For I think, on my faith, that if we have the
grace verily to believe it and often to think well on it, the fear
of all the Turk's persecution--with all this midday devil were able
to do in the forcing of us to forsake our faith--should never be
able to turn us.
VINCENT: By my troth, uncle, I think it is as you say. For surely,
if we would often think on these pains of hell--as we are very loth
to do, and purposely seek us childish pastimes to put such heavy
things out of our thought--this one point alone would be able
enough, I think, to make many a martyr.
XXVI
ANTHONY: Forsooth, cousin, if we were such as we should be, I
would scant, for very shame, speak of the pains of hell in
exhortation to the keeping of Christ's faith. I would rather put us
in mind of the joys of heaven, the pleasure of which we should be
more glad to get than we should be to flee and escape all the pains
of hell.
But surely God is marvellous merciful to us in the thing in which
he may seem most rigorous. And that is (which many men would little
think) in that he provided hell. For I suppose very surely, cousin,
that many a man--and woman, too--of whom some now sit, and more
shall hereafter sit, full gloriously crowned in heaven, had they
not first been afraid of hell, would never have set foot toward
heaven.
Pages:
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384