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Ella Beidler
Mr. Clark
British Literature 12
21 February 2018
The Parson on Avarice
In the Parson’s Tale, one of the Seven Deadly Sins is the habit of Avarice. The Parson

explains the negative virtue as, “a lecherous desire for earthly things, a kind of idolatry. Every

florin in one’s coffer is a mommet, an idol” (Chaucer 488). In other words, it is the obsession of

material things rather than God. It is considered idolatry because people find objects on Earth

more important than their relationship and life with God. They are worshiping their success on

Earth and prioritizing it in front of succeeding to Heaven. According to the Parson, living a life

in Avarice can drive you away from God as it encourages disloyalty and greediness.

Avarice’s Presence in Today’s World

Avarice can be found all over the world today as many people compete for wealth,

success, and power in society. Economics is a huge example of greediness and gambling. Many

companies today work to scam their customers for more money. For instance, many large

corporations charge excessive amounts of dollars for cheap products made in factories. They also

charge for more than they promise in advertisements which is ultimately stealing their

customers’ money. There are also smaller forms of Avarice in society such as gambling as well

as theft. Both are forms of greediness as they are either stealing or tricking to win large amounts

of cash. Many crimes are committed each day as people all over the world steal belongings from

each other and from stores to benefit only themselves. Also, gambling is a serious addiction as

there are many casinos where people throw away their money in hopes to win more. Finally, the

international problem of countries living in poverty all over the world prove that many people
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with excessive amounts of wealth are not giving to those who need it. A major example would be

the extremely noticeable difference between the rich and poor countries in the world today.

Many wealthy countries have citizens living in luxury and owning expensive objects compared

to the low-income countries who have high fatality rates due to horrible living conditions. Many

of these citizens living with large amounts of wealth should donate to those who have very little.

Combating Avarice

According to the Parson, “The remedy is Mercy, or ‘pity largely taken’” (Chaucer 488) in

order to overcome Avarice. What the Parson means by mercy is the idea of generosity. Society

can show mercy by being considerate of one another and lending help when someone needs it.

An example would be giving clothes, money, and food to the less fortunate. Giving to one

another relieves a better disposition of the heart and ultimately helps someone develop faithful

virtues such as kindness and charity. Another way in which society can avoid Avarice is living a

minimalist life. In other words, living a life with sufficient amounts of money and belongings

avoids greediness. By owning few earthly materials in life, people will eradicate the obsession of

objects over their relationship with God. Ultimately, not having an infatuation with material

objects also relieves humans from the distractions of achieving wealth on Earth and directs them

toward a life with God.