"Mistrust him, Meg, will I not"

      "'Mistruste him, Megge, wil I not, though I feale me faint, yea, and though I shoulde fele my feare euen at poynt to ouerthrowe me to, yet shall I remember how S. Peter, with a blast of winde, began to sinke for his faint faith, and shall doe as he did, call vpon Christ and praye him to helpe.  And than I trust he shall set his holye hande vnto me, and in the stormy seas, holde me vp from drowning.  Yea and if he suffer me to play S. Peter ferthere, and to fall full to the grownd, and swere and forsware too (which our Lorde for his tender pasion kepe me fro, and let me leese if it so fall, and neuer winne thereby:) yet after shall I trust that his goodnes will cast vpon me his tender pyteous eie, as he did vpon S. Peter, and make me stand vp againe and confesse the trouth of my conscience afresh, and abide the shame and the harme here of mine owne faulte.
     "'And finally, Marget, this wot I well, that without my fault he will not let me be loste.  I shall therfore with good hoope committe my selfe wholie to hym.  And if he suffre me for my faultes to perish, yet shall I than serue for a praise of his iustice.  But in good faith, Meg, I trust, that his tender pitie shall kepe my pore soule safe and make me commende his mercye.'"

     St. Thomas More, as quoted by his daughter Margaret Roper in her famous letter of August 1534 to Lady Alice Alington, at ll. 640-659 of no. 206 in The correspondence of Sir Thomas More, ed. Elizabeth Frances Rogers (Princeton, NJ:  Princeton University Press, 1947), 531 (514-532).  This came into the Liturgy of the hours from (supposedly) The English works of Sir Thomas More (London:  1557), 1454, as follows:

     I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear.  I shall remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help.  And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning.
     And if he permits me to play Saint Peter further and to fall to the ground and to swear and forswear, may God our Lord in his tender mercy keep me from this, and let me lose if it so happen, and never win thereby!  Still, if this should happen, afterward I trust that in his goodness he will look on me with pity as he did upon Saint Peter, and make me stand up again and confess the truth of my conscience afresh and endure here the shame and harm of my own fault.
     And finally, Margaret, I know this well: that without my fault he will not let me be lost.  I shall, therefore, with good hope commit myself wholly to him.  And if he permits me to perish for my faults, then I shall serve as praise for his justice.  But in good faith, Meg, I trust that his tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy.