Passus septimus de visione .
TRuth hearde tell herof , and to Pierce sente ,
To make his teme , and tile the earth
And purchased a pardone , A pena et culpa
For hym & for his heyres for euermore after
And bade hym holde him at home , and erye his laies
And al that helpe him to erye , to sette , and to sowe
Or any other mistery that might Pierce auaile ,
Pardon with Pierce Plowman Truth hath graunted
Knyghtes and kynges that kepeth holy kyrke ,
And ryghfully / ryghtfully in realmes ruleth the people
Haue pardon through purgatorie to passe ful lightly
With patriarks & prophets , in Paradice to be felow
Byshops blesseb / blesse[d] , if they bene as they shoulde ,
Legisters of both lawes the lewde therwith to preach ,
And in as much as they may amend all sinful
Are peers with thapostles , such pardon Pierce sheweth
And at the day of dome , at the hygh deyse to sitte
Marchauntes in the mergen had many yeres
And none A pena et culpa , the Pope wyll hem graunt
For thei hold not her holi daies , as holi kirke techeth
And for they swere by her soul , & so god must hem help
Agayne clene conscience , her catell to sell .
And vnder his secrete seale Truth sent hem a letter
That they shoulde bugge boldly that hem best liked
And sythen sell it againe , and saue the wynnynge
And amend Mesondieux her mede , & misease folk helpe
And wycked wayes wyghtly amende ,
And do boote to Brugges that to-broke were .
Marien maydens or maken hem Nunnes .
Pore people and prisons fynden hem her fode
And set scholers to schole , or to some other craftes
Releue religion , and reuten him better ,
And I shal send you Saint Mihel myne archangelle ,
That no deuil shal you dere , ne fere you in your doing
And wytten you from wanhope if ye wyl thus worke ,
And send your soules in safety to my saintes in Ioye ,
Than were marchauntes mery , many wept for Ioye
And praysed Pierce the Plowman þat purchased þe bul
Men of law least pardon had , that pleden for Mede
For the psalter saueth hem not , such as taken giftes ,
And namely of Innocent that no euyl ne canneth
Super innocentem munera non accipies ,
Pleders shoulde peine hem to pleade for such in helth
Princes & prelates should pay for her trauell .
A regibus et principibus erit merces eorum .
And mani a Iustice and Iurour would for Iohn do more
Than Pro dei pietate , leue you no other
And he that spendeth hys speche & speaketh for þe pore
That is innocent & nedy , and no man appeyreth
Conforteth him in that case , without couetise of giftes ,
And spekith law for our lords loue as he hath lernid
Shal no deuyl at his deathes daye deren him a mite
That he ne worth salfe & his soule , þe psalter beareth wytnes
Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo ?N
And to bugge water ne wind , ne wit , ne fire þe ferth
These four the father of heuen made to this fold in commen
These be Truthes treasures , true folk to help
That neuer shal wexe ne wane without God hym-selfe .
Whan they drawen one to die , & indulgence wold haue
Their pardon is full petit at their partyng hence
That any mede of meane men for their mooting take
Ye Legisters and lawyers hold thys for Truthe ,
That if I lye , Mathewe is to blame ,
For he bade me tel you this , & this prouerbe me told
Quodcumque vultis vt faciant vobis homines facite eis .
Al lyuynge laborers that liuiden with her handes
That truly taken , and truly wynnen ,
And liuen in loue and in lawe for their lowe hertes
Haueth the same absolution that sent was to Pierce
Beggers & bidders ne be not in the bulle ,
But if the suggestion be south , þat shapeth hem to begge .
For he that beggeth one byt , but if he haue nede
He is false wyth the fende , and defraudeth the nedy
And also he begileth the gyuer , agaynst his wyll
For if he were not nedy , he would giue þat to an other
That were more nedy than he , so þe nedest shold be holpen
Caton kenneth me thus , & the clerke of Stories
Cui des videto , is Catons teachinge
And in the stories he teacheth to bestowe your almes
Sit elimosina tua in manu tua donec studes cui des ,
And Gregory was a good man , & bade vs geuen all
That asketh for his loue , that vs all leueth / le[n]eth
Non eligas cui miserearis ne forte pretereas illum qui mere
tur accipere . Quia incertum est pro quo deo magis placeas .
For ye wit not who is worthi & god knowth the nedi
In hym that taketh is þe trechery , if any treson walke
For he that geueth yeldeth and yarketh hym to rest
And he þat biddeth boroweth , & bringeth him-self in det
For beggers borowen euer , & their bowgh is god almighty
To yeld hem þat geueth hem , & yet vsure more
Quare non dedisti pecuniam meam ad mensam ,
vt ego meum cum vsuris exigere.m / exigerem .
Therfore byd not , o ye begers , but if it be great nede
For he þat must nedis begen bred , þe boke bereth witnes
He hath inough þat hath bred , though he haue nought else .
Satis diues est qui non indiget pane .
Let vsage be your solace of saintes lyues readynge
The boke banneth begery , & blameth hem in this maner
Iunior fui etenim senui et non vidi iustum derelictum
nec semen eius querens panem .
For ye lyue in no loue , ne no lawe holde ,
Many of you ye wed not the women þat ye with deale
But as wild beasts with wehe , worthen vp & worchen
And bringen forth barnes , that bastardes men callen ,
Or the backe or some bone , he breaketh in his youth
And sithe gone fayten with your seruannts for euer after
There is more mishappe puple among these beggers
Than of al maner of men that on thys molde walketh
And they that lyue thus her lyfe , may loth the tyme
That euer they were men wrought , whan he shal hence fare
And olde men & hore that helples be of strength
And women with chylde that worke ne maye
Blynd & bedreden and broke there membres
That taken the myscheues mekely as mesels & other
Haue as pleyne pardon as the plowman hym-selfe
For loue of her low herts oure lord hath them graunted
Their penaunce and their purgatorie here on this erth
Piers quod a priest tho thy pardon must I reade
For I wyl construe ech clause & kenne it þe in inglysh
And Piers at hys prayer that pardon vnfoldeth
And I behinden hem bothe behelde al the bulle
All in two lynes it laye and not a leefe more
And was wrytten ryght thus in wytnes of truthe
Et qui bona egerunt ibunt in vitam eternam
Qui vero mala in ignem eternam / etern[u]m .
Peter quod the prieste tho , I can no pardon fynde
But do well and haue wel , & god shal haue thy soule
And do yll and haue yll hope thou none other
But after thy deaths day , þe deuil shal haue thy soule
And Pierce for pure tene , pulled it in twaine .
And sayde Si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis
Non timebo mala quoniam tu mecum es .
I shal cease of my sowinge quod pierce , & swinke not so hard
Ne about my bealy ioy , so busy be no more
Of praiers & of penaunce , my plowe shalbe hereafter ,
And wepe whan I shold slepe , though whet bread me faile
The prophet his pane eat , in penaunce & sorow
By that the psalter sayth , so dyd other many ,
That loueth god lelly , hys lyuelode is full easye
Fuerunt mihi lachrime mee panes die ac nocte .
And but if Luke lye , he learneth vs by fowles
We should not be busye about the worldes blysse
Ne soliciti sitis he sayeth in the gospell ,
And sheweth vs by examples vs-selfe to wysse
The foules in þe field , who findes hem meat in winter?
Haue they no garner to go to , but god fedes hem all ,
What quod the prieste to Perkin , Peter as me thynketh
Thou art lettered a lyttle , who learned the on boke?
Abstinence þe Abbes quod Pierce mine . a .b . c . me taught
And conscience came afterward , & kenned me much more
Were þou a priest quod he , þou mightst preach wher þou shold ,
As diuinor in diuinitie , with Dixit insipiens to thy teme ,
Lewd lorel quod Pierce , litle lokest thou on þe byble
On Solomons sawes , seldome thou beholdest
Ecce derisores et iurgia cum eis ne crescant .
The prieste and Perkin apposed either other
And I through their words awoke , & waited about
And sawe the sunne in the south syt that tyme ,
Meatles and moueles / mo[n]eles on Maluerne hylles
Musyng on thys metales , and my way eche yede .
Many tymes this metels hath made me study ,
Of that I see sleapynge , if that so be myght
And also for Pierce the Plowman full pensife in herte
And which a pardon Pierce had al þe puple to conforte
And how þe priest impungned it , with two propre words
And I haue no sauery in songwary , for I se it oft fayle
Caton and canonistres counsel vs to leaue
To set sadnes in songwarye for Sompnia ne cures .
And for the boke bible beareth wytnes ,
Howe Daniel dimned / diuined the dreames of a kinge
That was Nabugodonosor named of clerkes
Daniel sayde syr kinge , thy dreames betoken ,
That vnkougth knights shal come , thi kingdome to cleime
Amongst lower lords thy land shalbe / shal be departed
And as Daniel dimned / diuined in dede , it fell after
The kynge lost his lordeshyp and lower men it had
And Ioseph met marueilously how þe mone & þe sunne
And the .xi. / eleven starres halsed hem all ,
Than Iacob iudged Iosephes swyuen ,
Beau fitz quod hys father , for defaute we shall
I my-selfe and my sonnes seche the for nede .
It befell as hys father said in Pharaos tyme
That Ioseph was Iustice Egypte to loken
It befel as his father told , his frends ther him sought
And al this maketh me on this metals to thinke
And how the priest preued no pardon to do-well ,
And demed that do-well indulgences passed ,
Biennales and triennales , and Bishops letters
And how do-wel at þe day of dome , is dignly vnder=foungen
And passeth al þe pardon of saint Peters church
Now hath þe Pope power pardon to graunt the puple
Without any penaunce to passe into heuen , / ?
This is our beleue , as lettered men do vs teach ,
Quodcumque ligaueris super terram erit ligatum et in celis
And so leue lelly Lordes , forbode els
That pardon and penaunce , and prayers done saue ,
Soules that haue sinned seuen sythes deadly
And to trust to these triennales truly me thynketh ,
Is not so siker for the soules as to do well ,
Therfore I red you reuks / re[n]ks þat rich be on thys earth ,
Apon truste of your treasure , triennales to haue ,
Be ye neuer the bolder to breke the ten hestes
And namely ye maisters , mayres , and iudges ,
That haue þe wealth of this world , & for wise men be holden
To purchase you pardons & the Popes buls
At the dreadfull dome , whan the dead shall aryse
And commen all tofore Christe , accountes to yede
How þou leadest thy lyfe here , and his lawes kepest
And how þou didest day by day the dome wil reherse ,
A poke-full of pardon ther , ne prouincial letters
Though ye be founden in þe fraternitie of the .iiii. / four orders
I beset your patentes & your pardons , at one pese hele
Therfore I counsell all christen to crye God mercy ,
And make Christ our meane , that hath made emends
That god giue vs grace here , or we go hence
Suche worckes to worcke , while we be here ,
That after our deathes day , do-wel rehearse
At the day of dome , we dyd as he hyght .
How Da
niel dimid / diuined
þe dreamis
of Nabu
godono
sor .
niel dimid / diuined
þe dreamis
of Nabu
godono
sor .
Piercis
Pardon .
Pardon .
Legisters
And
Fol.xxxvii
Lawyars
shuld take
no money
shuld take
no money
Of geu
yng of Al
mes .
yng of Al
mes .
Cui
That
Fol.xxxvii / xxxviii.
We
Fol.xxxix
Of þe dre
mes of Io
sephe .
mes of Io
sephe .
At
Pierce Ploughman .
The vision of
K.i.
The vision of
Pierce Ploughman ,
K.ii.
Pierce Ploughman .
The vision of
K.iii.
The vision of