FROM THE VISION OF PIERS THE PLOWMAN.'

PASSUS XXI. (Latest Version.)

Wo-weary and wetshod

went I forth after,

As a reckless renk1 that recketh not of sorrow,
And yede forth like a lorel3 all my life-time,

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Till I wex weary of this world · and wilned eft to sleep,
And leaned me till Lent

and long time I slept.

As is the kind of a knight that cometh to be dubbed,
To get his gold spurs and galoches 10 y-couped 11.

Then was Faith in a fenestre 12 · and cried, ‘Ah! fili David!'
As doth an herald of arms when auntres 13

come to jousts.

Old Jews of Jerusalem for joy they sung,
Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini.

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Then I frayned at Faith

what all that fare meant,

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And who should joust in Jerusalem 'Jesus,' he said,
'And fetch that 15 the fiend claimeth
'Is Piers in this place?' quoth I
'Liberum Dei arbitrium,' quoth he
That this Jesus, of his gentrise
In his helm and in his habergeon
That Christ be not known
In Piers' plates the Plowman
For no dint 21 shall him dere 22

'for love hath undertaken shall joust in Piers' arms, humanâ naturâ.

for consummatus Deus,

16 the fruit [souls of men] belonging to Piers Plowman 18 condescension.

17 glanced, looked.

plate-armour of Piers Plowman.

'Who shall joust with Jesus?' quoth I 'Jews, or the scribes?' 'Nay,' quoth Faith, 'but the fiend · and false-doom-to-die. Death saith he will for-do1· and adown bring

All that liveth or looketh

on land and in water.

Life saith that he lieth and hath laid his life to wed?,
That, for all that Death can do within three days,

To walk, and fetch from the fiend Piers fruit the Plowman,

And lay it where him liketh and Lucifer bind,

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And for-beat and bring adown · bale and death for ever!
O mors, ero mors tua!

Then came Pilate with much people · sedens pro tribunali,
To see how doughtily Death should do and deem their beyer
right".

The Jews and the justices against Jesus they were,

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Then put him forth a pilour · before Pilate, and, said, 'This Jesus of our Jews' temple · japed and despised, To for-do it on a day and in three days after

Edify it eft new here He stands that said it,

And yet make it as much

in all manner [of] points

aloft and aground,

Both as long and as large
And as wide as t ever was
Crucifige!' quoth a catch-poll
'Tolle! tolle!' quoth another
And began of a green thorn
And set it sore on His head

this we witness all!'

'Ave! Rabbi!' quoth that ribald and reeds shot at His eyes: And nailed Him with three nails naked on the rood,

And, with a pole, poison [they] put to his lips,

And bade Him drink, His death to let 11 and His days lengthen ; And said, 'if He soothfast be He will Himself help;

And now, if Thou be Christ · God's son of heaven,

Come adown off this rood and then will we 'lieve

'Consummatum est!' quoth Christ and comsed1 for to swoon Piteously and pale as prisoner that dieth.

The Lord of life and of light then laid His eyes together,
The day for dread thereof withdrew and dark became the sun,
The wall of the temple to-clave 2 even in two pieces;
The hard rock all to-rove・ and right dark night it seemed.
The earth quook and quashed as [if] it quick were,
came out of deep graves,

And dead men for that din

.And told why that tempest

'For a bitter battle' the dead body said;

'Life and Death in this darkness

the one for-doth the other,

But shall no wight wit witterly • who shall have the mastery Ere Sunday, about sun-rising' and sank with that to earth.

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who sun and sea made!

that He would death suffer,

and al to-quashed the rocks!

Lo! hell might not hold but opened, when God tholed,
And let out Simon's sons to see Him hang on rood.
Now shall Lucifer 'lieve it though him loath think;
11 cometh yond,

For Jesus, as a giant

with a gin

To break and to beat adown all that be against Him,
And to have out all of them that Him liketh.

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'Suffer we,' said Truth I hear and see both A Spirit speak to hell

and bids unspar the gates; Attollite portas, principes, vestras; &c.'

A voice loud in that light to Lucifer cried,

For here cometh with crown the king of all glory.'
Then sighed Satan and said to hell,

'Such a light, against our leave Lazarus it fetched;
Cold care and cumbrance is come to us all.

10 In the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, two sons of Simeon rise from the dead, and reveal what they have witnessed in hell during Christ's descent into it.

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University of MICHIGAN

If this king come in mankind will be fetch,

And lead it where Lazar is and lightly me bind.

Patriarchs and prophets

have parled1 hereof long,

That such a lord and a light shall lead them all hence.

But rise up, Ragamuffin !
That Belial thy bel-sire2
And I shall let this lord
Ere we through brightness
Check we, and chain we

be blent bar we the gates!
and each chine? stop,

That no light leap in at louvre nor at loop.

And thou, Ashtaroth, hoot out and have out our knaves,
Colting, and all his kin our cattle to save.

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Brimstone boiling burning out-cast it

All hot on their heads that enter nigh the walls.

Set bows of brake
And shoot out shot enough

His sheltrums 10 to blend 11.

Set Mahound at the mangonel 12
With crooks and with calthrops

'Listen!' quoth Lucifer 'for I this lord know,

Both this lord and this light is long ago I knew him.
May no death this Lord dere 14.
And, where He will, is His way
If He reave me of my right
For, by right and by reason
Body and soul be mine
For He Himself it said

nor devil's queintise 15;

but warn Him of the perils. He robbeth me by mastery 16.

Thus this lord of light · such a law made;

And, since He is so leal a Lord I 'lieve that He will not
Reave us of our right since reason them damnèd.

And, since we have been seised seven thousand winters,
And [He] never was there-against and now will begin,

He were unwrast of1 His word that witness is of truth!' 'That is sooth,' said Satan 'but I me sore doubt,

For thou got them with guile

Against His love and His leave

and His garden broke,

on His land yedest3,

Not in form of a fiend · but in form of an adder;

And enticedest Eve to eat by herself,

And behightest her and him after to know,

As two gods, with God both good and ill;

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both, And diddest them break their buxomness through false byhest";

Thus haddest thou them out and hither at the last.

It is not graithly9 gotten where guile is at the root.

Forthy 10 I dread me,' quoth the devil 'lest Truth will them

fetch;

And, as thou beguiledest God's image · in going of an adder, So hath God beguiled us all in going of a wy11'

'What lord art Thou?' quoth Lucifer.· a voice aloud said, 'The lord of might and of main that made all things. Duke of this dim place anon undo the gates,

And with that breath hell brake with all Belial's bars ;

For any wy of ward 12 wide opened the gates.
Patriarchs and prophets · populus in tenebris
Sang with saint John · ecce agnus Dei!

Lucifer might not look so light him ablent 13 ;

And those that our Lord loved with that light forth flew.

Ashtoreth and all others · hid them in hernes 14,

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They durst not look on our Lord the least of them all,
But let Him lead forth which Him list

and leave which Him