Then, after describing what thoughts the sight of the crucifix should bring to the mind of the beholder, _Pauper_ goes on-- “In this manner I pray thee read thy boke and fall down to the ground and thank thy God that would do so much for thee, and worship him above all things--not the stock, stone nor tree, but him that died on the tree for thy sin and thy sake: so that thou kneel if thou wilt afore the image, not to the image; do thy worship afore the image, afore the thing, not to the thing; make thy prayer afore the thing, not to the thing, for it seeth thee not, heareth thee not, understandeth thee not. Make thy offering if thou wilt afore the thing, but not to the thing; make thy pilgrimage not to the thing nor for the thing, for it may not help thee, but to him and for him that the thing representeth. For if thou do it for the thing or to the thing thou doest idolatry.” We now pass from the chancel to the body of the church. The nave and aisles--if there were any--were in a special way under the care of the wardens chosen by the people. There seems to be little doubt that very generally, although perhaps not universally, the walls of the parish churches were painted with subjects illustrating Bible history, the lives of the saints, or the teaching of the sacramental doctrine of the Church. In the same way, although of course in a lesser degree, the windows were often filled with glass stained with pictures conveying the same lessons to the young and the unlettered. These were, as they were called, “the books of the poor and the illiterate,” who, by looking at these representations, could learn the story of God’s dealings with mankind, and could draw encouragement to strive manfully in God’s service, from the example of the deeds of God’s chosen servants. The work of beautifying the parish churches by wall decorations and painted windows was the delight of the parishioners themselves, for it all helped to make their churches objects both of beauty and interest. To take but one example: the church of St. Neots possesses many stained-glass windows, placed in their present positions between 1480 and 1530. The inscriptions inserted below the lights testify that most of them were paid for by individual members of the parish, but in the case of three it appears that groups of people joined together to beautify their church. Thus, a Latin label below one says that “the youths of the parish of St. Neots” erected the window in 1528; a second says that, the following year, the young maidens emulated the example of their brothers; and the “mothers” of the parish finished the third window in 1530.