ob answered his: "Burdensome and heavy
comforters be you." Nay, I would not fail to bid him boldly, while
I should see him in his passion, to cast sin and hell and purgatory
and all upon the devil's pate, and doubt not but--as, if he gave
over his hold, all his merit would be lost and he would be turned
to misery--so if he stand and persevere still in the confession of
his faith, all his whole pain shall turn all into glory.

Yea, more shall I yet say than this. If there were a Christian man
who had among those infidels committed a very deadly crime, such as
would be worthy of death, not only by their laws but by Christ's
too (as manslaughter, or adultery, or other such thing); and if
when he were taken he were offered pardon of his life upon
condition that he should forsake the faith of Christ; and if this
man would now rather suffer death than so do--should I comfort him
in his pain only as I would a malefactor? Nay, this man, though he
would have died for his sin, dieth now for Christ's sake, since he
might live still if he would forsake him. The bare patient taking
of his death would have served for the satisfaction of his
sin--through the merit of Christ's passion, I mean, without help of
which no pain of our own could be satisfactory. But now shall
Christ, for his forsaking of his own life in the honour of his
faith, forgive the pain of all his sins, of his mere liberality,
and accept all the pain of his death for merit of reward in heaven,
and shall assign no part of it to the payment of his debt in
purgatory, but shall take it all as an offering and requite it all
with glory. And this man among Christian men, although he had been
before a devil, nothing would I doubt afterward to take him for a
martyr.

VINCENT: Verily, good uncle, methinketh this is said marvellous
well. And it specially delighteth and comforteth me to hear it,
because of our principal fear that I first spoke of, the Turk's
cruel incursion into this country of ours.

ANTHONY: Cousin, as for the matter of that fear, I purpose to
touch it last of all. Nor meant I here to speak of it, had it not
been that the vehemency of your objection brought it in my way. But
otherwise I would rather have put instead some example of those who
suffer tribulation for maintenance of right and justice, and choose
rather to take harm than to do wrong in any manner of matter. For
surely if a man may--as indeed he may--have great comfort in the
clearness of his