The Pardoner As Representative Of The Church Essays -

The Pardoner As Representative Of The Church The Pardoner as a Representative of the Church The Pardoner is a disreputable representative of the church. The ?General Prologue? describes him as being a lying, swindling hypocrite, and he does not hesitate to tell you this himself. The main theme of his sermons, and ?The Pardoner's Tale,? is ?love of money is the root to all evil,? yet his primary motivation in life is money. He dupes his listeners, and gains their acceptance of his authenticity, by displaying fancy religious letters and seals, and occasionally speaking Latin phrases. Once he has the listeners in his grasp, he takes advantage of the poor, na?ve people in his congregation and invites them to make offerings to be pardoned. The Pardoner recites whichever memorized sermon he believes will bring him the greatest number of gifts and offerings. He refers to his job as a game and in it only to win profits for himself. He carries many counterfeit relics, such as a mitten, which is supposed to multiply the grains of its possessor, but in reality it does nothing. He carries numerous similar items with the intent of deceiving people and selling the relics for their false powers. His sermons are full of tricks and schemes with the sole intent of provoking guilt and duping people into giving offerings. For example, he warns the members of his congregation that unless they are burdened by sins too severe for a public confession, they better come forward to place an offering and be pardoned. The Pardoner says his ?exclusive purpose is to win, and not at all to castigate their sin? (243). He does not experience guilt in taking a poor woman's only coin or a starving child's last loaf of bread. He is a liar and a cheat , as well as, a hypocrite. In the ?Pardoner's Tale,? the Pardoner ridicules men for drinking wine and preaches, ?those who drink are making a privy of their throats?(246). Ironically, he is drunk while he slanders those who drink. The Pardoner also preaches on gluttony, gambling, and swearing, yet he is frequently guilty of all three. Also, in the ?Pardoner's Tale,? he addresses the other pilgrims on the journey as if they too are credulous fools on whom he could prey. Ironically, he informs the travelers of his immoral plot, and expects them to be beguiled by his dishonest scam. The Pardoner proves to be a terrible representative of the church by taking advantage of his position as a man of the cloth for personal gain. Chaucer does, however, give a perfect example of how a man of the church is to live. A servant of the Lord should live a life similar to the description of the Parson's life in the ?General Prologue.? The Parson is ?rich in holy thought and work,? as well as, benign, diligent, and patient. Acts 20:35 says, ?it is more blessed to give than to receive,? and the Parson exemplifies that by giving all he can spare to poor parishioners. He travels to pay a call whether ?rain or thunder,? and is a ?perfect Shepherd to his flock.? The Parson is never contemptuous of sinful men and lives his life by example, just as all godly men should do. That is why Chaucer says, ?there was never a better priest? (17). The Pardoner does not follow many of the teachings of the New Testament. Money is the primary obsession in his life and he is never content with what he has. Jesus loathes hypocrisy and the Pardoner is a blatant hypocrite. In Mathew 23:25, Jesus speaks to the teachers of the law and says, ?you hypocrites, you clean the outside of the cup and dish but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.? The Pardoner receives well over one hundred marks a year more than the average Pardoner, yet he is still not content and wants more. Hebrews 13:5 says, ?keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.? The Pardoner claims to be a man of God although he does not live for him. The Fig tree is symbolic of God's children, and the Lord curses hypocrites, such as,

Awesome Love Quotes Through the Ages

Awesome Love Quotes Through the Ages What is love without expression? One of the ways to express love is by writing the classic love letter. If you happen to be the inventive and poetic kind, then writing a love letter is probably effortless. However, if you are a regular person who wants to pen a few lines for your beloved, then the following awesome love quotes could be of help. Paulo Coelho I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you. Phoenix Flame Marriage is love personified. Swedish Proverb Love is like dew that falls on both nettles and lilies. Turkish Proverb Young love is from the earth, and late love is from heaven. Douglas Yates People who are sensible about love are incapable of it. Henry Miller â€Å"The only thing we never get enough of is love; and the only thing we never give enough of is love.† James D. Bryden Love does not die easily. It is a living thing. It thrives in the face of all of   lifes  hazards, save  one: neglect. Anonymous The essential sadness is to go through life without loving. But it would be almost equally sad to leave this world without ever telling those you loved that you love them. Herman Hesse â€Å"If I know what love is, it is because of you.† Some of us think holding on makes us  strong; but  sometimes it is letting go. Jorge Luis Borges To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god. Gregory Maguire †¦and he kissed her and kissed her and kissed her, little by little by little. D. H. Lawrence I am in love - and, my God, it is the greatest thing that can happen to a man. I tell you, find a woman you can fall in love with. Do it. Let yourself fall in love. If you have not done so already, you are wasting your life. Julian Barnes Love is just a system for getting someone to call you darling after sex. Isha McKenzie-Mavinga On reflection, one of the things I needed to learn was to allow myself to be loved. Edmond Medina Things we do, we do for ourselves. But that which we love we have no choice but to give away. Norman Lindsay The best love affairs are those we never had. English Proverb Faults are thick where love is thin. Fyodor Dostoevski Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams. Lao Tzu Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. Friedrich Nietzsche Women can form a  friendship  with a man very  well; but  to preserve it to that end a slight physical antipathy must probably help. Barbara Bush I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell this to my children, they just about throw up. Sara Paddison As you continue to send out love, the energy returns to you in a regenerating spiral... As love accumulates, it keeps your system in balance and harmony. Love is the tool, and more love is the end product. Jane Austen You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope†¦I have loved none but you.