a sacrilegiose cruelte. ["Res pauperum non pauperi|bus dare, par sacrilegio crimen esse dignoscitur. Sane patrimonia sunt pauperum facultates ecclesiarum: et sacrilega eis crudelitate surripitur quicquid sibi ministri et dispensa|tores, non utique domini vel pos|sessores, ultra victum accipiunt et vestitum." Gaufrid. Abb. Declam. ex Bernard. (inter S. Bernard. Op. tom. ii. p. 612.) The Flores Ber|nardi, to which Pecock refers, are merely collections of extracts from his works, genuine and spurious, first made apparently by William of Tournay. See the Benedictine editor's remarks.] Thus miche and more of this mater Bernard seith there. But y seie, Certis if Ber|nard in these wordis there writun be not vndirstonde in this now seid secunde maner or in sum other lijk maner dyuers fro the firste seid maner, which is propre maner of speche in this mater, ellis it is to be seid that Bernard in thilk seiyng failid.
Also manye processis of holi men, whiche thei writun in this mater, ben to be take thus, that thei so wroten in wey of counseiling and in wey of exorting, as thei wolden that it were and as thei wolden that men wolde do, and not that thei wroten in wey of diffynyng that it ouȝte needis be so doon. And ther|fore riȝt weel waar ouȝte reders be, whanne thei reden in oold mennys writingis, that thei cleue not ouer soone therto, into tyme thei han reducid, resolued, and brouȝt the conclusiouns whiche thei there reden, in to the propre principlis and groundis of tho conclusiouns, of whiche and bi whiche principlis and groundis tho same conclusiouns muste take her trouthis, if tho con|clusiouns eny trouthe haue in hem. For certis noon of the conclusions, whiche euer holi men wroten, takith his trouthe herbi and herfore, for that thei wroten thilk conclusioun; but ech conclusioun takith his trouthe of and fro and bi his ground and prin|cipil, fro and out of which he descendith in formal argument, thouȝ no writer in the world hadde euer ther of write eny word, or schulde in tyme to come
