Selected quad for the lemma: city_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A88064
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The Leveller: or, The principles & maxims concerning government and religion, vvhich are asserted by those that are commonly called Levellers.
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1659
(1659)
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Wing L1799; Thomason E968_3; ESTC R202722
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10,678
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16
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men to this part of Religion that is to the outward acts of Justice and Mercy for the inward truth of mens Religion even in these is beyond the Mastgistrates Power or Judgement Fourthly They say that nothing is more destructive to true Religion nor of worse consequence to humane Society than the quarrels of Nations or Persons about their difference of Faith and Worship and the use of force and punishments each to compel the other to be of his belief It cannot be denied that God in his infinite secret wisdom is pleased to cause his Spirit to enlighten mens minds with several degrees of Light and to suffer many to remain in darkness which be afterwards also enlightened and therefore their Faith and Worship if it be sincere must necessarily and unavoidably differ according to the different root of Light upon which it grows Surely Babes in Christ and strong men differ much in their apprehensions and comprehensions of the Objects of Faith and much more those that are not yet born in Christ though appointed unto Regeneration and it may be instructed like Cornelius in some things And as to Opinions about Worship the thoughts of men must naturally be different as the mind of one exceeds another in clearness of Light and capacity of Judging Now when the most powerful party seeks by force punishments to constrain the Governed or Conquered to subscribe to their Faith and Opinions without regard to their own Light or understandings doth it not as much as is in mans power banish all dependance upon the Spirit of God for light out of mens minds and constrain them to put out the candle of God within them that is the light of their own Understandings and induce them for their worldly respects and safety to profess a Faith and practice a Worship which they neither do nor dare understand And by continuance to contract a blindness of mind and hardness of heart And is it possible to practise a design more opposite to true Religion and the propagation of it And it is evident that those of false Religions under a pretence of honouring God by forcing men to be Religious have blinded Millions of thousands with false Worships And also that such as have professed the true Religion in substance have wickedly opposed the further inlightning work of the Spirit of God and caused thousands for fear of punishments to rest satisfied in the profession of a Faith and Worship which they understand not and therefore can have no true Religion in them And Histories will tell plentifully how pernitions the quarrels grounded only upon difference in matters of Faith hath been to man-kind an honest pen would tremble to relate the Murders and Massacres the dreadful Wars and Confusions and the Ruins and Desolations of Countries that have been upon this account and the same must be to the worlds end if difference in Opinions about Religions Worship and matters of Faith should be admitted to be a sufficient ground of quarrels Errors and differences in mens Understands are from natural unavoidable infirmity which ought not to be the objects of punishments or mens angers 't is not more likely that God should make all mens understanding equal in their capacity of Judging or give to all an equal means or measure of knowledg then that he should make all mens faces alike Why then say the Levellers should any man quarrel at another whose Opinion or Faith is not like to his more then at him whose Nose is not like to his therefore say they let us be unanimous in seeking an establishment of equal freedome and security to the whole People of the best provisions for commutative and distributive Justice without partiality and of the best means of Instructing the whole People in the Spirit of love and meekness and then true Religion will increase and flourish I have now faithfully related the sum of their Principles about Government and Religion who have been usually called Levellers and Scandalized with designs against Government and Religion and Plots to bring the Nation into Anarchy and Confusion Let the reader Judge what colour there is to suspect those that are thus principled of such ill designs or rather whether freedome justice peace and happiness can be expected in our Nation if these Fundamentals of Government be not asserted vindicated and practised and made as known and familiar to the People as our Ancestors intended the great Charter of the Liberties of England should have been Stature of 25. Edw. 1. C. 1. when they provided that it should be sent to every City and every Cathedral Church and that it should be read and published in every County four times in the year in full County I have only mentioned the Fundamentals because they claim these as their Right and humbly submit the Circumstantials as to the number whereof Parliaments should consist and the manner of their Elections and the order of their debating and resolving of Laws c. to the wisdome of the Parliaments But the reader may well enquire how those that have asserted these Principles came to be called Levellers the People believing generally otherwise of them then these Principles deserve Truly the story is too tedious to relate at large but the sum of it is that in the year 1648 c. the Army having been in contest with some members of the long Parliament they constituted a general Council of Officers and Agitators for the Souldiers and then fell into debate of Proposals to be made to the Parliament for a settlement and then some of that Council asserted these Principles and the reason of them quickly gained the assent of the Major part but being contrary to the designs of some that were then Grandees in the Parliament and Army but most of them since dead and had resolved of other things at that time even with the King who was then at Hampton-Court it fell into debate in a private Cabinet Council how to suppress or avoid those that maintained these Principles and it was resolved that some ill name was fit to be given to the Asserters of them as persons of some dangerous Design and that their reputations being blasted they would come to nothing especially if that general Council were dissolved then was that Council dissolved and an occasion taken from that Maxime that every man ought to be equally subject to the Laws to invent the name of Levellers and the King who was to be frighted into the Isle of Wight from Hampton-Court with pretences that the men of these Principles in the Army would suddainly seize upon his person if he stayed there he was acquainted with those men by the name of Levellers and was the first that ever so called them in print in his declaration left on the table at Hampton-Court when he secretly as was thought stole away from thence and thence it was suddainly blown abroad with as much confidence as if they had believed it that first reported it that a Party of Levellers designed to Levell all mens estates and since then the late Lord Protector knowing these Foundations of Freedome to be inconsistant with his Designs hath often mentioned the Levellers Plots with malice scorn and scandal and now of late generally whosoever afferts the Peoples Liberties and right of Government by Law and not by Will is branded as a Leveller by the Flatterers Now I heartily wish that my Country-men may not be mistaken in my candid intentions in giving them this account I mean not to Court them as Absolom did his Fathers subjects to make them believe that those called Levellers would use them better then others if power were trusted in their hands for our age hath given me experience that power to inslave the People ought not to be intrusted in any mens hands upon the fairest pretences and most solemn oaths that that power shall be used to establish their freedome And 't is the Levellers Doctrine that the Government ought to be setled upon such equall Foundations of common Right and freedome that no man or number of men in the Nation should have the power to invade or disturb the common Freedome or the common course of impartial justice and therefore that every Authority ought to be of small continuance and the several Authorities to be so ballanced each by other that without such an agreement of men against their own interest as humane prudence cannot think possible the People cannot suffer any common Injury but my meaning in this is only to prevent the division of my Country men into parties with Animositles each against others by the couzenage of names or scandals when it may be they would otherwise joyn hands and hearts for their common Rights and Liberties if they understood each others minds and could converse each with other without prejudice because of the names whereby each hath usually called the others 'T is a thred bare plot of Tyrants to divide the People into parties that they may the more easily master them but I wish that my Country-men would unite in the equall Principles of common right and hearken to reason with clearness of mind whosoever offers it not regarding whether he that speakes it is called a Leveller or a Sectary or an Anabapitst or a Presbiter or a Cavileir buâ— considering what he sayes and then the number of hands to defend our Liberties and properties would be so numerous that the ambition of one or a few could not hope for successe in attempting a Tyranny over us And if this poor Paper may have such an effect that my Country men be not deluded with the idle scandal of Levelling cast upon honest men into an opposition of their own welfare I and many that agree in the publication of this shall have our ends Consider therefore what you here read and the Lord make you understand the things that conduce to your Peace and Freedom and the glorifying his Name in righteousness in this Nation FINIS