Chaucer’s The Persoun #

Chaucer depicts his society as an inverted Pyramid; with the lowly characters on top and the pillars of society on the lowest levels of a scale of virtues. In this he follows Dante, Boccaccio and even Petrarch.

Charles Dickens in Great Expectations, uses the image of Pip being tipped upside down by an escaped convict. He is forced to see society as inverted, seeing the Church’s steeple pointing down; not serving as an inspiration.

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn also portrays a society from the perspective of a picaresque; an uneducated inarticulate outcast elevating the values of the lowest levels of society.

Lord Acton had papal infallibility in mind when writing to Bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887.

“I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility.

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority.

There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

Chaucer may undercut all his other characters, but he has full admiration and regard for the lowly Parsoun.

A good man was there of religion,

478 And was a povre PERSOUN OF A TOUN,
And (he) was a poor PARSON OF A TOWN,
479 But riche he was of hooly thoght and werk.
But he was rich in holy thought and work.
480 He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
He was also a learned man, a scholar,
481 That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
Who would preach Christ’s gospel truly;
482 His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
He would devoutly teach his parishioners.
483 Benygne he was, and wonder diligent,
He was gracious, and wonderfully diligent,
484 And in adversitee ful pacient,
And very patient in adversity,
485 And swich he was ypreved ofte sithes.
And such he was proven many times.
486 Ful looth were hym to cursen for his tithes,
He was very reluctant to excommunicate for (nonpayment of) his tithes,
487 But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,
But rather would he give, there is no doubt,
488 Unto his povre parisshens aboute
Unto his poor parishioners about
489 Of his offryng and eek of his substaunce.
Some of his offering (received at mass) and also some of his income.
490 He koude in litel thyng have suffisaunce.
He knew how to have sufficiency in few possessions.
491 Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer asonder,
His parish was wide, and houses far apart,
492 But he ne lefte nat, for reyn ne thonder,
But he did not omit, for rain nor thunder,
493 In siknesse nor in meschief to visite
In sickness or in trouble to visit
494 The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lite,
Those living farthest away in his parish, high-ranking and low,
495 Upon his feet, and in his hand a staf.
Going by foot, and in his hand a staff.
496 This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
He gave this noble example to his sheep,
497 That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte.
That first he practised, and afterward he taught.
498 Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte,
He took those words out of the gospel,
499 And this figure he added eek therto,
And this metaphor he added also to that,
500 That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?
That if gold rust, what must iron do?
501 For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
For if a priest, on whom we trust, should be foul
502 No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
It is no wonder for a layman to go bad;
503 And shame it is, if a prest take keep,
And it is a shame, if a priest is concerned:
504 A shiten shepherde and a clene sheep.
A shit-stained shepherd and a clean sheep.
505 Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,
Well ought a priest to give an example,
506 By his clennesse, how that his sheep sholde lyve.
By his purity, how his sheep should live.
507 He sette nat his benefice to hyre
He did not rent out his benefice (ecclesiastical living)
508 And leet his sheep encombred in the myre
And leave his sheep encumbered in the mire
509 And ran to Londoun unto Seinte Poules
And run to London unto Saint Paul’s
510 To seken hym a chaunterie for soules , To seek an appointment as a chantry priest (praying for a patron)
511 Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
Or to be hired (as a chaplain) by a guild;
512 But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,
But dwelt at home, and kept well his sheep fold (parish), ** 513 So that the wolf ne made it nat myscarie;
So that the wolf did not make it go wrong;
514 He was a shepherde and noght a mercenarie.
He was a shepherd and not a hireling.
515 And though he hooly were and vertuous,
And though he was holy and virtuous,
516 He was to synful men nat despitous,
He was not scornful to sinful men,
517 Ne of his speche daungerous ne digne,
Nor domineering nor haughty in his speech,
518 But in his techyng discreet and benygne.
But in his teaching courteous and kind.
519 To drawen folk to hevene by fairnesse,
To draw folk to heaven by gentleness,
520 By good ensample, this was his bisynesse.
By good example, this was his business.
521 But it were any persone obstinat,
Unless it were an obstinate person,
522 What so he were, of heigh or lough estat,
Whoever he was, of high or low rank,
523 Hym wolde he snybben sharply for the nonys.
He would rebuke him sharply at that time.
524 A bettre preest I trowe that nowher noon ys.
I believe that nowhere is there a better priest.
525 He waited after no pompe and reverence,
He expected no pomp and ceremony,
526 Ne maked him a spiced conscience,
Nor made himself an overly fastidious conscience,
527 But Cristes loore and his apostles twelve
But Christ’s teaching and His twelve apostles
528 He taughte; but first he folwed it hymselve.
He taught; but first he followed it himself.

Ordinary People #

Euripides in Media has the nurse comment on the High born vs commoner:

It is a bad thing to be born of a high race in a great house unruled but ruling. It is unendurable.

Poor people are happier, humble and poor in spirit, commoners who can lie low under the wind.

Great people like the tall oak and cloud raking pines writhe, groan and crash under the high winds.

This is the wild and terrible justice of the Gods.

……….

In Plato’s Republic, Odysseus, gets reincarnated as a common man.

Achilles, when questioned by Odysseus in Hades, claims:

“I would prefer to be a workman, hired by a poor man on a peasant farm, than rule as king of all the the dead”.

John Donne in his mischievous manner claimed that the life of ordinary people was vastly superior to our ruling classes with:

Princes do but play us; /compared to this,/All honor’s mimic, all wealth alchemy./ In that the world’s contracted thus.

A democratic element that says: ‘Little people are really important, and just as important as other people.’

Thomas Jeffersonmaintained that the most reliable custodian of good governance was the ordinary citizen.

Milton:

They also serve who only stand and wait.

Auden seeks for values and meaning in ordinary tempral world.

“All truths are derived from the ordinary, daily common lives of contemporary people.”

Einstein:

“A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it.”

True heroes are remembered for a surreal mix of the everyday and the remarkable.”

We need to listen to the disadvantaged; those at the coalface, they are more honest. Trust is about reciprocity – mutual respect.

Parsoun’s Tale #

The last of tales told late in the day before the sun sets on the last day before they reach Canterbury and the sacred site of the martyr Thomas A Beckett.

The tale is totally consistent with the irreproachable lowly Parsoun; more like a sermon or treatise on the seven deadly sins.

The parsoun likes to enumerate his salient concerns with sub numerals.

First is penitence in Confession sins to the priest.

It assumes our earthly jouuney is a pilgrimage via the heavenly city of Jerusalem to eternity. All our endeavours should be to prepare us to meet our maker.

Again the tale is full of religious references or allusions to the bible and early Church leaders.

Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Nicene Christianity against Arianism and paganism.

“Penitence is the lamentation of man who sorrows for his sin and punishes himself because he has done wrong.”

For, as says Saint Isidore (of Seville),

“He is a trifler and a foolish talker and no true repentant that once again does a thing for which he ought to repent.”

Saint Augustine says,

“Unless he be penitent for his old sinful life, he may not begin the new clean life.”

For, certainly, if he be baptized without penitence of his old guilt, he receives the mark of baptism but not the grace nor the remission of his sins, until he have true repentance. Another deficiency is this: that men do deadly sin after they have received baptism.

The third deficiency is that men fall into venial sins after their baptism day after day. Thereof says Saint Augustine that penitence of good and humble folk is the penitence of every day.

True, perfect Penitence consists of three things: Contrition of Heart, Confession of Mouth, and Satisfaction.

For which says Saint John Crisostom, “Penitence compels a man to accept patiently every pain that to him is enjoined, with contrition of heart, and shrift of mouth, with satisfaction, and in working of all sorts of humility.”

The second cause is to have disdain of sin: as says Saint Peter, “whosoever that does sin is slave of sin”;

David the prophet says: “I have loved thy law and hated wickedness and hate”; he who loves God keeps his law and his word. This tree saw the prophet Daniel in spirit, upon the vision of the king Nebuchadnezzar, when he counseled him to do penitence. Penance is the tree of life to them that it receive, and he that keeps himself in true penitence is blessed, according to the teaching of Solomon.

Saint Jerome says, “At every time that I remember the day of doom I quake; [160] for when I eat or drink, or whatever I do, ever it seems to me that the trumpet sounds in my ear: `Rise up, you that are dead, and come to the judgment.’”

There are three manners of faults in this present life; honors, pleasures, and riches.

Pleasures are a consequent of the appetites of the five wits, as sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

“The burning of the fire of this world shall God give in hell to them that are damned, but the light and the clearness shall be given in heaven to his children,”

The fourth point that ought to make a man to have contrition is the sorrowful remembrance of the good that he has failed to do here in earth, and also the good that he has lost.

Marriage #

God made marriage in paradise, in the state of innocence, to multiply mankind to the service of God.

The fundamental purpose of marriage is procreation with the obligation of nurturing the young.

As Tim Winton notes:

Children are born wild. Society’s primary function is to socialise them into consensual productive citizens by properly training teachers, police, prison officers and social workers

Free love and open marriages of the 1960’s often exposed children to a lack of care.

An example was bohemian colonies like the one on Hydra illustrated by Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen:

https://nebo-lit.com/love/marianne-cohen.html

Understand also that Adultery is set commonly in the ten commandments betwixt theft and manslaughter; for it is the greatest theft that may be, for it is theft of body and of soul.

Adultery is awarded to the pains of hell, as when one of them is in a religious order; the higher that he is in holy orders, the greater is the sin. The things that greatly aggravate their sin is the breaking of their avow of chastity.

Saint Paul says that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. Truly, the priest that practices deadly sin, he may be likened to the angel of darkness transformed into the angel of light. He seems angel of light, but truly he is angel of darkness.

True effect of marriage cleanses fornication and replenishes holy church with good lineage, for that is the end of marriage; and it changes deadly sin into venial sin betwixt those that are wedded, and makes the hearts completely united of them that are wedded, as well as the bodies. This is true marriage, that was established by God, ere sin began, when natural law was in is proper condition in paradise; and it was ordained that one man should have but one woman, and one woman but one man, as says Saint Augustine, by many reasons.

Chastity is virginity, and it is fitting that she be holy in heart and clean of body. Then is she spouse to Jesus Christ, and she is the life of angels. Virginity bore our Lord Jesus Christ, and he was virgin himself.

Chaucer’s Prayer #

A.K.A. Chaucer’s Retraction

Now pray I to them all that listen to this little treatise or read it, that if there be any thing in it that pleases them, that thereof they thank our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom proceeds all wit and all goodness. And if there be any thing that displeases them, I pray them also that they blame it on the fault of my lack of wit and not to my will, that would much prefer to have said better if I had had cunning.

For our book says, “All that is written is written for our doctrine,” and that is my intent. Wherefore I beseech you meekly, for the mercy of God, that you pray for me that Christ have mercy on me and forgive me my sins; and namely of my translations and compositions of worldly vanities, the as is the book of Troilus; the book also of Fame; the book of the XXV. Ladies; the book of the Duchesse; the book of Saint Valentines day of the Parliament of Birds; the tales of Canterbury, those that tend toward sin; the book of the Lion; and many another book, if they were in my remembrance, and many a song and many a lecherous lyric, that Christ for his great mercy forgive me the sin.

But of the translation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, and other books of legends of saints, and homilies, and morality, and devotion, that thank I our Lord Jesus Christ and his blissful Mother, and all the saints of heaven, beseeching them that they from henceforth unto my life’s end send me grace to bewail my sins and to study to the salvation of my soul, and grant me grace of true penitence, confession and satisfaction to do in this present life, through the benign grace of him that is king of kings and priest over all priests, that bought us with the precious blood of his heart, so that I may be one of them at the day of doom that shall be saved.

Qui cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia secula. [He who lives and reigns with the Father and Holy Spirit, God, world without end.] Amen.