Abstract:One of the central questions about the design of John Gower’s Confessio Amantis is the purpose of his inclusion of a history of idolatry and a commentary on virginity in a book on avarice. This article attempts to resolve this critical debate by demonstrating that these “digressions” are not only appropriate but also essential to Gower’s expansion of the sin and the dangers it poses to medieval readers. I argue that in book 5 Gower articulates the conceptual link between avarice, sexual violence, idolatry, and fornication found in medieval law and the Pauline epistles. Through its expanded scope and politicized scheme, Gower’s analysis of avarice reveals the manifold ways in which the vice may corrupt positive and natural law and the severe consequences that corruption may have on every level of society.

中文翻译：

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贪婪，偶像崇拜和私通：约翰·高尔的《阿曼提斯Conf书》第5卷中天才关于宗教与童贞的讨论之间的联系

摘要：关于约翰·高尔（John Gower）的Confessio Amantis设计的主要问题之一是，他将偶像历史和童贞评论纳入一本贪婪的书中。本文试图通过证明这些“题外话”不仅对戈尔犯罪的扩大及其对中世纪读者的危害是适当的，而且也对它们至关重要，从而解决了这一批判性辩论。我认为，高尔在第5本书中阐明了中世纪法律和波林书信中发现的贪婪，性暴力，偶像崇拜和通奸之间的概念联系。高尔通过其扩大的范围和政治化的方案，对贪婪的分析揭示了恶习可能破坏实证法和自然法的多种方式，以及腐败可能对社会各个层面造成的严重后果。