The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

Wise. Thus you have often said before. But now we are in discourse of this, give me leave a little to go on. We have a great many people in the Country too that live all their days in the practice, and so under the guilt of Extortion: people, alas! that think scorn to be so accounted. As for Example:¹ There is a poor body that dwells, we will suppose, so many miles from the Market; and this man wants a Bushel of Grist, a pound of Butter, or a Cheese for himself, his wife and poor children: ⟨p. 213⟩But dwelling so far from the Market, if he goes thither, he shall lose his days work, which will be eight pence or ten pence damage to him, and that is something to a poor man. So he goeth to one of his Masters or Dames for what he wanteth, and asks them to help him with such a thing: Yes, say they, you may have it; but withal they will give him a gripe, perhaps make him pay as much (or more) for it at home, as they can get when they have carried it five miles to a Market, yea and that too for the Refuse of their Commodity. But in this the Women are especially faulty, in the sale of their Butter and Cheese, &c. Now this is a kind of Extortion, it is a making a prey of the necessity of the poor, it is a grinding of their faces, a buying and selling of them. But above all, your Hucksters, ^*that buy up the poor mans Victuals by whole-sale, and sell it to him again for unreasonable gains, by retail, and as we call it, by piecemeal; they are got into a way, ⟨p. 214⟩after a stinging rate, to play their game upon such by Extortion: I mean such who buy up Butter, Cheese, Eggs, Bacon, &c. by whole sale, and sell it again (as they call it) by penny worths, two penny worths, a half penny worth, or the like, to the poor, all the week after the market is past. These, though I will not condemn them all, do, many of them, bite and pinch the poor by this kind of evil dealing.³ These destroy the poor because he is poor, and that is a grievous sin. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. Therefore he saith again, Rob not the poor because he is poor, neither oppress the afflicted in the gate; for the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of them that spoil them. Oh that he that gripeth and grindeth the face of the poor, would take notice of these two Scriptures!