St. Thomas More’s A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation was written around 1534 in a prison cell in the Tower of London. It was published by Richard Tottel, an English publisher, in 1553. A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation is one of three books More wrote while imprisoned, the others being, The Sadness of Christ and A Treatise on the Passion. The theme of his books reflect the position he was presently in. Dr. Jeff Mirus comments on More’s books as, "drawing from discussions he had in the Tower with his wife Alice and his daughter Margaret Roper, when they visited him in sore need of comfort fro his impending loss."1 More is incredibly composed as he writes A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. He was trapped in tribulation while giving comfort to others in their tribulations.

More's situation, locked in the Tower of London while giving comfort to his wife and daughter, is the same theme as A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. Vincent, a young man fearing the impending invasion of the Turks, goes to his Uncle Anthony for consultation. Words from More's wife and daughter must have inspired the words of the character Vincent, we read Vincent saying, "But us of your kindred shall you leave, a company of sorry comfortless orphans."2 Vincent seeks comfort in his uncle, though he knows that his uncle is in tribulation himself. Anthony is dying; a point Vincent highlights in the beginning of their dialogue. This very conversation that begins A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation could have taken place in the Tower of London. More knew he was going to die soon and so too his family. Vincent continues, "the greatest comfort a man can have is when he can see that he shall soon be gone. And we who are likely long to live here in wretchedness have need of some comforting counsel against tribulation to be given us by such as you, good uncle."3 More could see his end while he wrote A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, but it did not bother him, and he remarks on this point many times throughout his book. Anthony reflects on the comfort of leaving this world for a heavenly home, a thought well within the mind of a condemned More.

A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation is an educational book, the story is More's advice. More uses analogy and parables through Anthony's answers. For example, Vincent fears torture under Turkish rule. Anthony paints a beautiful image of a man walking through the rain and asks Vincent, "Why wear a raincoat if you do not intend for it to get wet?" The raincoat acts as an analogy of the body and soul. Rain might soak the raincoat, but the clothes underneath will by dry. Anthony's analogy is applied to a deeper idea of theology. To sacrifice the body before the soul. Such images as this riddle A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. They make a complex book easier to understand and remember, an important aspect for an educational book.

To read A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation one finds himself locked in dialogue with St. Thomas More. Vincent's questions are practical and, though asked five centuries ago, are no different from the concerns of our present day. Vincent's fears are so wide that readers of different backgrounds will be able to relate to them. Anthony's responses stem from a Catholic understanding of the world. However, his attention to virtue will entertain and comfort readers of different world and religious views.

St. Thomas More's A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation is an excellent book to read. It offers good advice for those in tribulation, and More's use of analogy and parable make topics easier to understand and remember. To read A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation one finds himself locked in dialogue with a saint.

1 Dr. Jeff Mirus, St. Thomas More's Razor Sharp Dialogue of Comfort, Jan 17, 2017.

2 St. Thomas More, A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, (Mineola, New York, Dover Thrift 2016), 1.

3 Ibid, 1.