If thou shalt say, thou art not able to suffer so much, how then wilt thou endure the fire of purgatory?
Of two evils one ought always to choose the least.
That thou mayest therefore escape the everlasting punishments to come, labour to endure present evils with patience for God's sake.
Dost thou think the men of the world suffer little or nothing? Thou shalt not find it so, though thou seek out for the most delicate.
5. But, thou wilt say they have many delights, and follow their own wills; and therefore make small account of their tribulations.
4. Suppose it to be so, that they have all they desire: how long dost thou think this will last?
Behold, they shall vanish away like smoke that abound in this world, and there shall be no remembrance of their past joys.
Nay, even whilst they are living, they rest not in them, without bitterness, irksomeness, and fear.
For the very same thing, in which they conceive a delight, doth often bring upon them the punishment of sorrow.