+William.+ And I said, "Sir, I will not damn any man for any sin that I know done or may be done; so that the sinner leaveth his sin! But, by authority of Holy Scripture, he that sinneth thus openly, as ye shew here, is damnable for doing of such a sin; and most specially a priest that should be [an] example to all others for to hate and fly sin: and in how short time that ever ye say, that such a sinner may be repented, he oweth [_ought_] not, of him that knoweth his sinning, to be judged verily repentant, without open evidence of great shame and hearty sorrow for his sin. For whosoever, and specially a priest, that useth pride, envy, covetousness, lechery, simony, or any other vices; and sheweth not, as open evidence of repentance, as he hath given evil example and occasion of sinning: if he continue in any such sin as long as he may, it is likely that sin leaveth him and he not sin; and, as I understand, such a one sinneth unto death, for whom nobody oweth [_ought_] to pay, as Saint JOHN saith." +A Clerk.+ And a Clerk said to the Archbishop, "Sir, the longer that ye appose him, the worse he is! and the more that ye busy you to amend him, the waywarder he is! for he is of so shrewd a kind, that he shameth not only to be himself a foul nest; but, without shame, he busieth him to make his nest fouler!" +Archbishop.+ And the Archbishop said to his Clerk, "Suffer a while, for I am at an end with him! for there is one other point certified against him; and I will hear what he saith thereto." * * * * * =THE 5TH CHARGE OF THE SHREWSBURY MEN.= And so then, he said to me, "Lo, it is here certified against thee, that thou preachedst openly at Shrewsbury _that it is not lawful to swear in any case_." +William.+ And I said, "Sir, I preached never so openly, nor I have not taught in this wise, in any place. But, Sir, as I preached in Shrewsbury, with my Protestation I say to you now here, That by the authority of the Gospel and of Saint JAMES, and by witness of divers Saints and Doctors, I have preached openly, in one place or other, that it is not lawful in any case to swear by any creature. And, over this, Sir, have also preached and taught, by the foresaid authorities, that nobody should swear in any case, if that without oath, in any wise, he that is charged to swear, might excuse him to them that have power to compel him to swear in leful things and lawful: but if a man may not excuse him without oath to them that have power to compel him to swear, then he ought to swear only by GOD, taking Him only, that is Soothfastness, for to witness the soothfastness." +A Clerk.+ And then a Clerk asked me, "If it were not leful [_lawful_] to a subject, at the bidding of his Prelate, for to kneel down and touch the Holy Gospel book, and kiss it saying, _So help me, GOD! and this holy doom!_ for he should, after his cunning and power, do all things, that his Prelate commandeth him?"