" Why should not
then reason, I say, thus furthered with faith and grace, be much
more able first to engender in us such an affection, and afterward,
by long and deep meditation thereof, so to continue that affection
that it shall turn into a habitual purpose, fast-rooted and deep,
of patiently suffering the painful death of this body here in earth
for the gaining of everlasting wealthy life in heaven and avoiding
of everlasting painful death in hell?
VINCENT: By my troth, uncle, I can find no words that should have
any reason with them--faith being always presupposed, as you
protested in the beginning, for a ground--words, I say, I can find
none with which I might reasonably counter-plead this that you have
said here already.
But yet I remember the fable that AEsop telleth of a great old hart
that had fled from a little bitch, which had made pursuit after him
and chased him so long that she had lost him, and (he hoped) more
than half given him over. Having then some time to talk, and
meeting with another of his fellows, he fell into deliberation with
him as to what it were best for him to do--whether to run on still
and fly farther from her, or to turn again and fight with her. The
other hart advised him to fly no farther, lest the bitch might
happen to find him again when he would be out of breath by the
labour of farther fleeing, and thereby all out of strength too, and
so would he be killed lying where he could not stir himself.
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