Piers Plowman

by Sutton, Peter, Langland, William

   20  And no other name is needed but his,

       For the devils of darkness dread to hear it

       And sinners are solaced and saved by that name.

       So why do you want to call him Christ?

       Is Christ more impressive, more powerful and potent

   25  Than Jesu or Jesus, the source of our joy?”

       “You certainly know,” Conscience said, “and can see

       That a king may be called also conqueror and knight.

       Men kneel to a knight, so a knight is noble,

       And a king is nobler for he names men knights.

   30  To be called a conqueror requires special grace,

       Both courteous kindness and courage at heart,

       To make commoners lords in the lands that are conquered

       And vassals of freemen who infringe the new law.

       The Jews were once gentry but despised the Lord Jesus,

   35  His lessons and law, and have lost their rank.

       In the whole wide world they have all been humbled

       And must pay their toll of tribute and taxes.

       But the Jews who obey Saint John the Baptist

       Are cleansed by christening and in consequence free.

   40  They are gentry like Jesus, for Jesus was cleansed

       On the cross and crowned the King of the Jews.

       “It becomes a king to defend his country,

       And a conqueror to lay down liberal laws.

       Jesus was just to the Jews and taught them

   45  The law of life that shall last for ever,

       And defended them from evil, from fever and the flux,

       From devils that dwelt in them and dubious beliefs.

       The Jews called him Jesus and gentle prophet

       And King of their kingdom, but they crowned him with thorns.

   50  Yet he nobly overcame them and conquered on the cross

       For no death could undo him or drag him down.

       He rose and reigned and ravished hell,

       And is called the ‘conqueror’ of the quick and the dead

       Since he gave bliss to Adam and Eve and others

   55  Who had languished as Lucifer’s slaves for too long,

       And the loathsome Lucifer, lord of hell,

       He robustly bound in iron bonds.

       None is braver or bolder for he shed his blood

       To free all folk who follow his law,1

   60  And since he assures his loyal subjects

       A place in Paradise when they part from hence,

       It is proper to call him ‘conqueror,’ which is ‘Christ.’2

       And he comes with the cross of his Passion because

       He wants to encourage us to wield the cross

   65  To protect us from sin when tried by temptation,

       And to see from his suffering that to seek and find joy

       Means putting ourselves through poverty and penance

       And accepting much sorrow and woe in this world.

       “But to come back to why he is called the name ‘Christ’:

   70  To be fair, his first name in fact was Jesus;

       He was born in Bethlehem a human babe

       As the Bible recounts, and kings had come

       To reverence him royally with earthly riches.

       First angels from heaven bowed down singing hymns:

           Glory to God in the highest.3

   75  The kings then came; they craved no mercy

       And nothing in return but knelt to the newborn,

       Acknowledging him sovereign of the sun, land and sea,

       And giving their gifts, myrrh, incense and gold,

       Then returned to their thrones as the angels told them

   80  And fulfilled the prophecy you voiced before:

           In the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.4

       “All the angels of heaven bowed at his birth,

       And the kings, who carried all the wisdom of the world,

       Arrayed before Jesus reason and justice

       And pity, which is why the wise have awarded them

   85  The magisterial title of Magi.

       Reason was offered him hidden in incense,

       And its golden sibling was presented second:

       Justice, as righteous and royal as reason,

       And likened to loyalty for it lasts like gold,

   90  While reason is as rich as truth and right.

       And then the third king knelt to the newborn

       And proffered him pity in a pot of myrrh,

       For myrrh stands for mercy and mildness of speech.

       “Three objects of earthly value were offered

   95  By kings of three countries who came on their knees.

       But precious though their presents, our Prince, Lord Jesus,

       Was not king or conqueror till he came of age

       As a man who had mastered a multitude of crafts,

       For a conqueror must acquire many kinds of skill,

  100  And wisdom and wiles if he wishes to lead.

       Had I time I would tell how he managed this task:

       He sometimes suffered, and sometimes he hid,

       He sometimes fought, and sometimes he fled,

       And sometimes he gave both gifts and succor,

  105  Restoring when he listed both life and limb,

       Performing such feats like a conqueror for folk

       Till he held in his hand those for whom he would bleed.

       “At a feast where Jews were rejoicing, young Jesus

       Turned water to wine as witnessed in Scripture,

  110  Beginning by his grace to be Do-well and God,

       For wine can be likened to law and holy living.

       Folk hated their enemies by leave of the law,

       But Christ requested a change and required

       Both learned and lowly to love them instead.

  115  For the first time therefore at this feast he began

       To show his grace and goodness as God,

       And he came to be called both Christ and Jesus,

       The astute and sharp-witted son of Mary.

       He performed that miracle before his mother

  120  So that she should be first to be firm in the faith

       That he was begotten by grace, not a human.

       It was no trick that he worked but his word:

       By his nature he did that deed of Do-well.

       “When older, in the absence of his mother Mary,

  125  He gave legs to the lame and light to the blind

       And fed with two fish and five little loaves

       Some five thousand folk or more who were famished.

       He comforted the careworn and
acquired the name

       ‘Do-better’ for doing such kindly deeds

  130  As endowing with speech the deaf and the dumb

       And healing and helping those who asked his grace.

       Throughout the country the common folk called him

       ‘Jesus Son of David’ for the deeds that he did,

       For maidens still doted on the might of David:

           Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands.5

  135  That is why ‘Son of David’ was his widespread welcome.

       He was known to be from Nazareth and none was considered

       More capable or becoming to be King of Judea

       Or adjudged more suited to be justice over Jews.

       “Out of envy Caiaphas and others worked hard,

  140  Preparing and plotting to put him to death.

       On Friday at Calvary they killed him on the cross,

       Then buried his body and gave orders to bar it

       By force of arms for fear that his friends

       Would steal it by starlight, for prophets had said

  145  That the blessed body, though buried, would rise

       And would go to Galilee and gladden his apostles

       And his mother Mary—so men had believed.

       But the soldiers who guarded it said themselves

       That angels and archangels entered by night

  150  And came on their knees to the corpse and cried,

       ‘Christ is risen,’ and the corpse then arose

       Absolutely alive and left with the angels.

       “The Jews told the soldiers to be silent and say

       To the commons that a crowd of his followers had come

  155  And bewitched the watchers and stolen him away.

       But Mary Magdalene met him on the road,

       Going toward Galilee as God and as man.

       He looked at her, alive, and she cried out aloud

       To each company she came across, ‘Christ is risen!’

  160  The account thus spread that Christ had recovered:

           Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead, the third day.6

       For what women have seen can seldom be concealed!

       “Peter then learnt he was alive and went looking

       For Jesus with James and John and ten more

       Such as Thomas of India and Thaddeus too.7

  165  And when these wise folk were once more convened

       In a house that was blocked off and bolted and barred,

       Christ came through the door that was carefully closed

       To the apostles and Peter, saying ‘Peace be with you!’

       And taking then Thomas by the hand he told him

  170  To feel with his fingers the wound in his flesh.

       So Thomas touched it and trembling said,

           ‘My Lord, and my God.8

       I believe you’re my Lord, my Lord God Jesus!

       You suffered and died, and are suddenly restored

       To life everlasting and will judge us, O Lord.’

  175  “Then Christ said kindly and courteously, ‘Thomas,

       For truly believing and trusting in this,

       You are to be blessed for ever and ever.

       And I love those who may not look on my limbs

       As you do and yet shall loyally believe,

  180  And I bless them in both their body and soul:

           Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.’9

       “When this deed was done, he was finally Do-best,

       Giving power to Piers and granting him pardon,

       And forgiveness and mercy to all manner of men,

       For Piers could then pardon sins of all sorts

  185  If folk confessed any debts that were due

       And paid them promptly to Piers the Plowman.

       Once the pardon was paid, Piers then had power

       To bind and unbind on earth and in heaven

       And absolve men of sins if no debts were outstanding.

  190  “Christ ascended soon after, up into heaven,

       And resides there still but will descend at the last

       To duly reward those who do pay their debts

       In full as invited by faith and by truth,

       But will punish the people who fail to pay,

  195  Both the quick and the dead, at Doomsday, conducting

       The good to the Godhead and greatest of joy,

       While eternal torment awaits the wicked.”

       Thus Conscience spoke about Christ and the cross,

       And said I should kneel, and I seemed to see

  200  The Paraclete coming to the apostles and Piers,10

       Alighting upon them in the likeness of lightning

       And teaching them to know and to talk every tongue.

       I was frightened at the fierceness of the light and the fire

       For the Spirit soon spread at startling speed,

  205  And I questioned Conscience what occurrence I was seeing.

       “It’s the messenger of Christ who comes,” said Conscience,

       “From the greatness of God, and Grace is his name.

       Welcome and worship him, kneeling on your knees,

       And sing if you can, ‘Come, Creator Spirit!’”11

  210  So I sang that song, and so did many hundreds,

       And we cried out to Conscience for the Grace of God.

       But Grace had gone with Piers the Plowman

       To counsel him and Conscience, and called to the people:

       “Today I will give out my gifts of grace

  215  To all kinds of creature that are with their five wits:

       Treasures to live by the length of their lives,

       And weapons to fight with that will not fail.

       For the hordes of Antichrist will come bringing horror,

       And will crush you, Conscience, unless Christ gives you aid.12

  220  Floods of false prophets and flatterers and frauds

       Will be seen to hold sway over sovereigns and earls,

       And Pride shall be Pope and the Prince of the Church,

       And its cardinals callous, mean and unkind.

       So before I go I will give you,” said Grace,

  225  “The arms to combat Antichrist’s host.”

       Then he gave each man a grace as his guide,

       So that Idleness, Envy and Pride should not harm him:

           There are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit.13

       To some he gave wisdom and a way with words,

       To meet the demands made by the world,

  230  Such as legal apprentices and preachers and priests

       Who live by the labor of enlightened tongues

       And teach those things that Grace taught t
hem.

       And to some he gave the special gifts

       To buy and to sell, such skills as keen sight,

  235  And some learnt to labor on land and on water

       And to live honest lives from that loyal labor.

       He taught some to till, and to ditch and to thatch,

       To live by learning and toiling at these tasks,

       And to some he taught figures, to divine and divide,

  240  And to some skill with palette and paints and pictures,

       And to some skill to fathom and foretell the future,

       Both welcome and woeful, well in advance,

       Through philosophy and astronomy, abstruse science,

       And to some he gave power to impound stolen property,

  245  The right to ride out uncorrupted to rescue

       And take goods by force from false men and felons,

       While some learnt to live through longing to be hence,

       In poverty and penance to pray for all Christians.

       And he taught all love and loyalty alike,

  250  And forbade folk to bother whose skills might be better.

       “Some employments are pleasanter, as you see,” Grace said.

       “But whoever has them could have had far worse,

       And remember that grace is the gift I give you,

       So let you all love, not belittle, your brothers.

  255  Those who master most skills should be mildest in manner;

       Crown Conscience your king and Skill your steward:

       Let your skills decide what you sup on and wear.

       And Piers the Plowman I put in my place

       To receive the settlement of debts that are due.

  260  For Piers I appoint as my proxy on earth,

       My plowman whose team shall till the truth.”

       Four great strong oxen were given by Grace:

       One was Luke, reliable and large,

       Then Matthew and Mark, both mighty beasts,

  265  The three of them joined by John, the gentlest,

       And the pride of the team that pulls Piers’ plow.

       In his goodness Grace also gave to Piers

       Four horses to harrow what the oxen plowed.

       He harnessed Augustine, and also Ambrose,

  270  With Gregory the Great and the good Jerome.14