Chapter WINSTANLEY'S EXPOSITION OF THE QUAKER DOCTRINES (1648-1649)

CHAPTER VI

WINSTANLEY'S EXPOSITION OF THE QUAKER DOCTRINES (1648-1649)

 「There is nothing more sweet and satisfactory to a man than this,
 to know and feel that spiritual power of righteousness to rule in
 him which he calls God.... Wait upon the Lord for teaching. You
 will never have rest in your soul till He speaks in you. Run after
 men for teaching, follow your forms with strictness, you will still
 be at a loss, and be more and more wrapped up in confusion and
 sorrow of heart. But when once your heart is made subject to
 Christ, the Law of Righteousness, looking up to Him for
 instruction, waiting with a meek and quiet spirit till He appear in
 you: then you shall have peace; then you shall know the truth, and
 the truth shall make you free.「--_The New Law of Righteousness_.

The Mystery of God concerning the whole Creation, Mankind, is the title of Winstanley's first published pamphlet, to which we have already referred, and which was written early in the year 1648, probably in April or May. As already mentioned, it opens with a Dedicatory Epistle to 「My beloved countrymen of the County of Lancaster,「 in which he first apologises for venturing into print in the following suggestive words: 「Dear countrymen, when some of you see my name subscribed to this ensuing discourse, you may wonder at it, and it may be despise me in your hearts ... but know that God's works are not like men's; He does not always take the wise, the learned, the rich of the world to manifest Himself in, and through them to others, but He chooses the despised, the unlearned, the poor, the nothings of the world, and fills them with the good tidings of Himself, whereas He sends the others empty away.「 He further apprehends that his view, that 「the curse that was declared to Adam was temporary,「 and that ultimately the curse shall be removed off the whole Creation, and the whole of mankind shall be saved, will not be favourably received by those whom he is specially addressing. But he avows it a necessary truth, and concludes his appeal by saying that since the pamphlet was written he had met with 「more Scripture to confirm it, so that it is not a spirit of private fancy, but it is agreeable to the Written Word.「

The pamphlet opens with Winstanley's interpretation of the story of the fall of Adam, the outline of which we have already given. Subsequently he describes his own experiences: how he lay under bondage to the serpent self-love, and saw not his bondage; how God had manifested His love to him by causing him to see that the things in which he did take pleasure were, in truth, his death and his shame. He again repeats his contention that in due time God will not lose any of His work, but redeem 「His own whole Creation to Himself.「 Though this, he holds, will not be done all at once, but in several dispensations, 「some whereof are passed, some in being, and some yet to come.「 He quotes largely from the Scriptures, more especially from Revelation, in support of this view; and argues most vehemently against the objection that if this were true, if eventually all will be saved, then men need not trouble about their own individual salvation. He also protests against the doctrine of an everlasting Hell, as unconfirmed by the Holy Scriptures, as destructive of God's work, and as incompatible with His great goodness.

The prevalence of the belief in dispensations, past, present, and future, may be gathered from the following extract from one of Cromwell's speeches to the Army Council, November 1st, 1647: 「Truly, as Lieut. Col. Goffe said, God hath in several ages used several dispensations, and yet some dispensations more eminently in one age than another. I am one of those whose heart God hath drawn out to wait for some extraordinary dispensations, according to those promises He hath set forth of things to be accomplished in the latter time, and I cannot but think that God is beginning of them.「[53:1]

The same idea reappears, in fact influences the whole of Winstanley's second pamphlet, of some 127 closely printed duodecimo pages, as might almost be inferred from its title, The Breaking of the Day of God,[54:1] which is in itself a revelation of its main contents. The Dedicatory Epistle, which is dated May 20th, 1648, some twelve months prior to the outbreak of the Digger Movement, already recorded, is the most interesting and suggestive portion of this long, wearisome, and almost unreadable volume. It is addressed to--「The Despised Sons and Daughters of Zion, scattered up and down the Kingdom of England.「 He first reminds them that 「they are the object of the world's hatred and reproach,「 「branded as wicked ones,「 「threatened with ruin and death,「 「the object of every one's laughter and reproach,「 「sentenced to be put to death under the name of round-heads,「 and so on. That they 「are counted the troublers of Kingdoms and Parishes where they dwell, though the truth is that they are the only peaceable men in the Kingdom, who love the People's peace, the Magistrate's peace, and the Kingdom's peace.「 He continues--「But what's the reason the world doth so storm at you, but because you are not of this world, nor cannot walk in the dark ways of the world. They hated your Lord Jesus Christ, and they hate you. They knew not Him, and they know not you. For if they had known Him, they would not have crucified Him; and if they did truly know the power of the God that dwells in you, they would not so despise you.「 「But, well,「 he goes on to say, 「these things must be. It is your Father's will that it shall be so; the world must lie under darkness for a time; that is God's dispensation to them. And you that are the Children of Light must lie under the reproach and oppression of the world;[54:2] that is God's dispensation to you. But it shall be but for a little time. What I have here to say is to bring you glad tidings that your redemption draws near.「

In the pamphlet itself Winstanley attempts to prove that the coming reign of Righteousness, and the overthrow of the Covetous, Self-Seeking Power, are entirely in accordance with the prophesies of the Scriptures, more especially with Revelation and John. In its final pages he vehemently protests against the continued union of Church and State, or rather against the continued upholding of the persecuting power of the Church by the secular authorities. 「The misery of the age「 he attributes to the fact that men are still striving 「to uphold the usurped Ecclesiastical Power, which God never made,「 and that in upholding this they are 「so mad and ignorant「 as 「to count Magistracie no government unless the Beast reign cheek by chaw with it, as formerly in the days of ignorance.「 This, however, he contends, should not be so, 「for Magistracie in the Commonwealth must stand, it's God's ordinance. But this Ecclesiastical power in and over the Saints must fall.「 「This Ecclesiastical power,「 he contends, 「hath been a great troubler of Magistracie ever since the deceived Magistracie set it up.「 The function of Magistracie, 「which is God's Ordinance,「 is 「to be a terror to the wicked, and to protect them that do well; whereas by this Ecclesiastical power, established by deceived Magistracie, the sincere in heart that worship God in spirit and truth, according as God hath taught them and they understand, these are and have been troubled in Sessions, in Courts, and punished by fine and prisons. But the loose-hearted that will be of any religion that the most is of, these have their liberty without restraint. And so Magistracie hath acted quite backward, in punishing them that do well, and protecting in a hypocritical liberty them that do evil. O that our Magistrates would let Church-work alone to Christ, upon whose shoulders they shall find the government lies, and not upon theirs. And then, in the wisdom and strength of Christ, they would govern Commonwealths in justice, love, and righteousness more peaceably.「[55:1]

This pamphlet concludes with the following wise and beautiful thought:

 「All that I shall say in conclusion is this: Wait patiently upon
 the Lord; let every man that loves God endeavour by the spirit of
 wisdom, meekness, and love to dry up Euphrates, even this spirit of
 bitterness, that like a great river hath overflowed the earth of
 mankind. For it is not revenge, prisons, fines, fightings, that
 will subdue a tumultuous spirit; but a soft answer, love and
 meekness, tenderness and justice, to do as we would be done unto:
 this will appease wrath. When this Sun of Righteousness and Love
 arises in Magistrates and people, one to another, then these
 tumultuous national storms will cease, and not till then. This Sun
 is risen in some; this Sun will rise higher, and must rise higher;
 and the bright shining of it will be England's liberty.「

The next fruit of Winstanley's prolific pen is a volume of some 134 closely printed pages, entitled The Saint's Paradise: Or the Father's Teaching the only Satisfaction to Waiting Souls,[56:1] from which in the previous chapter we have already quoted somewhat freely. The words on its title-page, 「The inward testimony is the Soul's strength,「 indicate the characteristic teachings of this remarkable book, which are also admirably suggested by the two biblical quotations that also appear thereon. 「And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord「 (Jer. xxxi. 34). 「But the annointing which ye have received of him abideth in you; and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same annointing teacheth you all things, and is truth「 (1 John ii. 27).

As was his usual custom, Winstanley opens with a Dedicatory letter, addressed this time 「To my Beloved Friends whose Souls hunger after sincere milk,「 in which he relates his experience of the insufficiency of mere traditional, or book, or imparted knowledge, in the following words:

 「I myself have known nothing but what I received in tradition from
 the mouths and pen of others. I worshipped a God, but I neither
 knew who he was nor where he was, so that I lived in the dark,
 being blinded by the imagination of my flesh.... I spoke of the
 name of God, and Lord, and Christ, but I knew not this Lord, God,
 and Christ. I prayed to a God, but I knew not where he was nor what
 he was, and so walking by imagination I worshipped the devil, and
 called him God. By reason whereof my comforts were often shaken to
 pieces, and at last it was shown to me, that while I builded upon
 any words or writings of other men, or while I looked after a God
 without me, I did but build upon the sand, and as yet I knew not
 the Rock.「

He then admonishes his friends that, though they may not as yet be aware of it, and though they will probably be offended with him for saying so, yet that, in reality, 「this ignorant, unsettled condition is yours at this time.「 However, he protests that nevertheless:

 「I do not write anything as to be a teacher of you, for I know you
 have a teacher within yourselves (which is the Spirit) and when
 your flesh is made subject to him, he will teach you all things,
 and bring all things to your remembrance, so that you shall not
 need to run after men for instruction, for, your eyes being opened,
 you shall see the King of Righteousness sit upon the throne within
 yourselves, judging and condemning the unrighteousness of the
 flesh, filling your face with shame, and your soul with horror,
 though no man see or be acquainted with your actions or thoughts
 but yourselves, and justifying your righteous thoughts and actions,
 and leading you into all ways of truth.「

Winstanley then further explains that the Father, the Spirit of Righteousness, of Reason, pervades the whole Universe, and 「dwells in every creature, but supremely in man,「 and then continues:

 「Truly, Friends, the King of Righteousness within you is a meek,
 patient, and quiet spirit, and full of love and sincerity.... And
 when you come to know, feel, and see that the Spirit of
 Righteousness governs your flesh, then you begin to know your God,
 to fear your God, to love your God, and to walk humbly before your
 God, and so to rejoice in Him. Therefore if you would have the
 peace of God, as you call it, you must know what God it is you
 serve, which is not a God without you, visible among bodies, but
 the Spirit within you, invisible in every body to the eye of flesh,
 yet discernible to the eye of the spirit. And when souls shall have
 communion with that spirit, then they have peace, and not till
 then.「

In the first chapter Winstanley emphasises the essential difference between the teachings of men and the teachings of God in the following words:

 「The teachings of men and the teachings of God are much different.
 The former being but the light of the moon, which shines not of
 itself, but by the means and through the help of the sun. The
 latter is the light of the sun, which gives light to all, not by
 means and helps from others, but immediately from himself.

 「Men's teachings are twofold. First, when men speak to others what
 they have heard or read of the Scriptures, or books of other men's
 writings, and have seen nothing from God Himself.... Secondly,
 others speak from their own experience, of what they have heard and
 seen from God, and of what great things God hath done for their
 souls.... It is very possible that a man may attain to a literal
 knowledge of the Scriptures, of the Prophets and Apostles, and may
 speak largely of the history thereof, and yet both they that speak
 and they that hear may be not only unacquainted with, but enemies
 to that Spirit of truth by which the Prophets and Apostles
 writ.[58:1] 「For it is not the Apostles' writings, but the spirit
 that dwelt in them, that did inspire their hearts, which gives life
 and peace to all.「

In the second chapter Winstanley consoles those whom he is specially addressing by expressing his conviction that though their enemies may think to kill all the Saints, and though God may suffer them to kill some, yet others of them will necessarily be preserved to keep alive their beliefs and to spread abroad their teachings, of the ultimate triumph of which he never seemed to doubt. However, in view of the perplexity of the times and of the dangers by which they were surrounded, he gave them the following somewhat worldly-wise advice--「For the appearance of God now is in the Saints that they worship the Father in spirit and truth in such a secret manner as the eye of the world cannot and does not always see「: a practice of which, as we have already noticed, the adherents of the Family of Love were accused in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

It is, however, in the fourth and fifth chapters that Winstanley concisely and eloquently summarises the fundamental articles of his religious faith. In them he again emphatically warns his fellows against looking to others for knowledge of Divine revelations, and strongly advises them to look into their own hearts. In support of this view he quotes the Scripture text--「Light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil「 (John iii. 19), which he then proceeds to explain as follows:

 「The world is mankind; and every particular man and woman is a
 perfect creation of himself, a perfect created world. If a
 particular branch of mankind desire to know what the nature of
 other men and women are, let him not look abroad, but into his own
 heart, and he shall see. So that I say, man is the world, a perfect
 creation, from whose poisoned flesh proceeds the lust of the eye,
 the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life: these are not of the
 Father. Now _light is come into the world_; that is, the Spirit of
 Right Understanding hath taken up his dwelling in this flesh. Hence
 man is called a reasonable creature, which is a name given to no
 other creature but man, because the Spirit of Reason appears acting
 in him, which if men did submit themselves unto, they would act
 righteously continually: and so man would become lord of all other
 creatures in righteousness.... But the masculine powers of the
 poisoned flesh stand it out against the King of Glory till He cast
 them into the lake of fire, into His own spirit, by which they are
 tried, and, being found but chaff and not able to endure, are
 burned and consumed to nothing in the flame.「

「No man or woman, however, need be troubled at this,「 Winstanley contends, 「for let every man cleanse himself of these wicked powers that rule in him, and there speedily will be a harmony of love in the great creation, even among all creatures. Therefore let no man look without himself, and say, other men will not obey this light that is come into mankind; but let him look into his own heart, and he shall find that the powers in his heart are those very men of the world that will not submit to that Light of Reason that is come into it.「[60:1]

Winstanley then proceeds to explain his conception of the resurrection of Christ, as follows:

 「Friends, do not mistake the resurrection of Christ. You expect
 that he shall come in one single person, as he did when he came to
 suffer and die, and thereby to answer the types of Moses' Law. Let
 me tell you that if you look for him under the notion of one single
 man after the flesh, to be your Saviour, you shall never, never
 taste salvation by him.... If you expect or look for the
 resurrection of Jesus Christ, you must know that the Spirit within
 the flesh is the Jesus Christ, and you must see, feel, and know
 from himself his own resurrection within you, if you expect life
 and peace by him. For he is the Life of the World, that is, of
 every particular son and daughter of the Father ... for everyone
 hath the Light of the Father within himself, which is the mighty
 man Christ Jesus. And he is now rising and spreading himself in
 these his sons and daughters, and so rising from one to many
 persons till he enlighten the whole creation (mankind) in every
 branch of it, and cover this earth with knowledge as the waters
 cover the sea.... And this is to be saved by Jesus Christ; for that
 mighty man of spirit hath taken up his habitation within your
 body; and your body is his body, and now his spirit is your spirit,
 and so you are become one with him and with the Father. This is the
 faith of Christ, when your flesh is subject to the Spirit of
 Righteousness, as the flesh of Christ was subject. And this is to
 believe in Christ, when the actings and breathings of your soul are
 within the centre of the same spirit in which the man Jesus Christ
 lived, acted, and breathed.「

In accordance with this profound, philosophic, and truly spiritual view, Winstanley found it incumbent upon him to warn his fellows against another generally held belief, as follows:

 「So that you do not look for a God now, as formerly you did, to be
 a place of glory beyond the sun, moon, and stars, nor imagine a
 Divine Being you know not where; but you see Him ruling within you;
 and not only in you, but you see and know Him to be the Spirit or
 Power that dwells in every man and woman, yea, in every creature,
 according to his orb, within the globe of the Creation. So that now
 you see and feel and taste the sweetness of the Spirit ruling in
 your flesh, who is the Lord and King of Glory in the whole
 Creation, and you have community with Him who is the Father of all
 things. Now you are enlightened; now you are saved, and rise higher
 and higher into life and peace, as this manifestation of the Father
 increases and spreads within you.「[61:1]

As was only to be expected, the publication of the above pamphlets brought Winstanley into disrepute with the orthodox Ministers of the Church, who accused him of denying God, Christ, Scripture, and the Ordinances of God. This accusation gave rise to Winstanley's next pamphlet, of some 77 well-printed duodecimo pages, the preface to which is dated October 16th, 1648, and which bears the significant title--Truth lifting its Head above Scandals.[62:1] In this volume Winstanley indignantly denies such a charge, and makes use of the opportunity to restate his views even more clearly than he had previously done. The book opens with a dedicatory letter addressed 「To the Scholars of Oxford and Cambridge, and to all that call themselves Ministers of the Gospel in City or Country,「 in which he carries the war into his enemy's camp in a forcible and masterly manner. He reminds them that they are not the only ones who have the right to judge of the meaning of the Scriptures, 「For the people, having the Scriptures, may judge by them as well as you.「 He then continues:

 「If you say, 'No, the people cannot judge, because they know not
 the original:' I answer, Neither do you know the original. Though
 by your learning you may be able to translate a writing out of
 Hebrew or Greek into our mother-tongue, English, but to say this is
 the original Scripture you cannot: for those very copies which the
 Prophets and Apostles writ are not to be seen in your
 Universities.「

He forces home his argument in the following words:

 「You say you have the just copies of their writings. You do not
 know that but as your Fathers have told you, which may be as well
 false as true, if you have no other better ground than tradition.
 You say that the interpretation of Scripture into our mother tongue
 is according to the mind of the _spirit_. You cannot tell that
 neither, unless you are able to say that those who did interpret
 those writings have had the same testimony of spirit as the pen-men
 of Scripture had. For it is the spirit within that must prove these
 copies to be true.「

He then turns the tables by accusing them of being 「the very men that do deny God, Scriptures, and the Ordinances of God; and that turn the truths of the Spirit into a lie, by leaving the letter, and walking in their own inferences「; and also 「by holding forth spiritual things by the imagination of the flesh, and not by the law and testimony of the Spirit within.「 And he contends that, in truth, he and his fellows are 「those men that do advance God, Christ, Scriptures, and Ordinances in the spirituality of them.「

In the opening chapter of the book itself, Winstanley, with more than his usual directness, plunges into the heart of his subject in the following suggestive words:

 「I have said that whosoever worships God by hearsay, as others tell
 him, and knows not what God is from light within himself; or that
 thinks God is in the heavens above the skies, and so prays to that
 God which he imagines to be there and everywhere, but from any
 testimony within, he knows not how nor where: this man worships his
 own imagination, which is the Devil. But he who is a true
 worshipper must know who God is and how He is to be worshipped,
 from the Power of Light shining within him, if ever he have true
 peace.「

 「Hence,「 he continues, 「a report is raised, and is frequent in the
 mouth of the teachers, that I deny God. Therefore, first, I shall
 give account of what I see and know Him to be; and let the
 understanding in heart judge me.「

Winstanley then endeavours to formulate his theistic views and beliefs in a series of questions and answers, from which we feel compelled to quote the following:

 「_Q._ What is God?

 「_A._ I answer, He is the incomprehensible Spirit Reason;[63:1]
 who as He willed the Creation should flow out of Him, so He
 governs the whole Creation in righteousness, peace, and moderation.
 And He is called the Father, because as the whole Creation comes
 out of Him, so He is the life of the whole Creation, by whom every
 creature doth subsist.

 「_Q._ When can a man call the Father his God?

 「_A._ When he feels and sees, by experience, that the Spirit which
 made the flesh doth govern and rule king in his flesh. And so can
 say, I rejoice to feel and see my flesh made subject to the Spirit
 of Righteousness.

 「_Q._ But may not a man call Him God till he have this experience?

 「_A._ No: for if he do, he lies, and there is no truth in him. For
 whatsoever rules as king in his flesh, that is his God....

 「_Q._ But I hope that the Father is my Governor, and therefore may
 I not call Him God?

 「_A._ Hope without ground is the hope of the hypocrite. Thou canst
 not call Him God till thou be able in pure experience to say thy
 flesh is subject to Him. For if thy knowledge be no more but
 imagination or thoughts, it is of the Devil, and not of the Father.
 Or if thy knowledge be merely from what thou hast read or heard
 from others, it is of the flesh, not of the spirit.

 「_Q._ When then may I call him God, or the Mighty Governor, and not
 deceive myself?

 「_A._ When thou art by that Spirit made to see Him rule and govern,
 not only in thee but in the whole creation.... Wait upon Him till
 He teach thee. All that read do not understand; the Spirit only
 sees truth, and lives in it.「

Winstanley subsequently explains his views at considerable length. True knowledge, he contends, comes from within, not from without. 「The whole Scriptures,「 he maintains, 「are but a report of spiritual mysteries held forth to the eye of the flesh in words.「 The Gospel he explains to be 「the Father Himself, that is, the Word and glad tidings that speak peace inwardly to pure souls.「 The writings of the Apostles and the Prophets he regards as 「the report or declaration of the Gospel, which are to cease when the Lord Himself, who is the everlasting Gospel, doth manifest Himself to rule in the flesh of sons and daughters.「 Concerning Baptism he says: 「I have gone through the ordinance of dipping, which the letter of the Scripture doth warrant, yet I do not press anyone thereunto, but bid everyone to wait upon the Father, till He teach and persuade, and then their submitting will be sound. For I see now that it is not the material water, but the water of life; that is, the Spirit in which souls are to be dipped, and so drawn forth into the one Spirit; and all these outward customs and forms are to cease and pass away.「[65:1] As regards prayer, he contends that no one should pray 「until the Power within thee gives words to thy mouth to utter, then speak, and thou canst not but speak.「[65:2]

It is, however, in a subsequent pamphlet, The New Law of Righteousness, that Winstanley more fully expounds this characteristic Quaker doctrine, and summarises his deeply philosophic views concerning silence as the necessary precursor of all true prayer, as follows:

 「All these declare the half-hour's silence that is to be in Heaven
 (Rev. viii. 1). For all mouths are to be stopped by the power of
 Reason's law shining within the heart. And this abundance of talk
 that is amongst people by arguments, by disputes, by declaring
 expositions upon others' word and writing, by long discourse,
 called preaching, shall all cease (Jer. xxxi. 34).

 「Some shall not be able to speak, they shall be struck silent with
 shame by seeing themselves in a loss and in confusion. Neither
 shall they care to speak till they know by experience within
 themselves what to speak; but wait with a quiet silence upon the
 Lord, till He break forth within their hearts, and give them words
 and power to speak.... Men must leave off teaching one another,
 and the eyes of all shall look upward to the Father, to be taught
 of Him. And at this time silence shall be a man's rest and liberty;
 it is the gathering time, the soul's receiving time: it is the
 forerunner of pure language.... He that speaks from the original
 light within can truly say, I know what I say, and I know whom I
 worship.「

Somewhat later he continues:

 「None shall need to turn over books and writings (for indeed all
 these shall cease too) to get knowledge. But everyone shall be
 taken off from seeking knowledge from without, and with an humble
 quiet heart shall wait upon the Lord, till He manifest Himself: for
 He is a great king, and worthy to be waited upon. His testimony
 within fills the heart with joy and singing. He first gives
 experiences; and then power to set forth these experiences. Hence
 you shall speak to the rejoicing one of another, and to the praise
 of Him who declares His power in you. But he that speaks his
 thoughts, studies, and imagination, and stands up to be a teacher
 of others, shall be judged for his unrighteousness, because he
 seeks to honor flesh, and does not honor the Lord.「

He then somewhat mystically continues:

 「Behold the Annointing, that is to reach all things, is coming to
 create a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein Righteousness shall
 dwell, and there shall not be a vessel of humane earth but it shall
 be filled with Christ. If it were possible to have so many buckets
 as to contain the whole ocean, every one could be filled with the
 ocean, and being put all together it would make up the perfect
 ocean which filled them all. Even so Christ, which is the spreading
 power, is now beginning to fill every man and woman with Himself.
 He will dwell and rule in everyone; and the Law of Reason and
 Equity shall be Christ in them. Every single body is a star shining
 forth of Him, or rather a body in and out of whom He shines; and He
 is the ocean of power that fills all. And so the words are true,
 the Creation, mankind, shall be the fulness of Him that fills all
 in all. This is the Church, the great Congregation, that, when the
 mystery is completed, shall be the mystical body of Christ, all set
 at liberty from inward and outward straits and bondage. And this
 is called the holy breathing that made all new by Himself and for
 Himself.「

   *       *       *       *       *

We think we have now dealt sufficiently with Winstanley's exposition of the theistical doctrines subsequently adopted, and almost in their entirety, by the Society of Friends. In a later chapter (Chap. XVI.) we shall show how far he himself modified his earlier views. And in the succeeding chapter we shall briefly lay before our readers the practical and fundamental social changes Winstanley deemed demanded by the dictates of Reason, as forming the necessary first steps towards laying the foundations of 「a new Earth and a new Heaven wherein Righteousness, or Justice, shall dwell.「

FOOTNOTES:

[53:1] Clarke Papers, vol. i. p. 379.

[54:1] British Museum, Press Mark, 4377, a. 2.

[54:2] In 1655, Giles Calvert published 「A Declaration from the Children of Light (who are by the world scornfully called Quakers).「 British Museum, Press Mark, E. 838.

[55:1] The full truth of these words comes home to us when we bear in mind that the law (De Comburendo Heretico) sanctioning the burning of heretics was only repealed in the reign of Charles the Second (in 1677), the Bishops of the day opposing its repeal almost to a man.

[56:1] King's Pamphlets. British Museum, Press Mark, E. 2137.

[58:1] 「The early Friends were men of prayer, and diligent searchers of the Holy Scriptures. Unable to find true rest in the various opinions and systems which in that day divided the Christian world, they believed that they found the Truth in a more full reception of Christ, not only as the living and ever-present Head of the Church in its aggregate capacity, but also as the life and light, the spiritual ruler, teacher and friend of every individual member.「--Book of Discipline of the Society of Friends. Quoted by J. S. Rowntree, Society of Friends: its Faith and Practice, p. 24. See also Barclay's Apology for the true Christian Divinity, p. 1: Second Proposition.

[60:1] 「It is the inward master (saith Augustine) that teacheth, it is Christ that teacheth, it is inspiration that teacheth: where this inspiration and unction is wanting, it is vain that words from without are beaten in.「 And thereafter: 「For he that created us, and redeemed us, and called us by faith, and dwelleth in us by his Spirit, unless he speaketh unto you inwardly, it is needless for us to cry out.「--From Barclay's Apology, p. 13.

[61:1] 「If instead of assuming the being of an awful deity, which men, though they cannot and dare not deny, are always unwilling, sometimes unable, to conceive, we were to show them a near, visible, inevitable, but all-beneficent deity, whose presence makes the earth itself a heaven, I think there would be fewer deaf children sitting in the market-place.「--John Ruskin, Modern Painters.

[62:1] British Museum, Press Mark, 4372, a.a. 17. Below the title appears the following words: 「Professors of all forms, behold the Bridegroom is coming, your profession will be tried to purpose, your hypocricy shall be hid no longer. You shall feed no longer upon the Oil that was in other men's Lamps (the Scriptures), for now it is required that everyone have Oil in his own Lamp, even the pure testimony of truth within himself. For he that wants this, though he have the report of it in his book, he shall not enter with the Bridegroom into the chamber of peace.「

[63:1] 「The incomprehensible Spirit Reason!「 It is interesting to note here that the 「Tau「 of the great Chinese philosopher, Lau-tsze,--the word he uses to denote the Absolute, which, consequently, he wisely leaves vague and undefined, and which apparently has no English word exactly equivalent to it,--suggests to his translator three English words--「the Way, Reason, and the Word.「 The latter's one objection to the word Reason as an equivalent is that to him it 「seems to be more like a quality or attribute of some conscious being than Tau is.「 See The Speculations of the old Philosopher Lau-tsze, by John Chalmers, M.A. Introduction.

[65:1] See Barclay's Apology (Concerning Baptism), p. 7.

[65:2] 「All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own Spirit, which is limited neither to places, times, nor persons. For though we be to worship him always, in that we are to fear before him; yet as to the outward signification thereof in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it where and when we will, but where and when we are moved by the secret inspiration of his Spirit in our hearts, which God heareth and accepteth of, and is never wanting to move us thereunto when need is, of which he himself is the alone proper judge.「--Barclay's Apology (Concerning Worship), p. 6.