The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2

Name: The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2
Author: Langland, William

Langland, William

Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Poetry

Swich good as God hath sent;
  Go we, leeve brother."

    I sayde thanne, "Nay, syre,
  My sorowe is wel more.                                   890
  For I can nought my Crede,
  I care wel harde;
  For I can fynden no man
  That fulli byleveth,
  To techen me the heyghe weie,
  And therfore I wepe.
  For I have fonded the freres
  Of the foure ordres;
  For there I wende have wist,
  But now my wit lakketh;                                  900
  And al myn hope was on hem,
  And myn herte also,
  But thei ben fulli faithles,
  And the fend sueth."

    "A! brother," quath he tho,
  "Be ware of tho foles;
  For Christ seyde hymself,
  'Of swiche I you warne,'
  {478}
  And false profetes in the feith
  He fulliche hem calde,                                   910
  _In vestimentis ovium_,
  But only withinne
  They ben wilde werwolves
  That wiln the folke robben.
  The fen[d] founded hem first,
  The feyth to distrie;
  And by his craft thei comen in,
  To combren the chirche,
  By the covetise of his craft
  The curates to helpen.                                   920
  But nowe they haven an hold,
  They harmen ful manye;
  They don nought after Dominik,
  But dreccheth the puple.
  He folwen nought Fraunceis,
  But falsliche lybben;
  And Austynes rewle
  They rekeneth but a fable;
  And purchaseth hem privilege
  Of popes at Rome.                                        930
  They coveten confessiones,
  To kachen some hyre;
  And sepulturus also,
  Somme wayten to lacchen;
  But other cures of Christen
  They coveten nought to have,
  But there as wynnynge liith,
  He loketh non other."

    "Whough shal I nemne thy name,
  That neyghbores the calleth?"                            940
  "Peres," quath he, "the pore man,
  The Ploughman I hatte."
  {479}

    "A! Peres!" quath I tho,
  "I pray the thou me telle
  More of thise tryflers,
  Hou trechurly they libbeth;
  For ichon of hem hath tolde me
  A tale of that other,
  Of her wikked liif,
  In werld that he libbeth.                                950
  I trowe that some wicked wight
  Wroughte this ordres.
  Trow ye that gleym of that gest
  That Golias is y-cald,
  Other els Satan hymself,
  Sente hem fro helle,
  To combren men with her crafte,
  Christendome to shenden."

    "Dere brother," quath Peres,
  "The devel is ful queynte,                               960
  To encombren holy chirche
  He casteth ful harde,
  And fluricheth his falsnesse
  Opon fele wise,
  And fer he casteth to-forn
  The folk to dystroye.

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

Opening the text

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2Langland, William

General

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2

Langland, William

Christian pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Poetry

Swich good as God hath sent;
  Go we, leeve brother."

    I sayde thanne, "Nay, syre,
  My sorowe is wel more.                                   890
  For I can nought my Crede,
  I care wel harde;
  For I can fynden no man
  That fulli byleveth,
  To techen me the heyghe weie,
  And therfore I wepe.
  For I have fonded the freres
  Of the foure ordres;
  For there I wende have wist,
  But now my wit lakketh;                                  900
  And al myn hope was on hem,
  And myn herte also,
  But thei ben fulli faithles,
  And the fend sueth."

    "A! brother," quath he tho,
  "Be ware of tho foles;
  For Christ seyde hymself,
  'Of swiche I you warne,'
  {478}
  And false profetes in the feith
  He fulliche hem calde,                                   910
  _In vestimentis ovium_,
  But only withinne
  They ben wilde werwolves
  That wiln the folke robben.
  The fen[d] founded hem first,
  The feyth to distrie;
  And by his craft thei comen in,
  To combren the chirche,
  By the covetise of his craft
  The curates to helpen.                                   920
  But nowe they haven an hold,
  They harmen ful manye;
  They don nought after Dominik,
  But dreccheth the puple.
  He folwen nought Fraunceis,
  But falsliche lybben;
  And Austynes rewle
  They rekeneth but a fable;
  And purchaseth hem privilege
  Of popes at Rome.                                        930
  They coveten confessiones,
  To kachen some hyre;
  And sepulturus also,
  Somme wayten to lacchen;
  But other cures of Christen
  They coveten nought to have,
  But there as wynnynge liith,
  He loketh non other."

    "Whough shal I nemne thy name,
  That neyghbores the calleth?"                            940
  "Peres," quath he, "the pore man,
  The Ploughman I hatte."
  {479}

    "A! Peres!" quath I tho,
  "I pray the thou me telle
  More of thise tryflers,
  Hou trechurly they libbeth;
  For ichon of hem hath tolde me
  A tale of that other,
  Of her wikked liif,
  In werld that he libbeth.                                950
  I trowe that some wicked wight
  Wroughte this ordres.
  Trow ye that gleym of that gest
  That Golias is y-cald,
  Other els Satan hymself,
  Sente hem fro helle,
  To combren men with her crafte,
  Christendome to shenden."

    "Dere brother," quath Peres,
  "The devel is ful queynte,                               960
  To encombren holy chirche
  He casteth ful harde,
  And fluricheth his falsnesse
  Opon fele wise,
  And fer he casteth to-forn
  The folk to dystroye.

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

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2

The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume 2

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