A Boding from þe Underyoked of England

Happy Day! Þis is a small writ I (Yose) have by Gerrard Winstanley.

Þe Writ
A

FROM ÞE

of

ENGLAND

To all þat call þemselves, or are called

Lords of

þrough þis

Þat have begun to cut, or þat þrough

fear and do mean to cut down

þe Woods and Trees þat grow upon þe

and þe

in þe Year, 1649.

We whose names are in þe name of all arm underyoked folk in England, bode unto ew, þat call ewerselves lords of Drightenhuse, and Lord of þe Land, Þat  þe King of  ure  have inlightened ure hearts so far, as to see, Þat þe earþ was not made  for ew, to be Lords of it, and we to be ewer   and Beggers; but it was made to be made an  Livelihood to all, wiþute  of leeds: And þat ewer buying and selling of Land, and þe  of it, one to anoþer, is þe  þing, and was brought in by War; which haþ, and still   and þeft, in þe hands of some  of Mankind over oþers, which is þe greatest uteward burden, and unrightwise might, þat þe  groans under: For þe  of  Land, and owning  was brought into þe Making by ewer  by þe Sword; which first murþered þeir fellow  Men and after plunder or steal away þeir Land, and left þis Land  to ew, þeir Children. And þerefore, þough ye killed not nor þeeved, yet ye hold þat hexed þing in ewer hand, by þe might of þe Sword; and so ye seek to make þe wicked deeds of ewer Faþers seem right; and þat sin of ewer Faþers, shall be upon þe heads of ew, and ewr Children, to þe þird or fourþ  and longer too, till ewer bloody and þeeving might be rooted ute of þe Land.

And furþer, þe King of Rightwiseness haþ made us  of ure burdens, and þe  and groaning of ure hearts are come before him: we take it as a  of love from him, Þat ure hearts begin to be freed from  fear of men, such as ye are; and þat we find  in us, grunded upon þe inward law of Love, one towards anoþer, To Dig and Plough up þe Meannesses, and weest Lands þrough England; and þat ure  shall be so  Þat ewer Laws shall not reach to underyoke us any longer, unless ye by ewer Laws will shed þe  blood þat runs in ure

For þough ye and ewer Forebears got ewer Aught by and þeft, and ye keep it by þe same might from us, þat have an  right to Land wiþ ew, by þe rightwise Law of Life, yet we shall have no  of fighting (as ye have) abute þat worrisome devil, called  aught: For þe Earþ, wiþ all her Bleads of Corn,  and such like, was made to be an amean  of Livelihood to all Mankind, freend, and foe, wiþute

And to ewer   know þis, Þat we Must neiþer buy nor sell;  must not any longer (after ure work of þe Earþs  is furþered) be þe great god, þat hedges in some, and hedges ute oþers, for Yeeld is but a  of þe Earþ: And  þe Rightwise Maker, who is King, never  Þat unless some of  Mankind, bring þat  (Silver and Gold) in þeir hands, to oþers of þeir own kind, þat þey should neiþer be fed nor be cloþed; no wissly, For þis was þe  of -flesh (which Land-lords are boughs of) to set his  upon Yeeld. And þey make þis unrightwise Law, Þat none should buy or sell, eat, or be cloþed, or have any Livelihood among men, unless þey brought his Bild þrutched upon Gold or Silver in þeir hands.

And whereas þe speak, Þat þe mark of þe  is 666, þe  of a man; and þat þose þat  bring þat mark in þeir hands, or in þeir foreheads, þey should neþer buy nor sell,  13:16. And seeing þe   abute þe English yeeld make 666, which is þe rime of þat Kingly Might and  (called a Man) And seeing þe  of þe Making is nue come to þe Bild of þe Feend, or Half day. And seeing 666 is his mark, we þis to be þe last  might þat shall  and þat folk shall live freely in þe  of þe Earþ, wiþute bringing þe mark of þe Feend in þeir hands, or in þeir  and þat þey shall buy Wine and Milk, wiþute Yeeld, or wiþute  as Isah speaks.

For after ure work of þe Earþly amone is we must make  of Gold and Silver, as we do of oþer  but not to buy and sell wiþal; for buying and selling is þe great, þat  and steals þe Earþ one from anoþer: It is þat which makeþ some Lords, oþers Beggers, some  oþers to be weelded; and makeþ great Murþerers and Þeeves to be  and hangers of littel ones, or of  men.

And while we are made to þe Earþ togeþer, wiþ one  and willing mind; and while we are made free, þat every one, freend and foe, shall  þe  of þeir Making, þat is, To have food and  from þe Earþ, þeir Moþer; and every one  to give witness of his þoughts, words, and  to none, but to þe one and only rightwise  and  þe  of Rightwiseness þat dwells, and þat is nue rising up to weeld in every Wight, and in þe whole  We say, while we are made to hinder no man of his  given him in his Making, even to one, as to anoþer; what Law þen can ye make, to take hold upon us, but Laws of Underyoking and  þat shall  or spill þe blood of þe Cleanhearted? And so ewer Selves, ewer Deemers, and  shall be fund to be þe greatest  in, and over Mankind.

But to draw neerer to bode ure meaning, what we woold have, and what we shall to þe uttermost to, as  and rightwise   us; seeing we are made to see ure  given us in ure Making, which have hiþerto been  to us, and ure Faþers, sinse þe might of þe Sword began to  And þe  of þe Making have been locked up under þe   speaking, from þe , and  for , And sinse þe might of þe murþering, and þeeving Sword, before, as well as nue of late yeers, haþ set up a , and  þat Leedward; for what are , and putting oþers to deaþ, but þe might of þe Sword to  folks to þat Leedward which was got by  and Sword, and cannot stand of it self, but by þe same murþering might? Þat Leedward þat is got over folk by þe Sword and kept by þe Sword, is not set up by þe King of Rightwiseness to be his Law, but by Yissing, þe great god of þe world; who haþ been to weeld for a time, times, and  of time and his leedward draws to þe  of þe last  of his lotted time; and þen þe Þeeds shall see þe  of þat Leedward þhat shall weeld in Rightwiseness, wiþute eiþer Sword or Spear.

And seeing furþer, þe might of Rightwiseness in ure hearts, seeking þe livelihood of oþers as well as ure selves, haþ drawn forþ ure bodies to begin to dig, and plough, in þe Meannesses and weest Land, for þe grunds already boded,

And seeing and finding ureselves arm, wanting Food to feed upon, while we swink þe Earþ to cast in seed, and to wait till þe first crop comes up; and wanting Ploughs, Carts, Corn, and such to  þe Meannesses wiþal, we are willing to bode ure  to ew, and to all, þat have þe  of þe Earþ, locked up in ewer Bags, Chests, and Barns, and will offer up noþing to þis  Hoard; but will raþer see ewer fellow Wights starve for want of Bread, þat have an even right to it wiþ ewer selves, by þe Law of Making: But þis by þe way we onely bode to ew, and to all þat follow þe   of buying and selling þe Earþ wiþ her Bleeds,  to get þe Hoard þereof into þeir hands, to lock it up from þem, to whom it belongs; þat so, such yissing,  unrightwise, selfish flesh, may be left wiþute  in þe

And þerefore, þe main þing we at, and for which we Bode ure  to go forþ, and  is þis, To lay hold upon, and as we stand in need, to cut and fell, and make þe best  we can of þe Woods and Trees, þat grow upon þe Meannesses, To be a stock for ure selves, and ure arm Breþren, þrough þe land of England, to wortwale þe Meannesses wiþal; and to  us bread to eat, 'till þe Bleeds of ure  in þe Earþ bring forþ  and we shall meddle wiþ none of ewer Aughts (but what is called  till þe Goast in ew, make ew cast up ewer Lands and Goods, which were got, and still is kept in your hands by murþer, and þeft; and þen we shall take it from þe Goast, þat haþ overwon ew, and not from ure Swords, which is an  and unrightwise might, and a  of þe Making: But þe Son of man comes not to forspill, but to