be bildid and be occupied withinne the seid religiouns, but not with the labour and puruiaunce neither with the cost of tho religiosis; certis aȝens this [this is interlineated by a later hand.] cauyllacioun meetith this reson: Ech vertuose doable deede is as freely doable of ech religiose man as of eny other man not religiose, but if his religioun weerne him to do thilk deede. Or ellis thus: How euer fre for to do eny vertuose deede is eny man not religiose, so fre is ech man religiose; but if his reli|gioun ther fro weerne him. But so it is, that no re|ligioun now had in the chirche now weerneth hise persoones forto purueie into suche bilding with the costis of the religioun and with the concent of the couent: as that this is trewe, the reulis of the same religiouns mowen be clepid into iugement. Wherfore, if it be a vertuose gouernaunce that suche lordli mansions be bildid bisidis the cloistris of the seid religiouns, it is vertuose ynouȝ that persoones of the same religiouns purueie for the same bilding and at her owne cost; for bi so myche it schal be to hem the more vertuose and the more holi and the more merytorie, than it schal be if thei schulden sette tho mansiouns into the seid gode vsis and not with her owne costis, but with the costis of lordis or ladies.
An other obieccioun miȝte be mad in this mater thus: Whanne the lordis or ladies or eny of the comoun peple ȝeueth eny almes to religiose couentis [cōuētis, MS., but it is hardly likely that a writer should have used different forms of the same word in a sentence constructed as this is.] or to eny religiose persoon into a special vce and expending of thilk ȝifte, and the couent or the persoon receyuyng the ȝifte consentith forto expende the ȝift into the same assigned vce and expending,
