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tant perissent les ars tellement que a grant pai
ne scevent ilz leurs pars qui est le premier livre
de gramaire qui est le premier des sept ars. Ainchois
boutent les ars en leurs males et se prendent tan
tost aux loix ou aux decretales. Et deviennent ad
vocas et mires pour tousjours amasser la pecune
ou le diable se console. Et ne le font ancores pas
tant pour aprendre comme ilz font pour emplir
leurs bourses. En paris a une telle maniere de
clercs qui ont a costume de voloir avoir le renon
destre maistres clamez pour estre mieulx prisiez
et loez. Si ont plus chier a pau savoir et que ilz aient
le nom de maistre que ilz ne feroient a estre bon
clercs sans avoir le nome de maistre. Mais ilz sont
clamez maistres a tort. Car vanite les mastrie si
quilz scevent pau de verite. pour che que tantost
quilz ont le nom de maistre ilz laissent la clergie
et se prendent au gaignier pareillement comme
font marchans et corratiers et par ainsi en a
pau par le monde qui ont nom de maistre qui
tres pau scevent de raison et de bien. Car ceulx

for this reason the arts are dying out, to the point that only with
great effort do they know their part, which
is the book of grammar, the first of the seven arts.
Then they put the arts into their storage chests and take
up the study of laws or decretals. And so they
become lawyers and focus forever on earning money,
and the devil rejoices. They do not do this [ie. study] as much to learn
as to fill their purses. In Paris there
are clerks of a certain type, who as a rule want to
have the fame of being masters renowned for their skill
in the law. They would rather know little and have
the name of master, than be good clerics without
having that name. But they are wrongly called masters.
For they are mastered by vanity to such a degree that
they know little of truth. And for this reason, as soon as
they gain the name of master, they leave the clerical
profession and start earning money just as
merchants or brokers do. And so there are few men
in the world who have the name of master but very few
who know anything of reason and goodness. For those

tant perissent les ars tellement que a grant pai
ne scevent ilz leurs pars qui est le premier livre
de gramaire qui est le premier des sept ars. Ainchois
boutent les ars en leurs males et se prendent tan
tost aux loix ou aux decretales. Et deviennent ad
vocas et mires pour tousjours amasser la pecune
ou le diable se console. Et ne le font ancores pas
tant pour aprendre comme ilz font pour emplir
leurs bourses. En paris a une telle maniere de
clercs qui ont a costume de voloir avoir le renon
destre maistres clamez pour estre mieulx prisiez
et loez. Si ont plus chier a pau savoir et que ilz aient
le nom de maistre que ilz ne feroient a estre bon
clercs sans avoir le nome de maistre. Mais ilz sont
clamez maistres a tort. Car vanite les mastrie si
quilz scevent pau de verite. pour che que tantost
quilz ont le nom de maistre ilz laissent la clergie
et se prendent au gaignier pareillement comme
font marchans et corratiers et par ainsi en a
pau par le monde qui ont nom de maistre qui
tres pau scevent de raison et de bien. Car ceulx

for this reason the arts are dying out, to the point that only with
great effort do they know their part, which
is the book of grammar, the first of the seven arts.
Then they put the arts into their storage chests and take
up the study of laws or decretals. And so they
become lawyers and focus forever on earning money,
and the devil rejoices. They do not do this [ie. study] as much to learn
as to fill their purses. In Paris there
are clerks of a certain type, who as a rule want to
have the fame of being masters renowned for their skill
in the law. They would rather know little and have
the name of master, than be good clerics without
having that name. But they are wrongly called masters.
For they are mastered by vanity to such a degree that
they know little of truth. And for this reason, as soon as
they gain the name of master, they leave the clerical
profession and start earning money just as
merchants or brokers do. And so there are few men
in the world who have the name of master but very few
who know anything of reason and goodness. For those