Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	king_n	power_n	will_n	7,770	5	6.4590	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96697	A new-yeers gift for the Parliament and Armie: shewing what the kingly power is; and that the cause of those that they call Diggers is the life and marrow of that cause the Parliament hath declared for, and the Army fought for; the perfecting of which work, will prove England to be the first of nations, of the tenth part of the city Babylon, that fals off from the Beast first, and that sets the Crown upon Christs head, to govern the world in righteousness: / by Jerrard Winstanley a lover of Englands freedom and peace.	Winstanley, Gerrard, b. 1609.	1650 (1650)	Wing W3050; Thomason E587_6; ESTC R206278	36,076	51

steal any mans proper goods as Sheep Geese Pigs as they say let such be made a spectacle to all the world For my part I own no such doing neither do I know any such thing by any of the Diggers Likewise they report that we Diggers hold women to be common and live in that bestialnesse For my part I declare against it I own this to be a truth That the earth ought to be a common Treasury to all but as for women Let every man have his own wife and every woman her own husband and I know none of the Diggers that act in such an unrationall excesse of female communitie If any should I professe to have nothing to do with such people but leave them to their own Master who will pay them with torment of minde and diseases in their bodies These and such-like tales we hear are brought to you to incense you against us but we desire you to mark them that bring them for we partly know who they be and we can tell them to their faces they were Cavaliers and had hands in the Kentish Rising and in stirring up that offensive Surrey Petition which was the occasion of bloodshed in Westminster-yard and they would rejoyce to see the Prince come in with an Armie to over-top you for we know they love you not but from the teeth outwards for their own ends And these are the proud Hamans that would incense you against the Mordecaies of the Land even your true-hearted friends the Diggers Well in the midst of our slanders we rejoyce in the uprightness of our hearts and we do commit our cause to him that judgeth righteously Upon these lying reports and importunitie to the General it seems the General granted the Lords of Mannor to have some souldiers to go along with the Sheriff to pull down the Diggers houses and so the souldiers did come but they were very moderate and rationall men and as they were sent to secure the Sheriff so they did but there was no cause for though the Gentlemen possess'd the General that they feared opposition from the Diggers yet the souldiers saw they lifted not up a finger in discontent but fought against those dragons the Lords of Manors with the spirit of love and patience for when the two Lords of Manor sat among the souldiers on hors-back and coach and commanded their fearfull tenants to pull down one of the Diggers houses before their faces and rejoyced with shouting at the fall yet some of the Diggers stood by and were very chearfull and preached the Gospel to those Turkish Bashaws which are words of life and in time will prove words of terrour to torment their awakened consciences And the poor tenants that pulled down the house durst do no other because their Land-lords and Lords looked on for fear they should be turned out of service or their livings as a a poor honest man because he looked with a cheerfull countenance upon the Diggers though he was affraid to come neer or affraid to speak openly lest his Landlords setting-dogs should smell the sound of his words and carry a pick-thank tale which his Lords ears are much open to a Baily was sent presently to him to warn him out of his house Can the Turkish Bashaws hold their slaves in more bondage than these Gospel-professing Lords of Manors do their poor tenants and is not this the Kingly power O you Rulers of England I pay see that your own acts be obeyed and let the oppressed go free And when the poor enforced slaves had pulled down the house then their Lords gave them ten shillings to drink and there they smiled one upon another being fearfull like a dog that is kept in awe when his Master gives him a bone and stands over him with a whip he will eat and look up and twinch his tail for they durst not laugh out left their Lords should hear they jeer'd them openly for in their hearts they are Diggers Therefore you Lords of Manors if you have none to stand for you but whom you force by threatning then leave off striving against the spirit and say you are fallen and come in and embrace righteousnesse that you may finde mercy betimes The next day after this there came two souldiers and three Country-men to another house which the Diggers had set up which the Sheriff the day before had let alone for as some say he was grieved to see what was done one of these souldiers was very civill and walked lovingly with the Diggers round their corn which they had planted and commended the work and would do no harm as divers others were of the same minde and when he went his way gave the Diggers 12 d. to drink but the other souldier was so rude that he forced those three Country-men to help him to pull down the house and railed bitterly the men were unwilling to pull it down but for fear of their Landlords and the threatning souldier they did put their hands to pull it down And seeing Parson Platt the Lord of that Manor will not suffer the Diggers to have a house wherein he forgets his Master Christ that is persecuted in naked hungry and houselesse members yet the Diggers were mighty cheerfull and their spirits resolve to wait upon God to see what he will do and they have built them some few little hutches like calf-cribs and there they lie anights and follow their work adayes still with wonderfull joy of heart taking the spoyling of their goods cheerfully counting it a great happinesse to be persecuted for righteousnesse sake by the Priests and Professors that are the successors of Judas and the bitter-spirited Pharisees that put the man Christ Jesus to death And they have planted divers Acres of Wheat and Rye which is come up and promises a very hopefull crop committing their cause to God and wait upon him saying O thou King of righteousnesse do thine own work O that you would search and try our wayes narrowly and see whether we deny God Christ Scriptures as the Priests slander us we do and you shall finde that the Scriptures warrant our action and God in Christ is the life of our souls and the support of our spirits in the midst of this our sharp persecution from the hands of unreasonable men who have not faith in Christ but uphold the Kingly power which you have Voted down Likewise you shall see that we live in the performance of that work which is the very life and marrow of the Parliaments Cause whereby we honour the Parliament and their Cause as you shall see by this following Declaration unfolding the foundation whereupon Englands Laws are or the Freedom of a Common-wealth ought to be built which is Equity and Reason IN the time of the Kings who came in as Conquerors and ruled by the power of the Sword not only the Common land but the Inclosures also were captivated under the will of those Kings till now of late that

our later Kings granted more freedom to the Gentry than they had presently after the Conquest yet under bondage still for what are prisons whips and gallows in the times of peace but the laws and power of the sword forcing and compelling obedience and so enslaving as if the sword raged in the open field England was in such a slavery under the Kingly power that both Gentry and Commonaltie groaned under bondage and to ease themselves they endeavoured to call a Parliament that by their counsels and decrees they might find some freedom But Charles the then King perceiving that the Freedom they strove for would derogate from his Prerogative-tyranny therupon he goes into the North to raise a War against the Parliament and took WILLIAM the Conqueror's Sword into his hand again thereby to keep under the former conquered English and to uphold his Kingly power of self-will and Prerogative which was the power got by former Conquests that is to rule over the lives and estates of all men at his will and so to make us pure slaves and vassals Well This Parliament that did consist of the chief Lords Lords of Manors and Gentry and they seeing that the King by raising an Army did thereby declare his intent to enslave all sorts to him by the sword and being in distresse and in a low ebb they call upon the common people to bring in their Plate Moneys Taxes Free-quarter Excise and to adventure their lives with them and they would endeavour to recover England from that Norman yoak and make us a free people and the common people assent hereunto and call this the Parliaments Cause and own it and adventure person and purse to preserve it and by the joynt assistance of Parliament and People the King was beaten in the field his head taken off and his Kingly power voted down and we the Commons thereby virtually have recovered our selves from the Norman Conquest we want nothing but possession of the spoyl which is a free use of the Land for our livelyhood And from hence we the common people or younger brothers plead our propriety in the Common land as truly our own by vertue of this victory over the King as our elder brothers can plead proprietie in their Inclosures and that for three reasons in Englands law First By a lawfull purchase or contract between the Parliament and us for they were our Landlords and Lords of Mannors that held the freedom of the Commons from us while the King was in his power for they held title thereunto from him he being the head and they branches of the Kingly power that enslaved the people by that ancient Conquerors Sword that was the ruling power For they said Come and help us against the King that enslaves us that we may be delivered from his Tyranny and we will make you a free People Now they cannot make us free unlesse they deliver us from the bondage which they themselves held us under and that is they held the freedom of the Earth from us for we in part with them have delivered our selves from the King now we claim freedom from that bondage you have and yet do hold us under by the bargain and contract between Parliament and us who I say did consist of Lords of Manors and Landlords whereof Mr. Drake who hath arrested me for digging upon the Common was one at that time Therefore by the law of Bargain and Sale we claim of them our freedom to live comfortably with them in this Land of our Nativity and this we cannot do so long as we lie under poverty and must not be suffered to plant the commons and waste land for our livelihood for take away the land from any people and those people are in a way of continuall death and misery and better not to have had a body than not to have food and rayment for it But I say they have sold us our freedom in the common and have been largely paid for it for by means of our bloods and money they sit in peace for if the King had prevailed they had lost all and been in slavery to the meanest Cavalier if the King would Therfore we the Commons say Give us our bargain if you deny us our bargain you deny God Christ and Scriptures and all your profession then is and hath been hypocrisie Secondly The Commons and Crown land is our propriety by equall conquest over the Kingly power for the Parl did never stir up the people by promises and covenant to assist them to cast out the King and to establish them in the Kings place and prerogative power No but all their Declarations were for the safety and peace of the whole Nation Therefore the common-people being part of the Nation and especially they that bore the greatest heat of the day in casting out the oppressor and the Nation cannot be in peace so long as the poor oppressed are in wants and the land is intangled and held from them by bondage But the Victory being obtained over the King the spoyl which is properly the Land ought in equity to be divided now between the two Parties that is Parliament and Common-people The Parliament consisting of Lords of Manors and Gentry ought to have their inclosure Lands free to them without molestation as they are freed from the Court of Wards And the Common-people consisting of Souldiers and such as paid Taxes and Free-quarter ought to have the freedom of all waste and common land and Crown-land equally among them the Souldiery ought not in equity to have all nor the other people that paid them to have all but the spoyle ought to be divided between them that stay'd at home and them that went to Warr for the Victory is for the whole Nation And as the Parliament declared they did all for the Nation and not for themselves onely so we plead with the Armie they did not fight for themselves but for the freedom of the Nation and I say we have bought our Freedom of them likewise by Taxes and Free-quarter therefore we claim an equall Freedom with them in this Conquest over the King Thirdly We claim an equall portion in the Victory over the King by vertue of the two Acts of Parliament the One to make England a Free-Common-wealth the Other to take away Kingly power Now the Kingly power you have heard is a power that rules by the Sword in covetousnesse and self giving the earth to some and denying it to others and this Kingly power was not in the hand of the King alone but Lords and Lords of Manors and corrupt Judges and Lawyers especially held it up likewise for he was the head and they with the Tything-priests are the branches of that Tyrannical Kingly power and all the several limbs and members must be cast out before Kingly power can be pulled up root and branch Mistake me not I do not say Cast out the persons of men No I do not desire their fingers to ake

but I say Cast out their power whereby they hold the people in bondage as the King held them in bondage And I say it is our own Freedom we claim both by bargain and by equality in the Conquest as well as by the Law of righteous Creation which gives the Earth to all equally And the power of Lords of Mannors lies in this They deny the Common people the use and free benefit of the Earth unless they give them leave and pay them for it either in Rent in Fines in Homages or Heriots Surely the Earth was never made by God that the Younger brother should not live in the Earth unless he would work for and pay his Elder brother Rent for the Earth No this Slavery came in by Conquest and it is part of the Kingly power and England cannot be a Free Common-wealth till this Bondage be taken away You have taken away the King you have taken away the House of Lords Now step two steps further and take away the power of Lords of Mannors and of Tything Priests and the intolerable oppressions of Judges by whom Laws are corrupted and your work will be honourable Fourthly if this Freedom be denied the Common people To enjoy the Common Land then Parliament Army and Judges will deny Equity and Reason whereupon the Laws of a well-governed Common-wealth ought to be built And if this Equity be denied then there can be no Law but Club-Law among the people and if the Sword must raign then every Party will be striving to bear the Sword and then farewel Peace nay farewel Religion and Gospel unless it be made use of to intrap one another as we plainly see some Priests and others make it a Cloke for their Knavery If I adventure my life and fruit of my labour equal with you and obtain what we strive for it is both Equity and Reason that I should equally divide the Spoil with you and not you to have all and I none And if you deny us this you take away our Propriety from us our Moneys and Blood and give us nothing for it Therefore I say the Common Land is my own Land equal with my fellow-Commoners and our true Propriety by the Law of Creation it is every ones but not one single ones Yea the Commons are as truely ours by the last excellent two Acts of Parliament the Foundation of Englands new righteous Government aimed at as the Elder brothers can say the Inclosures are theirs for they adventured their Lives and covenanted with us to help them to preserve their Freedom And we adventured our lives and they covenanted with us to purchase and to give us our Freedom that hath been hundreds of yeers kept from us Daemona non Armis sed Morte subegit Iesus By patient Sufferings not by Death Christ did the Devil kill And by the same still to this day his Foes he conquers still True Religion and undefiled is this To make restitution of the Earth which hath been taken and held from the Common people by the power of Conquests formerly and so set the oppressed free Do not All strive to enjoy the Land The Gentry strive for Land the Clergie strive for Land the Common people strive for Land and Buying and Selling is an Art whereby people endeavour to cheat one another of the Land Now if any can prove from the Law of Righteousness that the Land was made peculiar to him and his successively shutting others out he shall enjoy it freely for my part But I affirm It was made for all and true Religion is To let every one enjoy it Therefore you Rulers of England make restitution of the Lands which the Kingly power holds from us Set the oppressed free and come in and honour Christ who is the Restoring Power and you shall finde rest The CURSE and BLESSING that is in MANKINDE IN the beginning of Time the Spirit of Universal Love appeared to be the father of all things The Creation of Fire Water Earth and Air came out of him and is his clothing Love is the Word The Creation is the House or Garden in which this one Spirit hath taken up his seat and in which he manifests himself For if ever Love be seen or known he appears either in the inward feeling within your hearts loving All with tender love or else appears towards you from outward objects as from other Men or other creatures There are two Earths in which the Spirit of Love declares himself First the Living Earth called Mankinde this is the Creation or the living soul And when this Spirit of universal Love rules King therein this Earth is then in peace and is grown up to the perfection of a man anointed But when Self or Particular love rules which is called the sin Covetousness then this Earth is brought into Bondage and Sorrow fills all places This is the dark side of the Cloud in which there is no true peace Secondly in the great Body of Earth in which all creatures subsist the Spirit of Universal Love appears to preserve his Creation in peace for Universal Love unites not onely Mankinde into an oneness bnt unites all other creatures into a sweet harmony of willingness to preserve Mankinde And this Spirit of Love spread abroad is the same Spirit of Love that is supreme in Man and this is the Righteous man But when Covetousness or Particular love began to work then not onely Mankinde was divided amongst themselves but all creatures were divided and enmity rose up amongst them setting one against another and this power is the wicked man mark him where you see him which is the Murderer and must be cast out Wel In the begining universal love appeared to be the father of al things though self-love in our experience rules in man first and as he made mankinde to be the Lord of the Earth so he made the Earth to be a common Treasury of livelihood to whole mankind without respect of persons and for all other creatures likewise that were to proceed from the Earth Mankind is the chief creature and the Spirit of universal Love in his branches is the Lord of all the Earth and this Spirit in man unfolds himself in Light and Darkness his face is called the universal power of Love his back parts is called the selvish power or thus the one is called the Son of Bondage which causes shame the other is called the Son of Freedom which brings peace and honour these Two strive in the womb of the Earth which shal come forth first and which shall rule the fleshy man hath got the start but the other will prove the stronger and cast him out with honour While this Spirit of Lordship in the last day time of mankind was universal Love and Righteousness leading every single branch of mankind to do to another as he would be done unto then every thing was in peace and there was a sweet communion of Love in the creation and as

inclose and hence rose up Propriety for this is the fruit of War from the beginning for it removes Propriety out of a weaker into a stronger hand but still upholds the curse of Bondage and hereby the Kingly power which you have made an Act and Sworn to cast out does remove himself from one chair to another and so long as the Sword rules over brethren mind what I say so long the Kingly power of darkness Rules and so large as yet is his Kingdom which spreds from Sea to Sea and fills the Earth but Christ is rising who will take the Dominion and Kingdom out of his hand and his power of Righteousness shall rise and spred from East to West from North to South and fill the Earth with himself and cast the other cursed power out when Coveteousness sheaths his Sword and ceases to rage in the field he first makes sharp Laws of Bondage That those that are conquered and that by him are appointed not to enjoy the Earth but are turned out shall be Servants Slaves and Vassals to the Conquerers party so those Laws that upholds Whips Prisons Gallows is but the same power of the Sword that raged and that was drunk with Blood in the field King Charles it is true was the Head of this Kingly power in England and he Reigned as he was a Successor of the last Norman Conquerer and whosoever you be that hath Propriety of Land hath your Titles and Evidences made to you in his or his Ancestors Name and from his and their Will and Kingly power I am sure he was not our Creator and therefore parcelled out the Earth to some and denied it to others therefore he must needs stand as a Conquerer and was the Head of this Kingly power that burdens and oppresses the People and that is the cause of all our Wars and Divisions for if this Kingly power of Covetousness which is the unrighteous Divider did not yet Rule both Parliament Army and rich People would cheerfully give consent that those we call Poor should Dig and freely Plant the Waste and Common Land for a livelihood seing there is Land enough and more by half then is made use of and not be suffered to perish for want And yet O ye Rulers of England you make a blazing profession That you know and that you own God Christ and the Scriptures but did Christ ever declare such hardness of heart did not he bid the rich man go and sell all that he hath and give to the Poor and does not the Scripture say If thou makest a Covenant keep it though it be to thy loss But truly it will not be to your loss to let your fellow Creatures your equals in the Creation nay those that have been faithful in your Cause and so your Friends I say it will not be to your loss to let them quietly improve the Waste and Common Land that they may live in peace freed from the heavie burdens of Poverty for hereby our own Land will be increased with all sorts of Commodities and the People will be knit together in love to keep out a forreign Enemy that endeavours and that will endeavour as yet to come like an Army of cursed Ratts and Mice to destroy our inheritance so that if this Freedom be quietly granted to us you grant it but to your selves to English-men to your own flesh and blood and you do but give us our own neither which Covetousness in the Kingly power hath and yet does hold from us for the Earth in the first Creation of it was freely given to whole mankind without respect of Persons therefore you Lords of Mannors and you Rulers of England if you own God Christ and Scripture now make Restitution and deliver us quiet possession of our Land which the Kingly power as yet holds from us While this Kingly power raigned in one man called Charls all sorts of people complained of oppression both Gentrie and Common people because their lands Inclosures and Copieholds were intangled and because their Trades were destroyed by Monopolizing Patentees and your troubles were that you could not live free from oppression in the earth Thereupon you that were the Gentrie when you were assembled in Parliament you called upon the poor Common-People to come and help you and cast out oppression and you that complained are helped and freed and that top-bow is lopped off the tree of Tyrannie and Kingly power in that one particular is cast out but alas oppression is a great tree still and keeps off the son of freedome from the poor Commons still he hath many branches and great roots which must be grub'd up before every one can sing Sions songs in peace As we spie out Kinglie power we must declare it and cast it out or else we shall deny the Parliament of England and their Acts and so prove Traitors to the Land by denying obedience thereunto Now there are Three Branches more of Kinglie power greater then the former that oppresses this Land wonderfully and these are the power of the Tithing Priests over the Tenths of our labours and the power of Lords of Mannors holding the free use of the Commons and wast Land from the poor and the intolerable oppression either of bad Laws or of bad Judges corrupting good Laws these are branches of the Norman conquest and Kingly power still and wants a Reformation For as for the first William the Couqueror promised That if the Clergie would preach him up so that the people might be bewitched so as to receive him to be Gods Anointed over them he would give them the Tenths of the Lands increase yeerly and they did it and he made good his Promise and do we not yet see That if the Clergie can get Tithes or Money they will turn as the Ruling power turns any way to Popery to Protestanisme for a King against a King for Monarchy for State-Government they cry who bids most wages they will be on the strongest side for an Earthly maintenance yea and when they are lifted up they would Rule too because they are called Spiritual men It is true indeed they are spiritual but it is of the spiritual power of Coveteousness and Pride for the spiritual power of Love and Righteousness they know not for if they knew it they would not persecute and raile against him as ●hey do The Clergie will serve on any side like our ancient Laws that will serve any Master They will serve the Papists they will serve the Protestants they will serve the King they will serve the States they are one and the same Tools for Lawyers to work with under any Government O you Parliament-men of England cast those whorish Laws out of doors that are so Common that pretend love to every one and is faithful to none for truly he that goes to Law as the Proverb is shall die a Beggar so that old Whores and old Laws picks mens pockets and undoes them If the fault lie