For hym and for his heires · for euere-more after

And bad hym holde hym at hom · and erien his leyes

And al þat halpe hym to erie · to sete or sawe

Or any oþer meister · þat miȝt piers auaille

Pardon with pers plowman treuþe has ygraunted

¶ kynges and knyȝtes · þat kepen holy chirche ·

And riȝtfulliche in reames · reulen þe pepyle ·

Han pardon thurgh purgatorie · to passen ful lighte

With Patriarkes and prophetes · in paradis to be felawe

¶ Bisshopes I-blessed if þey ben · as þey shulden

Legistres of boþe þe lawes · þe lewede þerwith to preche

And in as muche as þey mowe amende alle synful

Aren peres wiþ þe apostles · þis pardoun piers shewes

And at þe day of dome · at þe highe dey{?}s to sitte

¶ Marchantz in þe margyne had many yeres

And non a pena & a culpa þe pape nolde hem graunte

For thay held nouȝt hir halidayes · as holy chirche teches

And for þey swere by hir saule · and so god moste hem helpe

Ayeins clen conscience · hir catel to selle

And vndir his secrete seel · treuthe sente hem a lettre ·

Þat þey shulde bugge · boldely þat hem beste liked

And siþen selle it ayein · and saue þe wynnyng

And amende mesondeux þer-with · and myseise folk helpeT

And do bote do br{two minims}ygges þat to-broken were

Marien maidens · or make hem nonnes

Pouer pepile and prisones · fynden hem hir liflode

And sette scolers to scole · or to some oþer craftes

Releue religion · and renten hem bette

And I shal sende yow my-self · saynt Michel myn Archangel

Þat no deuel shal yow dere · ne fere yow in youre doyng

And witen yow fro wanhope · if ye wol þus werche

And sente youre soules in sauete to my seyntes in Ioie

¶ Thanne were marchantz mury · many wepten for Ioie

And praised Piers þe plowman · þat purchaced þis bulle

¶ Men of lawe leest pardon hadde · þat pleteden for mede

For þe sauter saues hem nouȝt swich as takes gyftes

And nameliche of Innocens · þat non yuel konnes

Super Innocentem munera non accipies ·

¶ Pledours sholde pyne hem to plede · for swiche and helpe

Prynces and prelates · shul paie for hir trauaille

A Regibus & principibus erit merces eorum.

¶ And many Iustices and Iurour · wolde for Iohan do more

Þan per dei pietate · leue thow non other

¶ And he þat spendes his speche · and spekes for þe pouere

Þat is Innocent and nedy · and noman / no man appayers

Confortes hym in þat cas · with-outen coueitise of gyftes

And schewes lawe for oure lordes loue · as he it has lerned

Shal no deuel at his dede-day deren hym a myte

Þat he ne worth sauf and his soule · þe sauter bereth witnesseCN

Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo.

¶ And to bugge water ne wynde · ne wit ne fir þe ferre

This foure þe fader of heuene made to his fold in commune

Þis ben trewest tresores · trewe folke to helpe

Þat neuere schal wex ne wany with-outen god hymself

Whan þer drawe vn-to þe day and indulgences wolde haueC

His pardon is ful petit · at hir partyng hennes

Þat any mede of mene men for his motyng takes

the legisters and lawiers · holdes þis for trouthe

That if þat I lye · mathew is to blame

For he bad me make yow þis · and þis prouerbe me tolde

Quodcumque vultis vt faciant vobis homines · facite eis

¶ Alle libbynge laborers · þat lyuen with hir hondes

That trewlich taken · and trewlich wynnen

And lyuen in loue and in lawe · for hir lawe hertes

Has þe same absolucion · þat sent was to piers ·

¶ Beggers ne bidders ne beth nouȝt in þe bulle

But if þe suggestioun be soþ · þat shapes hem to begge

For he þat begges or bid · but if he haue nede

He is fals with þe fende · and defraudes þe nedy

And also he bigiles þe gifer · ayeins his wille

For if he wist he were nouȝt nedy · he wolde it gif another

That were more nedy þan he · so þe nediest sholde be holpe

Catoun kennes men thus · and þe clerc of stories ·

Cui des videto is catouns techyng

And in þe stories he teches · to bistow thyn almesse

Sit elemosina tua in manu tua donec studes cui des

¶ And gregori was a good man · and bad vs gyuen alle

Þat askes for his loue þat vs alle lenes

Non eligas cui miseriaris ne forte pretereas illum qui meretur

Accipere quia incertum est pro quo deum magis placeas

For ye woot neuere who is worthy · and god woot wha has nedeC

In hym þat takes is þe trecherie · if treson walke

For he þat gyues yeldes · and yarkes hym to reste

And he þat bides borwes · and brynges hym-self in dette

For beggers borwen euere-more · and hir borugh is god almyghtyCN

To yelden hem þat gyuen hem · and yet vsure moore

¶ Quare non dedisti peccuniam meam ad mensam vt ego

veniens cum vsuris exigissem & cetera

¶ For-thy biddes nouȝt ye beggers · but if ye haue nede

For who-so may by hym breed · þe book beres witnesse

He has ynough þat has bred ynough if he haue nouȝt elles

Satis diues est qui non indiget pane

Lat vsage be youre solace · of sayntes lyues redyng

Þe book bannes beggerie · and blames in þis manere

Iunior fui etenim senui & non vidi iustum derelictum nec se-

For ye lyue nouȝt in no loue · ne no law holden

Many of yow ne wedde nouȝt · þe womman ye with delen

Bot as wilde bestes with wehe · worth vp and worchen

And brynges forth barnes · þat bastardes men calles

Or þe bak or some boon he breke in his youthe

And syth goon faiten with youre fauntes · for euere more afterC

ther is mo myshap pepyle · among þise beggers

Than of al manere men · þat on þis molde walkes

And thay þat lyue þus hir ly{.}f mow loþ þe tyme

Þan euere he was man wrought · whan he shal hennes

¶ And olde men and hoor · þat helples ben of strengthe

And wemmen with child þat worche ne mow

Blynd and bedred · and broken hir membres

Þat taken þise myschifs mekliche · as mesels and oþer

han as pleyn pardon as þe plowman hym-seluen

For loue of hir lowe hertes oure lord has hem graunted

Hir penaunce an hir purgatorie · here on þis erthe

¶ Piers quod a prest þo · þy pardon most I rede

For I wol construe ech clause and kenne it þe on englisshN

¶ And piers at his prayer · þe pardon vnfoldeth

And I bihynd hem boþe · biholde al þe bille

Al in two lynes it lay · and nouȝt a leef more

And was writen riȝt thus · in witnesse of trouthe

Et qui bona egerunt ibunt in vitam eternam

Qui vero mala in ignem eternum.

¶ Petir quod þe prest þo I kan no pardon fynde

But do wel and haue wel · and god shal haue þy soule

And do yuel and haue yuel · hope þou non other

But after þy dede-day · þe deuel shal haue þy soule

And piers for pure tene · pulled it a-twayne

And saide · si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis

Non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es

¶ I shal cessen of my sowyng quod piers and swynke nat so harde

Ne be aboute my bely Ioie so bisily namore

Of praiers and penaunce · my plow shal ben here-after

An wepen whan I shuld slepe · þough whete bred me faille

¶ The prophete is payne ete in penaunce an in sorwe

By þat þe sauter sayes · so did many other

Þat loues god leally · his liflode is ful esy

Fuerunt michi lacrime mee panes die ac nocte

And but if luk lye he lereth vs by fowles

We shul nauȝt be to besy · a-boute þe worldes blisse

Ne soliciti sitis he says in the gospel

¶ And shewes vs by ensamples vs-selue to wisse

The fowles in þe feld · who fyndes hem met at wynterT

Haue þey no gerner to go to · bot god fyndes hem alle

¶ What quod prest þe to perkyn · peter as me þynke

Thow art lettred a litel who lerned þe on book

¶ Abstinence þe abbesse quod piers · myn a b c · me tauȝte

And conscience come afterward · and kenned me muche more

¶ Were þou a prest Piers quod he · thow miȝt preche where þow sholdestCN

As diuinour in diuinite · with dixit insipiens to þi teme

¶ Lew / Lew[ed] lorell quod Piers litel lokestow on þe bibyle

On salamon sawes · selden thow beholdest

Ecce derisores & Iurgia cum eis ne crescant &cetera.

¶ The preest and Perkyn opposed either other

And I thurgh hir wordes · a-wook · and waited aboute

And seigh þe sonne in þe south satte þat tyme

Meteles and Moneiles · on maluerne hylles

¶ Musyng on þise metels and my way I yede

Many tyme þise metels · has maked me to studye

Of þat I seigh slepyng · if it so be miȝte

And al-so for P{e}iers þe plowman ful penlif / pen[s]if in herte

And wich a perdoun piers hadde al þe pepyle to conforte

And how þe preest inpugned it · with twa propyre wordes

And I haue no sauour in songwarie · for I se it oft faille

Caton and canonistires counseillen vs to leue

To set sadnesse in songewarie · for Sompnia ne cures

And for þe {?}book of þe bibile bereth witnesse

How danyel deuynde þe dremes of a kyng

that was nabigodonosor nempned of clerkes

Danyel saide sir kyng þy dremees bitoknes

Þat vnkouth knyȝtes shuld come · þy kyngdome to clayme

Amonges lower lordes · þy la{?}nde shal be departide

And as danyel deuynde in dede · it felle after

The kyng lese his lordschip · and lawer men it hadde

¶ And Ioseph mete merueillously how þe moon an þe sonne

And þe elleuene steres hailesed hem alle

Þan Iacob Iugged Ioseps sweuene

Beau fitz quod his fadir · for defaute we shullen

I my-self and my sones · seche þe for nede

It bifel as his fader saide in phara{e}os tyme

that Ioseph was Iustices · Egipte to loken

It bifel as his fader tolde · his frendes þer hym souȝt

And al þis makes me · on þis metels to þynke

¶ And how þe preest proued · no pardon to do-wel

And demed þat dowel · Indulgence passed

Byennales and triennals and bissopes lettres

And how do-wel at þe day of dome · is dignelich vnderfongen

And passes al þe pardon of seint peter cherche.

Now has þe pope power · pardon to graunte þe pypile

With-outen pennaunce · to passen in-to heuene

This is oure bileue · as lettred men vs teches

Quodcumque ligaueris super terram erit ligatum & in celis &cetera

And so I leue lely · lordes forbode elles

That pardon and penaunce · and prayers don þe same

Saules þat haue synned · seuene sythes dedly

And to truste to þise triennals· trewely me thynke

Is nouȝt so siker for þe saules · certes as is dowel

¶ For-thy I rede yow renkes · þat riche ben on þis erthe

Vp-{a}on tryste of youre tresore triennals to haue

Be ye neuere þe bolder · to breke þe ten hestes

And namliche ye maysters .N Maires and Iugges

that haue þe welþe of þis worlde · and wise men be holden

To purchace yow pardon · and þe papes bulles

At þe dredful dome · whan dede shal arise

And comen al bifore crist · acowntes to yelde

How þou laddest þy lif here · and his lawes keptest

And how þou didest day by day · þe dome wol reherce

A pook-ful of pardon þer ne prouincials lettres

þeigh ye be founde in þe fraternite · of alle þe foure orders

And haue indulgence doubile-folde · bot if do wel yow help

I sete yowre patentz and youre pardon · at one pese hule

¶ For-thy I counseille alle cristen to crye god mercye

An marie his moder · be oure mene bitwene

that god gyue vs grace here · er we gon hennes

Swich werkes to werche · whil we ben here

that after oure dede-day dowel reherce

At þe day of dome · we dide as he highte