From The Sadness of Christ:
And what will you say if God other whiles of his goodness giveth some men the grace not to be
afeared at all? Not for that he most liketh and rewardeth such men’s boldness, but that he knoweth them
to be so fainthearted that they were else like to give over for fear. For many of truth have there been, that
at the first brunt have fearfully shrunk and fainted, and yet afterward valiantly passed through all the
pain that was put upon them.
Saint Thomas did not wish to die, and used all his legal skill to avoid it, but after the perjury of Richard Rich sealed his fate he spoke boldly, still unwilling to acknowledge Henry as Supreme Head of the Church in England, although that would almost certainly have saved his life.
