It is, as I have said, so ordered by God, that we may not
perish on seeing the evils hidden in the depths of our hearts.
For God keeps them hidden, and would have us discern them only by
faith, when He points them out to us by means of the evil that we
feel. Therefore, "In the day of evil be mindful of the good."
[Ecclus. 11:26] Behold, how great a good it is, not to know the
whole of our evil! Be mindful of this good, and the evil that you
feel will press you less cruelly. Again, "In the day of good be
mindful of the evil." That is to say. Whilst you do not feel your
true evil, be grateful for this respite; then will the evil that
you feel sit lightly upon you. It is clear, then, that in this
life a man's freedom from pain is always greater than his pain.
Not that his whole evil is not present with him, but he does not
think about it and is not moved by it, through the goodness of
God, Who keeps it hidden.

How furiously do those men rage against themselves, to whom their
true evil has been revealed! How they count as nothing whatever
sufferings life may bring, if only they might not feel the hell
within! Even so would every one do, who felt or truly believed in
the evil within him. Gladly would he call down all external evils
on his head, and count them mere child's play; nay, he would
never be more sorrowful than when he had no evils to bear, after
the manner of certain of the saints, such as David in Psalm vi.
[Ps. 6]

Therefore, this is our first image of consolation, that a man
should say to himself: "Not yet, O man, dost thou feel thine
evil. Rejoice and give thanks that thou dost not need to feel
it!" And so the lesser evil grows light by comparison with the
greatest evil. That is what others mean when they say, "I have
deserved far worse things, yea, hell itself"--a thing easy to
say, but horrible to contemplate.

And this evil, though never so deeply hidden, yet puts forth
fruits that are plainly enough perceived. These are the dread and
uncertainty of a trembling conscience, when faith is assailed,
and a man is not sure, or doubts, whether he have a gracious God.
And this fruit is bitter in proportion to the weakness of one's
faith. Nay, when rightly considered, this weakness alone, being
spiritual, far outweighs every weakness of the body, and renders
it, in comparison, light as a feather.

Moreover, to the evils within us belong all those tragic
experiences described by the Preacher, when he refers a