A dialoge of comfort against tribulacion, made by Syr Thomas More Knyght, and set foorth by the name of an Hu[n]garie[n], not before this time imprinted

The .ix. Chapter. The second point, that is to vvitte, that tribulacion that is sente vs by God vvithout any open certaine deseruing cause knovvne to our selfe, and this kynd of tribulacion is medicinable if men vvill so take it•• and therefore great occasion of comforte.

Vincent.

UErely myne vncle, this firste kinde of tribula∣cion haue you to my minde opened sufficiently, & therefore I pray you resort now to the secōd.

Anthony.

The second kinde was you wote wel of such tribulaciō as is so sent vs by god, y^t we know no cer∣tayn cause deseruing y^t presēt trouble as we certainly know y^t vpō such a surfit we fel in such a sicknes, or as y^e thefe knoweth y^• for such a certaine theft he is fallē into such a certain punishemēt: but yet sith we seldom lack faults against god, worthy & wel deseruing great punishmēt: in dede we may wel thinke, & wisdom it is so to doe, that w^t sin we haue deserued it, and that god for some sinne sende••h it though we certainly knowe not our self for whych, & therfore as yet thus farforth is this kind of tribulaciō somewhat in effect in com∣fort to be takē like vnto y^e other: for this as you se if we thus wil take it, wel reckening it to be sent for sin & suffering it mekely therfore, ī medicinable against y^e

paine in the other world to come, for our sinnes in this worlde passed: whiche is as I shewed you•• a cause of right great cōfort. But yet may thā this kind of tribu∣laciō be to some mē of more sober liuing, & therby of y^• more clere cōsciēce sōwhat a litle more cōfortable: for though thei may none otherwise re••kin them self thā sinners (. For as Saint Paul saith. Nulliu•• mihi consius sum se•• non in hoc iustificatus sum. My cōscyence grudgeth me not of any thing, but yet am I not therby iustified. And as Saint Ihō sayth. Si dixerimus quia pecc••tum non habemus, ipsi nos seducimus & veritas in nohis non est. If we saye y^t we haue no sin in vs, we beguyle our self and trouth is there not in vs) yet for as much as y^e cause is to: thē not so certayn as it is to y^e other afore remēbred in y^e first kind, & y^t it is also certain y^t god sōtime sēdeth tribulaciō for kepīg & preseruing a mā frō such sin, as he should els fal in, & somtime also for excercise of their paciēce & encrease of merite: great cause of encrease in cōfort haue those folke of the clearer conscience in the feruoure of their tribulacion, in that they make the comfort of a double medicine, and of that is the kind which we shal finally speake of that I ••al better than medicinable, but as I haue before spokē of this kind of tribulaciō howe it is medicinable in y^t it cureth y^e sin passed, & purchaseth re∣missiō of y^e pain dew therfore, so let vs somewhat cōsi∣der how this tribulacion sent vs by god is medicina∣ble, in y^t it preserueth vs frō y^e sinnes into whiche w•• were els like to fal, if y^t thīg be a good medicine y^t resto¦reth vs our helth whē we lese it: as good a medicine muste this nedes be y^t preserueth our helth while we haue it, & suffreth vs not to fal into y^e painful siknes y^t must after driue vs to a painful plaister. Nowe seeth god sōtime y^t worldly welth is w^t one (y^t is yet good) cō∣ming vpō him so fast that for seing how much weight of worldly welth the man maye beare•• and how much

wil ouercharge him, and enhaunce his heart vp so hie, y^e grace should fal frō him. Loe, god of his goodnes I saye preuēteth his fal, & sendeth him tribulaciō betime while he is yet good to garre hym ken his maker, and by lesse liking y^• false flattering world, set a crosse vpō y^e ship of his heart, & beare a low saile therō, y^t y^e boiste∣rous blast of pr••de blow him not vnder y^e water. Some young louely lady loe, y^t is yet good inough, god seeth a storme come toward hir, y^t would (if her helth & hir fatte feding should a litle lenger last) strike her into some letcherous loue, & ī stede of her old acquainted knight lay her a bed with a new acquaynted knaue. But god louing her more tēderly thā to suffer her fal into such shameful beastly sinne, sendeth her in seasō a goodly fayre feruent feuer, y^t maketh her bones to rattel and wasteth away her wantō flesh•• & bewtifieth her fayre fel, with y^e colour of a kightes claw, & maketh her loke so louely, y^t her louer would haue litle luste vpon her, & make her also so lusty•• y^t if her louer laie in her lap she should so sore lōg to breake vnto him y^e very bottome of her stomake, that she should not be able to refrain it frō him, but sodeinly lay it al in his necke. Did not as I before shewed you y^e blessed apostle himself cōfesse y^t y^e high reuelaciōs y^t god had geuē him, might haue en∣haūced hī into such high pride, y^t he might haue caught a foule fal, had not y^e prouidēt goodnes of god proui∣ded for his remedi? And what was his remedy, but a painful tribulaciō, so sore y^t he was faine thrise to cal to god to take y^e tibulaciō from h••m: & yet would not god graūt his request, but let him lye so lōg therin•• tyl him self y^t saw more in Saint Paule thē saint Paule saw in himself•• wist wel y^e time was come in which he might wel w^tout his harme take it frō him: &•• thus you se good

Cosin, that tribulacion is double medicine, both a cure of the synne passed, and a preseruatiu•• fro the synne y^t is to come. And therfore in this kind of tribulacion is there good occasion of double comforte: but that is (I saye) diuersly to sundry diuers folkes, as their owne conscience is with syn combred or clere. Howbeit I wyl aduise no mā to be so bold as to thinke y^t theyr tri∣bulacion is sente them to kepe them fro the pryde of theyr holines. Let men leaue that kynde of comforte hardly to Sainct Paul, tyll their liuing be lyke: but of the remnaunt maye men wel take great comfort and good beside.