ore 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 first began?

** And whate do al these gredy sort of sturdy idell holy theues with these
yerely exactions that they take of the people? Truely nothing but exempt
theim silues from th[e] obedience of your grace. Nothing but translate all
rule power lordishippe auctorite obedience and dignite from your grace
vnto theim. Nothing but that all your subiectes shulde fall ynto
disobedience and rebellion ageinst your grace and be vnder theim. As they
did vnto your nobill predecessour king Iohn: whiche forbicause that he
wolde haue punisshed certeyn traytours that had conspired with the frenche
king to