Protestantism in France From Death of Francis I to Edict of Nantes - James Aitken Wylie

ought the conference together, he proceeded with
much clearness and beauty of statement, and also
with great depth of argnment, to discuss the great
outstanding points between the two Churches. The
speech took the Roman portion of the assembly by
surprise. Such erudition and eloquence they had
not expected to find in the advocates of the
Reform; they were not quite the contemptible
opponents they had expected to meet, and they felt
that they would do well to look to their own armor.
Beza, having ended, presented on bended knee a
copy of the Confession of the French Protestant
Church to the king.
But the orator had not been permitted to pursue
uninterruptedly his argument to its close. In dealing
with the controverted points, Beza had occasion to
touch on the Sacrament of the Eucharist. It was the
center of the controversy. The doctrine he
maintained on this head was, in brief, that Christ is
spiritually present in the Sacrament, and spiritually
partaken of by the faith of the recipient; but that his
body is not in the elements, but in heaven. If the
modest proposal of the Chancellor de l'Hopital, that
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