bihiȝtars, and scarsist geuars; glosandist flaterars, and bitandist bacbitars; simplist glosars, and warst willid traytoris. And Lin| [Lincoln.] coln seiþ þus, A cloystrer of priuat ordre, and specialy a frere wandring voyd in the world, is a ded careyn, gon out of þe graue, woundun in dedly cloþis, schaken of þe fend a mong men: þei are tokunid bi þe wif of Loth, þat, after þe going out of Sodom, loking [Gen. xixo.] aȝen, was turnid in to an image of salt. An image haþ þe similitud of a man, but not þe trowþ. So swilk similitudis of religious efter habit, and ypocrit signis, and neuerþeles not hauing þe vertu of Cristis religioun; werfor þe messangeris of Saul, seking Dauid in [1 Reg. xixo.] þe bed, fond a simulacre and geyt skinnis. And Peter and Jon [Joh. xxo.] seking þe graue, fond but a sudary. And of wilk seiþ þe Lord, No [Luc. ixo.] man leying hand to þe plowe, and loking aȝen, is able to þe kyn|dam of God. And þe epistil of Jude, Erring sternis, to þe wam [Jude.] wirlwynd of mirknes is kepid vn to wiþ outen ende; þus seiþ he. Weþer þe vow of religioun is not veyn, Seynt Jam seiþ, If ani wen hem to be religious, not refreyning his tong, but disseyuing his hert, his religioun is veyn. Religioun clene at God, and at þe Fader, is þis, to visite þe fadirles and madirles, and wydowis, in þer tribula|coun, and kep hem silf vnfilid of þis world.
XIX. Re|ligious bounden to bodily wark.
Þis is a noþer, Þat religious men are bounde to bodily warks; þat semiþ soþ bi þis. In þe state of innocens God sett man in paradis of delite, leking þat he schuld wirk and kep it. In to þis stat of synne God kest man out of paradise in to þe ȝerþ, þat he schuld [Gen. io.] wirk þe ȝerþ þat he was tane of, and seid to him, In swot of þi chere [Gen. iiio.] þu schalt eyt þi brede, tul þu turn aȝen in to þe ȝerþ þat þu art tan of. Also in þe comaundement, þu schalt wirk six dayes and do þi [Exod. xxo.] wark. Also þus biddiþ þe apostil, He þat stale steyle he not, but [Eph. iuo.] more wirk he wiþ his handis þing þat is god, þat he haue wer of to ȝef to him þat nediþ. And eft he seiþ, Breþern, we warn ȝow, [2 Thes. ult.] in þe name of our Lord Ihu Crist, þat ȝe wiþ draw ȝow fro ilk broþer going inordinatly, and not after þe ordre þat þei han tane
