oached and
oppressed on every side. Such as make professions of thee, yet
revile me. And though they see I cannot fight with fleshy weapons,
yet they will strive with me by that power. And so I see, Father,
that England yet doth choose rather to fight with the Sword of Iron
and Covetousness than with the Sword of the Spirit, which is Love.
And what thy purpose is with this Land or with my body, I know not,
but establish thy power in me, and then do what pleases thee.

"These and such like sweet thoughts dwelt in my heart as I went
along; and I feel myself now like a man in a storm, standing under
shelter upon a hill in peace, waiting till the storm be over to see
the end of it, and of many other things that my eye is fixed upon."

The pamphlet concludes as follows:

"You have arrested us for digging upon the common land, you have
executed your unrighteous power, in destraining cattle, imprisoning
our bodies, and yet our cause was never publicly heard, neither can
it be proved that we broke any Law that is built upon equity and
reason. Therefore we wonder whence you had your power to rule over
us by will, more than we to rule over you by our will.... We
request that you would let us have a fair open trial.... let your
Ministers plead with us in the Scriptures, and let your Lawyers
plead with us as to the equity and reason of your own Law. And if
you prove us transgressors, then we shall lay down our work and
acknowledge that we have trespassed against you in digging upon the
Commons, and then punish us. But if we prove by Scripture and
Reason that undeniably the Land belongs to one as well as another,
then you shall own our work, justify our cause, and declare that
you have done wrong to Christ, who you say is your Lord and Master,
in abusing us His servants and your fellow-creatures, while we are
doing His work. Therefore, knowing you to be men of moderation in
outward show, I desire that your actions towards your
fellow-creatures may not be like one beast to another, but carry
yourselves like man to man, for your proceeding in your pretence of
Law hitherto against us is both unrighteous, beastly, and devilish,
and nothing of the spirit of man seen in it. You Attornies and
Lawyers, you say you are Ministers of Justice, and we know that
equity and