478. _Persoun of a toun_, the parson or parish priest. Chaucer, in his
description of the parson, contrasts the piety and industry of the secular
clergy with the wickedness and laziness of the religious orders or monks.
See Dryden's 'Character of a Good Parson,' and Goldsmith's 'Deserted
Village'; also Wyclif, ed. Matthew, p. 179.