Piers Plowman Passus 3-5

[really very compelling post -- add line numbers for reference, please, but otherwise great to see these thoughts -- maybe share some in class!]

At first, I only thought mysteries were about secrets or hidden truths that are to be discovered. Based on this definition, I couldn’t really tell what the mystery in Piers Plowman was, aside from the fact that trying to figure out what is going on in the story is sort of a mystery. However, after reading the old definition that a mystery is a religious truth that can’t be understood by human reasoning alone, I finally see the mystery within Piers Plowman. Though it is still unclear what the full picture of the plot in the book is about, a recurring theme is finding the truth with the help of God in the book. Particularly, the author seems to be trying to paint this struggle to find the truth through the usage of personification of ideals and values that certain characters embody, such as Wisdom and Wrong. Through the interactions of these ideals, we sort of see some kind of clash in ideals and the way that these ideals are embodied get us closer to some sort of understanding of the truth of the human soul.

In Passus 4, Mede tries to get Wrong out of trouble by giving Peace money, which surprisingly, actually convinces Peace: "I forgyve hym that gilt with a good wille, So that ye assente. I can sey no more: For Mede hath mad my mendes, I may no more axyn" (A.4.86-88). Here, we can somewhat see inside the human soul and how money and the desire to achieve peace instead of conflict can lead to accepting these bribes. These acts seemed reasonable for the ideals that the characters each embody, though I was kind of surprised that Wisdom is portrayed as helping out the bad guys, since I thought that Wisdom would be logical and would not side with Wrong: "And Wisdam and Wit were aboute faste / To overcome the kyng with catel yif their myghte" (A.4.67-68). While the interactions of all these ideals or concepts are seen interacting with each other, Conscience and Reason stand out. It seems that Reason is the ultimate decision-maker here, especially since the king asks him for his advice on punishing Wrong: "But Resoun have ruthe on hym, he schal reste in stokkes" (A.4.93). Reason is the logical person here and he envisions a world where everyone seeks the truth, priests live by their words, people are most cautious of the things they say, and just in general a better world, which is preaching what seems to be constantly revisited in the story, and what the author is probably trying to tell while promoting the idea that God and the truth will lead to a good future. By making Reason a high authority (and Conscience being closely related) and having him envision such a future, the author seems to be showing that Reason is an essential part of the human soul and is one of the primary things needed in the human soul to search for truth. Furthermore, at the end of Passus 4, the king states that Reason and him will be together as long as they live, demonstrating the importance of Reason: "'As long as I lyve, lybbe we togederes'" (A.4.155). However, even though Reason is of high authority, God is still demonstrated as the highest authority, which makes the point that though human reasoning is essential to finding the truth, the truth is ultimately to be found with the help of God. In this way, Piers Plowman makes the point that human reasoning is important in finding the truth, but reasoning is not enough—God is the key to the truth. In this way, Piers Plowman follows the definition of a mystery in the story.