Caput III. Reclusarum cum externis mulieribus confabulationes.

The Gossiping Visitor

A recluse's solitude is easily corrupted when a gossipy visitor fills her with slander, tales of worldly freedom, and seductive descriptions that dissolve her interior peace.

You will hardly find a recluse of our day sitting alone at her window without some gossipy or chattering old woman settling in beside her, someone who keeps her occupied with tales and feeds her with rumors or slander, then goes on to describe the figure, face, and manners of this or that monk, or cleric, or man of any other order. She also weaves in the enticing wantonness of young girls and of widows, who are free to do whatever they please, and paints the cunning wives use to deceive and gratify their husbands. Meanwhile her mouth dissolves into laughter and giggles, and the poison she has swallowed with delight spreads through her flesh and limbs.