19.
It is tried gold! Try it as thou desirest; examine it as thou wishest, thou wilt not find in it any dross. This shows us not only the fortitude of others, but also brings much farther 1 consolation; for what saith Christ, "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets." 2 Again, Paul writing to the Macedonians in his desire to console them, says, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which are in Judea. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews." 3 And again, he consoles the Hebrews in like manner, reckoning up all the just who had lived 4 in furnaces; in pits; in deserts; in mountains; in caves; in hunger; and in poverty. 5 For communion of suffering brings some consolation to the fallen.
