, the courage thereof hath out of all question much given occasion that heretics have spread their errors much the more abroad. For it is not only lechery that the Apostle's words are verified 25 of, where he saith that evil communication corrupteth good manners (albeit thereof be they verified, too), but specially be they verified of heresy. And against the communication of heretics did Saint Paul specially speak them in his First Epistle to the 30 Corinthians, among whom some began homely then to talk against the general resurrection, as some begin among us now to talk against the blessed sacraments.

5 And such communication it is, therefore, that the Apostle speaketh against, of which he saith also that the 35 contagion creepeth forth and corrupteth further, after the manner of a corrupt cancer. 1 Corinthians 15:33 Evil Communication And would God it were so now 1 Corinthians 15:12 2 Timothy 2:17 5 And therefore, he biddeth us that we should have none other communication with heretics, but only of reproving their heresy and giving them warning to leave. And yet not every man be bold to talk too long with them, not even thereof neither, nor over often to meddle with them, lest 5 as the pestilence catcheth sometimes the leech that, fasting, cometh very near and long sitteth by the sick man, busy about to cure him, so some folk faint and feeble in the faith matched with a fellow stubborn and strong in heresy may sooner themselves 10 take hurt than do the other good.

6 Saint Paul, therefore, inspired with the Spirit of God, compendiously toucheth in very few words both these two points at once, where he writeth unto Titus: "That man that is a heretic, after once or twice warning" (Lo, hear 15 the communication that he would we should have with him), "void and eschew him." So here ye see, lo, that after once or twice warning of them, the bishop should as folk incorrigible expel them; and we should, if we well did, keep no more company nor no more communication with them; no, 20 saith Saint John, not so much as bid them good speed or good morrow when we meet them. These biddings of these blessed apostles, if all Catholic folk would follow (which, either of negligence or fear or for sinful 25 civility, while we follow not, we never discharge well our conscience toward God), there would, without any great suit or trouble, be shortly far fewer heretics than there be.

7 And they that are should shortly perceive in every place where they ween themselves many, how very 30 few they be, which as few as they be, would God yet they were yet far fewer than they be. For albeit there are of heretics far fewer than those that are would have it seem there were, yet are there undoubtedly, by such dissimuling sufferance, many more than 35 else there should have been. Be not bold to talk long with ahereticTitus 3:10-11 2 John 10-11 Note Dissimuling sufferance 6 And this is also the cause that of these heretics' books there be so many now brought in as there be. For while men may so boldly speak out their heresies even among them whom they know none heretics, this maketh many folk, that else durst not meddle with such books, to buy them and look on them and 5 long to see what they say. But some there are, that first begin but of such a vain curious mind, whom the devil driveth after forward and first maketh them doubt of the truth.

8 And after, bringeth them out of 10 doubt to a full belief of heresy. And thus of such books, as sore as they be forbidden, yet are there many bought. Nor the peril refraineth not much people from the buying, since there is none house lightly that hath so little room that lacketh the room to hide a book therein. 15 But when they had the books, if men would abhor their talking, gone were all the pleasure that they take therein. But now while men control them not, but laugh and let them babble, pride maketh them proceed, and they procure more, and spread the books more abroad, and draw more brethren to them. 20 There is no small number of such erroneous English books printed, of which if few were bought, there would not of likelihood so many be put in print, saving that some brethren there are in this realm that of their zeal to their sects, being of such substance that they may forbear it, give some 25 money thereto beforehand, content to abide the adventure of the sale, or give the books about for naught to bring men to the devil.

9 And in this wise is there sent over to be printed the book that 30 Frith made last against the Blessed Sacrament, answering to my letter, wherewith I confuted the pestilent treatise that he had made against it before. And the brethren looked for it now at this Bartholomew-tide last passed and yet look every day, except it be come already and secretly run among them. 35 But in the meanwhile, there is come over another book Titus 3:10-11 And yet there Are many such brethren 7 against the Blessed Sacrament, a book of that sort that Frith's book the brethren may now forbear. For more blasphemous and more bedlam-ripe than this book is, were that book hard to be, which is yet mad enough, as men say that have seen it. 5 This book is entitled The Supper of Our Lord.

10 But I beshrew such a shower as so serveth in the supper that he conveyeth away the best dish and bringeth it not to the board, as this man would if he could convey from the Blessed Sacrament 10 Christ's own Blessed Flesh and Blood and leave us nothing therein but, for a memorial only, bare bread and wine. But his hands are too lumpish and this mess also too great for him to convey clean, especially since the dish is so dear and so 15 dainty that every Christian man hath his heart bent thereto and, therefore, his eye set thereon to see where it becometh. The man hath not set his name unto his book, nor whose it is I cannot surely say. But some reckon it to be made by William Tyndale, for that in an epistle of his unto Frith, he writeth that in 20 anything that he can do, he would not fail to help him forth. Howbeit, some of the brethren report that the book was made by George Jay.