(so much so that sometimes another man
telleth him that he hath lost a hand before he perceive it
himself), so the mind ravished in the thinking deeply of those
other things--Christ's death, hell, and heaven--would be likely to
diminish and put away four parts of the feeling of our painful
death--either of the death or the pain. For of this am I very sure:
If we had the fifteenth part of the love for Christ that he both
had and hath for us, all the pain of this Turk's persecution could
not keep us from him, but there would be at this day as many
martyrs here in Hungary as there have been before in other
countries of old.

And I doubt not but that, if the Turk stood even here with all his
whole army about him; and if every one of them all were ready at
hand with all the terrible torments that they could imagine, and
were setting their torments to us unless we would forsake the
faith; and if to the increase of our terror they fell all at once
in a shout, with trumpets, tabrets, and timbrels all blown up at
once, and all their guns let go therewith to make us a fearful
noise; if then, on the other hand, the ground should suddenly quake
and rive atwain, and the devils should rise out of hell and show
themselves in such ugly shape as damned wretches shall see them;
and if, with that hideous howling that those hell-hounds should
screech, they should lay hell open on every side round about our
feet, so that as we stood we should look down into that pestilent
pit and see the swarm of poor souls in the terrible torments
there--we would wax so afraid of the sight that we should scantly
remember that we saw the Turk's host.

And in good faith, for all that, yet think I further this: If there
might then appear the great glory of God, the Trinity in his high
marvellous majesty, our Saviour in his glorious manhood sitting
on the throne, with his immaculate mother and all that glorious
company, calling us there unto them; and if our way should yet lie
through marvellous painful death before we could come at them--upon
the sight, I say, of that glory, I daresay there would be no man
who once would shrink at death, but every man would run on toward
them in all that ever he could, though there lay by the way, to
kill us for malice, both all the Turk's tormentors and all the
devils.

And therefore, cousin, let us well consider these things, and let
us have sure hope in the help of God. And then I doubt not but what
we shall be sure