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Neifile, whose graces of mind matched the beauty of her person, consented
with a gladsome goodwill, and thus began:--

Pamfilo has shewn by his story that the goodness of God spares to regard our
errors when they result from unavoidable ignorance, and in mine I mean to
shew you how the same goodness, bearing patiently with the shortcomings of
those who should be its faithful witness in deed and word, draws from them
contrariwise evidence of His infallible truth; to the end that what we
believe we may with more assured conviction follow.

In Paris, gracious ladies, as I have heard tell, there was once a great
merchant, a large dealer in drapery, a good man, most loyal and righteous,
his name Jehannot de Chevigny, between whom and a Jew, Abraham by name, also
a merchant, and a man of great wealth, as also most loyal and righteous,
there subsisted a very close friendship. Now Jehannot, observing Abraham's
loyalty and rectitude, began to be sorely vexed in spirit that the soul of
one so worthy and wise and good should perish for want of faith. Wherefore
he began in a friendly manner to plead with him, that he should leave the
errors of the Jewish faith and turn to the Christian verity, which, being
sound and holy, he might see daily prospering and gaining ground, whereas,
on the contrary, his own religion was dwindling and was almost come to
nothing. The Jew replied that he believed that there was no faith sound and
holy except the Jewish faith, in which he was born, and in which he meant to
live and die; nor would anything ever turn him therefrom. Nothing daunted,
however, Jehannot some days afterwards began again to ply Abraham with
similar arguments, explaining to him in such crude fashion as merchants use
the reasons why our faith is better than the Jewish. And though the Jew was
a great master in the Jewish law, yet, whether it was by reason of his
friendship for Jehannot, or that the Holy Spirit dictated the words that the
simple merchant used, at any rate the Jew began to be much interested in
Jehannot's arguments, though still too staunch in his faith to suffer
himself to be converted. But Jehannot was no less assiduous in plying him
with argument than he was obstinate in adhering to his law, insomuch that at
length the Jew, overcome by such incessant appeals, said:--"Well, well,
Jehannot, thou wouldst have me become a Christian, and I am disposed to do
so, provided I first go to Rome and there see him whom thou callest God's
vicar on earth, and observe what manner of life he leads and his brother
cardinals with him; and if such it be that thereby, in conjunction with thy
words, I may understand that thy faith is better than mine, as thou hast
sought to shew me, I will do as I have said: otherwise, I will remain as I
am a Jew." When Jehannot heard this, he was greatly distressed, saying to
himself:--"I thought to have converted him; but now I see that the pains
which I took for so excellent a purpose are all in vain; for, if he goes to

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