ose his lucre.

Some are there also who tell them such tales for consideration of
another fear. For seeing the man so sore set on his pleasure that
they despair of any amendment of his, whatsoever they should say to
him; and then seeing also that the man doth no great harm, but of a
courteous nature doth some good men some good; they pray God
themselves to send him grace. And so they let him lie lame still in
his fleshly lusts, at the pool that the gospel speaketh of, beside
the temple, in which they washed the sheep for the sacrifice, and
they tarry to see the water stirred. And when his good angel,
coming from God, shall once begin to stir the water of his heart,
and move him to the lowly meekness of a simple sheep, then if
he call them to him they will tell him another tale, and help to
bear him and plunge him into the pool of penance over the hard
ears! But in the meanwhile, for fear lest if he would wax never the
better he would wax much the worse; and from gentle, smooth, sweet,
and courteous, might wax angry, rough, froward, and sour, and
thereupon be troublous and tedious to the world to make fair
weather with; they give him fair words for the while and put him in
good comfort, and let him for the rest take his own chance.

And so deal they with him as the mother doth sometimes with her
child, when the little boy will not rise in time for her, but will
lie slug-abed, and when he is up weepeth because he has lain so
long, fearing to be beaten at school for his late coming thither.
She telleth him then that it is but early days, and he shall come
in time enough, and she biddeth him, "Go, good son. I warrant thee,
I have sent to thy master myself. Take thy bread and butter with
thee--thou shalt not be beaten at all!" And thus, if she can but
send him merry forth at the door, so that he weep not in her sight
at home, she careth not much if he be taken tardy and beaten when
he cometh to school.

Surely thus, I fear me, fare many friars and state's chaplains too,
in giving comfort to great men when they are both loth to displease
them. I cannot commend their doing thus, but surely I fear me thus
they do.

XV

VINCENT: But, good uncle, though some do thus, this answereth not
the full matter. For we see that the whole church in the common
service uses divers collects in which all men pray, specially for
the princes and prelates, and generally every man for others and
for himself too, that God would vouchsafe