But certeynly, a yong thyng may men gye,
Right as men may warm wex with handes plye.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. Old man January thinks he has the perfect solution to a successful marriage. Marry a "young thing" so can mold a melleable and passive young wife into submission. He deludes himself into thinking she will be just like warm wax in the hands of an experienced old man like him to guide. Is this master of self-delusion lying to himself, or is he really that stupid?