At the beginning of Passus V Will, the dreamer, awakes from his dream, but that does not mean he is no longer in the world of Reason and Conscience. Like us all, he is always in their presence, and so, on his waking, he finds himself interrogated by Reason as to how he is employed in the world, since he seems to be an idler, wandering and dreaming all day. Will replies that the tools of his trade are the Lord’s Prayer and the psalms and that his occupation is to pray for those who show him charity—he is a “mendicant” or begging priest. Furthermore, Will adds, he believes that clergy should not be constrained to doing normal work: they have their place in society, to sing and pray and read and write, just as it is the place of others to perform other work necessary for human community:
“Therefore, I pray you, Reason, rebuke me not at all,
For in my conscience I know what Christ would have me do.
Prayers of a perfect man and penance discrete
Is the labor above all most pleasing to our Lord.
Truly, not from the soil,” I said, “Man lives,
Not from bread or feed; as the Lord’s Prayer witnesses,
Thy will be done—that finds us all we need.””
Conscience is impressed by what Will has said, but he points out that Will’s are hardly the “prayers of a perfect man” he had spoken of. Will agrees this is true and on the advice of Conscience and Reason makes his way to the church to worship and repent:
“Before the cross, on my knees, I smote my breast,
Sighing for my sins, reciting my Lord’s Prayer,
Weeping and wailing till I was asleep.”
Once more asleep, Will returns again to the “field full of folk,” but now Reason is giving a fiery sermon about God’s judgment and need for all to live better lives. Families must be more disciplined—“spare the rod and spoil the child,” he says. People who are lolling about need to find some honest work instead of wasting their time. And, most of all, pastors and monks and bishops need to reform their lives and set a better example for the people:
“What you preach to the people, prove it yourself:
Live as you teach us and we shall believe you the better.”
Finally, he calls on the king to act for the public good and not private benefit, and encourages all not to seek their salvation in pilgrimages to “Saint James and the Saints of Rome,” but in Saint Truth, the Holy Spirit.
What does it mean to contribute to society? In the various forms he takes throughout this passus, Reason has trouble imagining the answer to this question as anything other than some kind of work—different work for the king than for the commoner, of course, but nonetheless some kind of work. If everyone would just find some good honest work to do and if pastors would practice the morality they preach and if politicians would actually work for the common good, all our problems would be solved, so says Reason. It is a tempting thought, one which we all indulge in from time to time. We like to think all the world needs is everyone to work together, everyone to contribute to the common good, more people employed, more people empowered.
But Will (and Conscience) see that there are limits to this view of things. Will sees this because he is confident that his own occupation, which is merely to beg and pray, is in fact be the way of life most necessary for the world and most pleasing to God. He also sees that coming to that pleasing and perfect life means walking the way of conversion and repentance. And that is something we are not usually eager or willing to see. We like to think that our doing better, being better, working harder, working together is always the key to a better world. But in truth the most necessary work, especially in this season of Lent, is the work of the Lord’s Prayer and the psalms, the work of confessing our sins instead of sharpening our work ethic, the work of praying for our neighbors, not providing them goods and services.
“Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
Lent With Langland 
Hi, Austin, There is so much to think about in these passages. For me, I had honest work all the years I was a teacher. But as a retired person, what is my work? I don’t want to be lolling around and begging. A question for you: Are you finding the Bible passages to go with each day’s devotion, or were those already selected by someone else? They are very appropriate to the selection.
Bev, it’s good to hear the Bible passages are linking up well with the devotionals! I am choosing them myself and you can never be sure people will see the connection you see.
That’s a good question about the “work” of being retired. We’ll return to this idea of what kind of work is good and profitable several times in the course of reading through the poem, but right now I would say think about what you do during a day and then think about the kind of work Will says he does in this passus. At least some of what you do during a day is read devotional works, whether this or another one. At least some of what you do during a day is pray. And both of those things are good, honest work, even if they are a very different sort of work than being a teacher or managing a store.
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