Transubstantiation is the Christian (and especially Catholic) belief that bread and wine can be transformed into the body and blood of Christ through incantation. According to Hobbes, the practice of transubstantiation is absurd and is not rooted in Holy Scripture (it began during the reign of Pope Innocent III, 1198-1216), which makes it idolatry. Instead of Holy Scripture, transubstantiation is rooted in the philosophy of Aristotle, who supports the false belief that bodies can be made of incorporeal substances and spirits.
Transubstantiation Quotes in Leviathan
The Leviathan quotes below are all either spoken by Transubstantiation or refer to Transubstantiation. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
Yet still the object is one thing, the image or fancy is another. So that Sense in all cases, is nothing els but originall fancy, caused (as I have said) by the pressure, that is, by the motion, of externall things upon our Eyes, Eares, and other organs thereunto ordained.
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Chapter 5
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And words whereby we conceive nothing but the sound, are those we call Absurd, Insignificant, and Non-sense. And therefore if a man should talk to me of a round Quadrangle; or accidents of Bread in Cheese; or Immateriall Substances; or of A free Subject; A free-Will; or any Free, but free from being hindered by opposition, I should not say he were in an Errour; but that his words were without meaning; that is to say, Absurd.
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Transubstantiation Term Timeline in Leviathan
The timeline below shows where the term Transubstantiation appears in Leviathan. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8: Of the VERTUES commonly called INTELLECTUAL: and their contrary DEFECTS
...likewise believes in evil possession. Hobbes challenges any academic to make the Holy Trinity or transubstantiation comprehensible. “So this kind of Absurdity,” Hobbes says, “may rightly be numbered amongst the many...
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Chapter 44: Of Spirituall Darkness from MISINTERPRETATION of Scripture
...is not the same as conjuring some spirit through seemingly holy practices. For example, consider transubstantiation—“This is my Body” and “This is my Blood.” Wine and bread are supposedly turned to...
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Chapter 47: Of the BENEFIT that proceedeth from such Darknesse, and to whom it accreweth
...clergy, as it gives the clergy “better intelligence” than the sovereign power. False belief in transubstantiation, absolution, Purgatory, demons, and exorcism also benefit the clergy, as such beliefs allow the Pope...
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