The.xvii. Chapter. Of bodely payn, and that a man hath not cause to take discōfort in persecucion, though he

Vincent. FOrsoth vncle, as for these outward goodes you haue so far[…]orth saide, yt albeit no man cā be sure what strength he shal haue, or how faint & howe feble he may hap to find himself whē he shal come to ye point, & therfore I can make no warrātise of my selfe, seing yt S, Peter so sodainly fainted at a womās word, & so cowardly forsoke his maister for whom he had so boldl[…] fought w̄tin so few houres afore. And by yt fal in forsakīg, wel perceued yt h[…] had been rash in his promise and was wel woorthy to take a fall for puttyng so full trust in himselfe: yet in good fayth me thinketh nowe, (and God shall I trust helpe me too, kepe this thought stil) yt if the Turke should take al that I haue vnto mi very shyrt, except I forsake my fayth, & offre it me al again with.v. times asmuch therto to fal into his secte, I would not once sticke thereat, rather to forsake it euery whit, thē of Christes holy faith to forsake any one poynt. But surely good vncle, whē I bethinke me farther on the griefe & the payne that may turne vnto my flesh: here fynd I yt feare yt forseth my heart to trēble.

Anthony. Neither haue I cause to meruayle therof, nor you Cosin cause to be dismayde therefore. The great horror & feare that our Sauiour had in his own flesh agaynst his paynful passiō, maketh me litle to meruayl, & may wel make you take that comfort to, yt for no such maner of gendring felt in your sēsual partes, the flesh shrinketh at the meditacion of payne and death, youre reason shal geue ouer, but resist it and manlye maister it: and though you woulde fayne flee from the payneful death, and be loth to come thereto: yet may the meditacion of his great grieuous agony moue you, & him selfe shall, if you so desyre him, not fayle to worke with you therin, & geat and geue you the grace that you shal submit and conforme your will therin vnto his, as he did his vnto hys father, & shal therupon be so cōforted with the secret inward inspiracion of his holy sprite, as he was with the personal presence of yt Angell, that after his agony came & comforted him, that you shall as his true disciple folow hym, and with good will without grudge, doe as he did, and take your crosse of pain & passion vpon your backe, and dye for the trueth with him & therby raigne with him crouned in eternal glory. And this I say to geue you warning of the thyng tha[…] is truth, to thentent whan a man feleth such an horror of death in his heart, he should not therby stand in outragious feare that he were fallyng, for many such men standeth for al that feare, full fast. And finally, better abydeth the brunte when god is so good vnto hym, as to bryng hym therto and encourage hym therin, thā doth some other, that in the beginning feleth no feare at al, and yet may it be, and most oftē so it is, for god hauing many mansions, and all wonderful welthfull in his fathers house, exalteth not eueri good mā vp to the glory of a martyr, but foreseing their infirmitie, that though they be of good wyll before, and peraduenture of right good courage to, would yet play. S. Peter, if they wer brought to the poynt, and therby bryng theyr soules into the perill of eternall damnacion. He prouideth otherwyse for them, before they come thereat, and eyther findeth away that men shal not haue the mynd to lay any handes vpon them, as he founde for his di[…]ciples, whē hymself was willingly takē, or that if they set hand on thē, they shal haue no power to holde thē, as he founde for. S. Iohn theuangelist, whiche lette his sheete fall from hym, whereupon they caught holde and so stedde hymselfe naked awaye, and scaped fro them or thoughe they hold him and bryng him to prison to, yet god sometyme deliuereth them thence, as he did. S. Peter, and sometyme he taketh them to him, out of the pryson into heauen, and fuffereth them not to come to their torment at all, as he hath done by many a good holy man. And some he suffereth to be brought into the tormente, and yet he suffereth them not to dye therin, but lyue many yeares after, and dye their natural death, as he did. S. Iohn theuangelist and by mani an other moe, as we maye well see bothe in sundrye stories, and in the Epistles of Saincte Ciprian also. And therefore whiche waie GOD wyll take with vs, we can not tell: but surelye if we be true Christian men, this can we wel tell, that withoute anye bolde warrantise of oure selfe, or foolishe truste in oure strength, we be bound vpon pain of damnacion, that we be not of the contrarye mynde. but that we wyll wyth hys helpe, (how lothe so euer we fele oure fleshe thereto) rather yet than forsake hym or hys fayth afore the worlde (whyche if we dooe, he hath promysed to forsake vs afore hys father, and all the holy coumpanye of heauen.) Rather I saye, than we would so dooe, we would with his helpe endure and sustayn for his sake all the tormentrye that the deuyll with all hys faithlesse tormentors in thys world, would deuyse. And then when we be of thys mynde, and submytte oure wyll vnto hys, and call and praie for hys grace, we can tell well ynough that he will neuer suffre them to putte more vpon vs, than his grace wyll make vs all to beare, but wyll also wyth theyr temptacion prouyde vs for a sure waye, for Fidelis deus? (sayth Saynct Paule) Qui non patitur vos tentari supra id quod potestis, sed dat etiam cum temptatione prouentum. GOD is (sayth the Apostle, faythfull, whiche suffereth you not to be tempted aboue that you maye beare, but geueth also with the temptacyon a waye oute. For eyther as I sayde, he will keepe vs oute of theyr handes (thoughe he beefore suffre vs to be feared wyth them to proue oure faith wythal, tha[…] we may haue by the examinaciō of our own mind, some coumforte in hope of hys grace, and some feare of oure owne frayltie to dryue vs to call for grace (or elles if we fall in theyr handes) so that we fall not fro the trust of hym nor cease to call for his helpe) hys trueth shal as the prophete saieth) so compasse vs about with a pauice[…] that we shall not neede to feare this incursion of thys midde daye deuyll. For eyther shall these Turkes hys tormentors, that shall entre this, and and persecute vs, eyther they shall I saye, not haue the power to touche oure bodies at all, or elles the shorte payne that they shall putte vnto oure bodyes, shall turne vs to eternall profite bothe in oure soules and in oure bodies too. And therefore Cosin, to beegynne with, lette vs be of good coumforte. For sythe we be by oure fayth verye sure, that holy Scripture is the woorde of god, and that the worde of god, can not be but verye true, and that we see that bothe by the mouthe of his holye Prophete, and by the mouthe of his blessed Apostle also, god hath made vs so faithfull promyse, bothe that he wyll not suffre vs to be tempted aboue oure power, but wyll bothe prouyde a waye out for vs, and that he wyll also rounde aboute so coumpasse vs with his pauice, and defende vs, that we shall haue no cause to feare this midde daye deuyl, with all his persecucion: we can not nowe but be verye sure (excepte we be verye shamefullye cowardous of hearte, and towarde god in fayth out of measure fainte and in loue lesse thā leuke warme, or waxen euen kaye colde) we maie be verie sure I saie, that either God shall not suffre the Turkes to inuade this lande, or if thei dooe god shal prouide suche resistence that thei shall not preuaile, or if thei do preuaile, yet if we take the wai that I haue tolde you) wee shall by theyr persecucyon take lytle harme or rather no harme at all, but that that shall seme harme, shall in dede bee to vs no harme at al, but […]ood. for if god make vs & kepe vs good mē (as he hath promised to doe if we pray therfore) thā saith holi scripture. Bonis omnia cooperantur in bonum. Unto good folke all thynges turne them to good: and therfore Cosin, syth that God knoweth what shall happe and not we, lette vs in the meane whyle with a good hope in the helpe of Goddes grace, haue a good purpose with vs of sure standing by his holy faith againste all persecucions, from which if we should (which our lord forbidde) hereafter either for feare or pain (for lacke of grace lost in our owne default) myssehappe to decline: yet had we both wonne the well spent time in thys good purpose before, to ye minishmēt of our payne, and were also much the more lykely that god shoulde lyft vs vp after oure fall, and geue vs his grace againe: howbeit, if this persecucion come, we be by this meditacion and well continued entente and purpose beefore, the better strengthed and comfirmed, and muche the more lykely for to stand in dede. And if it so fortune (as with gods grace at mēs good prayers and amendment of our euill lyues, it maye fortune ful well) that the Turkes shall eyther be well withs[…]anden and vanquished, or paraduenture not inuade vs at all: than shal we perdye by this good purpose geat our selfe of god a very good cheape thanke: and on the other side, while we now thinke theron (as not to thynke thereon, in so great lykelihode therof, I wene no wise man can. If we shoulde for the feare of worldly losse or bodelye paine, framed in oure owne mindes, thinke that we would geue ouer, and to saue our good and oure lyues forsake our Sauiour by deniall of hys fayth, than whither the Turke come or come not, we be gone from god the whyle, and then if they come not in dede, or come & be driuen to f[…]yghte, what a shame should thys be to vs before y• face of god, in so shameful cowardous wyse to forsake hym for feare of that payne, that we neyther felt, nor neuer was falling towardes vs.

Vincent. By my trouth vncle I thanke you, me thynke that though you neuer sayd more in the matter, yet haue you euen with this that you haue of the feare of bodelye payne in this persecucion, spoken here already merueilously comforted my heart.

☞Antony. I am glad Cosin, if your heart haue takē comfort therby: but and if you so haue, geue god the thanke and not me, for that worke is his and not mine, For neyther am I able any good thynge to saye but by hym, nor al the good wordes in this world, no not ye holy wordes of god himself, and spokē also with his own holy mouth, can be able to profite the man with th[…] sound entring at his eare, but if the spirite of god therwith inwardely worke in his soule: but that is his goodnes euer ready to do, except the let be thorowe the vntowardnes of our owne frowarde wyl.