mo in nombre they bere the swynge thother be sofewe that skace they be sene in the chapiter howse It is only Christis religion that can make Christē men one of vs loue an other as we shulde do The preceptes of philosophie and good education coude make many of the Grecians mo of the Romans not only to forsake riches to banyshe pleasures to put them selfes in a thousande perilles but also to dye for their coūtrey And can not the knowlege of the worde of god the swete adhortations the hyghe and assured promyses that god maketh vnto vs kepe christen men from contempning the iudgemente and lawes of god frome vndoinge theyr coūtrey from fyghtyng against theyr prince If we were any thing wel instructed in the ioyes that are prepared for them that obey god and their prynce in the ioyes that neyther mans eloquence can expresse neyther harte fele nor thought compasse Who wyll thinke that soo many of theym coude so frankely offre vp theyr liues and that we shall not abhorre suche as eyther wyll dye theym selfe or bringe their countreye to ruine ¶ Who can prayse Themistocles soo well but he maye seme to haue lefte out a greatte parte of his prayse Who dyd more for his countreye then he Who coude be worse rewarded then he was that was not only banyshed his countrey but also driuen to seke succour at Xerxes hande whom he had not longe before dishonored in batayle who had a greatter cause to fall out with his countrey than he who more commoditie to haue reuenged suche ingratitude But se what good education can do Se what is to be loked for of them in whose brestis vertue and desyre of honeste fame lodgeth Xerxes interteyned hym highely and shewed him all the fauour that a myghtie prynce could shewe vnto one whom he best loued He gaue hym great possessions in soo moche that Themistocles was wonte to saye I had ben vndone except the Atheniās had vndone me Yet al this being thus when Xerxes wold haue sent hym agaynst his countrey with an hoste of men he forgot all theyr vnkyndenes he forgot they had exyled him and put him in ieoperdy of his lyfe and thought it moche better to slee hym selfe than to be a capitayne agaynste his countrey And thus at the laste beinge weried with ofte callynge on of the kynge and seynge no remedy but eyther to kyll hym selfe or to fyght against his countrey he chose of two the lesse hurt and with a drafte of Bulles bloudde finysshed his life I wyll not speake of Thrassibulus Codrus Ancurus Decii and manye other whiche all thought the welthe of theyr countrey to be preferred to their lyues I can not thinke but if Christis lawes were well preached they be well preached whan the preacher sayth as the gospel is and doth as the gospell saith I can not thinke but if Christis promyses were surely prynted in our hartes that we shulde be and that a great sorte to testifie the worde of god to be of moche more puissaunce then vaine fame Goddis worde is potente and to saye as I thynke almost omnipotent if it be well handeled and of suche as it shulde be It is moch that good men maye do In Florence the people were set parte agaynste parte as we were latelye here in Englande The syde that hadde the better hande came to set a fyre the palaice of their aduersaries Capitayne called Pagolantonio Soderini As chaunce was this capitaynes brother the byshop of Volterra was than in his howse whiche as soone as he harde theyr noyse and perceyued where about they wente cast on his white rochet and so came downe amonges them he spake but few wordes but by and by al that were in that rout caste awaye theyr fyer brondes There was none so lewde that coulde in so honeste a prelates presence do any hurte This Machiauellus wryteth as a thynge wonderfull howe be it if people were as obedient as they ought to be and byshops in suche reuerence as they haue ben in tymes past for their good lyfe and lernynge this wolde be no wonder who was lesse beloued in the northe than my lorde Cardynall god haue his sowle before he was amonges them Who better be loued after he had ben there a whyle we hate oft tymes whom we haue good cause to loue It is a wonder to see howe they were turned howe of vtter ennemyes they became his dere frendes He gaue byshops a right good ensample howe they myght wyn mens hartis There was fewe holy dayes but he wolde ride .v. or .vi. myle from his howse nowe to this paryshe churche nowe to that and there cause one or other of his doctours to make a sermone vnto the people He sat amonges them and sayd masse before al the paryshe He sawe why churches were made He began to restore them to their ryght and propre vse If our byshops had done so we shuld haue sene that preachyng of the gospell is not the cause of sedition but rather lacke of preachyng of it He broughte his dinner with hym and bad dyuers of the parish to it He enquired whether there was any debate or grudge betwene any of theym yf there were after dinner he sente for the parties to the church and made them at one Men say wel that do wel Goddis lawes shal neuer be so set by as they ought before they be well knowen Howe shall poore men knowe them excepte they be syncerely preached We must fyrst lerne to kepe goddis lawes or euer we ernestly passe of the kynges statutes All be it he that kepeth th one wylle also kepe thother He that can fynde a better way to auoyde sedition than fyrste to brynge in the worde of god which our most lerned kyng and true lieutenant of god in this realme of England hath holly intēded this many yeres Secondarily the mynd welle pourged that is restored into the good and pure nature that fyrst god made it in to purge as Zamolsis thought best the body He that can fynd a better way shall do ryght wel to shew it I fynde none Men after that the mynde is wel instructed must se that the body haue also a way to mainteyn it self Euery mā must haue an honest occupation wherby in trouth he may get his lyuyng without doinge iniury to his neyghbour Idelnes ydelnes must be banysshed It can not be chosen but men wylle steale thoughe they be hanged excepte they may lyue without stelyng How it may be brought to passe that no man haue cause to stele me thinke I haue eyther shewed it or elles gyuen occasion to some other to shewe it ¶ Now that we content our selfes with that whiche god shal send vs or with that we by our owne industry shall laufully gette me thynke a greatte parte lyeth in the prelates of the Churche They muste begynne thother can not leade this daunce If religious men begyn laye people wyll folowe as soone as they
A REMEDY FOR SEDITION VVHERIN ARE CONTEYNED many thynges concernyng the true and loyall obeysance that commēs owe vnto their prince and soueraygne lorde the kynge ANNO. M. D.XXXVI A REMEDY FOR SEDITION VVHO SO EVER well considereth with hym selfe the hyghe commodyties y t come of good lawes he wyl I am right assured thynke as diuine Plato thought all those lawes that are made for the welthe and safegarde of mankynde to be of god all be it they be constituted by manne on the othersyde he that wel pondereth the damages that of necessitie must folowe where eyther none be that can rule or fewe that wyll obeye shall thynke as I doo all realmes regions cities and townes that are not gouerned by lawes to be forestes of wyld beastis and not places habytable for men We lacke noo good lawes god be thāked but what auayle they whan as Diogenes sayth men that are good nede them lyttell and they that be euylle are neuer the better for them Surely in tyme of sedition lawes lese their voyces or to say better in suche ragious outcries of souldiours noyse and brayeng of horses clutterynge and ienglynge of harneys men waxe thicke of herynge Iustyce hydeth her face whanne she seeth this to be alowed for a lawe He that is the stronger shall oppresse and spoylle the weaker and no man saye he dothe euyll Honestie canne not abyde there where myght sytteth aboue right where wyll is skyll where treason standeth for reason Whan euery man wyll rule who shall obeye Howe can there be any common welthe where he that is welthyest is mooste lyke to come to woo Who can there be ryche where he that is rychest is in moste daunger of pouertie No no take welth by the hande and say farewell welthe where luste is lyked and lawe refused where vp is sette downe and downe sette vppe An order an order muste be hadde and a waye founde that they rule that beste can they be ruled that mooste it becommeth so to be This agrement is not onely expedient but also moste necessary in a common welthe those that are of the worser sort to be content that the wyser reule and gouerne them those that nature hath endewed with synguler vertues and fortune without breache of lawe set in hyghe dignitie to suppose this done by the great prouydence of god as a meane to engender loue and amitie betwene the highe and the lowe the small the great the one beynge so necessary for thothers safegarde welthe and quietnes For as there must be some men of polycie and prudence to discerne what is metest to be done in the gouerment of states euen so there muste be other of strength and redynes to do that the wyser shall thynke expedient both for the mayntenaunce of them that gouerne and for theschewyng of the infinite ioperdies that a multitude not gouernid falleth into These must not go arme in arme but the one before the other behynde wyt and prudence muste be as maysters of a worke and appoynt strengthe and redynesse their taske For vndoutedly boldnes dothe neuer well excepte it come and do as reason commaundeth it to do Sertorius that prudent Capitayne shewed this by a prety exaumple he had two souldiours in his campe th one lyttell weake and in maner of no strength but very wyse thother high bygge and full of bones but voyde of brayne He had also two horses th one galyarde lusty and of a thycke tayle thother leane lyttell and almoste without a tayle He appoynted the lyttell man to pull of the great horse tayle the bygge and sturdy soudiour to pull of those few heares that the leane horse tayle hadde The weake and feble man vnto whom god and good education had gyuen wyt in strengthes place pulled by .iiii. and by .v. heares at ones and so within a shorte space he had made of a longe tayle no tayle Thother a good yomās body tugged at the hole taylle and sweatte faste but he pulled of not a heare Nowe yf the ignorant souldiours were here thus taught a handful of witte to be moch more worth than a horselode of strength and were contente in battayle that they shulde rule whiche were the wyser they obey that were the stronger howe moche more ought we to be moued with this exāple specyally in the gouernynge of a comon welth in makyng lawes in setlynge mattiers concernynge faythe and relygion fynally in discussynge what thynges maynteyne moste the fauour of god towarde vs and by what meanes a realme may best be kepte in welthynes We loue to be disceyued we ymagyne a certayne common welthe in worde and in outwarde apparance whiche if we baptyse righte and not nycke name it we must nedes cal a comon wo. We think it is very euyll that soo many of vs be poore we thynke it were a good worlde if we were all riche I pray you for a season let it be as we desyre let vs imagine we be al ryche doth it not streight folow I as good as he why goeth he before I behynde I as ryche as he what nedeth me to labour The mayde as prowde as her dame who mylketh the cowe The fermour hauing no more cause to toyle then he that loketh for the rentes who shal tyll the grounde His meny ye say How so why they more then he if they be ryche to What were more to be wayled then suche welth that shuld bryng eyther euery man or the mooste parte of men to extreme confusion ¶ The Romaynes after that they had wonne the citie of the Veiens were at great contention the commons of Rome and many also of the gentylle menne thoughte it very expediente and hyghely profytable that halfe Rome shoulde goo dwelle there alledgyng that many in Rome lacked and that this citie was ryche and of great welthynesse gorgiously buylded and also nigh vnto Rome so that here many of them myght be enryched without any disturbance of them that had possessions in Rome ye and myght also bycause they were so nyghe be at al assemblees all parlyamentes that shulde be kepte in Rome Marke what folowed The senatours in especial those that were wysest in no case wolde assent to this noo they thought it moche better to abyde all perylle then any suche matier shoulde passe theyr handes In so moche that whē this was had in deliberation and hotely disputed the comons were so kendled agaynst the Senatours that it was harde to kepe them from goynge togyther by the eares But what is it that sage and graue persones can not perswade if they be harde of them that vtterly lacke not discretion A fewe of these ancient fathers and estemed senatours here strayte brydled the rage of the people and made them condescende vnto this that all be it outwardely there semed gaynes in departynge and losse in the abydynge at Rome yet they shuld doo better to tary poore than in goynge awaye to make them selfe ryche ¶ A comon welthe is then welthy
that they now being pore spoyle you riche And than must not ye be poore ageyne O lyghtnes of comunes who can say so moche ageynst the but he may seme to haue sayd nothing I am ashamed to reherce the blynde folye that the comunes of Englande haue so ofte runne into There can come no traytour no rebell of so base condicion of so lyttell witte but if he be bolde inoughe to take vppon hym to be their capitayne they are foolyshe ynoughe to folowe hym Howe ofte and whom I praye you and for what causes haue they made their capitaynes Whom can they refuse whan smythes coblers tylers carters and such other gay grekes seme worthy to be theyr gouernours who wyl not be ashamed to see our cronycles in straungers handes they to se suche outragious madnes reigne in vs we to rede such temperancy ciuilitie and obedience to be amonges them I wyll not compare vs to the best gouerned countreys that be I wyll goo to the Barberoust nations that be and see howe our shame encreaseth theyr honestie and good orders layde before our faces ¶ Is there any nation that hath ben more enfamed of barbarous conditions than the Scythes any of lesse ciuilitie than these yet they haue ben euer so true to their princis that there be fewe nations that haue obteyned higher fame by batayle than they haue Theyr concorde and vnytie their faythfulnes toward their kynges made them that they were neuer ouercome They draue Darius that redoubted kyng of the Persians to shamefull flyght They kylled Cyrus and all his hoste Alexander magnus loste bothe a good capitayne at their handes and all the armye that he sente ageynste them They harde of the Romaynes valyantnes but the Romaynes neuer durst sette vppon them what reuerence bare they to theyr kyng whan suche as were any thyng familiar with him were wont at his deathe to cutte of their eares to mangle their noses and faces and many of theym to dye with hym They thought trewe obeysaunce coulde not be shewed neither the loyal hartis knowen but at deth Amonges these the greatest othe that they coude swere by was by the kynges seate he that forsware hym selfe by this was streyghte whypped to deathe ¶ Who wylle not meruayle to see the Aethyops men that neuer harde of goddis lawe doo as they were wonte to do there was no hangeman none to cut of theyr hedes that deserued deth Se theyr obedience laye it with ours if god were no god if honesty had neuer ben harde of myght not shame brynge men from rebellion Se theyr obedience The kynge when he harde of any that was worthy dethe was wont to sende one of his seruantes with a token whiche dyd no more but telle hym the kynges pleasure is you dye This manne of what so euer estate he was without any furder delay went into some secrete corner and there found one waye or other to doo the kynges commaundement They had their prynce in suche honour that if he by any mysfortune loste an eye or by some fal broke a legge al his householde seruantis by their owne accord didde depriue them selfes of that part of theyr bodye in whiche fortune hadde offended theyr kynge thynkynge it moche vnsemely that they shulde not halte whan their kynge halted moche vnmete that they shuld not be content with one eye whan theyr kynge hadde but one They thought it a gret shame if they bare hym not company whan he dyed They toke it for a hyghe honour to haue so glorious an ende as to departe in the felowshyp of a kynge ¶ The Persians thought hym worthy great punyshement that dyd but nease spyt wype his nose or coughe in a kynges presence and are nat they wery of theyr lyues that amonges christen menne ryse agaynste theyr prynce Shal these capitaynes be suffred to lyue that at any tyme shall styre the people to suche outragious ryotte Is it possyble that the people pull them not a pecys and soo shewe both to god and theyr prynce that they now knowe the greatnes of suche an errour and that they muste nedes hate hym that brought them into it God hath euermore well testified that he fauoreth no traytours no rebelles Theyr ende excepte all histories fayle can be no better then their intentes May not the rayne that god sent to part vs and kepe vs from bloodshedynge well shewe that goddis pleasure is we fyght not amonge our selues that god loueth our prince aloweth his lawes and wyll that we be subiecte to theym bothe God wylle not the bondes of nature to be broken the charitie and loue that shoulde be betwene all men moche rather betwene theym that are of one countrey one shire one citie one howse one parētage Nature is forgotten god is not harde al humanitie is troden vnder the foote where as is ciuile dissention Nature teacheth brute beastis to loue them that gaue them life that norished them God saythe Honour thy father and mother Loue thy neyghbour as thy selfe Thus he sayth but he is nothynge harde where as sedition is For what sacryfice can the father offre to god and his countrey more acceptable than to kylle with his owne hādes his sonne now no lenger his sonne being a traytour what act can be more worthy prayse thā the son to slee his owne father in suche case He is none of myne saythe Christe nor worthy to be my seruaunt that can not if iuste cawse require hym so to do forsake his father mother to do me seruyce He is none of myne saythe Englande that canne not hate his father and mother that canne not kyll them bothe sooner than ones consente to my destruction ¶ Damatria a woman of Lacedemon after she harde say that her son had not so fought ageynst the ennemies of his countrey as it besemed one borne in Lacedemon she streyghte vppon his retourne from the warres slewe hym with her owne handis right glad that she had shewed her self sorye to haue ben the mother of suche a son What wolde she haue done what deathe wolde she haue thought to shamful for him if he had risen ageinst his prynce if he had shewed hym selfe open ennemye to his countrey if he hadde intended to pulle downe the lawes of the Lacedemoniens ¶ There be fewe or none that haue red any hystoryes but they knowe what Brutus iudged his sonnes worthy to suffre which by letters intended to call in Tarquinius againe Theyr letters went not furthe they weere intercepted yet the father gaue sentence agaynste his sonnes and commanded them to be tyed at a stake there to be whypte and after to lose theyr heedes ¶ It is more notable that Titus Manlius dyd and moch more perteynynge vnto vs which so oft haue broken our loyall obeysaunce towardes our prince This Titus bad y t none of his souldiours shuld fyght but whan he cōmanded them Genutius Metius oone of his ennemyes prycketh out from his company chalengeth Manlius sonne The
somwhat for his defence Augustus made an ende of his expostulation sayde thus Cinna I gyue the ones ageyne thy lyfe before I gaue the it beinge myn ennemie I giue it nowe to the beinge a traytour and a parricide From this day forthwarde lette frendeshyp begin betwene vs lette vs two contende whyther thou mayste shewe me more pleasure for perdonynge the thy lyfe or I more gladde that I saued the. And thus by and by Cesar began with hym and made hym consul Cinna was from that daye forwarde as true a frende vnto Cesar as one man myght be vnto an other in so moche that he made Cinna his heyre ¶ The kinge our moste gracyous soueraine lorde myghte commemorate his benefyttes towarde all his subiectes I wolde doo it for hym but that I knowe I am farre vnmete to take vppon me the handelynge of soo weighty a mattier His grace woll I doubt not folowe the clemency of Augustus He seeth his noble progenytours haue ofte punished rebelles and done no more but cut awey the branches of sedicion for their tyme. His highnes intendeth to pull aweye the roote He seeth it is not possible to cure this sore which in dede Plato calleth the greattest syckenes that can come to a comune welthe excepte he serche out bothe where it ariseth and what thing moste nourisheth it and then do as phisicions are wont whiche oft tymes laye not their medicines to the parte that is diseased but to that rather from whens the disease first came and is like to come stylle onelesse it be there stopped As for exaumple when the eies be soore first they seke whether the disease grow in the eies or is sent from some other place nighe the eies as from the heed or els some other place further of as the stomake If it be not in the eies prīcipally but cometh either from the heed or from the stomacke they begynne not at the eies but firste pourge the stomacke and so the roote cutte awaye the disease nowe no more maynteyned can in no wyse longe tary behynde It is very true that Zamolsis king of Thrace was wonte to saye Loke sayth he as the eies can not be clensed excepte ye fyrste clense the heed neyther the heed without ye pourge the hole body euen so neither the bodye without the mynde be firste netted This kynge sawe it lytell auayled to rydde the body of noughty humours oneles also a man so brydell his appetyte that afterwarde he can forbeare suche thinges as dydde hurte hym before and wyll do ageyne excepte he moderate his affectiōs The bote man I thinke lacketh moche wyt and loseth moche labour that standeth all daye with a dis she ladinge out water that nedes must come in agayne oneles the bote be amended The faut is in the breache of the bote and not in the water Surely if it were any thing lyke to be brought to passe it shulde be moche better to fynde a waye that none might haue wylle to rebell then to trusse vp rebellious people Wolde god some high wytte some man borne to do suche good for his countrey coulde aswel bryng this to passe as I thinke it myght nowe very lyghtly be done For if euer the cause of rebellion may vtterly be taken awaye we haue a prynce god wyll we maye haue his grace longe we haue a prynce that sayth the tyme is now Al men ought to endeuour them selfe here to occupie theyr wyttes that suche a thynge myght take effecte I for my parte wylle do what I can which I know is very lyttell how be it if I do it not so well as my desyre is I truste good intent shall soo make myne excuse that loue of my countrey shall not moche hurte me ¶ Some say pouertie is the cause that men come to be thenes murderers rebelles But I thynke nothynge so For I knowe dyuers realmes where pouertie raygneth moche more than in Englande yet rebels there be none The rote is lower dygge deper ye maye perchaunce fynde it Education euyll education is a greatte cause of these and all other myschefes that growe in a comune wel the. For where so many lacke honest occupatiōs wherby al men that can not otherwise lyue by their landes ought to maynteyne them selues howe canne we lacke any kynd of mischief No man is borne a craftis mā youth must be beter brought vp or euer the olde lyue welthely The lacke the lacke of honest craftes and the habundauncie of ydlenes all be it they be not the hole cause of sedicyon yet as they brede theues murderers and beggers so not a lytle they prouoke men or thynges lyke men to rebellion There is a parte in man whiche is named the mynde that is of this nature yf it be galyarde and lusty either to do moche good or cōtrary to do moche hurt If this lacke good institutiō if this be not handeled and ordered as it shulde be men maye lacke sedition but they can not lacke a thynge within them to styre them to sedition This must be so taught that there be no rebellion within our selfes we muste conquere our lustes and compell the appetites to obeye all suche statutes as reason and honestie shall thynke worthye to be enacted Euery man some wyll say can not clyme to suche perfection Euery man can not be kept at skole I graunt But yet I thynke al y e lordes sonnes and also the better parte of gentlemen myght be as well brought vp as it is necessary they be if they had suche teachers as oughte to instructe the nobles of a realme These wel brought vp I wold nothynge doubte but eyther we shulde be welthier than we be or els moche better content with that that god shoulde sende vs all be it we had moche lesse then nowe we haue I longe haue supposed that as the bryngyng vp of y e nobles is the saulfegarde of a comune welthe so theyr euill education is the ruyne therof For as noble men be so theyr seruantes are The mayster gyuen to ryot the seruant must nedes thynke that there is no thriuyng for hym excepte he shewe hym selfe a ruffler So that though the seruaunt be good of hym selfe yet to wynne the fauour of his mayster he muste coūterfaite their condicions that his maister most lyketh Thus in vsynge theym a monethe or two he maketh theym his owne He nowe dissembleth no lenger he is as they be whom he hath longe folowed I must nedes saye more if the nobles be euyl taught in poyntes concernyng religion as if they be popyshe to put one exaumple for many Howe can theyr seruauntes chose but be so to Howe can theyr tenantes whiche muste haue theyr lordes fauour be of a nother religion then theyr lorde is Howe can they agre with their neighbours if they bothe be not of one faythe and one beleue The kynges grace shall neuer haue true subiectes that do not beleue as his grace doth For howe can they loue hym as
shall haue lerned wel the fotynge of it Religion toke a great falle honestie was sore wounded that daye that richesse entred into theyr hartes handes I wolde say whom Christ left for to declare bothe in worde and lyfe what rewarde they were sure of that here for his sake wolde refuse rychesse It is noo meruayle if a tapster or a wyne drawer recken a peny or two more than his duetie whan they see religious menne soo imbrace money Lette the poore laye people here them say and lye not God is our portion God is our lādes Our conuersation is in heuen They wyll vndoutedly take pouertie for noo suche thynge that they shulde sooner consent to the disturbaunce of theyr countreye then to be poore I haue longe sought and can in maner fynde no cause of our pouertie but the fertilite and welthynes of our countrey Other men that are borne in bare countreys and can not lyue onles they moche trauayle the world auoyde myserie by their great labour and toyle In Englande the grounde almoste nourisheth vs alone It is an incredible thynge to see howe sore men of other nations labour howe moch we play howe lytle they consume on their belyes howe moche we deuoure howe poore they be and how welthy we are welthy I saye in comparison of them God hath gyuen vs to good a countrey we maye here to many of vs lyue ydle In many places of Germany people are fayne to set theyr trees that they vse for theyr fewel They sowe corne on mountaynes where neyther horse nor plowe can come They plowe with mattockes and harrowe with spades Howe moche grounde is lost in England Howe moche corne myght we carie into other coūtreyes if we wolde vse the commodities of our realme Howe manye hethes be there that wolde beare other frutis than shrubbes brakes bromes and ferne if they were welle handeled howe many cities are decayed howe many townes that are nowe hamlettis quyte downe that wolde stande if the thirde parte of Englande dyd not lyue idelly Townes wolde vp ageyne yf craftes were set vp There is fewe nations but many be ydell yet I thinke there is not two of the greattest nations in christendome that hath halfe so many that liue without craftes as lytle England hath In Frāce ye shal see many men drawe cartis about the citie laden with fagottes and suche other small wode In Italy there is no man so ryche but he trauaileth in marchandise Dukes that are there in kynges places occupye marchādyse And yet are fain to kepe small howses I wyll not compare our comynaltie with theirs I wyl not handel this place as I mighte This I am sure we that haue bene there haue sayde ones a weke God saue the welthy comynaltie of England I wyl not cōpare our kepyng of houses with theirs where frogges be a dayntie dysshe snayles a morsell for a lady where musshrumpes stande for the seconde course Ye wolde thynke it a madde syght to see a quarter of a goose runne rounde for burnynge the reste powdered and kepte in stoore for holydays I am assured the fare in Venys is as good as is in the moste partes of Italie Venys is as bygge or very lyttell lesse than London with the suburbes yet is there more fleshe spent in two or thre monethes in London than is there in a yere We haue to many sawces to many showynge hornes to drawe in meate we knowe full lytel what we do that make as though we cared not who ruled in Englande If a foreyne prince hadde the gouernynge of vs a whyle thynke you we shulde not be farre dysceyued if we loked to lyue as we nowe lyue to do as we nowe do Thynke you Daces wold not come in ye knowe not what daces be no dates I warrant you I pray god ye neuer knowe them This I am sure as longe as oure mooste gracyouse prince kynge HENRY the. VIII reygnethe ouer vs whiche I praye god it be vntylle his heires be of age we shall nede feare no daces They began properly to sparse pretye rumours in the North that no man shulde eate whyte breade no man eate pygge gose or capon without he agreed before with the kynge They well bothe declared their malyce and howe lytell they had to lay againste the kynges grace whiche were compelled shamefully to fayne suche abhomynable lyes ageynst his highnes The kyng entendeth no suche thynge Wolde god bothe his grace wolde goo about to gette vs a better name in straunge countreys and we also content our selfes to haue it we be called I wote where englishe bealyes Who can not but be sorie to se a man bye so dere so many hurtes as come of to moch meate Who knoweth not that the englyshe swette no olde sycknes and twenty other diseases more come euery day of inordinate fedynge Memorye wytte ye the verye mynde whiche is immortall almoste is slayn with surfettis The eyes chaunge their colour where they shulde be drye they falle to droppynge theyr syght departeth The eares waxe dull of herynge to be shorte all the senses be drowned with drinke and cloyed with to moche fedyng where as the belye is greatter than all the body besyde where the bealy raigneth dothe not all honeste craftes all good inuentions want what countrey hath inuēted fewer thynges than Englande Be our wittes worse than other mens be No no there is no faut but ours that wyll haue them no better Is it not a shame that we can not be as discrete as wyse as the brute beastes are Doo they drynke but whan they are a thurste Do they eate but when they be hungrye when dyd any man see a beast dye of a surfette Men are some tyme in the faute that bestes dye of drynkyng they being to hote after their labour Put a beast at lybertie lette hym be at his owne fedynge it wyll be long or he hurt hym selfe eyther by eatyng or drinking Amonges vs what syckenes kylleth so many as meate and drynke what pestylēce ryddeth more than sustenance Besydes y t for the more part pestilēce cometh of outragious dyet and doth lytel hurt where mē can moderate their mouthes Bibbers wil be offēded with hym that shal go about to make them lyue better to make them lyue longer to make them rycher to tourne theyr drynkyng money into stuffe of house holde They enuye the duchemen that drynke deper than they why doo they not enuye the moyles aswell that drynke as moche as duchemenne and yet fall not vnder the maunger as they do vnder the bourde We haue lost bothe the good thynges that antiquitie vsed and chaunged also the names of theym that we haue He is called a louer that doth al he may to make an honest womā naught If her louer entend to take away her honestie her good name what shall he do that hateth her Euen so we call that good fare that doth vs mooste hurt and that euyl chere that doth vs most good I thynke he