Youre names I entre heer in my rolle anon;
Into the blisse of hevene shul ye gon.
I yow assoille, by myn heigh power,
Yow that wol offre, as clene and eek as cleer
As ye were born. – And lo, sires, thus I preche.
And Jhesu Crist, that is oure soules leche,
So graunte yow his pardoun to receyve,
For that is best; I wol yow nat deceyve.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner’s Tale. The salesman and conman Pardoner uses the promise of the glory of heaven to encourage his fellow pilgrims to sign up to buy his papal pardons from sin. He has simply to enter their name in his roll and they’re on their way to paradise. In an ironic comment the self-confessed liar promises that he will not deceive them.