The first Chapter. VVhither a man may not in tribulacion vse some vvorldly recreacion for hys co • forte

ANd first good vncle ere we procede farther, I wil be bold to moue you one thīg more of yt we talked whē I was here. When I reuolued in my minde againe the thinges that were concluded here by you, me thought ye would in no wyse that in any tribulacion men shoulde seke for comforte eyther in worldly thing or fleshly, which mynde vncle of yours, semeth somewhat hard, for a mery tale with a frende ref[…]esheth a man much, & without any harme lyghteth hys mynde, and amendeth courage and hys stomake, so that it semeth, but well done to take suche recreacion. And Salomon sayeth I trowe, that men should in heauines geue ye sory mā wine to make him forgeat his sorowe. And. S. Thomas saieth, ye propre pleasaunte talking which is called […] is a good vertue seruing to refreshe the minde, & make it quicke and lusty to labor and study againe, where continuall fatigacion, would make it dull and deadly.

☞Anthony. Cosin, I forgat not y• point, but I long not muche to touche it, for neither might I wel vtterly forbidde it where the cause mighte happe to fall that it shoulde not hurte, and on the other syde if the case so should fall, me thought yet I should litle nede to geue any counsaile to it: folke are proue inough to such fantasies of their own mind, you may see this by our self, whiche coming nowe together, to talke of as earnest sadde matters as men can deuise, were fallen yet euē at the first into wantō idle tales and of tru[…]th Cosin, as you knowe very well, my selfe am of nature euen halfe a gigglot and more, I woulde I coulde as easely mende my faulte as I can wel knowe it, but scant can I refraine it as olde a foole as I am: howbeit so parcial wil I not be to my fault as to praise it, but for that you requier my minde in the matter, whether men in tribulacion may not lawfully seke recreacion and cō fort thēselfe with some honest mirth firste agreed that out chiefe comforte must be in god, & that with him we must beginne, & wi[…]h him continue, and w[…]h him ende also. A man to take nowe & […]han some honest worldly mirth, I dare not be so sore as vtterli to forbidde it, sith good men & well learned, haue in some case allowed it, specially for the diuersitie of diu[…]rs mens mindes: for els if we were al such, as would god we were, & such as natural wisdom would we should be, & is not al cleane excusable that we be not in dede: I would than put no doubt, but y• vnto any man the most cōfortable talking that could be, were to heare of heauē, wheras now, god helpe vs our wretchednes is suche yt in talking a while therof, mē waxe almost wea[…]y, & as thoughe to heare o[…] heauē were an heauy burdaine, they must refreshe thē selfe after with a foolishe tale, our affeccion towarde heauenly ioyes waxeth wonderful cold. If drede of hel were as far[…]e gone, verye fewe woulde feare God, but that yet a litle sticketh in ou[…]e stomakes marke me Cosin at the sermon, and commenlye towardes the ende, somewhat the preacher speaketh of hell and heauen: nowe whyle he preache[…]h of the paynes in hell[…] still they stande yet and geue hym the hearing, but as soone as he cometh to the ioyes of heauen, they be busking them ba[…]kewarde and flocke meale fal away: it is in the soule somewhat as it is in the body. Some are there of nature or of euill custome come to that point, that a worse thing some tyme stedeth them more then a better. Some man if he be sicke, can awaye with no holesome meate, nor no medicine can goe downe with him, but if it be tempered with some such thing for his fantasie as maketh ye matter or ye medicine lesse holesome thā it should be. And yet while it wil be no better, we must let him haue it so. Cassianus that very verteous mā rehearseth in a certayne collacion of his, that a certaine holy father in making of a sermon, spake of heauen and heauenly thynges, so celestially, that much of his audience with the swete sounde therof, began to forgeat all the world and fall a slepe: whiche when the father beheld[…] he dissembled their sleping, and sodeinly sayed vnto them: I shal tell you a mery tale. At which worde, they lyfte vp their heades and harkened vnto that. And after the slepe therwith brokē, heard hym tel on of heauen agayne, In what wyse that good father r[…]buked than their vntowarde myndes so dull vnto the thyng that all our lyfe we labor for, & so quicke and lus[…]y towarde other tryf[…]es, I neither beare in mynde, nor shal here nede to rehearse. But thus much of the matter suffiseth for our purpose, that wheras you demaunde me whither in tribula[…]ion men may not some tyme re[…]eshe them […]elfe with worldlye myrth & recreacion. I can no more say, but he that can not long end[…]re to holde vp his head and heare talking of heauē except he be now & thā betwene (as though to heare of heauē were heauines) refreshed wt a mery folishe tale, there is none other remedy but you must let him haue it: better would I wishe it, but I cannot helpe it. Howbeit, let vs by mine aduise at the least wise make those kyndes of recreaciō as shorte & as selde as we can: let them serue vs but for sauce, & make thē not our meate, and let vs pray vnto god, & al our good frendes […]or vs, that we may fele such a sauour in the delight of heauē, that in respecte of the talkinge of the ioyes therof, all worldly recreaciō be but a griefe to thinke on. And be sure Cosin, that if we might once purchase ye grace to come to that point, we neuer founde of worldly recreacion so much cōfort in a yere, as we should fynde in the bethinkyng vs of heauē in lesse thā half an houre.

☞Vincent. In fayth vncle I can well agree to this: and I praye God bryng vs once to take such a sauour in it: and surely as you began the other daye, by fayth must we come to it, and to fayth by prayer. But nowe I praye you good vncle vouchesafe to procede in oure principall matter.