The Digger Movement in the Days of the Commonwealth: As Revealed in the Writings of Gerrard Winstanley, the Digger, Mystic and Rationalist, Communist and Social ReformerBerens, Lewis Henry
History
The Digger Movement in the Days of the Commonwealth: As Revealed in the Writings of Gerrard Winstanley, the Digger, Mystic and Rationalist, Communist and Social Reformer
Berens, Lewis Henry
Communism; Land use; Winstanley, Gerrard, 1609-
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]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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