SIR THOMAS MORE

Act Ad Scene 2D

John Lincoln (a broker), Doll, Betts, [Sherwin (a goldsmith),] and prentices armed# [Thomas More (sheriff of the City of London), the other sheriff, Sir Thomas Palmer, Sir Roger Cholmeley, and a serjeant-at-arms stand aloof ]
l1l	Lincoln	(to the prentices)
		 Peace, hear me! He that will
l2l		not see a red herring at a Harry groat, butter at eleven
l3l		pence a pound, meal at nine shillings a bushel, and
l4l		beef at four nobles a stone, list to me.
l5l	Other	It will come to that pass if strangers be suffered.
l6l		Mark him.
l7l	Lincoln	Our country is a great eating country# argo,
l8l		they eat more in our country than they do in their
l9l		own.
l10l	Other	By a halfpenny loaf a day, troy weight.
l11l	Lincoln	They bring in strange roots, which is merely to
l12l		the undoing of poor prentices, for what’s a sorry parsnip
l13l		to a good heart?
l14l	Other	Trash, trash. They breed sore eyes, and ’tis enough
l15l		to infect the city with the palsy.
l16l	Lincoln	Nay, it has infected it with the palsy, for these
l17l		bastards of dung—as you know, they grow in dung—
l18l		have infected us, and it is our infection will make the
l19l		city shake, which partly comes through the eating of
l20l		parsnips.
l21l	Other	True, and pumpions together.
l22l	Serjeant	(coming forward)
		 What say you to the mercy of the King?
l23l		Do you refuse it?
l24l	Lincoln	 You would have us upon th’ hip, would you?
l25l		No, marry, do we not. We accept of the King’s mercy#
l26l		but we will show no mercy upon the strangers.
l27l	Serjeant	 You are the simplest things
l28l		That ever stood in such a question.
l29l	Lincoln	 How say you now? Prentices “simple”?
		(To the)
l30l		prentices) Down with him!
l31l	All	Prentices simple! Prentices simple!
		(Enter the Lord Mayor, the Earl of Surrey, and the Earl of Shrewsbury)
l32l	[Sheriff]	(to the prentices)
		 Hold in the King’s name! Hold!
	Surrey	
		(to the prentices)
		 Friends, masters, countrymen—
l33l	Mayor	(to the prentices)
		 Peace ho, peace! I charge you, keep the peace!
l34l	Shrewsbury	(to the prentices)
		 My masters, countrymen—
l35l	[Sherwin]	 The noble Earl of Shrewsbury, let’s hear him.
l36l	Betts	We’ll hear the Earl of Surrey.
l37l	Lincoln	The Earl of Shrewsbury.
l38l	Betts	We’ll hear both.
l39l	All	Both, both, both, both!
l40l	Lincoln	Peace, I say peace! Are you men of wisdom, or
l41l		what are you?
l42l	Surrey	 What you will have them, but not men of wisdom.
l43l	[Some]	 We’ll not hear my Lord of Surrey.
l44l	[Others]	No, no, no, no, no! Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury!
l45l	More	(to the nobles and officers)
		 Whiles they are o’er the bank of their obedience,
l46l		Thus will they bear down all things.
l47l	Lincoln	(to the prentices)
		 Sheriff More speaks. Shall we
l48l		hear Sheriff More speak?
l49l	Doll	Let’s hear him. A keeps a plentiful shrievaltry, and
l50l		a made my brother Arthur Watchins Sergeant Safe’s
l51l		yeoman. Let’s hear Sheriff More.
l52l	All	Sheriff More, More, More, Sheriff More!
l53l	More	 Even by the rule you have among yourselves,
l54l		Command still audience.
l55l	Some	 Surrey, Surrey!
l56l	Others	More, More!
l57l	Lincoln And Betts	Peace, peace, silence, peace!
l58l	More	 You that have voice and credit with the number,
l59l		Command them to a stillness.
l60l	Lincoln	 A plague on them! They will not hold their
l61l		peace. The devil cannot rule them.
l62l	More	 Then what a rough and riotous charge have you,
l63l		To lead those that the devil cannot rule.
l64l		(To the prentices)
		 Good masters, hear me speak.
l65l	Doll	 Ay, by th’ mass, will we. More, thou’rt a good
l66l		housekeeper, and I thank thy good worship for my
l67l		brother Arthur Watchins.
l68l	All	Peace, peace!
l69l	More	 Look, what you do offend you cry upon,
l70l		That is the peace. Not one of you here present,
l71l		Had there such fellows lived when you were babes
l72l		That could have topped the peace as now you would,
l73l		The peace wherein you have till now grown up
l74l		Had been ta’en from you, and the bloody times
l75l		Could not have brought you to the state of men.
l76l		Alas, poor things, what is it you have got,
l77l		Although we grant you get the thing you seek?
l78l	Betts	 Marry, the removing of the strangers, which cannot
l79l		choose but much advantage the poor handicrafts of the
l80l		city.
l81l	More	 Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise
l82l		Hath chid down all the majesty of England.
l83l		Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,
l84l		Their babies at their backs, with their poor luggage
l85l		Plodding to th’ ports and coasts for transportation,
l86l		And that you sit as kings in your desires,
l87l		Authority quite silenced by your brawl
l88l		And you in ruff of your opinions clothed:
l89l		What had you got? I’ll tell you. You had taught
l90l		How insolence and strong hand should prevail,
l91l		How order should be quelled—and by this pattern
l92l		Not one of you should live an agèd man,
l93l		For other ruffians as their fancies wrought
l94l		With selfsame hand, self reasons, and self right
l95l		Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes
l96l		Would feed on one another.
l97l	Doll	 Before God, that’s as true as the gospel.
l98l	Betts	Nay, this’ a sound fellow, I tell you. Let’s mark
l99l		him.
l100l	More	 Let me set up before your thoughts, good friends,
l101l		One supposition, which if you will mark
l102l		You shall perceive how horrible a shape
l103l		Your innovation bears. First, ’tis a sin
l104l		Which oft th’ apostle did forewarn us of,
l105l		Urging obedience to authority#
l106l		And ’twere no error if I told you all
l107l		You were in arms ’gainst God.
l108l	All	 Marry, God forbid that!
l109l	More	 Nay, certainly you are.
l110l		For to the King God hath his office lent
l111l		Of dread, of justice, power and command,
l112l		Hath bid him rule and willed you to obey#
l113l		And to add ampler majesty to this,
l114l		He hath not only lent the King his figure,
l115l		His throne and sword, but given him his own name,
l116l		Calls him a god on earth. What do you then,
l117l		Rising ’gainst him that God himself installs,
l118l		But rise ’gainst God? What do you to your souls
l119l		In doing this? O desperate as you are,
l120l		Wash your foul minds with tears, and those same hands
l121l		That you like rebels lift against the peace
l122l		Lift up for peace# and your unreverent knees,
l123l		Make them your feet. To kneel to be forgiven
l124l		Is safer wars than ever you can make,
l125l		Whose discipline is riot.
l126l		In, in, to your obedience! Why, even your hurly
l127l		Cannot proceed but by obedience.
l128l		What rebel captain,
l129l		As mut’nies are incident, by his name
l130l		Can still the rout? Who will obey a traitor?
l131l		Or how can well that proclamation sound,
l132l		When there is no addition but “a rebel”
l133l		To qualify a rebel? You’ll put down strangers,
l134l		Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses,
l135l		And lead the majesty of law in lyam
l136l		To slip him like a hound—alas, alas!
l137l		Say now the King,
l138l		As he is clement if th’ offender mourn,
l139l		Should so much come too short of your great trespass
l140l		As but to banish you: whither would you go?
l141l		What country, by the nature of your error,
l142l		Should give you harbour? Go you to France or Flanders,
l143l		To any German province, Spain or Portugal,
l144l		Nay, anywhere that not adheres to England—
l145l		Why, you must needs be strangers. Would you be pleased
l146l		To find a nation of such barbarous temper
l147l		That breaking out in hideous violence
l148l		Would not afford you an abode on earth,
l149l		Whet their detested knives against your throats,
l150l		Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God
l151l		Owed not nor made not you, nor that the elements
l152l		Were not all appropriate to your comforts
l153l		But chartered unto them, what would you think
l154l		To be thus used? This is the strangers’ case,
l155l		And this your mountainish inhumanity.
l156l	[One]	(to the others)
		 Faith, a says true. Let’s do as we may
l157l		be done by.
l158l	[Another]	(to More)
		 We’ll be ruled by you, Master More,
l159l		if you’ll stand our friend to procure our pardon.
l160l	More	 Submit you to these noble gentlemen,
l161l		Entreat their mediation to the King,
l162l		Give up yourself to form, obey the magistrate,
l163l		And there’s no doubt but mercy may be found,
l164l		If you so seek it.