Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation: With Modifications To Obsolete Language By Monica StevensMore, Thomas, Saint
Religion
Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation: With Modifications To Obsolete Language By Monica Stevens
More, Thomas, Saint
Consolation
But such folk are out of tribulation, and comfort need they none,
and therefore are they out of our matter. But he who is in the
night's fear of his own scrupulous conscience, let him well
beware, as I said, that the devil draw him not, for weariness of
the one, into the other, and while he would fly from Scilla draw
him into Charibdis. He must do as doth a ship coming into a haven
in the mouth of which lie secret rocks under the water on both
sides. If by mishap he be entered in among them that are on the
one side, and cannot tell how to get out, he must get a
substantial clever pilot who can so conduct him from the rocks on
that side that yet he bring him not into those that are on the
other side, but can guide him in the mid way. Let them, I say
therefore, who are in the troublous fear of heir own scrupulous
conscience, submit the rule of their conscience to the counsel of
some other good man, who after the variety and the nature of the
scruples may temper his advice.
Yea, although a man be very well learned himself, yet if he be in
this state let him learn the custom used among physicians. For if
one of them be never so learned, yet in his own disease and
sickness he never useth to trust all to himself, but sendeth for
such of his fellows as he knoweth to be able, and putteth himself
in their hands. This he doth for many considerations, and one of
the causes is fear. For upon some tokens in his own sickness he
may conceive a great deal more fear than needeth, and then it
would be good for his health if for the time he knew no such thing
at all.
I knew once in this town one of the most learned men in that
profession and the most expert, and the most famous too, and him
who did the greatest cures upon other men. And yet when he was
himself once very sore sick, I heard his fellows who then took
care of him--every one of whom would, in his own disease, have
used his help before that of any other man--wish that yet, while
his own sickness was so sore, he had known no physic at all. He
took so great heed unto every suspicious token, and feared so far
the worst, that his fear did him sometimes much more harm than the
sickness gave him cause.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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