Selected quad for the lemma: england_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
england_n	king_n	lord_n	name_n	7,107	5	5.2836	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A82090	A declaration from the poor oppressed people of England, directed to all that call themselves, or are called Lords of Manors, through this nation; that have begun to cut, or that through fear and covetousness, do intend to cut down the woods and trees that grow upon the commons and waste land.	Winstanley, Gerrard, b. 1609.	1649 (1649)	Wing D595; Thomason E557_9; ESTC R205824	7,119	8

A DECLARATION FROM THE Poor oppressed People OF ENGLAND DIRECTED To all that call themselves or are called Lords of Manors through this NATION That have begun to cut or that through fear and covetousness do intend to cut down the Woods and Trees that grow upon the Commons and Waste Land Printed in the Yeer 1649. A DECLARATION FROM THE Poor oppressed People of England WE whose names are subscribed do in the name of all the poor oppressed people in England declare unto you that call your selves Lords of Manors and Lords of the Land That in regard the King of Righteousness our Maker hath inlightened our hearts so far as to see That the earth was not made purposely for you to be Lords of it and we to be your Slaves Servants and Beggers but it was made to be a common Livelihood to all without respect of persons And that your buying and selling of Land and the Fruits of it one to another is The cursed thing and was brought in by War which hath and still does establish murder and theft in the hands of some branches of Mankinde over others which is the greatest outward burden and unrighteous power that the Creation groans under For the power of inclosing Land and owning Propriety was brought into the Creation by your Ancestors by the Sword which first did murther their fellow Creatures Men and after plunder or steal away their Land and left this Land successively to you their Children And therefore though you did not kill or theeve yet you hold that cursed thing in your hand by the power of the Sword and so you justifie the wicked deeds of your Fathers and that sin of your Fathers shall be visited upon the Head of you and your Children to the third and fourth Generation and longer too tell your bloody and theeving power be rooted out of the Land And further in regard the King of Righteousness hath made us sensible of our burthens and the cryes and groanings of our hearts are come before him We take it as a testimony of love from him That our hearts begin to be freed from slavish fear of men such as you are and that we finde Resolutions in us grounded upon the inward law of Love one towards another To Dig and Plough up the Commons and waste Lands through England and that our conversation shall be so unblameable That your Laws shall not reach to oppress us any longer unless you by your Laws will shed the innocent blood that runs in our veins For though you and your Ancestors got your Propriety by murther and theft and you keep it by the same power from us that have an equal right to the Land with you by the righteous Law of Creation yet we shall have no occasion of quarreling as you do about that disturbing devil called Particular Propriety For the Earth with all her Fruits of Corn Cattle and such like was made to be a common Store-house of Livelihood to all Mankinde friend and foe without exception And to prevent all your scrupulous Objections know this That we must neither buy nor sell Money must not any longer after our work of the Earths community is advanced be the great god that hedges in some and hedges out others for Money is but part of the Earth And surely the Righteous Creator who is King did never ordain That unless some of Mankinde do bring that Mineral Silver and Gold in their hands to others of their own kinde that they should neither be fed nor be clothed no surely For this was the project of Tyrant-flesh which Land-lords are branches of to set his Image upon Money And they make this unrighteous Law That none should buy or sell eat or be clothed or have any comfortable Livelihood among men unless they did bring his Image stamped upon Gold or Silver in their hands And whereas the Scriptures speak That the mark of the Beast is 666 the number of a man and that those that do not bring that mark in their hands or in their foreheads they should neither buy nor sell Revel. 13. 16. And seeing the numbering Letters round about the English money make 666 which is the number of that Kingly Power and Glory called a Man And seeing the age of the Creation is now come to the Image of the Beast or Half day And seeing 666 is his mark we expect this to be the last Tyrannical power that shall raign and that people shall live freely in the enioyment of the Earth without bringing the mark of the Beast in their hands or in their promise and that they shall buy Wine and Milk without Money or without price as Isaiah speaks For after our work of the ●arthly community is advanced we must make use of Gold and Silver as we do of other mettals but not to buy and sell withal for buying and selling is the great cheat that robs and steals the Earth one from another It is that which makes some Lords others Beggers some Rulers others to be ruled and makes great Murderers and Theeves to be imprisoners and hangers of little ones or of sincere-hearted men And while we are made to labor the Earth together with one consent and willing minde and while we are made free that every one friend and foe shall enjoy the benefit of their Creation that is To have food and rayment from the Earth their Mother and every one subiect to give accompt of his thoughts words and actions to none but to the one onely righteous Judg and Prince of Peace the Spirit of Righteousness that dwells and that is now rising up to rule in every Creature and in the whole Globe We say while we are made to hinder no man of his Priviledges given him in his Creation equal to one as to another what Law then can you make to take hold upon us but Laws of Oppression and Tyranny that shall enslave or spill the blood of the Innocent And so your Selves your Judges Lawyers and Justices shall be found to be the greatest Transgressors in and over Mankinde But to draw neerer to declare our meaning what we would have and what we shall endevor to the uttermost to obtain as moderate and righteous Reason directs us seeing we are made to see our Priviledges given us in our Creation which have hitherto been denied to us and our Fathers since the power of the Sword began to rule And the secrets of the Creation have been locked up under the traditional Parrat-like speaking from the Universities and Colledges for Scholars And since the power of the murdering and theeving Sword formerly as well as now of late yeers hath set up a Government and maintains that Government for what are prisons and putting others to death but the power of the Sword to enforce people to that Government which was got by Conquest and Sword and cannot stand of it self but by the same murdering power That Government that is got over people by the Sword and kept

children by self-seeking proprietors But to leave it a free store-house and common treasury to all without respect of persons And this we count is our dutie to endeavour to the uttermost every man in his place according to the nationall Covenant which the Parliament set forth a Reformation to preserve the peoples liberties one as well as another As well those as have paid taxes and given free quarter as those that have either born the sword or taken our moneys to dispose of them for publike use for if the Reformation must be according to the word of God then every one is to have the benefit and freedom of his creation without respect of persons we count this our duty we say to endeavour to the uttermost and so shall leave those that rise up to oppose us without excuse in their day of Judgment and our precious blood we hope shall not be dear to us to be willingly laid down at the door of a prison or foot of a gallows to justifie this righteous cause if those that have taken our money from us and promised to give us freedom for it should turn Tyrants against us for we must not fight but suffer And further we intend that not one two or a few men of us shall sell or exchange the said woods but it shall be known publikly in Print or writing to all how much every such and such parcell of wood is sold for and how it is laid out either in victualls corn ploughs or other materialls necessary And we hope we may not doubt at least we expect that they that are called the great Councel and powers of England who so often have declared themselves by promises and Covenants and confirmed them by multitude of fasting daies and devout Protestations to make England a free people upon condition they would pay moneys and adventure their lives against the successor of the Norman Conqueror under whose oppressing power England was enslaved And we look upon that freedom promised to be the inheritance of all without respect of persons And this cannot be unless the Land of England be freely set at liberty from proprietors and become a common Treasury to all her children as every portion of the Land of Canaan was the Common livelihood of such and such a Tribe and of every member in that Tribe without exception neither hedging in any nor hedging out We say we hope we need not doubt of their sincerity to us herein and that they will not gainsay our determinate course howsoever their actions will prove to the view of all either their sinceritie or hypocrisie We know what we speak is our priviledge and our cause is righteous and if they doubt of it let them but send a childe for us to come before them and we shall make it manifest four wayes First by the National Covenant which yet stands in force to bind Parliament and people to be faithful and sincere before the Lord God Almighty wherein every one in his several place hath covenanted to preserve and seek the liberty each of other without respect of persons Secondly by the late Victory over King Charls we do claime this our priviledge to be quietly given us out of the hands of Tyrant-Government as our bargain and contract with them for the Parliament promised if we would pay taxes and give free quarter and adventure our lives against Charls and his party whom they called the Common enemy they would make us a free people These three being all done by us as well as by themselves we claim this our bargain by the law of contract from them to be a free people with them and to have an equall priviledge of Common livelihood with them they being chosen by us but for a peculiar worke and for an appointed time from among us not to be our oppressing Lords but servants to succour us But these two are our weakest proofs And yet by them in the light of reason and equity that dwells in mens hearts we shall with ease cast down all those former enslaving Norman reiterated laws in every Kings raigne since the Conquest which are as thornes in our eyes and pricks in our sides and which are called the Ancient Goverment of England Thirdly we shall prove that we have a free right to the land of England being borne therein as well as elder brothers and that it is our right equal with them and they with us to have a comfortable livelihood in the earth without owning any of our owne kinde to be either Lords or Land-Lords over us And this we shall prove by plain Text of Scripture without exposition upon them which the Scholars and great ones generally say is their rule to walk by Fourthly we shall prove it by the Righteous Law of our Creation That mankinde in all his branches is the Lord of the Earth and ought not to be in subjection to any of his own kinde without him but to live in the light of the law of righteousness and peace established in his heart And thus in love we have declared the purpose of our hearts plainly without flatterie expecting love and the same sincerity from you without grumbling or quarreling being Creatures of your own Image and mould intending no other matter herein but to observe the Law of righteous action endeavouring to shut out of the Creation the cursed thing called Particular Propriety which is the cause of all wars bloud-shed theft and enslaving Laws that hold the people under miserie Signed for and in the behalf of all the poor oppressed people of England and the whole world Gerrard VVinstanly Iohn Coulton Iohn Palmer Thomas Star Samuel Webb Iohn Hayman Thomas Edcer VVilliam Hogrill Daniel VVeeden Richard VVheeler Nathaniel Yates VVilliam Clifford Iohn Harrison Thomas Hayden James Hall James Manley Thomas Barnard Iohn South Robert Sayer Christopher Clifford Iohn Beechee VVilliam Coomes Christopher Boncher Richard Taylor Vrian VVorthington Nathaniel Holcombe Giles Childe senior Iohn VVebb Thomas Yarwel VVilliam Bonnigton Iohn Ash Ralph Ayer Iohn Pra Iohn VVilkinson Anthony Spire Thomas East Allen Brown Edward Parret Richard Gray Iohn Mordy Iohn Bachilor VVilliam Childe VVilliam Hatham Edward VVicher VVilliam Tench FINIS