PASSUS XXI. (LATEST VERSION).

Wo-weary and wetshod

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went I forth after,

As a reckless renk that recketh not of sorrow,
And yede forth like a lorel 3 all my life-time,

5

Till I wex weary of this world and wilned e't to sleep, And leaned me till Lent and long time I slept.

Of girls and of gloria laus
And how hosanna by organ

greatly I dreamed,
old folk sung.

One, was semblable to the Samaritan and some-deal to Piers

Plowman,

Barefoot on an ass-back bootless came pricking,

9

Without spurs or spear and sprackly he looked,

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.

Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini.

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Then I frayned at Faith what all that fare meant, And who should joust in Jerusalem 'Jesus,' he said, 'And fetch that the fiend claimeth Piers fruit the Plowman".

Is Piers in this place?' quoth I 'Liberum Dei arbitrium,' quoth he That this Jesus, of his gentrise

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In his helm and in his habergeon

and he preynte" upon me,

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

That Christ be not known for consummatus Deus,

In Piers' plates the Plowman 19 this pricker 20 shall ride;
For no dint 21 shall him dere

16 the fruit souls of men belonging to Piers Plowman

17 glanced, looked.

plate-armour of Piers Plowman.

13 adventurers.

14 asked.

18 condescension.

19 in the

'Who shall joust with Jesus?' quoth I 'Jews, or the scribes?' 'Nay,' quoth Faith, 'but the fiend and false-doom-to-die.

and adown bring

on land and in water.
and hath laid his life to wed?,

Death saith he will for-do1
All that liveth or looketh
Life saith that he lieth
That, for all that Death can
To walk, and fetch from the
And lay it where him liketh

do within three days,

fiend Piers fruit the Plowman,
and Lucifer bind,

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,

And all the court cried · crucifige! loud.

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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,

in all manner [of] points
aloft and aground,

this we witness all!'

Crucifige!' quoth a catch-poll he can of witchcraft.'

and took of keen thorns,

a garland to make,
and sith 10 said in envy,

and reeds shot at His eyes: naked on the rood,

Tolle! tolle!' quoth another
And began of a green thorn
And set it sore on His head
'Ave! Rabbi!' quoth that ribald
And nailed Him with three nails
And, with a pole, poison [they] put to his lips,
And bade Him drink, His death to let 11
And said, 'if He soothfast be
And now, if Thou be Christ

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 even in two pieces;

3 ·

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The hard rock all to-rove and right dark night it seemed. The earth quook and quashed

And dead men for that din

And told why that tempest

as [if] it quick were, came out of deep graves, so long time dured;

the one for-doth" the other,

'For a bitter battle' the dead body said;
'Life and Death in this darkness
But shall no wight wit witterly
Ere Sunday, about sun-rising'

· who shall have the mastery and sank with that to earth.

*

Lo! how the sun gan lock her light in her-self,
When she saw Him suffer death who sun and sea made!

and al to-quashed the rocks! Lo! hell might not hold but opened, when God tholed', And let out Simon's 10 sons to see Him hang on rood. Now shall Lucifer 'lieve it though him loath think;

For Jesus, as a giant with a gin" cometh yond,

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

'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,

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.

device plan.

12 quickly.

If this king come in mankind will be fetch,
And lead it where Lazar is and lightly me bind.
Patriarchs and prophets have parled' hereof long,

and reach me the bars

beat, with thy dam1,

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

and His light stop.

be bient・ 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.

Brimstone boiling burning out-cast it

All hot on their heads · that enter nigh the walls.

Set bows of brake and brazen guns,

And shoot out shot enough

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His sheltrums to blend ".

Set Mahound at the mangonel 12 and mill stones throw,

a-cloy 13

we them each one!'

long ago I knew him.
nor devil's queintise 15:

With crooks and with calthrops
'Listen!' quoth Lucifer for I this lord know,
Both this lord and this light is
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
That Adam and Eve

but warn Him of the perils. He robbeth me by mastery 16. the renks" that be here both good and ill.

that Sire is of hell,

and all their issue

Should die with dool1s and here dwell ever,

If that they touched a tree or took thereof an apple.

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,

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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

As two gods, with God

after to know,

both good and ill;

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

a voice aloud said,

'The lord of might and of main that made all things.

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

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

*

Ashtoreth and all others hid them in hernes 1,

*

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