How we cite our quotes: (Line number)
Quote #1
He that his hand wol putte in this mitayn,
He shal have multipliyng of his grayn
What he hath sowen, be it whete or otes,
So that he offre pens, or elles grotes. (87 – 90)
The Pardoner tells the crowds that his magic mitten is an investment. You just put your hand in it and see your crops and wealth multiply. The catch? The magic mitten will only work if a person pays to use it. But it just costs a few pennies—what a bargain! This gives away the Pardoner's ulterior motives and puts the authenticity of his relics in question. This is also a pretty extreme tactic even for the Pardoner. Magic was considered seriously heretical, although leftover pagan ideas from the Dark Ages co-existed with Christianity to some extent in medieval times.
Quote #2
Swich folk shal have no power ne no grace
To offren to my relikes in this place.
And who so fyndeth hym out of swich fame,
He wol come up and offre, on Goddes name,
And I assoille him, by the auctoritee
Which that by bulle ygraunted was to me. (97-102)
By saying that the worst sinners won't be saved by his relics and pardons, the Pardoner makes sure that everyone will fall all over themselves rushing forward to make an offering in order to avoid being exposed as a sinner before the whole town. This is one of his more lucrative tactics. Opting out is not an option unless you enjoy public humiliation.
Quote #3
By this gaude have I wonne, yeer by yeer,
An hundred mark, sith I was pardoner. (103 – 104)
A hundred marks a year is actually a pretty decent salary during this time period; it's the equivalent of 66 British Pounds and was more than enough to live quite well. The narrator tells us in the General Prologue that this Pardoner made more in a day than a priest made in a year. He was doing OK and lived large. Pardoners didn't have to take a vow of poverty like friars (not that it stopped Chaucer's Friar), but it would have been unseemly anyway to be much better off than the general public.
Quote #4
Of avarice and of swich cursednesse
Is al my prechyng, for to make hem free
To yeven hir pens; and namely, unto me!
For myn entente is nat but for to wynne,
And no thyng for correccioun of synne. (114 – 118)
The Pardoner is totally up front about his motives. He's in this game for no other reason than to make money. This goal results in the somewhat ironic situation that he must preach against greed (the better to part people from their money) because of his own greed. He doesn't seem to see this as particularly ironic; it's just what he has to do to support his lifestyle.
Quote #5
What, trowe ye, the whiles I may preche,
And wynne gold and silver for I teche,
That I wol lyve in poverte wilfully?
Nay, nay, I thoghte it nevere, trewely! (153 – 156)
The Pardoner has a talent for preaching, a gift normally associated with those who live "in poverte," like priests or monks. Yet the Pardoner has no desire to live like that; he has no intention to be the poor virtuous man. He likes the lush life. He's been so self-indulgent that he can even give the pilgrims wine recommendations.
Quote #6
For I wol preche and begge in sondry landes,
I wol nat do no labour with myne handes,
Ne make baskettes, and lyve therby,
By cause I wol nat beggen ydelly. (156 – 160)
In case he didn't make it clear enough, the Pardoner tells us again that he won't be like apostles who wove baskets to make money. No manual labor for him. He prefers to make his money by preaching and begging, which he's found to be more profitable. Although itinerant preachers like friars were allowed to beg, this practice was frowned upon because the beggar was seen as failing to productively contribute to society through honest labor.
Quote #7
I wol noon of the apostles countrefete;
I wol have moneie, wolle, chese, and whete,
Al were it yeven of the povereste page,
Or of the povereste wydwe in a village,
Al sholde hir children sterve for famyne. (161 – 166)
This comment about the widow's children is really his most heartless remark. Why do you think he'd say something so callous and provocative? The Pardoner's lack of concern about how he gets his money shows us his true religion. He's a devout capitalist.
Quote #8
A moral tale yet I you telle kan,
Which I am wont to preche, for to wynne.
Now hoold your pees! My tale I wol bigynne. (174 – 176)
The idea that a story can be worth money is certainly not an unfamiliar one in the Canterbury Tales: remember that the pilgrims are engaged in a storytelling contest whose winner gets a free dinner at Harry Bailey's tavern after they get back from Canterbury.
Quote #9
And everich of thise riotoures ran
Til he cam to that tree, and ther they founde
Of floryns fyne of gold ycoyned rounde
Wel ny an eighte busshels, as hem thoughte.
No lenger thanne after Deeth they soughte,
But ech of hem so glad was of that sighte,
For that the floryns been so faire and brighte. (482 – 488)
This passage is like a little parable in miniature, illustrating the way that greed can cause people to drop everything in pursuit of money. You can almost see the gold shining; it has a hypnotic effect on the rioters. Money is so enticing.
Quote #10
This tresor hath Fortune unto us yeven,
In myrthe and joliftee our lyf to lyven,
And lightly as it comth, so wol we spende.
Ey, Goddes precious dignitee! Who wende
To-day that we sholde han so fair a grace?
But myghte this gold be caried fro this place
Hoom to myn hous or elles unto youres-
For wel ye woot that al this gold is oures –
Thanne were we in heigh felicitee. (493 – 501)
We'll translate: the rioters know the gold doesn't belong to them, so they return it to a magistrate immediately. Right. To the three friends, the discovery of the eight bushels of gold is a treasure Fortune has "given" to them—a choice of words that shows how they never question whether the wealth rightfully belongs to them. All they're thinking about is the leisurely lifestyle it will enable them to live; if their past is any predictor, they'll blow it on alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes. This reaction to their sudden windfall just confirms how undeserving they are of it. Not that they could get any more corrupt, but you can see that the wealth isn't going to make them righteous.
Quote #11
And thanne shal al this gold departed be,
My deere freend, bitwixen me and thee.
Thanne may we bothe oure lustes al fulfille,
And pleye at dees right at oure owene wille. (545 – 548)
The friends' agreement to kill their companion is all the more disgusting given their reason for doing it: so that the two will be able to fulfill all their "lustes," or bodily desires, and "pleye at dees" as much as they want. There's never a good reason to kill your buddy, but gambling has got to be the worst reason ever.