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 Glo