“The Root Of All Evil Is Money” Because This Phrase Has Been Repeated So Many Ti

Title	“The Root Of All Evil Is Money” Because This Phrase Has Been Repeated So Many Ti
# of Words	1050
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.2

     “The root of all evil is money.”  Because this phrase has been repeated so many times throughout history, one can fail to realize the truth in this timeless statement.  Whether applied to the corrupt clergy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s time, selling indulgences, or the corrupt televangelists of today, auctioning off salvation to those who can afford it, this truth never seems to lose its validity.  In Chaucer’s famous work The Canterbury Tales, he points out many inherent flaws of human nature, all of which still apply today.  Many things have changed since the fourteenth century, but humanity’s ability to act foolish is not one of them.  Perhaps the best example of this is illustrated in “The Pardoner’s Tale.”  His account of three rioters who set out to conquer Death and instead deliver it upon each other, as well as the prologue which precedes the tale, reveal the truthfulness of the aforementioned statement as it applies to humanity in general and the Pardoner himself.
     Before he even begins his tale, the Pardoner delivers a sort of disclaimer, informing the pilgrims of his practices within the church.
The Pardoner was an expert at exploiting parishioners’ guilt for his financial gain.  He sold them various “relics” that supposedly cured ailments ranging from sick cattle to jealousy.  And if the relics didn’t seem to work, it was obviously because of the sinful man or woman who purchased them, and no fault of the Pardoner.  He had a few lines he would routinely say to his potential customers;
“Good men and women, here’s a word of
of warning:
If there is anyone in the church this morning
Guilty of sin, so far beyond expression
Horrible, that he dare not make confession,
Or any woman, whether young or old,
That’s cuckolded her husband, be she told
That such as she shall have no power or grace
To offer to my relics in this place.”
And this practice proved quite successful for the Pardoner, as he later states, proclaiming, “That trick’s been worth a hundred marks a year”.  By extolling his ability to profit from deception and fear, the Pardoner offers himself as a clear example of the phrase he himself was fond of quoting, Radix malorum est cupiditas, or “The root of evil is money”.  He then proceeds to prove his point with his tale of three rioters and their search for Death.
     “The Pardoner’s Tale” is an exemplum, or a story that teaches a lesson.  In telling his story, the Pardoner sets out to prove the truthfulness of his statement of money being the root of evil.  The story definitely accomplishes this, as does the Pardoner’s account of his own occupation.  The pardoner tells a story of three young rioters who, having learned that a friend recently succumbed to the plague, seek to find, and kill, Death.  However, during the course of their quest, they meet an untimely demise due to a pile of gold found under a tree.  The Pardoner manages to weave in the seven deadly sins throughout the story, all leading back to the gold.  Because of their desire for the wealth, the rioters betray and ultimately destroy each other, thus prov...

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