give thee a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of
mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou
shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy
life; in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and
at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear
of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of
thine eyes which thou shalt see." [Deut. 28:65 ff.] In a word, if
one regarded all the evils of the wicked in the right spirit,
whether they be those of his friends or his foes, he would not
only seem to be suffering nothing at all, but he would also, with
Moses and the Apostle Paul, [Ex. 32:32, Rom. 9:3] be filled with
an hearty desire to die for them, if it might be, and to be
blotted out of the book of life, as it is written in Romans ix,
that thereby they might be set free. With such zeal and burning
was Christ's heart kindled, when He died for us and descended
into bell, leaving us an example that we also should be so
regardful of the evils of others, and forgetful of our own, nay,
rather covetous of evils of our own.

CHAPTER VI

THE SIXTH IMAGE

THE EVIL ON OUR RIGHT HAND

On out right hand are our friends, in the contemplation of whose
evils out own will grow light, as St. Peter teaches, I. Peter v,
"Resist the devil, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same
afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the
world." [1 Pet. 5:9] Thus also does the Church entreat in her
prayers, that provoked by the example of the saints, we may
imitate the virtue of their sufferings; and thus she sings,

What torments all the Saints endured,
That they might win the martyr's palm!

From such words and hymns of the Church we learn that the feasts
of the saints, their memorials, churches, altars, names, and
images, are observed and multiplied to the end that we should be
moved by their example to bear the same evils which they also
bore. And unless this be the manner of our observance, it is
impossible that the worship of saints should be free from
superstition. Even as there are many who observe all these things
in order to escape the evil which the saints teach us should be
borne, and thus to become unlike those whose feasts they keep for
the sake of becoming like them.

But the finest treatment of this portion of our consolation is
given by the Apostle, when he says, in Hebrews xii: "Ye have not
yet resisted unto blood