For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
And shame it is, if a prest take keep,
A shiten shepherde and a clean sheep.
For if a preest ....... a clean sheep
Reference
(i) Poem: The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales
(ii) Poet: Geoffrey Chaucer
Context
(i) Occurrence: The Parson (Lines 501-504/858)
(ii) Content: It is the month of April in circa 1390. A group of twenty-nine pilgrims gathers at a tavern in Southwark called Tabard Inn. The goal of their journey is the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The narrator, Chaucer, encounters them there and becomes one of their company. The narrator seeks to describe their 'condition', 'array' and 'degree'. The Host at the Inn proposes the story-telling contest among the pilgrims.
Explanation
These lines emphatically preach that people in the helm of power should be a perfect example of honesty, dignity, justice, love and other moral values for common people. A priest should be the embodiment of the teachings of Jesus Christ. He should live a holy life if he expects ordinary people to live holy lives because everything starts at the upper level. General masses are sheep and a priest is a shepherd. It would not be right for a flock of white sheep to be tended by a filthy shepherd, someone bespattered with sin. Otherwise "if gold ruste, what shal iren do?" In short, leaders should take their responsibilities extremely seriously and set good examples to be followed by others.
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