Englands discoverer; or The levellers creed. Wherein is set forth, their great and unparralellʻd [sic] design against the twelve famods [sic] companies of the city of London, viz. The mercers. Grocers. Drapers. Marchant-taylors haberdashers. Goldsmiths cloth-workers. Fishmongers. Vintners. And the rest. And all other trades, mysteries, arts and callings whatsoever, within the cities of London, Yorke, Lincolne, Glocester, Bristoll, Excester, with the rest of the market townes, corporations, and villages, within the territories of England, and domini- [sic] of Wales. Published by speciall authority, to undeceive the people, th ̄[sic] like being never heard of in all former ages.

ENGLANDS Diſcovererer; Or, the Levellers CREED Wherein is ſet forth, Their dangerous and pernicious Stratagems, againſt the Liberties of t • e people, Miniſtery and Magiſtracy, and their D • ſign to make a univerſall levelling throughout the whole Nation.

GReat ſtones are not laid in the building, without ſome time and great labour, becauſe of their weight; but once placed, remain long: Charles King of Naples was ſurn • med Cunctator, Delayer, becauſe he ſtayed till oppor •••••• y • as paſt; But Fabius the Shield of Rome, was ſo calle • •• cauſe he only ſtaid till opportunity was come. But I ſha • l n • w come to a m • re parti • ular Diſcovery, viz. Till I •• w their Manifeſtation, I could not well tell, nor hardly gu • ſſe, what (for men) in many things they would have the world think them to be. There (indeed) they profeſſe, that they believe there is one eternall and omnipotent God, the Author and preſerver of all things in the world: and deny to be either Atheiſts or Antiſcripturiſts. But what Atheiſts for advantage and to ſerve his own turne. Whether there be not Hypocrifie here in their ſpeech; Let theſe things be noted from thoſe called Levellers. 1. It is aſſerted by them, that Reaſon is God, and out of this reaſon came the whole creation. 2. The immortality of the ſoul they flatly deny, and ſcoff at ſuch people as believe the ſouls imortallity. 3. In the Levellers creed, there is no Jeſus Chriſt no conception, birth, life, death, burial, reſurrection, or exaltation of ſuch a one; no heaven nor hell, no Angel, good not bad; no reſurrection of the fleſh; for to take it ſo in the letter (they ſay) in a dream of our Preachers. 4. All that we call the hiſtory of the Scripture is an idol for there is no other Adam, or Chriſt, Cain or Abel, Abraham, Jſaac, Jacob. Moſes, Canaanites, Amalekites, Philiſtins: but what is ſeen and felt within every man. Hence they ſay, the publique preachers have cheated the whole world, by telling us of a ſingle man, called Adam, that kil'd us by eating a ſingle fruit.

5. By their principles men muſt leave of all teaching and inſtructing each other. There is no uſe of ſermons, Sacraments, or prayer, Preachers are the curſe, and the ſpreaders of the curſe, ſtanding ponds of ſtinking water; yea the zealous preachers, are no other then Judas, Traitors, Witches, Sorcerers, Deceivers, they and the people joyning together in publick worſhip is an abomination, gathering Congregations Church-fellow-ſhip, and all other outward forms this (ſay the Levellers is to betray Chriſt into the hands of fleſh, a • eceit of the Divell, the government of the beaſt, Antichriſtian captivity, and 'tis to be under the the tyrant fleſh, a new bondage, a wrapping men in confuſion, the myſtery of iniquity, and only to hinder Chriſt the great Prophet fr • m riſing.

It hath formerly been held, that religion, and the true worſhip of God, is much for the ſafety & proſperity of a Common-wealth, and mens departure from the practice thereof and falling to hereticall, atheiſticall, and blaſphemous ways brings Gods curſe and plagus upon a nation: and indeed the Heathen thought ſo too, when God is neglected, the land is corrected.

There is a City called Zaiton, in India, where they bring hot meats to their Idols, feeding their dumbe Gods with the ſmoake, and eating the meat shemſelves. Whatſoever theſe men profeſſe concerning One eternal and omnipotent God, yet, they ſerve him juſt as the heathens do their Idols, give him no meat, no worſhip, ſervice or Religious duty; all that he hath from them is only ſmoake, and fitly may it be named ſmoake, for in truth their principles are nothing elſe but the ſmoak of the bottomleſſe pit.

6. That they are Atheiſts and Antiſcripturiſts, or little better: men who regard not God, neither the Scriptures, nor any religion; it may be clearly ſeen by the argument of the people, which they call, the ſtandard and ultimate ſcope of their deſigns. Amongſt all their Propoſals and Article (whic are thirty at leaſt) there is not one thing propoſed, for the holding forth and furtherance of Gods publick worſhip and ſervice.

Now who knoweth not and beleeves except an Atheiſt, That Religion and the feare of God preſerves the ſociety of men among themſelve. It is the ſpeech of the Philoſopher in his Politiques, when he giveth a rule of Policy: Firſt, there muſt be a care of divine things, and that is the beſt Policy; for God loves ſuch moſt, who are carefull to ſerve him beſt.

that there is a Levelling deſign carrying on, dangerous to the Common-wealth, it is too apparent, and howbeit, but ſew are acquainted with the bottome of the work, yet many are, much uſe of women as well as men: ſome to dig, others to dream, ſome to raiſe ſedition and hurliburlies, in City, Town, and Country, others to cry out againſt Tyrannie, and for liberty. And all this is to effect-one thing, which is as they ſay themſelves, thus.

1. They will have no man to call any thing his: for it is tyranny that a man ſhould have any proper Land; particular propriety is devilliſh, the myſtery of Egyptian bondage a deſtroying of the creation, a lifter up of the proud covetous fleſh; a bringer in of the curſe ag • in, a mo • tall enemy to the Spirit, and that which hath brought in all miſery upon the creature. 2. Labourers and ſuch as are called poor people, they ought not to work for any Land lord, or for any that is lifted up above others. He that works for another, either for wages, or to pay his rent, workes unrighteouſly lifts up the curſe, and by his labours brings the creation under bondage, and the hand of the Lord ſhall be againſt ſuch labourers. Again, they ſay, it is a tyrannicall uſurpation, an incroachment of Lords of Mannors, to lay Fines and other ſervices upon their Tenants. When as by right they are as free as themſelves. 3. Levellers do not allow, neither will they have any buying or ſelling no markets to be kept, nor any civill trading at all: for to do ſo it is to take the beaſts mark: when a man hath need of any corn or catle, he is to take the ſame from the next ſtore houſe he meets with. 4. It is another doctrine of theirs, contrary to the Law o • God, of Nature, and nations, that no man is to be put to death for murder, or any unrighteous crime whatſoever: nor to be impriſoned or punniſhed any way; onely ſuch as are to work and eat their own bread; and he or they that ſhall inflict any other punniſhment upon fellow creatures, is an unrighteous actor in the creation: for it is a mighty diſhonour to our maker, that one part of the creation ſhould deſtroy another. Again, he that will rule over, impriſon, oppreſſe, and kill his fellow creatures under whatſoever pretence, is a deſtroyer of the Creation, and an actor of the curſe, and walkes contrary to the rule of righteouſneſſe. 5, If their deſign hold, they will ſo Levell the nation, that there ſhalbe no corporations, patents, Charters throughout the Realm, in any city or Town, as ſome to be free, others not: There ſhall not be Mayors, Bayliffs, Aldermen, Common-councell men, nor any Judge or Juſtice of Peace left amongſt us. Theſe as the reliques of conqueſt and Tyranny, they will pluck up by the roots. 6. For our Tearms and Lawyers (whom they term the Vermine and Caterpillers of this Common-wealth:) hear what they ſay; would it not be a notable booty to the Souldiers, when ſo many cheating Lawyers are together at the term, to drive them out, or elſe ſtrip their long taild gowns over the ears: O Souldiers, you could never do a better piece of ſervice then to put down all the Lawyers and all their Courts, with all Patents, Grants, Records, &c. and ſuffer not one Term more; and we in the Country will aſſiſt you with what power we can: ſo that let us acquit our ſelves like men and bee no more ſlaves: this were an excellent worke indeed.

To theſe therefore are their Emiſſaries ſpecially ſent; to raiſe the ſervant againſt the maſter; The Tenant againſt the Land-lord; the buyer againſt the ſeller; the borrower aganiſt the lender, the poor againſt the rich, and for encouragement every begger ſhall be ſet on Horſe-back.

And this was no other but what the German Levellers did, and by publiſhing ſo much, ſuch as had little means of their own, and all their hope was upon others, moſt readily received it.

But you heard them ſay, they approvd not of this Levelling, unleſſe there did proceed an aſſent from all the people: Here is a cloak ſo thin that a man may ſee thorow it; As if theſe men did not know and love Figures, though they are ignorant of other learning, and generally hate it. All muſt be underſtood moſt reſtrictively, that is the poor Commoner for rich men, and ſuch as have Lands, and eſtates, and claim a propriety in things, they do declare and proteſt againſt; for having exerciſed Tranny oppreſſion and cruelty, upon their fellow brethren, and free Commoners of this nation. Now who makes queſtion but this ALL, will aſſent to the equalling mens eſtates, and taking away the right and title that every man hath to what is his own. And then as the law ſayth; Fundamento deſiciente omne rerum. And England may ſay with the Poet.

Englands fearfull fate is come, this day's our laſt; We once were Engliſh, and fair this Iſland was; But Englands glory now, her joy and bliſſe is gon, Our Country ruin'd by Levellers alt's undone,

In our diſcovery we ſhall now in the next place take notice, what theſe men ſay of themſelves, for their peaceableneſſe, as to reconcile differences and to heal all breaches on all ſides, we bleſs God (ſay they) our conſciences are clear adding affliction to affliction, having ever labored from the beginning of our diſtractions to compoſe & reconcile them and ſhould eſteem it as the crown of all our temporal felicity, that yet we might be inſtruments in procuring the peace of this Common-wealth, the Land of our nativity. Beſides their agreement is tendred as a Peace-off • ring; and this Scripture eſpecial they aſſume to themſelvs, and apply t to their practice, bleſsed are the peace-makers.

Finis.