In Henry VI Part Two, Jack Cade and his mob of Kentish peasants capture Lord Say, the Lord High Treasurer of England, for whom they held an intense hatred because they had been convinced by misinformation that Lord Say was to blame for the loss of English territories in France. And so, directed by Jack Cade, the demagogue who wants to be king, they put him on trial. Cade accuses Lord Say of a catalogue of supposed crimes, among them:
… Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm in erecting a grammar school; and whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used, and, contrary to the king, his crown and dignity, thou hast built a paper-mill. It will be proved to thy face that thouhast men about thee that usually talk of a noun and a verb, and such abominable words as no Christian ear can endure to hear. …
When Lord Say attempts to address the mob he only does himself more harm:
Say: Nothing but this; ’tis ‘bona terra, mala gens.’
Cade: Away with him, away with him! he speaks Latin.
I am reminded of recent events in the United States. Donald Trump makes a very good Jack Cade, and Cade’s charges against Lord Say both display and incite the ignorance and unreason of their followers.