ross, so can you drive away and
silence your wives by virtue of the handle, provided only that it be not
attached to the cross aforesaid."

"You have here some of the sermons by this reverend De Valles, of whose
life I will with good reason relate nothing more. However, I will tell
you that, whatever face he put upon the matter--and I knew him--he was
much more inclined to the side of the women than to that of the men."

"Yet, madam," said Parlamente, "he did not show this in his last sermon,
in which he instructed the men to ill-treat them."

"Nay, you do not comprehend his artifice," said Hircan. "You are not
experienced in war and in the use of the stratagems that it requires;
among these, one of the most important is to kindle strife in the camp
of the enemy, whereby he becomes far easier to conquer. This master
monk well knew that hatred and wrath between husband and wife most
often cause a loose rein to be given to the wife's honour. And when that
honour frees itself from the guardianship of virtue, it finds itself in
the power of the wolf before it knows even that it is astray."

"However that may be," said Parlamente, "I could not love a man who had
sown such division between my husband and myself as would lead even to
blows; for beating banishes love. Yet, by what I have heard, they [the
friars] can be so mincing when they seek some advantage over a woman,
and so attractive in their discourse, that I feel sure there would be
more danger in hearkening to them in secret than in publicly receiving
blows from a husband in other respects a good one."

"Truly," said Dagoucin, "they have so revealed their plottings in all
directions, that it is not without reason that they are to be feared;
(5) although in my opinion persons who are not suspicious are worthy of
praise."

5 From this point the dialogue is almost word for word the
same as that following Tale XLVI. (A).--Ed.

"At the same time," said Oisille, "people ought to suspect the evil
that is to be avoided, for it is better to suspect an evil that does not
exist than by foolish trustfulness to fall into one that does. For my
part, I have never known a woman deceived by being slow to believe
men's words, but many are through being too prompt in giving credence
to falsehood. Therefore I say that possible evil cannot be too strongly
suspected by those that have charge of men, women, cities or states;
for, however good may be the watch that is kept,