VINCENT: Verily, good uncle, this thing is so plainly true that no
man can with any good reason deny it. But I think also, uncle, that
no man will do so. For I see no man who will confess, for very
shame, that he desireth riches, honour, renown, and offices of
authority only for his worldly pleasure. For every man would fain
seem as holy as a horse. And therefore will every man say--and
would it were so believed, too--that he desireth these things,
though for his worldly wealth a little so, yet principally to merit
thereby through doing some good with them.
ANTHONY: This is, cousin, very surely so, that so doth every man
say. But first he who in the desire of these things hath his
respect unto his worldly wealth, as you say, "but a little so," so
much as he himself thinketh but a little, may soon prove a great
deal too much. And many men will say so, too, who have principal
respect unto their worldly commodity, and toward God little or none
at all. And yet they pretend the contrary, and that unto their own
harm. For "God cannot be mocked."
And some peradventure know not well their own affection themselves.
But there lieth more imperfection secretly in their affection than
they themselves are well aware of, which only God beholdeth. And
therefore saith the prophet unto God, "Mine imperfection have thine
eyes beheld." And therefore the prophet prayeth, "From mine hidden
sins cleanse thou me, good Lord."
But now, cousin, this tribulation of the Turk: If he so persecute
us for the faith that those who will forsake their faith shall keep
their goods, and those shall lose their goods who will not leave
their faith--lo, this manner of persecution shall try them like a
touchstone. For it shall show the feigned from the true-minded, and
it shall also teach them who think they mean better than they do
indeed, better to discern themselves. For there are some who think
they mean well, while they frame themselves a conscience, and ever
keep still a great heap of superfluous substance by them, thinking
ever still that they will bethink themselves upon some good deed on
which they will well bestow it once--or else that their executors
shall! But now, if they lie not unto themselves, but keep their
goods for any good purpose to the pleasure of God indeed, then
shall they, in this persecution, for the pleasure of God in keeping
his faith, be glad to depart from them.
And therefore, as for all these things--the loss, I mean, of all
these outward things that men call the gifts of fortune--this is,
methinketh, in this Turk's persecution for the faith, consolation
great and sufficient: Every man who hath them either setteth by
them for the world or for God. He who setteth by them for the world
hath, as I have showed you, little profit by them to the body and
great harm unto the soul. And therefore, he might well, if he were
wise, reckon that he won by the loss, although he lost them but by
some common cause. And much more happy can he then be, since he
loseth them by such a meritorious means. And on the other hand, he
who keepeth them for some good purpose, intending to bestow them
for the pleasure of God, the loss of them in this Turk's
persecution for keeping of the faith can be no manner of grief to
him. For by so parting from them he bestoweth them in such wise
unto God's pleasure that at the time when he loseth them by no way
could he bestow them unto his high pleasure better. For though it
would have been peradventure better to have bestowed them well
before, yet since he kept them for some good purpose he would not
have left them unbestowed if he had foreknown the chance. But being
now prevented so by persecution that he cannot bestow them in that
other good way that he would have, yet since he parteth from them
because he will not part from the faith, though the devil's
escheator violently take them from him, yet willingly giveth he
them to God.