For trewely ther is noon of us alle,
If any wight wol clawe us on the galle,
That we nel kike, for he seith us sooth.
Assay, and he shal fynde it that so dooth;
For, be we never so vicious withinne,
We wol been holden wise and clene of synne.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Wife of Bath’s Tale. No matter how much vice a person has inside them they want to be thought of as wise and clean from sin, says the Wife of Bath. And if someone scratches them on that sore spot and tells them the truth, they will kick back. Nobody, including men, wants to reproved for their vices, she appears to be saying.