The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 1

Name: The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 1
Author: Langland, William

Langland, William

Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Poetry

"Ac of fele witty, in feith,
  Litel ferly I have,
  Though hir goost be un-gracious
  {197}
  God for to plese.
  For many men on this moolde                             6400
  Moore setten hir hertes
  In good than in God;
  For-thi hem grace failleth
  At hir mooste meschief,
  Whan thei shal lif lete.
  As Salomon dide, and swiche othere
  That shewed grete wittes;
  Ac hir werkes, as holy writ seith,
  Were evere the contrarie.
  For-thi wise witted men,                                6410
  And wel y-lettrede clerkes,
  As thei seyen hemself,
  Selde doon therafter.
  _Super cathedra Moysi, etc._

    "Ac I wene it worth of manye,
  As was in Noes tyme,
  Tho he shoop that shipe
  Of shides and of bordes;
  Was nevere wrighte saved that wroghte theron,              =
  Ne oothir werkman ellis,                                6421
  But briddes, and beestes,
  And the blissed Noe,
  And his wif with hise sones,
  And also hire wyves;
  Of wightes that it wroghte
  Was noon of hem y-saved.

    "God leve it fare noght so bi folk
  That the feith techeth
  Of holi chirche, that herberwe is,                      6430
  And Goddes hous to save,
  And shilden us from shame therinne,
  {198}
  As Noes ship dide beestes;
  And men that maden it
  A-mydde the flood a-dreynten.
  The culorum of this clause
  Curatours is to mene,
  That ben carpenters holy kirk to make
  For Cristes owene beestes:
  _Homines et jumenta salvabis, Domine, etc._                =

    "On Good Friday I fynde                               6442
  A felon was y-saved,
  That hadde lyved al his lif
  With lesynges and with thefte;
  And for he beknede to the cros,
  And to Crist shrof him,
  He was sonner y-saved
  Than seint Johan the Baptist;
  And or Adam or Ysaye,                                   6450
  Or any of the prophetes,
  That hadde y-leyen with Lucifer
  Many longe yeres,
  A robbere was y-raunsoned
  Rather than thei alle,
  Withouten any penaunce of purgatorie,
  To perpetuel blisse.

    "Than Marie Maudeleyne
  What womman dide werse?
  Or who worse than David,                                6460
  That Uries deeth conspired?
  Or Poul the apostle,
  That no pité hadde
  Muche cristene kynde
  To kille to dethe?
  And now ben thise as sovereyns
  With seintes in hevene,
  {199}
  Tho that wroughte wikkedlokest
  In world tho thei were.
  And tho that wisely wordeden,                           6470
  And writen manye bokes
  Of wit and of wisedom,
  With dampned soules wonye.
  That Salomon seith, I trowe be sooth
  And certein of us alle:
  _Sunt justi atque sapientes et opera
      eorum in manu Dei sunt, etc._

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 1Langland, William

General

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 1

Langland, William

Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Poetry

"Ac of fele witty, in feith,
  Litel ferly I have,
  Though hir goost be un-gracious
  {197}
  God for to plese.
  For many men on this moolde                             6400
  Moore setten hir hertes
  In good than in God;
  For-thi hem grace failleth
  At hir mooste meschief,
  Whan thei shal lif lete.
  As Salomon dide, and swiche othere
  That shewed grete wittes;
  Ac hir werkes, as holy writ seith,
  Were evere the contrarie.
  For-thi wise witted men,                                6410
  And wel y-lettrede clerkes,
  As thei seyen hemself,
  Selde doon therafter.
  _Super cathedra Moysi, etc._

    "Ac I wene it worth of manye,
  As was in Noes tyme,
  Tho he shoop that shipe
  Of shides and of bordes;
  Was nevere wrighte saved that wroghte theron,              =
  Ne oothir werkman ellis,                                6421
  But briddes, and beestes,
  And the blissed Noe,
  And his wif with hise sones,
  And also hire wyves;
  Of wightes that it wroghte
  Was noon of hem y-saved.

    "God leve it fare noght so bi folk
  That the feith techeth
  Of holi chirche, that herberwe is,                      6430
  And Goddes hous to save,
  And shilden us from shame therinne,
  {198}
  As Noes ship dide beestes;
  And men that maden it
  A-mydde the flood a-dreynten.
  The culorum of this clause
  Curatours is to mene,
  That ben carpenters holy kirk to make
  For Cristes owene beestes:
  _Homines et jumenta salvabis, Domine, etc._                =

    "On Good Friday I fynde                               6442
  A felon was y-saved,
  That hadde lyved al his lif
  With lesynges and with thefte;
  And for he beknede to the cros,
  And to Crist shrof him,
  He was sonner y-saved
  Than seint Johan the Baptist;
  And or Adam or Ysaye,                                   6450
  Or any of the prophetes,
  That hadde y-leyen with Lucifer
  Many longe yeres,
  A robbere was y-raunsoned
  Rather than thei alle,
  Withouten any penaunce of purgatorie,
  To perpetuel blisse.

    "Than Marie Maudeleyne
  What womman dide werse?
  Or who worse than David,                                6460
  That Uries deeth conspired?
  Or Poul the apostle,
  That no pité hadde
  Muche cristene kynde
  To kille to dethe?
  And now ben thise as sovereyns
  With seintes in hevene,
  {199}
  Tho that wroughte wikkedlokest
  In world tho thei were.
  And tho that wisely wordeden,                           6470
  And writen manye bokes
  Of wit and of wisedom,
  With dampned soules wonye.
  That Salomon seith, I trowe be sooth
  And certein of us alle:
  _Sunt justi atque sapientes et opera
      eorum in manu Dei sunt, etc._

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 1

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 1

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