Thus kan I preche agayn that same vice
Which that I use, and that is avarice.
But though myself be gilty in that synne,
Yet kan I maken oother folk to twynne
From avarice and soore to repente.
But that is nat my principal entente;
I preche nothyng but for coveitise.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Prologue. As avarice is a sin practised by the Pardoner himself, he believes that he is in the ideal position to preach against it to others. Though himself guilty of that sin, he is convinced that he can make other folk turn away from it and repent. Sounds like the perverted logic of a clever hypocrite. However in the final two lines of the passage, the Pardoner reveals the true intention of his preaching – I preach nothing but for greed, he admits. At least he knows he’s a hypocrite.