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What comfort can hold when you fear losing your home, your freedom, or your life?
In a Hungary threatened by advancing Turks, Vincent turns to his uncle Anthony for comfort. Their family faces invasion, ruin, prison, and death. In Thomas More’s A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, their conversation asks what can steady a frightened person when ordinary sources of relief no longer seem enough.
Anthony considers the comforts people seek in friendship, pleasure, and money, then asks whether these can withstand real trouble. His counsel gives suffering a Christian meaning rather than offering cheerful distraction. Homely stories, jokes, and sharp observations about money and pride bring warmth to the searching argument.
What you’ll discover
- Comfort rooted in faith Explore Anthony’s argument that trust in God offers firmer support than pleasure or possessions.
- Fear faced piece by piece Follow a patient discussion of loss, shame, prison, pain, and the fear of death.
- The danger of prosperity Consider why Anthony sees wealth and ease as dangers rather than secure blessings.
- Courage without reckless pride Discover counsel that distinguishes enduring trouble from seeking danger to prove your strength.
- Humor amid hard questions Find jokes, familiar stories, and practical counsel on prayer and daily habits amid serious debate.
Who will love it
Readers who love talk between wise friends, who turn to old writers in times of worry or grief, and who enjoy sharp humor beside serious faith.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Fear brings Vincent to Anthony
- Faith makes room for comfort
- Ask without deciding God's answer
- Suffering can be turned to good
- Seek help without hiding from God
- Meet fearful thoughts with resistance
- Possessions matter less than attachment
- Prepare before fear forces a choice
- Comfort rests on practiced habits
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A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation
by Thomas More · 1553
An old man dying in Hungary teaches his nephew how to face a Turkish invasion with faith instead of fear.
Challenging5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Where your treasure is, there your heart is too.”
In short
What would you say to a family that expects an invading army within the year? In this book, an old man named Anthony lies ill in Buda, in Hungary, and his nephew Vincent comes to him with that fear.
A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 30 min5 h 10 min fast, 7 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 93,200 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1553by Thomas More
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Lasting comfort must come from God
Vincent arrives seeking comfort from a dying uncle, reversing the usual custom of cheering the sick. He tells Anthony of the family's sorrows and of the Turk's army drawing near. He begs for counsel he can use to steady the household.
Anthony weighs the ancient philosophers. They taught that riches, rank and health come and go, so a wise person should hold them lightly. Still, he says, this never reaches the point that matters most, which is to aim all comfort at God. The philosophers make poor physicians, and their recipes must be checked against the prescription of God.
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Details
- First published
- 1553
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 35 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
More, Thomas. A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-dialogue-of-comfort-against-tribulation.
More, T. (2026). A dialogue of comfort against tribulation. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-dialogue-of-comfort-against-tribulation (Original work published 1553)
More, Thomas. A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-dialogue-of-comfort-against-tribulation.
@book{more2026dialogue,
author = {More, Thomas},
title = {A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/a-dialogue-of-comfort-against-tribulation},
note = {First published 1553}
}
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What is A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation about?
It is a conversation between an old man, Anthony, and his nephew Vincent in Hungary. They discuss how to bear suffering, temptation and the threat of Turkish invasion, and Anthony answers with scripture, stories and reasoning about faith.
Who are Anthony and Vincent in the book?
Anthony is an elderly, sick uncle who has been twice a captive in Turkey and is wise in God's law. Vincent is his younger nephew, who comes for comfort and counsel and raises the objections an ordinary reader would.
Why did Thomas More set the dialogue in Hungary?
The Turkish threat to Hungary let More discuss persecution and fear in a distant place, while the dangers stood for the troubles of his own time. He wrote it as a prisoner, so its themes were also personal.
The author
Thomas More
1478–1535 · English statesman and philosopher
Thomas More was born in London in 1478 and lived in England. He was a lawyer and served as lord chancellor from 1529 to 1532. He wrote Utopia in 1516 and A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation in 1534. He was executed in London in 1535.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart is too.”
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