CHAPTER XV.
Of suffering injuries; and who is proved to be truly patient.
Christ.WHAT is it thou sayest, son? Cease to complain, considering my passion, and that of my other saints.
Thou hast not yet resisted unto blood.
Do not say, I cannot suffer these things at the hand of such a person, nor ought I to suffer these things; for he hath done me great wrong, and upbraided me with those things which I never thought of: but of another I will willingly suffer.
Such a thought is foolish, it considereth not the virtue of patience, nor by whom it shall be crowned; but rather weigheth the persons and the injuries offered.
*2. He is not truly patient, that will not suffer but as much as he thinketh good, and by whom he listeth.
*But the truly patient man mindeth not by whom he is exercised, whether by his superior, or his equal, or by his inferior: whether by a good and holy man, or by a perverse and unworthy person.
*But indifferently from all creatures, how much soever, or how often soever any adversity befalleth him, he taketh all thankfully from the hands of God, and esteemeth it great gain;