HOPKINS: CHARACTER AND OPINIONS OF WILLIAM LANGLAND. 253 



by saying in so many words, albeit in Latin, that Piers is Christ (B, 

 XV., 206), " Petriis, id est Christiis.''' But we are not allowed to 

 rest in this assurance; for in a short time we find them again separ- 

 ated, almost hopelessly. In Text B, Piers Plowman appears to Will 

 in a vision, describes and explains to him the tree of Charity or True- 

 love, and states that it is to save the fruit of this tree. Piers Plow- 

 man's fruit, that Christ is commissioned. At first nothing here 

 interferes with identification, but finally we come to the statement 

 (B, XVI., 104) that after the birth of Christ, Piers acts as His 

 teacher. 



Langland evidently perceived the inconsistency, and attempted to 

 remove it. In the C-text, the references to the words of Piers Plow- 

 man (C, XVI., 131)* are made somewhat more general, and less 

 suggestive of other characters. However he makes matters rather 

 worse instead of better by introducing into the allegory Piers' sudden 

 and mysterious appearance at the dinner, and his equally sudden 

 disappearance, accompanied by Reason. Here Piers utters in person 

 the words elsewhere ascribed to Christ (C, XVI., 138) and makes use 

 of miraculous power. From this we might conclude that Lang- 

 land aimed to make unmistakable the divinity of Piers; but he again 

 puzzles us by omitting the formal statement that Piers is Christ. But 

 though he omits this formal statement, he removes another inconsist- 

 ency, by ascribing the whole of the action of the passus (B, XVI.) 

 to Freewill instead of Piers Plowman, including the mention of him 

 as teacher of Christ, thus leaving us at liberty to assume for our- 

 selves the identity of Piers and Christ, if we choose to do so. 



But still another conception is presented in the twenty-first passus, 

 making it for a time again impossible to regard Piers and Christ as 

 one. In passus XXI. the Plowman reappears in his human character, 

 but with new attributes, gradually growing more like Christ until 

 the end of the poem. In the preceding passus a character is intro- 

 duced which is named simply the Samaritan, but which is conceived 

 as Christ in the flesh (not the conception just discussed), as is shown 

 when in Passus XXI. Christ appears in person, and it is explained 

 that he wears the armor of Piers Plowman, and resembles the Samar- 

 itan. Here reappears the idea mentioned in B, XVI.; in both texts 

 it is stated that Jesus comes to joust with the foul fiend to redeem the 

 fruit of Piers the Plowman. We begin now, as it would be perfectly 

 consistent to do had no mention of Piers been made since Passus 

 X., with two persons, Christ himself, and Piers Plowman, his 

 humble servant or minister, whose armor Christ wears. In the 

 armor of Piers, that is, in the body of man, the life of Christ is 



* Parallel with B, XIII. See p. 'ioS. 



