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¶A Ruful complaynt of the publyke weale to Englande. | |
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¶ Publyke_weale speaketh |
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AH moste noble realme of England | |
Thy state I sore lamente | |
Now knowing how thou dost stand | |
It makes my hart dolente | |
5 | Thou hast ben the worthyest lande |
That euer god / hath wrought | |
Thou art not so I vnderstande | |
Into myserye arte thou brought | |
The cronacles of the / doth saye | |
10 | Whych knew the in thy youthe |
That of thy welth thou dost decaye | |
And hath of the moche ruthe | |
In thy fyrst age / it was not so | |
Thy force then was well knowen | |
15 | For thy strong arme gaue suche a bloo |
To the worlde thy fayme was blowen | |
Now be thy people wythouten harte | |
To se the in thys case | |
Beynge so weake / to take thy parte | |
20 | Straungers / to come alas |
Let me se / what is the cause | |
That thou art in thys dystresse | |
sig: [A2] | |
Was euer realme / had better lawes | |
Or people in more Quietenes | |
25 | Haste not thou / the godlyest kynge |
That euer ruled publyke weale | |
The worthiest gouernour in euery-thynge | |
And the most mercyfullyst counsayle | |
Is not goddes worde devulgated | |
30 | And in all partes now knowen |
That al people / may be learned | |
To lyue and know theyr owne | |
That therby loue and amytye | |
May dwell in euery place | |
35 | Iustyce peace and equytie |
Shulde all mens hart enbrace | |
Why then art thou altered | |
And fallen from thyne estate | |
Declare me howe thou art decayed | |
40 | And brought vnto thys rate. |
¶ England aunswereth. |
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Alas I am so sore oppreste | |
Wyth sorowe griefe and payne | |
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That wythout teares can be expreste | |
The wronge whych I sustayne | |
45 | What natural wold not wepe |
To se my carefull state | |
My people they be turned to s[h]epe shepe] slepe 1550 | |
And my townes they be desolate | |
My groundes they be imparked | |
50 | Corne-feldes for beastes foode |
Poore by the ryche / are so pynched | |
That of my ground / they take no good. | |
For all that / is lytle ynoughe | |
For onely the ryche mans nead | |
55 | To make pasture / awaye wyth ploughe |
That they maye cattel fead | |
And commens of auncient tyme | |
They make [Seu]erall landes Seuerall] Generall 1550 | |
And close it in / wyth dyche and lyne | |
60 | That poore men wringe theyr handes |
Hauyng not to feade hys kowe | |
Hys horse nether hys shepe | |
Nor no ground / to reare hys sowe | |
Or other cattell vpon to kepe | |
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65 | Thus the multitude be decayed |
The stronge deuoure the weake | |
The poore beynge thys dysmayed | |
Dare not for theyr own speake | |
My welth is turned / to wretchednes | |
70 | Plenteth is pynched to spare |
My strength is turned to weakenes | |
My cytyes be voyde and bare. | |
My townes and castels in Ruyne | |
My feldes enclosed they be | |
75 | The plowes now they sowe so thynne |
That ruth it is for to see | |
The ryche casteth out theyr nette | |
And taketh all that comes | |
The neady walke in the strete | |
80 | And begge about for cromes. |
Suche offices / as heretofore | |
Apparteyned / to the yomans ryght | |
Be taken awaye they get no more | |
And geuen to Lorde or knyght | |
85 | Marchauntes / they become lordes |
And Lordes vseth / marchaundyse | |
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A lorde a sheppard / nothyng accordes | |
Or a graysyer / that is new gyse | |
Ryche men lyue by vserye | |
90 | Craftes-men / by dysceate |
And vyttelers / by subtiltye | |
Poore mens goodes to get | |
What thyng is it / that can fall | |
But it commeth vnto theyr handes | |
95 | They be so gready / they katch vp all |
Whether it be house or landes | |
And all my other comodities | |
As leather / wolle / and leade | |
Tallow / tyn / and clothes | |
100 | Be from the commons fleade |
And caryed into straunge landes | |
Other regyons for to enryche | |
So that my people haue Idle handes | |
And for neade fall in the dyche. | |
105 | For euery man seaketh his owne |
And for others doth not care | |
That he may lyue in welth alone | |
Yea though other be neuer so bare | |
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Thus is the multytude | |
110 | Of theyr lyuynges destytute |
And so decayeth my fortytude | |
Whych made my enemyes mewte | |
Al_though goddes word be exhybyt | |
Abrode in all my lande | |
115 | Yet fewe or none applye ther wytte |
Gods wyll to vnderstande | |
But followeth theyr olde entent | |
And scrache vp all they can | |
Pluckynge from the innocent | |
120 | To make theym a ryche man |
Thus pouertie is vsed god wote | |
That petye it is to beholde | |
They byte on hym lyke the knate | |
Tyll he be naked for colde | |
125 | Now haue I tolde the / the cause why |
That my welth is so sore worne | |
That yf ther be / found no remedy | |
They shall rew it / not yet borne. | |
¶Two fautes escaped by the prynter, where ye rede slepe, rede shepe, and where ye rede general, rede seueral | |
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¶ Publyke_weale answereth |
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Wold it not make / any hart breake | |
130 | Thys to here of Englandes fall |
Some good man / for the commons speake | |
That ryche men marre not all. | |
God saue Edward our kyng | |
And hys counsellers so worthye | |
135 | And send theym grace / to help thys thinge |
For the weale of the communaltye | |
¶Imprinted at London By Thomas_Raynald. |