In vain does any man pretend that he will be a martyr for
his religion, when he will not rule an appetite, nor restrain a
lust, nor subdue a passion, nor cross his covetousness and
ambition, for the sake of it, and in hope of that eternal life
"which God that cannot lie hath promised.' He that refuseth to
do the less is not like to do the greater. It is very
improbable that a man will die for his religion, when he cannot
be persuaded to live according to it. He that cannot take up a
resolution to live a saint, hath a demonstration within
himself, that he is never like to die a martyr.
... John Tillotson (1630-1694), Works of Dr. John
Tillotson, v. IV, London: J. F. Dove, for R.
Priestley, 1820, Sermon LXXVII, p. 451-452
