direction. The translation of most of the _New
Testament_ is thought to be his own special work. He is the most
important prose writer of the fourteenth century. His prose had an
influence as wide as the circulation of the _Bible_. The fact that it
was forced to circulate in manuscript, because printing had not then
been invented, limited his readers; but his translation was,
nevertheless, read by many. To help the cause of the Reformation, he
wrote argumentative religious pamphlets, which are excellent specimens
of energetic fourteenth-century prose.

Of his place in literature, Ten Brink says: "Wycliffe's literary
importance lies in the fact that he extended the domain of English
prose and enhanced its powers of expression. He accustomed it to terse
reasoning, and perfected it as an instrument for expressing rigorous
logical thought and argument; he brought it into the service of great
ideas and questions of the day, and made it the medium of polemics and
satire. And above all, he raised it to the dignity of the national
language of the _Bible_."

The following is a specimen verse of Wycliffe's translation. We may
note that the strong old English word "againrising" had not then been
displaced by the Latin "resurrection."

"Jhesu seith to hir, I am agenrisyng and lyf; he that bileueth in
me, he, if he schal be deed, schall lyue."

Piers Plowman.--_The Vision of William Concerning Piers the
Plowman_, popularly called _Piers Plowman_, from its most important
character, is the name of an allegorical poem, the first draft ("A"
text) of which was probably composed about 1362. Later in the century
two other versions, known as texts "B" and "C" appeared. Authorities
differ in regard to whether these are the work of the same man. _The
Vision_ is the first and the most interesting part of a much longer
work, known as _Liber de Petro Plowman_ (_The Book of Piers the
Plowman_).

The authorship of the poem is not certainly known, but it has long
been ascribed to William Langland, born about 1322 at Cleobury
Mortimer in Shropshire. The author of _Piers Plowman_ seems to have
performed certain functions connected with the church, such as singing
at funerals.

_Piers Plowman_ opens on a pleasant May morning amid rural scenery.
The poet falls asleep by the side of a brook and dreams. In his dream
he has a vision of the world passing before his eyes, like a drama.
The poem tells what he saw. Its opening lines are:--

"