"
[2] Neither "silent" nor "garrulous."
The bread throughout the land is made of such grain as the soil
yieldeth; nevertheless the gentility commonly provide themselves
sufficiently of wheat for their own tables, whilst their household and
poor neighbours in some shires are forced to content themselves with
rye, or barley, yea, and in time of dearth, many with bread made
either of beans, peas, of oats, or of altogether and some acorns
among, of which scourge the poorest do soonest taste, sith they are
least able to provide themselves of better. I will not say that this
extremity is oft so well to be seen in time of plenty as of dearth,
but, if I should, I could easily bring my trial. For, albeit that
there be much more ground eared now almost in every place than hath
been of late years, yet such a price of corn continueth in each town
and market without any just cause (except it be that landlords do get
licences to carry corn out of the land only to keep up the prices for
their own private gains and ruin of the commonwealth), that the
artificer and poor labouring man is not able to reach unto it, but is
driven to content himself with horse corn--I mean beans, peas, oats,
tares, and lentils: and therefore it is a true proverb, and never so
well verified as now, that "Hunger setteth his first foot into the
horse-manger.
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