Piers Plowman 8-9

This section of Piers Plowman is both the best and worst so far.  Here, the writer's stance on clergy and corruption among them becomes extremely evident. The message is clear, but the manner in which it is proven is infuriating and I am still in disbelief of the disrespect toward poor Piers. I'll focus on a couple different passages so as not to rant about the topic forever. 

The first passage: "'Peres' quod a prest, 'thi pardoun I most rede; / I shal construe every clause, and tells hit on Englys'" (A.8.88-89).  With this statement, the priest is insulting Piers in two ways.  First, by questioning the contents of the pardon, he is questioning Piers' receipt of it, in essence expressing that he does not think Piers has done anything to warrant it. This is an indirect attack on Piers' character which is highly insulting and hypocritical.  Secondly, he is assuming that Piers is uneducated and can not read Latin, so the sophisticated words must be translated for him. Considering that Piers is a plowman, it would not be uncommon that he is uneducated and only knows how to communicate in the vernacular English. However, this assumption coupled with the later knowledge that not only is Piers educated but perhaps even more so than the Priest makes the attack all the more despicable. 

The second passage which I found extremely offensive comes after the first I've highlighted, which is followed by Piers speaking some Latin and making multiple allusions to the Bible. The Priest says to him: "'By Christ! as me thenketh, / Thou art lerned a lytel'" (A.8.117-118).  It would have been sufficient for him to stop after "learned", but the addition of the words "a little" just goes to further dig into Piers as a show of condescension against him. 

The irony of this conversation and encounter is that Piers is a far better person than the Priest, and most other people, could ever hope to be, and he has no need for a pardon because he has done nothing which warrants the need for one. By virtue of his character and his dedication to God and doing what is right, he will make it to Heaven. Which is more than can be said of the priest.