and my Saviour; I hope, therefore, he will grant my ardent prayer, and put prudence and wisdom in my mouth, that I may be able to resist them; that he may bestow on me his Holy Spirit to fortify me in the truth; so that the gates of hell shall not be able to lead me from it, and that I may face, with an intrepid heart, temptation, imprisonment, and the sufferings of a cruel death.
Christ has suffered for his well-beloved; should we, then, be astonished at his leaving us his example, in order that we may patiently suffer all things for our own salvation? He is God, and we are his creatures; he is the Lord, and we are his servants; he is the Master of the world, and we are but frail mortals; he is not in want of anything, and we are utterly destitute; he has suffered, and should not we suffer also, especially when suffering is unto us a purification? Truly, he who confides in Christ, and dwells in his truth, cannot perish. Therefore, my beloved brethren, pray to him incessantly to bestow his Spirit upon me, that I may dwell in the truth, and be delivered from all evil; and if my death should contribute to his glory, pray that it may come quickly, and that he may give me strength to support my afflictions with constancy. But if it be better, in the interest of my salvation, that I should return amongst you, we will ask of God, that I leave the Council without a blemish; that is to say, that I may keep back nothing of the truth of the gospel of Christ, in order that we may dis-
