418. #litle childre#: the appointment of well-connected boys to valuable
preferments was an abuse of that time. Comp. ‘Si nepotibus suis paruulis
[prelati] mille animas strangulandas tradiderint et dixerint adulatores
quod bene faciunt, tales in curiis laudantur,’ Eudes de Cheriton, p.
262. It is frequently referred to in Grosseteste’s letters, as no. 17,
19, 26, 30 &c.
420. In this way their wit adjudges them in error, namely, inasmuch as
Master Nicholas continues to endure such neglect. #swo# is explained by
the clause which begins with #þat#. Wells translates, ‘So they condemn
their intelligence [as] in error (foolish),’ but that is against the
order of the words and syncopated _pres. plurals_ are rare.