The True Flattener's Streamer Put Forth

Forward

This is an Anglish oversetting of "The True Levellers Standard Advanced" (1649), a traughtening and rightwising of the beliefs of the Diggers, a swingeing Christish and before-fairwealthish group who took over George-Hill in Surrey and began to grow corn on the mean land. The writ was likely written by the Diggers' leader Gerald Winstanley.

The True Flatteners Streamer Put Forth: Or, The Shape of Fellowship Opened, and Given to the Sons of Men.

In the beginning of Time, the great Maker God made the Earth to be a Mean Stock-house, to keep the Deer, Birds, and Fishes, and to keep Man, the lord that was to oversee the World; for Man had lordship given to him over the Deer, Birds, and Fishes; but not one word was spoken in the beginning, that one bough of mankind should wield over another.

And the grounds therefore are this: every man, Werely or Wifely, is a flawless being of himself; and the same Ghost that made the World, dwells in man to oversee the World; so that the flesh of man being under God, his Maker, has him to be his Teacher and Lord within himself, therefore needs not run abroad after any Teacher and Lord without him, for he needs not that any man should teach him, for the same Holiness that wield in the Son of Man, teaches him all things.

But since men’s flesh began to take gladness in the things of the World, more than in the Ghost Thought and Rightwiseness, who suttles himself to be the indweller in the Five Feelings, of Hearing, Seeing, Eating, Smelling, Feeling; then he fell into blindness of mind and weakness of heart, and runs abroad for a Teacher and Leader: and so selfish fathomings, taking aught of the Five Feelings, and becoming King in the room of Thought therein, and working with Greed, did set up one man to teach and lord over another; and thereby the Ghost was killed, and man was brought into bonddom, and became a greater Thrall to such of his own kind, then the Deer of the field were to him.

And hereupon, The Earth (which was made to be a Mean Stock-house for all, both Deer and Men) was hedged to paddocks by the teachers and lords, and the others were made Handmen and Thralls: and that Earth that is within this World made a Mean Stock-house for all, is bought and sold, and kept in the hands of a few, whereby the great Maker is mightily unworshipped, as if he were an upholder of leeds, taking gladness in the queme Livelihoods of some, and finding happiness in the wretched unwealthiness and struggles of others. From the beginning it was not so.