The.iii. Chapter

SYth a man is made of the bodye and the soule, all the harme that any man maye take, it muste nedes be in one of these two, either immediatli, or by the mean[…] of some suche thyng as serueth for the pleasure, weale, or commoditie of the one of these two: as for the soule first we shal nede no rehearsal of any harme, that by thys kynde of tribulacion, maye attayne therto: but if that by some inordinate loue, and affeccion that the soule beare to the body, she consente to slide fro the faith, and therby doe her harme her self. Nowe remayn there ye body, and these outward thinges of fortune, whiche serue for the mayntenaunce of the body, and minister matter of pleasure to the soule also. thorowe ye delighte that she hath in the body, for ye while that she is matched therwith. Considre thā first ye losse of those outwarde thynges, as somewhat the lesse in waight than is the body it self, in them what may a mā lose, and therby what payne maye he suffre?

Vincent. He maye lose vncle. of which I should somewhat lose my selfe, money, plate, & other mouable substaunce: thā offices, auctoritie, and finally al the landes of hys inheritaunce for euer, that himselfe & his heires perpetually might els enioye. And of al these thynges vncle you wote wel that my self haue some, litle in respect of that ye some other haue here, but somewhat more yet thā he y• hath most here, would be wel cōtent to lose. Upō the losse of these thinges folowe nedines and pouertie, the payne of lackyng, the shame of begging: of which twayne I wote not wel, which is the most wretched necessitie, beside the griefe and heauynes of heart in beholding good mē and faythful, & his dere frendes, be wrapped in lyke mysery and vngracious wretches and infydeles, and his most mortal enemyes enioie the commodities that hymselfe and hys frendes haue lost. Now for the body, very fewe wordes shal serue vs, for therin I see none other harme, but losse of libertie, labour, imprisonment, paynful & shameful death.

☞Anthony. There nede not muche more Cosyn, as the world is now: for I feare me yt lesse than a fowerth part of thys, wil make many a man sore stagger in his faith, and some man fall quite therfro, that yet at thys daye before he come to ye proofe, weneth himselfe yt he would stand very fast: and I bese[…]he our lord yt al they that so thinke & would yet when they were brought vnto the poynt, fal therefro for feare or for payn, may geat of god the grace to wene stil as thei doe, & not to be brought to thassay, where payn or feare should shew thē then. And (as it […]hewed. S. Peter) howe farre they bee deceiued now. But nowe Cosin, against these terrible thinges, what way shal we take in geuing mē counsaile or comfort, if ye fayth were in our dayes as feruent as it hath been ere thys in tymes past, litle coūsaile & litle com[…]ort would suffise, we should not much nede with wordes & reasonyng to extenuate and minishe the vigoure and asperitie of the paines, but the greater the more bytter that the passion were, the more ready was of old time, y• feru[…]ur of faith to suffre it: & surely Cosin, I doubt it litle in my mind, but yt if a mā had in his heart so depe a desire & loue, lōgyng to be wt god in heauē to haue the fruiciō of hys gloryous face, as had those holy mē that were martyrs in y• old time, he would no more now sticke at ye payn yt he must passe betwene, than at yt tyme those old holy martirs did. But alas, our faynt & feble fayth with our loue to god, lesse thā leuke warme, by the fyry affecciō that we beare to our own fil[…]hy f[…]eshe, maketh vs so dull in the desier of heauē, that the sodayn dreade of euerybodely payne woundeth vs to the hearte and strike[…]h our deuocion starke dead, & therfore hath there euery mā Cosin (as I said before) much she more nede to thynke vpon this thing many a tyme and ofte, afore hād ere any such pe[…]el fal: & by much deuising therupō before they see ye cause to feare it, while the thing shall not appeare so terrible vnto thē […] reason shal better enter: and thorowe grace workyng with their diligence, engendre and set sure, not a sodayne sleyght affeccion of sufferaūce for god his sake, but bi a lōg cōtinuaūce a strōg depe roted habite, not like a reede ready to waue with euery wynde, nor like a rootelesse tree, scant set vp an end, in a loose heape of light sand, ye wil with a blast or two be blowen downe.