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le loz des gens. Et font ainsi comme le cog le quel
gratoit dedens le paillier la ou il queroit sa pen
ture. Tant grata en celui paillier quil trouva u
ne gemme riche et pretieuse qui rendoit grant
clarte. Lors la prist a regarder et plus nen fist. et
la laissa tantost ester Car il ne demandoit point
de gemme pour che que trop mieulx amoit a querir
sa penture. Pareillement est il des moins saiges
clercs convoiteux qui ont les pretiens livres adou
bez richement et bien qui ne les font si non re
garder par dehors tant comme ilz sont nouveaux
et beaux leur samblent si les regardent aucune
foiz moult volentiers et sen passent a tant . puis
se tournent incontinent daultre part et pensent
de leurs venters emplir et de parvenir a leurs
folz desirs. Et assez pourroient aprendre se ilz y vou
loient entendre. Car ilz en ont bien le povoir et por
roient bien autressi faire comme fisrent les preudhom
mes par cy devant lesquelz par leur traveil estude
et diligence trouverent premierement les clergies
Mais ilz ont lentendement fol et desvoie et pour

the people's praises. They act like the cock which
scratched in the straw to find food.
He scratched so much that he found a rich
and precious gem of great clarity. He picked it
up to look at it but then he looked away
and ignored it. Because he had no use for
gems and would much rather have had some
food. Similarly there are unwise, greedy clerics
who have richly adorned books, but all they
do is look at their covers - as long as they seemed new and beautiful -
and they look at them for a while very happily, and spend some time with them.
But then they quickly turn
their gaze elsewhere and think about filling
their empty stomachs and fulfilling their
foolish desires. Any yet they could learn quite a lot
if they were willing to. Because they certainly have the
ability to do what the wise men did in the past,
who by their work, study, and diligence first founded the
clerical profession. But their understanding
is foolish and misguided, and

le loz des gens. Et font ainsi comme le cog le quel
gratoit dedens le paillier la ou il queroit sa pen
ture. Tant grata en celui paillier quil trouva u
ne gemme riche et pretieuse qui rendoit grant
clarte. Lors la prist a regarder et plus nen fist. et
la laissa tantost ester Car il ne demandoit point
de gemme pour che que trop mieulx amoit a querir
sa penture. Pareillement est il des moins saiges
clercs convoiteux qui ont les pretiens livres adou
bez richement et bien qui ne les font si non re
garder par dehors tant comme ilz sont nouveaux
et beaux leur samblent si les regardent aucune
foiz moult volentiers et sen passent a tant . puis
se tournent incontinent daultre part et pensent
de leurs venters emplir et de parvenir a leurs
folz desirs. Et assez pourroient aprendre se ilz y vou
loient entendre. Car ilz en ont bien le povoir et por
roient bien autressi faire comme fisrent les preudhom
mes par cy devant lesquelz par leur traveil estude
et diligence trouverent premierement les clergies
Mais ilz ont lentendement fol et desvoie et pour

the people's praises. They act like the cock which
scratched in the straw to find food.
He scratched so much that he found a rich
and precious gem of great clarity. He picked it
up to look at it and then he looked away
and ignored it. Because he had no use for
gems and would much rather have had some
food. Similarly the unwise, greedy clerics
who have richly adorned books but all they
do is look at their covers, glancing at them
once and then moving on. They soon turn
their gaze elsewhere and think about filling
their empty stomachs and fulfilling their
foolish desiers. Any yet they could learn quite a lot
if they were willing to. Because they have the
ability to do what the wise men in the past did,
who by their diligent study first founded the
clerical profession. But their understanding
is foolish and misguided, and