268 KANSAS UNIVERSITY QUARIERI.V. 



rather than real. Pride will wear a hair shirt, Lechery drink with the 

 duck only, Glutton will eat no fish on Friday, not stating whether he 

 means to abstain from food altogether or substitute roast beef. Sloth 

 will be at church before day every Suviday for seven years, a robber 

 will polish his pikestaff and make pilgrimages. Repentance, the 

 confessor, pays little attention to these propositions; but insists upon 

 restitution, particularly in the case of Avarice; and after that, prayer. 

 If one may not restore his illgotten goods to the owner, he may bear 

 them to the bishop; perhaps another touch of satire. The only pil- 

 grimages that Langland approves are those to visit the sick and 

 imfortunate (C, XVII., 32; C, V., 122); confessors should enjoin for 

 ]jenance, peace, forgiveness, and love, and those that make pilgrim- 

 ages to Rome should rather seek Truth (C, VI., 195). Yet, after 

 stating that without contrition, confession and satisfaction, prayer, 

 penance, pilgrimage, and writing in windows are all in vain, he admits 

 that with these three essentials, telling of beads, pilgrimages, 

 jjrivy penances and almsgiving are as aids to holiness C, XXII.,. 

 377; C, X\n., 29). 



Shrift cares for the wounded of Holy Church (C, XXI II., 306)^ 

 Pardon is sure for those that truly repent and believe and amend,, 

 even without human intervention. Power to forgive sins is deputed 

 to Piers Plowman (C, X., 8; C, XXII., 185); yet Piers tears up his 

 pardon and prefers to i)ut his trust in prayer, i)enance (or restitution), 

 and right living; while the pardon itself proves to be simply the 

 promise that the righteous shall inherit eternal life (P>, \TI., iii ii. ). 

 True laborers shall have pardon (C, X., 60-68). Patient endurance 

 of poverty, sickness and suffering in this life will be accepted as 

 expiation, at least in part (C, X., 175). In short, while the pope has 

 power to absolve from sin and purgatory without penance, and though 

 contrition and confession should be life long (C, XL, 53), and prayer 

 and penance have power to save, nothing is so sure toward this end 

 as Dowel — right living (C, X., 318 to end). 



i>o\voi. i>o- Ti.e key to heaven is therefore not to be fcjund in 



iM't. i»obest. formal observances of any kind, — 



Ho unkind to th}- fellow-Christian, and all that thou canst pray. 

 Deal, and do penance day and nisrht ever. 

 And purchase all the pardon of Pampeluna and of Rome, 

 And indulgences enough, and be ingrate to thy kind. 

 The Holy Ghost heareth thee not, nor helpeth thee, be tiiou 

 certain (C, XX., 21G-220):— 



but it is found only in Dowel, Dobet, and Dobest; and having thus 

 suggested the question. What are these? it is not strange that Langland 

 devoted the major part of his poem, if not of his life, to answering it. 



