Oliver Cromwell Speech – Dissolution of the Long Parliament

Dissolution of the Long Parliament by Oliver Cromwell given to the House of Commons, 20 April 1653.

“It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonoured by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would, like Esau, sell your country for a mess of pottage, and, like Judas, betray your God for a few pieces of money.
Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess? Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter’d your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth?

Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil’d this sacred place, and turn’d the Lord’s temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress’d, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors.

In the name of God, go!”

Dickiebo; Oh!!!!!! How we wish!

Update; From dv:-

Ummm … you have a few minor facts wrong. One: Cromwell did not lead the Parliamentary forces. When the New Model Army was formed, Lord Fairfax was given command, and Cromwell was Lieutenant General. Also, while yes, the English Civil War could have been described as the middle class vs the nobility, the fact is that there were as many high nobles on the side of Parliament as there were among the King’s forces. Fairfax, I believe, was Earl of something, as such, second only to a Duke. Fairfax was the real hero, always true to Parliament, but unfortunately, the war had killed off so many good men, both noble and commoner who fought for Parliament, that Fairfax basically bowed out of politics and government, allowing Cromwell, a man with little education, to become Lord Protector. Cromwell had been a farmer with a title basically, a soldier whose only real skills were leading armies to kill people. John Pym, leader of the House of Commons, did much, much more for Parliament’s cause than Cromwell, the idiot uneducated goon. As for Fairfax, I think he basically became so depressed by the years of war and bloodshed, that he just couldn’t take any more. As for the Rump Parliament speech, it doesn’t strike me as particularly eloquent. What are you going to do? The only thing we can do is to vote. But we might also now have reason to impeach that bastard. So, bottom line: quit your gd bellyachin’ about who’s leading our cause in Congress. Get behind all of them, quit your gd bickering about who’s a liberal and who’s not. A liberal Republican is a thousand times better than at gd communist.