Piers Plowman

by

William Langland

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Conscience is first introduced as the knight whom the King wants Meed to marry. Later, Conscience becomes one of Will’s most important and most enduring teachers, appearing in the majority of Will’s dreams. Conscience proves himself a friend to Patience and Reason, the target of Pride and Antichrist, and a faithful follower of Piers Plowman. Although he is initially a teacher figure advising Will on his quests, Conscience eventually becomes the pilgrim, vowing to wander the world until he finds Piers Plowman—the only person who can save the Christian community.

Conscience Quotes in Piers Plowman

The Piers Plowman quotes below are all either spoken by Conscience or refer to Conscience. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love Theme Icon
).
Passus III Quotes

She makes men misbehave many score times.
In trust of her treasures she troubles a great many.
…Poisoned popes, impaired Holy Church.
…She’s as common as the cartway to comers and goers,
To monks, to messengers, to leper-men in hedges.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), King, Meed
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Passus XIV Quotes

…Contrition may
be used
To scrape your coat clean of all kinds of filth.
…Do-Well will wash it and wring it with a wise confessor.
…Do-Better will scrub it and scour it…
…And then send you to Satisfaction, to let the sun bleach it.
…Do-Best will keep it clean from unkind deeds.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Do-Well, Do-Best, Do-Better, Hawkin
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis:
Passus XIX Quotes

Surely you know…
That knight, king, conqueror can be one person.
To be named a knight is fair, for men shall kneel to him.
To be called a king is fairer, for he can make knights;
But to be called a conqueror, that comes by special grace,
…To make lads lords of the lands he wins
And foul slaves of free men who will not follow his laws.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Will, Christ / Jesus
Page Number: 325
Explanation and Analysis:

This Jesus…when he was just a boy,
Turned water into wine, as holy words relate.
And there God of his grace began to Do-Well.
…And when he’d grown more mature…
…fed with two fishes and with five loaves
Near-famished folk, more than five thousand.
Then he comforted those full of care and acquired a greater name
Which was Do-Better...

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Will, Christ / Jesus, Do-Well, Do-Best, Do-Better
Page Number: 329
Explanation and Analysis:
Passus XX Quotes

He lies drowned in dream…and so do many
others.
The Friar with his physic has enchanted the folk here,
And given them a drugged drink: they dread no sin.

Related Characters: Peace (speaker), Conscience, Friar Flatterer, Contrition
Page Number: 363
Explanation and Analysis:

…I will become a pilgrim,
…To seek Piers the Plowman, who might expunge Pride,
And see that friars had funds who flatter for need
And contradict me, Conscience; now Kind avenge me,
And send me heart and health till I have Piers the Plowman.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Piers Plowman, Friar Flatterer, Kind
Page Number: 363
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Piers Plowman LitChart as a printable PDF.
Piers Plowman PDF

Conscience Quotes in Piers Plowman

The Piers Plowman quotes below are all either spoken by Conscience or refer to Conscience. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love Theme Icon
).
Passus III Quotes

She makes men misbehave many score times.
In trust of her treasures she troubles a great many.
…Poisoned popes, impaired Holy Church.
…She’s as common as the cartway to comers and goers,
To monks, to messengers, to leper-men in hedges.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), King, Meed
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Passus XIV Quotes

…Contrition may
be used
To scrape your coat clean of all kinds of filth.
…Do-Well will wash it and wring it with a wise confessor.
…Do-Better will scrub it and scour it…
…And then send you to Satisfaction, to let the sun bleach it.
…Do-Best will keep it clean from unkind deeds.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Do-Well, Do-Best, Do-Better, Hawkin
Page Number: 225
Explanation and Analysis:
Passus XIX Quotes

Surely you know…
That knight, king, conqueror can be one person.
To be named a knight is fair, for men shall kneel to him.
To be called a king is fairer, for he can make knights;
But to be called a conqueror, that comes by special grace,
…To make lads lords of the lands he wins
And foul slaves of free men who will not follow his laws.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Will, Christ / Jesus
Page Number: 325
Explanation and Analysis:

This Jesus…when he was just a boy,
Turned water into wine, as holy words relate.
And there God of his grace began to Do-Well.
…And when he’d grown more mature…
…fed with two fishes and with five loaves
Near-famished folk, more than five thousand.
Then he comforted those full of care and acquired a greater name
Which was Do-Better...

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Will, Christ / Jesus, Do-Well, Do-Best, Do-Better
Page Number: 329
Explanation and Analysis:
Passus XX Quotes

He lies drowned in dream…and so do many
others.
The Friar with his physic has enchanted the folk here,
And given them a drugged drink: they dread no sin.

Related Characters: Peace (speaker), Conscience, Friar Flatterer, Contrition
Page Number: 363
Explanation and Analysis:

…I will become a pilgrim,
…To seek Piers the Plowman, who might expunge Pride,
And see that friars had funds who flatter for need
And contradict me, Conscience; now Kind avenge me,
And send me heart and health till I have Piers the Plowman.

Related Characters: Conscience (speaker), Piers Plowman, Friar Flatterer, Kind
Page Number: 363
Explanation and Analysis: