ABSTRACT
The Visio deals at length with the prerequisite to the Good Life, that is with the good state, dependent on the good ruler. The bishop is elsewhere associated with Vita de Dobest, and it has been suggested that, in this context, he stands for the mixed life, while Dowel stands for the active, Dobet for the contemplative life. Patience, unlike Clergy and Conscience, can speak of the Good Life, though in riddling terms, which are contemptuously dismissed by the doctor. The Pardon is a logical conclusion to the political preoccupations of the Visio; and, at the same time, it announces the subject of the second part of the poem. It is freely offered to all who labour honestly and faithfully to help provide the prerequisites of the Good Life, but it does not provide immediate reward.
