GERRARD WINSTANLEY
"Your word-divinity darkens knowledge. You talk of a body of
Divinity, and of Anatomysing Divinity. O fine language! But when it
comes to trial, it is but a husk without the kernel, words without
life. The Spirit is in the hearts of the people whom you despise
and tread under foot."--WINSTANLEY, _The New Law of Righteousness
(1649)_.
Gerrard Winstanley, whose strange entry on the stately stage of English
History we have recorded in the previous chapter, was born at Wigan in
the County of Lancashire, on October 10th, 1609.[41:1] He was,
therefore, some ten years younger than his great contemporary Oliver
Cromwell (born 1599), one year the junior of the immortal Milton (born
1608), and some fifteen years older than George Fox (born 1624). Of his
earlier years we know nothing; but, to judge from many passages in his
writings, he appears to have received a good middle-class education, and
to have been brought up a dutiful follower of the Church as by law
established. When arrived at man's estate, he settled as a small trader
in London, of which City he probably became a freeman; for in a pamphlet
addressed to the City of London,[41:2] he claims to be "one of thy sons
by freedom." He then goes on to relate how, "by thy cheating sons in
the thieving art of buying and selling, and by the burdens of and for
the soldiery in the beginning of the war," he "had been beaten out of
both estate and trade," and had been forced "to accept of the good-will
of friends, crediting of me, to live a country life."
Those who have passed through a similar experience, who have been driven
from the comparatively comfortable middle-class life to the precarious
and comfortless existence of the vast majority of the toiling masses,
will readily realise that under such circumstances Winstanley's mind
would naturally be full of questionings such as might not have forced
themselves on his attention under more prosperous conditions. What was
the aim and object of that incessant struggle out of which he had just
emerged "beaten out of both estate and trade"? What made it necessary?
who really benefited by it? For whose benefit was the war being waged,
the burden of which had fallen so heavily upon him? How was it going to
advantage the masses of the people? Was it ever intended that it should
benefit them? was it possible that it should do so? Could any such
struggle be a means of delivering the great masses of the people, "the
younger brothers," out of the straits of poverty, with its attendant
train of ignorance, misery, vice, and crime, to which they had hitherto
been ruthlessly and hopelessly condemned? Was it, in truth, inevitable,
was it inherent in the very nature of things, was it God's intention
that a privileged few, "the elder brothers," should be lords and
masters, and that the great majority of mankind should for ever remain
the mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, the slaves and servants of
an insignificant minority of their fellow-creatures? Were these things
due to natural causes, to the inscrutable workings of a Divine
Providence; or were they but the necessary though unforeseen fruits of
mere man-made laws and institutions the existing generation had
inherited from a by-gone and ignorant past? Such were the questions
which vaguely and indistinctly may have passed, and, as we shall see,
did pass, through the active, original, philosophic and deeply religious
mind of Winstanley in the quiet solitude of his country life.
His life had drifted from its accustomed moorings; his troubles were
greater than he could bear; and when he turned to Religion for guidance
and consolation, alas! he found that the teachings he had imbibed in his
childhood, and never questioned in his manhood, now failed him in his
hour of need. Foiled, though not beaten, he turned to the pages of the
Holy Scriptures themselves for guidance and information, for consolation
and revelation. In these inspired writings, if anywhere, there surely
must be found some expression, some revelation, of God's intentions
towards His children, some indication of His holy will, which, if men
would wholly follow, would lead them down the path of righteousness to
happiness and peace. And it was from these pages that Winstanley derived
those religious and political convictions that find such eloquent and
forcible expression in his writings, and which he made such heroic
efforts to proclaim by word and deed to his fellow-men.
What seems to us to give a special charm to the study of Winstanley's
writings is that they reveal the gradual development of his acute and
powerful mind. His earlier pamphlets betray the influence of the
mysticism so prevalent in his days; his last utterance on theological
questions, as we shall see, might have been penned by an advanced
thinker of the present day, imbued with modern scientific views, and
recognising the necessary relation and co-ordination of all the physical
and psychical phenomena of the universe, "of the several bodies of the
stars and planets in the heavens above, and the several bodies of the
earth below, as plants, grass, fishes, beasts, birds, and mankind."
As to how far Winstanley owes the views that find expression in his
earlier pamphlets--which deal exclusively with cosmological or
theological speculations--to others, or to the writings of earlier
mystics, we have no means of knowing.[43:1] From them we gather,
however, that he had learned or had come to regard the whole Biblical
narrative as an allegory, of which he gives a most poetical
interpretation. The Creation is mankind. The Garden of Eden is the mind
of man, which he describes as originally filled with herbs and pleasant
plants, "as love, joy, peace, humility, delight, and purity of life."
The serpent he holds to be self-love, the forbidden fruit to be
"selfishness," following the promptings of which "the whole garden
becomes a stinking dunghill of weeds, and brings forth nothing but
pride, envy, discontent, disobedience, and the whole actings of the
spirit and power of darkness." And he argues that--"If the creature
should be honored in this condition, then God would be dishonored,
because his command would be broken.... And if the creature were utterly
lost ... then likewise God would suffer dishonor, because his work would
be spoiled." Hence he maintains that "the curse that was declared to
Adam was temporary," and that eventually the whole creation, the whole
of mankind, shall be saved, and "the work of God shall be restored from
this lost, dead, weedy and enslaved condition."[44:1]
Winstanley, however, regarded the word "God" as too vague satisfactorily
to denote the supreme spiritual power which pervades, upholds and
governs the whole universe. He had, he tells us, "been held in darkness
by that word, as I see many people are."[44:2] And so that neither he
nor others should "rest longer upon words without knowledge, but
hereafter may look upon that spiritual power, and know what it is that
rules them, which doth rule in and over all," he felt himself impelled
to conceive of and to refer to this spiritual power, which is God, as
"Reason." He contends that "though men may esteem the word Reason to be
too mean a name to set forth the Father by, yet it is the highest name
that can be given to Him. For it is Reason that made all things; and it
is Reason that governs the whole Creation. If flesh were but subject
thereunto, that is, to the Spirit of Reason within itself, it would
never act unrighteously.... For this Spirit of Reason is not without a
man, but within every man; hence he need not run after others to tell
him or to teach him; for this Spirit is his maker, he dwells in him, and
if the flesh were subject thereunto, he would daily find teaching
therefrom, though he dwelt alone and saw the face of no other
man."[45:1] "This is the Spirit, or Father, which as he made the Globe
and every creature, so he dwells in every creature, but supremely in
man. He it is by whom everyone lives, and moves, and hath his being.
Perfect man is the eye and face that sees and declares the Father: and
he is perfect when he is taken up in the Spirit and lives in the light
of Reason."[45:1] "Reason is that living Power of Light that is in all
things. It is the salt that savours all things. It is the fire that
burns up dross, and so restores what is corrupted, and preserves what is
pure. He is the Lord our Righteousness. It lies in the bottom of love,
of justice, of wisdom: for if the Spirit Reason did not uphold and
moderate these, they would be madness; nay, they could not be called by
their names, for Reason guides them in order and leads them to their
right end, which is not to preserve a part, but the whole
Creation."[45:2]
The reason of man, Winstanley regarded but as an emanation of the Divine
Spirit Reason, as the one true Inward Light, which if men would only and
wholly follow would lead them to live in peace and harmony, and in
accordance with the Divine Spirit. "Man's reasoning," he says,[45:2] "is
a creature which flows from that Spirit to this end, to draw up man into
himself. It is but a candle lighted by that soul, and this light,
shining through flesh, is darkened by the imagination of the flesh. So
that many times men act contrary to reason, though they think they act
according to Reason.... The Spirit Reason, which I call God, the Maker
and Ruler of all things, is that spiritual power that guides all men's
reasoning in right order, and to a right end ... and knite every
creature together into a oneness, making every creature to be an
upholder of his fellows; and so everyone is an assistant to preserve the
whole. And the nearer man's reasoning comes to this, the more spiritual
they are; the further off they be, the more selfish and fleshy they be."
Winstanley took care to point out,[46:1] however, that "this word Reason
is not the alone name of this spiritual power; but everyone may give him
a name according to that spiritual power that they feel and see rules in
them, carrying them forth in actions to preserve their fellow-creatures
as well as themselves. Therefore some may call him King of
Righteousness, or Prince of Peace; some may call him Love, and the like.
But I can and I do call him Reason, because I see him to be that living,
powerful light that is in righteousness, making righteousness to be
righteousness, or justice to be justice, or love to be love. For without
this moderator and ruler they would be madness; nay, the self-willedness
of the flesh, and not what we call them."[46:1]
But, he warns his readers,[46:2] "truly let me tell you, that you cannot
say the Spirit, Reason, is your God, till you see and feel by experience
that the Spirit doth govern your flesh. For if Envy be the Lord that
rules your flesh, if Pride and Covetousness rule your flesh, then is
Envy, Covetousness, or Pride your God. If you fear man so greatly that
you dare not do righteously for fear of angering men, then slavish fear
is your God. If rash anger govern your flesh, then is anger your God.
Therefore deceive not yourselves, but let Reason work within you; and
examine and see what your flesh is subject to. For whatever doth govern
in you, that is your God."
Winstanley's characteristic theological doctrines were, then, the
realisation of the function and importance of the Inward Light, of
Reason, which he regarded as the necessary and all-sufficient guide for
human conduct; his keen appreciation of silence as the necessary
precursor of all real prayer, if not as in itself a form of worship;
and his intense conviction of the ultimate salvation of the whole of
mankind. To Winstanley, Reason is the Ruling Spirit of the whole
Creation, is God, the Spirit of Righteousness, who is ever seated within
the hearts of men combating the lusts of the flesh, the promptings of
the brute animal nature of mankind. Disobedient man may know him not,
because covetous flesh, the promptings of self-love, hath deceived him,
and "so he looks abroad for a God, and so doth imagine or fancy a God in
some particular place of glory beyond the skies; or else, if men do look
for a God within them, yet are they led by the notions of King Flesh,
and not of King Spirit."[47:1] Reason, in short, is the spark of the
Divine in man, the Spirit of Light that dwells within and may rule the
mind and actions of every man. Conscience is but the promptings of
Reason, inspiring men to right action, to deal justly and brotherly and
to live in peaceful and harmonious association with their fellows.
Self-love, covetousness, the desire of the flesh, is ever the enemy of
Reason. And life is but a continuous struggle between these two powers
for dominion in the Creation, over the hearts and actions of mankind.
Self-love ruling the hearts of man, is the Adam that causes him to sin,
not the crime of the man Adam who lived so many thousand years ago. And
similarly it is the ruling of the spirit of Jesus Christ, the Inward
Light, within the hearts of man, not the sufferings of a man Christ
Jesus, which is the essential condition of individual and social
salvation. "This is the lightning that shall spread from East to West.
This is the Kingdom of Heaven within you, dwelling and ruling in your
flesh. Therefore learn to know Jesus Christ as the Father knows him;
that is, not after the flesh; but know that the Spirit within the flesh
is that mighty man Christ Jesus. He within governs the flesh; he within
laid down the flesh, when he was said to die; he within is to arise, not
at a distance from man, but he will rise up in men, and manifest himself
to be the light and life of every man and woman that is saved by
him."[47:2] By following the desires of the flesh, the promptings of
selfish covetousness, we can never gain true happiness, which is Heaven,
for the voice of Reason within us, of our conscience, or the Inward
Light illumining the inner darkness, will upbraid{4} us and cast us into
Hell within us. True happiness, complete satisfaction, which is Heaven,
can only be gained by following the dictates of Reason, by following the
promptings of the Inward Light. Thus to Winstanley, as to Tolstoy, the
Kingdom of Heaven, as well as the kingdom of hell, is within men's
minds, and "there is no other."[48:1] Everything that happens, however,
is ordained, or rather permitted, by God the Father, "the Ruling Spirit
of the Whole Creation," for His own ends. He controls the Spirits or
Powers we call evil, as well as those we call good: all work in
accordance with His commands, to further His ends. In Winstanley's
philosophy, unlike that of Luther, there was no room for an independent
Devil. Though in our blindness we may attribute our sufferings to such a
personage, yet whatever happens to a man is somehow or other for his own
good, though in an unregenerate state we may not realise this. All
suffering, in truth, does but tend to purify the soul from the lust of
the flesh, to enable the Inward Light to overcome the inward darkness,
to enable Reason to overcome Self-Love, good to overcome evil: and thus
to lead men to God. In the end, in the day of Judgement, the good will
triumph, Reason will cast out Covetousness, Universal Love will cast out
Self Love, meekness will cast out pride, righteousness will cast out
unrighteousness: and all men made perfect by the Inward Light, the
Spirit of Christ within them, will rejoice in the knowledge and glory of
God.
It is almost impossible to read Winstanley's earlier theological
pamphlets without being struck by the similarity in thought and doctrine
with those to-day still held by the Society of Friends, or Quakers,
whose original name amongst themselves, be it remembered, was the
Children of Light. And it is interesting to note that during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the opponents of the Quakers
repeatedly taunted them with being disciples of Winstanley the
Leveller.[49:1] Thus the Right Reverend Thomas Coomber, Dean of Durham,
in a pamphlet significantly entitled _Christianity no Enthusiasm: Or the
several kinds of inspiration and Revelation pretended to by the Quakers
tried and found destructive to Holy Scripture and True Religion_,
published in 1678, wrote as follows:
"First for their original, it may seem more difficult to discover,
where Sects are not called after their Founder, but after some
property, etc., it may be harder to trace them to their head. In
1652 their beginning is supposed, and then abouts they were so
called and known. John Whitehead fixes it in the year 1648;[49:2]
and Hubberthorne in 1660 told the King that they were then twelve
years standing.[49:3] In that black year to these kingdoms (1648)
their pretended light appeared.[50:1] ... But the very draughts and
even body of Quakerism are to be found in the several works of
Gerrard Winstanley, a zealous Leveller, wherein he tells us of the
arising of new times and dispensations, and challengeth Revelation
very much for what he writ."
Coomber proceeds to quote from every one of Winstanley's theological
pamphlets, and then continues:
"That these are the Quaker principles is well enough known,
allowing for some little alterations, as few Sect-Masters but have
their doctrines varied by their Proselytes.... Now, considering
these opinions, the year, the country[50:2] (as _The Mystery of
God_ is dedicated to his "beloved countrymen of the County of
Lancaster"), the printer Giles Calvert, and that several Levellers
settled into Quakers, we incline to take them for Winstanley's
Disciples and a branch of the Levellers. And what this man writes
of--levelling men's estates, of taking in of Commons, that none
should have more ground than he was able to till and husband by
his labour--proving unpracticable by reason of so many tough old
laws which had fixed propriety; yet it is pursued by the Quakers as
much as they well can, in thouing everybody, in denying Titles,
Civil Respects, and terms of distinction among men, and at first
they were for Community."
If Winstanley's writings be really the source whence the early Quakers,
the Children of Light, drew their most characteristic tenets and
doctrines, as we ourselves do not doubt, then surely his noble ambition
has been satisfied: for through them he has, indeed, influenced the
thought of his country, the thought of the whole world, which owes more
than we even yet realise to their pure and altruistic teachings.
However, leaving this most interesting question to be decided by our
readers, each for himself, we shall now place the chief contents of
these writings before them, using as far as possible Winstanley's own
words.
FOOTNOTES:
[41:1] Both Gerrard and Winstanley are common names in that part of
Lancashire which lies between Wigan and Liverpool. In the Wigan Parish
Register there is an entry under the above date--"Gerrard Winstanlie,
son of Edward Winstanlie." The first pamphlet he wrote, _The Mystery of
God concerning the whole Creation_, is dedicated "To my beloved
countrymen of the County of Lancaster." In his time the term
"countrymen" had a more contracted meaning than now, and implied a
common nativity of a Shire or Parish: indeed it still has this meaning
in some parts of Cheshire.
[41:2] _A Watchword to the City of London._
[43:1] Between the years 1644-1662 the works of the German mystic Jakob
Boehme were translated into English. All Winstanley's theological
pamphlets were published in the year 1648-1649, to which year the origin
of the Quaker doctrines is generally attributed.
[44:1] See _The Mystery of God concerning the whole Creation, Mankind_.
British Museum, Press Mark, 4377, a. 1. The whole pamphlet consists of
some 69 closely printed pages.
[44:2] _Truth lifting up its Head above Scandals._ British Museum, Press
Mark, 4372, a.a. 17.
[45:1] _The Saint's Paradise._ British Museum, Press Mark, E. 2137.
[45:2] _Truth lifting up its Head above Scandals._
[46:1] _Truth lifting up its Head above Scandals._
[46:2] _The Saint's Paradise._
[47:1] _The Saint's Paradise._
[47:2] "That which the people called Quakers lay down as a main
fundamental in religion, is this, that God, through Christ, hath placed
a principle in every man, to inform him of his duty, and to enable him
to do it; and that those who live up to this principle, are the people
of God; and that those who live in disobedience to it, are not God's
people, whatever name they bear, or profession they may make of
religion.... By this principle they understand something that is Divine,
and though in man, not of man, but of God; it came from Him and leads to
Him all those who will be led by it ... it is the spirit given to every
man to profit withal."--William Penn, _Primitive Christianity Revived_
(1696). Quoted from J. S. Rowntree's _The Society of Friends; its Faith
and Practice_.
[48:1] Speaking of the early Quakers, Cotton Mather, after attributing
the origin of this sect "to some fanatics here in our town of Salem,"
describes the principles of "the old Foxian Quakerism" as follows:
"There is in every man a certain excusing and condemning _principle_,
which indeed is nothing but some _remainder_ of the Divine Image left by
the compassion of God upon the conscience of man after his fall.... They
scoffed at our imagined God beyond the stars." He also contends that
"the new turn such ingenuous men as Mr. Penn" had given to Quakerism,
had made of it "quite a new thing." See his _History of New England_,
book vii. chap. iv.
[49:1] The Rev. Thos. Bennet, on p. 4 of _An Answer to the Dissenters'
Pleas for Separation_, published in 1711, referring to the origin of the
various sorts of dissenters, speaks of the time "when Winstanley
published the principles of Quakerism, and enthusiasm broke out." In a
footnote he mentions _The Saint's Paradise_.
[49:2] Gerard Croese in _The General History of the Quakers_, published
1696, says, "The Quakers themselves date their first rise from the
forty-ninth year of the present century."
[49:3] See _An account of what passed between the King and Richard
Hubberthorne, after the delivery of George Fox his letter to the King_,
which is to be found amongst Thomasson's Pamphlets, British Museum.
[50:1] As our readers will notice, all Winstanley's theological writings
were written and published in 1648-1649. The Preface to _Truth Lifting
up its Head above Scandals_ is dated October 16th, 1648; _The Saint's
Paradise_ bears no date, but was certainly written before _The New Law
of Righteousness_, the Preface to which is dated January 26th, 1648
(1649). (At that time the New Year commenced on March 26th.)
[50:2] Coomber had already pointed out that Quakerism arose in the North
of England, and mainly in Winstanley's native county of Lancashire. His
reference to Giles Calvert, the printer, is also most suggestive; for
Calvert published almost all Winstanley's pamphlets, and later was one
of the first authorised publishers of the official publications of the
Society of Friends. Calvert's establishment seems to have been the
source, as well as the depository, of much of the advanced literature of
his times. In his _Protest against Toleration of Printing Pamphlets
against Non-Conformists_, Baxter refers to it as follows: "Let all the
Apothecaries of London have liberty to keep open shop. But O do not
under that pretence let a man keep an open shop of poisons for all that
will destroy themselves freely, as Giles Calvert doth for Soul-poisons."
Calvert was suspected of having provided the funds for one of the later
risings of the Fifth Monarchy Men. He subsequently joined the Quakers.