Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Sacrament of the Eucharist · Book II: On the Real Presence, from the Testimonies of the Fathers
Chapter 29: The Testimony of Pope Hilary
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. IV, De Sacramento Eucharistiae, Book II: On the Truth of the Body of the Lord in the Eucharist, from the Testimonies of the Fathers. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
Pope Hilary succeeded Saint Leo. From his decrees the adversaries produce one testimony, which plainly makes for us, not for them. The testimony exists in Gratian, On Consecration, distinction 2, canon Corpus, in these words: “The body of Christ, which is received from the altar, is a figure while the bread and wine are seen outwardly; but it is the truth while the body and blood of Christ are believed in truth within.” So he. The sense of this testimony is this: if you regard the Sacrament of the Eucharist as to those things which are seen outwardly, it is a figure, nay even it is bread; but if you consider what lies hidden within, and what faith there sees, it is the body and blood in truth.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT XXIX. Testimonium Hilarii Papae. Hilarius Papa sancto Leoni successit. Ex ipsius decretis proferunt adversarii unum testimonium, quod plane pro nobis, non pro illis facit. Testimonium exstat apud Gratia¬ num de consecrat, dist. 2. can. Corpus, in heee verba : « Corpus Christi, , quod sumitur de altari, figura est, dum panis et vinum extra videntur : veritas autem, dum corpus et sanguis Christi in veritate interius credi¬ tur. » Haec ille. Sententia hujus testimonii ista est; si spectes Sacramentum Euchari¬ stia}, quoad ea, quse exterius videntur, figura est, imo et panis est ; at si consideres , quid intus lateat, et quid ibi fides videat, corpus et sanguis in veritatem est.