I don't grudge them some bodily comforts. It cannot always be Lent. What I cannot stomach is hypocrisy, fraud, idleness-their worn-out relics, their threadbare worship, and their lack of invention. When did anything good last come from a monastery? They do not invent, they only repeat, and what they repeat is corrupt. For hundreds of years the monks have held the pen, and what they have written is what we take to be our history, but I do not believe it really is. I believe they have suppressed the history they don't like, and written one that is favorable to Rome. Henry appears to look straight through him
The speaker expresses disdain for certain comforts enjoyed by others, noting that life cannot be entirely austere. However, what truly bothers them is the prevalence of hypocrisy, laziness, and outdated traditions found within monastic life. They question the value of monasteries, asserting that rather than creating new ideas, monks simply perpetuate corruption and outdated beliefs.
Furthermore, the speaker critiques the monks' control over historical narrative, claiming that what is commonly accepted as history has been manipulated to favor the Church, particularly Rome. This perspective challenges the authenticity of the monks' writings, suggesting they have concealed disfavored truths, leaving a skewed version of events in their wake.
