¶The first Chapter, That the comfortes deuised by the olde paynem Phi∣losophers vvere vnsufficient, and the cause vvherefore.

FIrst shal you good Cosin vnderstand thys, y^t the natural wise men of this worlde, the olde morall Philosophers, laboured muche in this matter, & many natural reasōs haue they written, wherby they myght encorage mē to set litle by such goodes or such hurtes eyther, the goyng or the cōmyng wherof, are the mat∣ter & the cause of tribulaciō, as are goodes of fortune, riches, fauor, frendes, fame, worldly worship, & such o∣ther thinges: or of the bodie, as beawty, strēgth, agilite quicknes, and health. These thinges (ye wote wel) cō∣myng to vs, are matter of worldly welth: and takē frō vs by fortune, or by force, or by feare of th• losyng, bee matter of aduersite and tribulacyon• For tribulacyon semeth generallye, to signifye nothing els but some kind of grief, either paine of the body, or heauynes of the mind. Now the body not to fele that if feleth, al the wit in the world can not bring about, but y^t the minde should not be grieued neither with the paine that the body feleth, nor with occasions of heauines offered & geuen vnto the soule it self. Thys thyng laboured the Philosophers very much about, and many goodly say∣inges haue thei toward the strēgth & coūfort against tribulacion, excityng men to the full contempte of all Page  [unnumbered] worldly losse, and dispising of sycknes, and al bodelye griefe, paynefull death and all. Howe bee it in verye dede, for any thyng that euer I read in them, I neuer could yet find that euer those natural reasons were able to geue sufficiēt comfort of them self: for they ne∣uer stretche so farre but that they leaue vntouched for lacke of necessary knowledge, that special point which is not only the chief comfort of al: but without which also, al other comfortes are nothing, that is to wit, the referring the finall ende of theyr comforte vnto god, and to repute and take for the special cause of coūfort, that by the paciente sufferaunce of theyr tribulacion, they shall attayne his fauoure, and for theyr payne re∣ceyue rewarde at his hande in heauen. And for lacke of knowlage of this end• thei did (as they nedes must) leaue vntouched also the verye speciall meane, with∣out which we can neuer attaine to this comforte, that is to wit, y^e gracious ayde and helpe of God to moue, stirre, and guide vs foreward, in the referring all our ghos•ly comforte, yea and our worldly comforte too, al vnto that heauenly end. And therfore as I say, for the lacke of these thinges, all theyr comfortable coūsayles are veri farre vnsufficient: howe be it, though they be farre vnable to cure our dysease of them selfe, and therfore are not sufficiēt to be taken for our phisitiōs: some good drugges haue they yet in theyr shoppes for which they may be suffered to dwel among our Apoti∣caryes, if theyr medicines be not made of theyr owne braines, but after the billes made by the greate phisi∣tion God, prescribing the medicines him self, & correc∣tyng y^e faultes of theyr erronious receiptes: for with∣out this way taken with them, they shall not fayle to do, as many bolde blind Apoticaries do: which eyther Page  [unnumbered] for lucre or of a foolish pride, geue sycke folke medi∣cines of theyr owne deuisyng, & therwith kil vp in cor∣ners many such simple folke, as they find so folish to put their liues in such lewde & vnlearned blynd bay∣ardes handes. We shal therfore neyther fully receiue these philosophers reasons in this matter, nor ye• vt∣terly refuse thē: but vsing thē in such order as shalbe seme thē, the principal & theffectual medicines against these diseases of tribulaciō, shal we fetche frō y^t highe great & excellent phisicion, without whō we could ne∣uer be healed of our very deadly disease of damnaciō, for our necessitie wherin the spirit of god spirituallye speaketh of himself to vs, & biddeth vs of al our helth geue him y^e honor: & therin thus sayth to vs. Honora me∣dicum propter necessitatem enim ordinauit eum altissimus. Honor thou y^e phisiciō, for him hath y^e high god ordened for thi neces∣sitie. Therfore let vs require y^e high phisiciō, our bles∣sed sauior Christ, whose holy manhed god ordened for our necessitie, to cure our deadly woundes, with y^e me∣dicine made of y^• most holesom blud of his own blessed bodi: y^• likewise as he cured by y^t incōparable medicine our mortal malady, it may like him to send vs & put in our mīdes such medicines at this time, as agaīst y^• sick¦nes & sorowes of tribulacions, may so cōfort & strēgth vs in his grace, as our deadly enemy y^e deuil, maye ne∣uer haue y^e power by his poisoned dart of murmure, grudge and impacience, to turne our short sicknes of worldly tribulaciō, into y^e endles euerlastyng death of infernal dānacion.