THE SCENE: Marco Polo recounts the story of a shoemaker who went to great lengths to quell the lust he felt upon examining the beautiful leg and foot of a prospective customer.
THE TEXT: Now, as to this shoe-maker, I will tell you what sort of man he was and what life he led. He had often heard the lesson read from the Holy Gospel that if thine eye offend thee thou should pluck it out of thy head or blind it, so that it may not cause thee to sin. It happened that one day a beautiful woman came to the house of this shoe-maker to buy shoes. She wished to see her leg and foot, so as to see which shoes would fit her. So he asked her to show her leg and foot, and she promptly did so. And without doubt she had a beautiful leg and a beautiful foot, so that you could not ask for greater beauty. And when the master of the shop, who was as virtuous a man as I have described him, saw this woman’s leg and foot, her was forthwith tempted, because his eyes looked on them with pleasure. He let the woman go and would not sell her the shoes. When the woman had gone, the master said to himself: “Ah, false traitor that you are, what are you thinking of? Surely I will take heavy vengeance on these eyes of mine which offend me so.” There and then he took a little awl and made it very sharp and thrust it into the midst of one of his eyes in such a way that he burst the eye inside his head, so that he never saw with it again. So he was certainly a very holy and virtuous man.”
– The Travels of Marco Polo, 14th Century AD
