But Jack was not Polish scum of the earth, barefoot and chained to the land, or even French scum of the earth, in wooden clogs and in thrall to the priest and the tax-farmer, but English scum of the earth in good boots, equipped with certain God-given rights that were {as rumor had it} written down in a Charter somewhere, and armed with a loaded gun.
( Neal Stephenson )
[ The Baroque Cycle: ]
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