Howbeit, cousin, if it so be that their way be not wrong, but that they have found out so easy a way to heaven as to take no thought, but make merry, nor take no penance at all, but sit them down and drink well for our Saviour’s sake—­set cockahoop and fill all the cups at once, and then let Christ’s passion pay for all the scot—­I am not he who will envy their good hap.  But surely, counsel dare I give no man to adventure that way with them.  But those who fear lest that way be not sure, and take upon themselves willingly tribulation of penance—­what comfort they do take, and well may take therein, that have I somewhat told you already.  And since these other folk sit so merry with such tribulation, we need talk to them, you know, of no such manner of comfort.

And therefore of this kind of tribulation will I make an end.

VIII

Vincent:  Verily, good uncle, so may you well do, for you have brought it unto a very good pass.

And now, I pray you, come to the other kind, of which you purposed always to treat last.

Anthony:  That shall I, cousin, very gladly do.  The other kind is the one which I rehearsed second, and (sorting out the other two) have kept for the last.  This second kind of tribulation is, you know, of those who willingly suffer tribulation, though of their own choice they took it not at first.

This kind, cousin, we shall divide into twain; the first we might call temptation, the second persecution.  But here must you consider that I mean not every kind of persecution, but only that kind which, though the sufferer would be loth to fall in, yet will he rather abide it and suffer than, by flying from it, fall into the displeasure of God or leave God’s pleasure unprocured.  Howbeit, if we well consider these two things, temptation and persecution, we may find that either of them is incident into the other.  For both by temptation the devil persecuteth us, and by persecution the devil also tempteth us.  And as persecution is tribulation to every man, so is temptation tribulation to a good man.  Now, though the devil, our spiritual enemy, fight against man in both, yet this difference hath the common temptation from the persecution:  Temptation is, as it were, the fiend’s snare, and persecution his plain open fight.  And therefore will I now call all this kind of tribulation here by the name of temptation, and that shall I divide into two parts.  The first shall I call the devil’s snares, the other his open fight.

IX

To speak of every kind of temptation particularly, by itself, would be, you know, in a manner an infinite thing.  For under that, as I told you, fall persecutions and all.  And the devil hath a thousand subtle ways of his snares, and of his open fight as many sundry poisoned darts.  He tempteth us by the world, he tempteth us by our own flesh; he tempteth us by pleasure, he tempteth us by pain; he tempteth us by our foes, he tempteth us by our own friends—­and, under colour of kindred, he maketh many times our nearest friends our most foes.  For, as our Saviour said, "Inimici hominis domestici eius."