Page:A Supplication for the Beggars.djvu/31

S. Fish. 1529 abill to helpe theire prince that be after this facion yerely polled? whate good christen people can be abill to socoure vs pore lepres blinde sore, and lame, that be thus yerely oppressed? Is it any merueille that youre people so compleine of pouertie? Is it any merueile that the taxes fiftenes and subsidies that your grace most tenderly of great compassion hath taken emong your people to defend theim from the thretened ruine of theire comon welth haue bin so sloughtfully, ye [a] painfully leuied? Seing that almost the vtmost peny that mought haue bin leuied hath ben gathered bifore yerely by this rauinous cruell and insatiabill generacion The danes nether the saxons yn the time of the auncient Britons shulde neuer haue ben abill to haue brought theire armies from so farre hither ynto your lond to haue conquered it if they had had at that time suche a sort of idell glotons to finde at home. The nobill king Arthur had neuer ben abill to haue caried his armie to the fote of the mountaines to resist the coming downe of lucius the Emperoure if suche yerely exaction had ben taken of his people. The grekes had neuer ben abill to haue so long continued at the siege of Troie if they had had at home suche an idell sort of cormorauntes to finde. The auncient Romains had neuer ben abil to haue put all the hole worlde vnder theyre obeisaunce if theyre people had byn thus yerely oppressed. The Turke nowe yn youre tyme shulde neuer be abill to get so moche grounde of cristendome if he had yn his empire suche a sort of locustes to deuoure his substance. Ley then these sommes to the forseid therd part of the possessions of the realme that ye may se whether it drawe nighe vnto the half of the hole substaunce of the realme or not, So shall ye finde that it draweth ferre aboue. Nowe let vs then compare the nombre of this vnkind idell sort vnto the nombre of the laye people and we shall se whether it be indifferently shifted or not that they shuld haue half.

Compare theim to the nombre of men, so are they not the. C. person. Compare theim to men wimen and children, then are they not the. CCCC. parson yn nombre. One part therfore yn foure hundreth partes deuided were to moche for theim except they did laboure. whate an vnequal burthen is it that they haue half with the multitude and are not the. CCCC. parson of theire nombre? whate tongue is abill to tell that euer there was eny comon welth so sore oppressed sins the worlde rirst began?