The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London · chunk 35 of 41
Wilson, Robert · published 1590 · first performed or written 1588 [1588-1590] (Annals) moral · Queen Elizabeth's Men (?) T6 Money, debt and credit typicality 0.81 · 509 words
Marked words are the most distinguishing words of T6: money, master, pound, law, lawyer, chain, gentleman, gold, pay, pray.
Neither do I: sirrah, your writing is so intricate, that you must speak your mind, otherwise, we shall not know your meaning. You sue for three things here, and what be they tell them: Cannot you three tell, and the suit to you three? I am glad a simple fellow yet, can go beyond you three great Lords of London. Why my suit, look ye, is such a suit, as you are bound in honour to hear, for it is for the puppet like wealth, I would have no new orders, nor new sciences set up in the city, whereof I am a poor freeman, and please ye, as ye may read in my bill there, simplicity freeman. But my Lords, I would have three old trades, which are not for the common wealth, put down. And after all this circumstance, sir what be they? they be not three what lack yees, as what do ye lack, fine lockram, fine Canvas, or fine Holland cloth: or what lack ye, fine Ballads, fine Sonnets: or what lack ye, a purse or a glass, or a pair of fine knives: but they be three, have ye any's, which methinks are neither sciences nor occupations, and if they be trades, they are very malapert trades, and more than reason. As how sir? Name them. will you banish them as readily as I can name them? the first is, have ye any old iron, old male, or old harness? And what fault find ye with this? What fault? I promise ye a great fault, what have you or any man else to do to ask me if I have any old iron? What if I have, or what if I have not? Why should you be so saucy to ask? Why fool, 'tis for thy good to give thee money for that, that might lie and rust by thee. No my Lord, no. I may not call you fool: it is to mark the houses where such stuff is, that against rebels rise, there is harness and weapon ready for them in such and such houses, and what then? the rusty weapon doth wound past surgery, and kills the queens good subjects: & the rest of the old trash will make them guns too, so it is good luck to find old iron, but 'tis nought to keep it, and the trade is crafty, and now my L. policy, I speak to you, 'twere well to put it down. Wisely said, which is your second? Is that as perilous? Yea, and worse: It is, have ye any ends of gold and silver? this is a perilous trade, covetous, and a ticement to murder, for, mark ye, If they that ask this should be evil given, as Gods forbad, they see who hath this gold and silver, may not they come in the night break in at their houses, and cut their throats for it? I tell ye, gold and silver hath caused as much mischief to be done as that, down with it.
nodes 1577–1589 (positions in the processed text, not lines of the printed book) · chunk 35 of 41 in this edition
Length
509 words · 643 tokens
Topic (seed 42)
T6 — Money, debt and creditcross-work theme (confirmed, in the genre comparison) · typicality 0.815 (cosine to the topic centroid)
Other seeds
seed 43: unassigned · seed 44: unassigned — topic numbers are assigned independently in each run; equal or different numbers say nothing by themselves
Original spelling (EEBO-TCP, unregularized)
Neither doe I: sirra, your writing is so intricate, that you must speake your mind, otherwise, we shall not know your meaning. You sue for three things here, and what be they tell them: Cannot you thrée tell, and the suit to you thrée? I am glad a simple fellow yet, can go beyond you three greate Lordes of London. Why my suite, looke yee, is such a suite, as you are bound in honor to heare, for it is for the puppet like wealth, I would haue no new orders, nor new sciences set vp in the citie, whereof I am a poore fréeman, and please ye, as ye may read in my bil ther, simplicity fréeman. But my Lords, I would haue three old trades, which are not for the common wealth, put downe. And after all this circumstance, sir what be they? they be not thrée what lacke yees, as what do yee lacke, fine Lockerome, fine Canuas, or fine Holland cloath: or what lacke ye, fine Ballades, fine Sonets: or what lacke ye, a purse or a glasse, or a paire of fine kniues: but they be three, haue ye anies, which mee thinks are neither sciences nor occupations, and if they be trades, they are very malapert trades, and more than reason. As how sir? Name them. Wil you banish them as readily as I can name them? the first is, hue ye any old yron, old male, or old harnis? And what fault find ye with this? What fault? I promise ye a great fault, what haue you or any man els to doo to aske me if I haue any old yron? What if I haue, or what if I haue not? Why should you be so saucie to aske? Why foole, tis for thy good to giue thée money for that, that might lie and rust by thée. No my Lord, no. I may not call you foole: it is to marke the houses where such stuffe is, that against rebels rise, there is harneis and weapon ready for them in such and such houses, and what then? the rustie weapon doth wound past surgerie, and kils the Quéens good subiects: & the rest of the old trash wil make them guns too, so it is good luck to find old yron, but tis naught to keep it, and the trade is crafty, and now my L. pollicy, I speak to you, t'were wel to put it downe. Wisely said, which is your second? Is that as perillous? Yea, and worse: It is, haue ye any ends of gold and silue? this is a perilous trade, couetous, and a ticement to murther, for, marke ye, If they that aske this should be euill giuen, as Gods forbod▪ they sée who hath this gold and siluer, may not they come in the night breake in at their houses, and cut their throates for it? I tell ye, gold and siluer hath caused as much mischiefe to be done as that, down with it.