I tarried there next day, and in the night following had a great exercise upon my spirit concerning that loose spirit, that was run out into strife and contention among Friends, and had drawn some after it into division and separation; the way, work, and end whereof the Lord opened to me: wherefore feeling the motion of life upon me, I got up in the morning and wrote the following epistle to Friends:— “MY DEAR FRIENDS, “Keep your first love in the truth, power, and Seed of life in Christ Jesus; for this last night, as I was lying in my bed at Amsterdam, I had a great travail in the holy Seed of life and peace, and my spirit was troubled with that spirit of strife and separation. I saw it was a destroying spirit, and did seek not only to get over the Seed, but to destroy it, and to eat out the minds of people from it by strife and contention; and, under pretence of standing for the ancient truth, its work is to root it out, and destroy the appearance of it, to set up itself. It is a creeping spirit, seeking whom it can get into; and what it cannot do itself, it stirreth up others to do, and setteth their spirit afloat, with the dark wisdom to destroy the simple. This spirit is managed by the prince of the air, and leadeth some to do things which they would have been ashamed to have done as men, which doth unman them; and they would not have suffered them if they had kept to the tender principle of God, which leadeth to peace. It is a despising, backbiting, secret-whispering spirit, a sower of dissension, and a taker of advantage of all prejudiced spirits, that are disobedient to their first principle, and love of truth, and begetteth into hatred; so it begetteth all into that spirit, whose work is to destroy both the good within, and the good order without. Nay, it would, if it could, destroy the government of Christ, and the order of the gospel, to set up its own will and spirit, which is not of God; and, under pretence of crying down man, is setting up man, and gathering into a separation of disobedient men, who float above their conditions. This spirit which neither liveth in the truth nor its order, but opposeth them that do, I cannot express it, as I see it and its work, whose end will be accordingly.