A man of God should never be greedy, however, the pardoner in “The Pardoner’s Tale” uses his position as a scheme to make money. The theme of “The Pardoner’s tale” is “Radix malorium est cupiditas,” (Chaucer 123) which is Latin for “Greed is the root of all evil.” The pardoner begins his tale by saying, “But let me briefly make my purpose plain; I preach for nothing but greed of gain.” (Chaucer 125) Truthfully admitting to his own greed is ironic because he goes on to tell a story that illustrates the terrible outcome of greed. The pardoner is preaching the sin that he commits. The irony is that “The Pardoner’s Tale” is centered on greed being the root of all evil. In the prologue, the pardoner admits to being greedy and uses satire by saying,
