Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	call_v	name_n	people_n	15,485	5	4.6964	4	false

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

by the Sword is not set up by the King of Righteousness to be his Law but by Coveteousness the great god of the world who hath been permitted to raign for a time times and dividing of time and his government draws to the period of the last term of his allotted time and then the Nations shall see the glory of that Government that shall rule in Righteousness without either Sword or Spear And seeing further the power of Righteousness in our hearts seeking the Livelihood of others as well as our selves hath drawn forth our bodies to begin to dig and plough in the Commons and waste Land for the Reasons already declared And seeing and finding our selves poor wanting Food to feed upon while we labor the Earth to cast in Seed and to wait tell the first Crop comes up and wanting Ploughs Carts Corn and such materials to plant the Commons withal we are willing to declare our condition to you and to all that have the Treasury of the Earth locked up in your Bags Chests and Barns and will offer up nothing to this publike Treasury but will rather see your fellow Creatures starve for want of Bread that have an equal right to it with your selves by the Law of Creation But this by the way we onely declare to you and to all that follow the subtle art of buying and selling the Earth with her Fruits meerly to get the Treasury thereof into their hands to lock it up from them to whom it belongs that so such coveteous proud unrighteous selfish flesh may be left without excuse in the day of Judgment And therefore the main thing we aym at and for which we declare our Resolutions to go forth and act is this To lay hold upon and as we stand in need to cut and fell and make the best advantage we can of the Woods and Trees that grow upon the Commons To be a stock for our selves and our poor Brethren through the Land of England to plant the Commons withal and to provide us bread to eat till the Fruit of our labors in the Earth bring forth increase and we shall meddle with none of your Proprieties but what is called Commonage till the Spirit in you make you cast up your Lands and Goods which were got and still is kept in your hands by murder and theft and then we shall take it from the Spirit that hath conquered you and not from our Swords which is an abominable and unrighteous power and a destroyer of the Creation But the Son of man comes not to destroy but to save And we are moved to send forth this Declaration abroad to give notice to every one whom it concerns in regard we hear and see that some of you that have been Lords of Manors do cause the Trees and Woods that grow upon the Commons which you pretend a Royalty unto to be cut down and sold for your own private use whereby the Common Land which your own mouths doe say belongs to the poor is impoverished and the poor oppressed people robbed of their Rights while you give them cheating words by telling some of our poor oppressed Brethren That those of us that have begun to Dig and Plough up the Commons will hinder the poor and so blinde their eyes that they see not their Priviledge while you and the rich Free-holders make the most profit of the Commons by your over-stocking of them with Sheep and Cattle and the poor that have the name to own the Commons have the least share therein nay they are checked by you if they cut Wood Heath Turf or Furseys in places about the Common where you disallow Therefore we are resolved to be cheated no longer not be held under the slavish fear of you no longer seing the Earth was made for us as well as for you And if the Common Land belongs to us who are the poor oppressed surely the woods that grow upon the Commons belong to us likewise therefore we are resolved to try the uttermost in the light of reason to know whether we shall be free men or slaves If we lie still and let you steale away our birthrights we perish and if we Petition we perish also though we have paid taxes given free quarter and ventured our lives to preserve the Nations freedom as much as you and therefore by the law of contract with you freedom in the land is our portion as well as yours equal with you And if we strive for freedom and your murdering governing Laws destroy us we can but perish Therefore we require and we resolve to take both Common Land and Common woods to be a livelihood for us and look upon you as equal with us not above us knowing very well that England the land of our Nativity is to be a common Treasury of livelihood to all without respect of persons So then we declare unto you that do intend to cut our Common Woods and Trees that you shall not do it unlesse it be for a stock for us as aforesaid and we to know of it by a publick declaration abroad that the poor oppressed that live there abouts may take it and employ it for their publike use therefore take notice we have demanded it in the name of the Commons of England and of all the Nations of the world it being the righteous freedom of the Creation Likewise we declare to you that have begun to cut down our Common Woods and Trees and to sell and carry away the same for your private use that you shall forbear and go no farther hoping that none that are friends to the Common-wealth of England will endeavour to buy any of those Common Trees and Woods of any of those Lords of Mannors so called who have by the murdering and cheating law of the sword stoln the Land from yonger brothers who have by the law of Creation a standing portion in the Land as well and equall with others Therefore we hope all Wood-mongers will disown all such private merchandize as being a robbing of the poor oppressed and take notice that they have been told our resolution But if any of you that are VVood-mongers will buy it of the poor and for their use to stock the Commons from such as may be appointed by us to sell it you shall have it quietly without diminution but if you will slight us in this thing blame us not if we make stop of the Carts you send and convert the VVoods to our own use as need requires it being our own equal with him that calls himself the Lord of the Mannor and not his peculiar right shutting us out but he shall share with us as a fellow-creature For we say our purpose is to take those Common Woods to fell them now at first to be a stock for our selves and our children after us to plant and manure the Common land withall for we shall endeavour by our righteous acting not to leave the earth any longer intangled unto our