They ben clerkes, hir courtes they oversee, Hir pore tenaunts fully they flyte; The hyer that a man amerced be, The gladlyer they woll it wryte. This is fer from Christes povertè, 1025 For all with covetyse they endyte; On the pore they have no pitè, Ne never hem cherish, but ever hem byte. And comunly suche ben comen Of pore people, and of hem begete, 1030 That this perfeccion han y-nomen; Hir +faders ryde not but on hir fete, And travaylen sore for that they ete, In povert liveth, yonge and old; Hir +faders suffreth drought and wete, 1035 Many hongry meles, thurst, and cold. All this the monkes han forsake For Christes love and saynt Benet; To pryde and esë have hem take; This religio[u]n is yvell beset. 1040 Had they ben out of religioun, They must have honged at the plow, Threshing and dyking fro town to town With sory mete, and not half y-now. Therfore they han this all forsake, 1045 And taken to riches, pryde, and ese; Full fewe for god woll monkes hem make, Litell is suche order for to prayse! Saynt Benet ordayned it not so, But bad hem be [ful] cherelich; 1050 In churlich maner live and go, Boystous in erth, and not lordlych. They disclaunder saynt Benet, Therfore they have his holy curse; Saynt Benet with hem never met 1055 But-if they thought to robbe his purse! I can no more herof [now] tell, But they ben lykë tho before, And clenë serve the divell of hell, And ben his tresour and his store. 1060 And all suche other counterfaytours, Chanons, canons, and such disgysed, Ben goddes enemies and traytours, His true religion han foul dispysed. Of freres I have told before 1065 In a making of a 'Crede,' And yet I coud tell worse and more, But men wold werien it to rede! As goddes goodnes no man tell might, Wryte ne speke, ne think in thought, 1070 So, hir falshed and hir unright May no man tell, that ever god wrought." The Gryffon sayd, "thou canst no good, Thou cam never of no gentill kind; Other, I trow, thou waxest wood, 1075 Or els thou hast [y-]lost thy mynd. Shuld holy churchë have no heed? Who shuld be her governayl? Who shuld her rule, who shuld her reed, Who shuld her forthren, who shuld avayl? 1080 Ech man shall live by his travayl; Who best doth, shall have moste mede; With strength if men the churche assayl, With strength men must defende her nede.