those who had forsaken me.

Then did gladness

swallow up sorrow, and I forsook all my troubles; and I said, how good is it that man be proved in the night, that he may know his folly, that every mouth may become silent in thy hand, until thou makest man known to himself, and hast slain the boaster, and shewed him the vanity that vexeth thy spirit.

"James Nayler.”

This plainly appears to be a poetical piece; for the author all along makes use of allegorical sayings, to signify the great anguish and tribulation he had been under.

The hatred of his enemies was the fiercer, because he had undisguisedly and clearly demonstrated their duty to the rulers, and preachers, and lawyers; for in a certain book, published by him in the year 1653, to exhort men to repentance, he writes thus to the rulers:

"O you rulers of the people, who are set up to judge between a man and his neighbour, ought you not to judge for God, and not for man? Ought not you to be men fearing God, and hating covetousness, not judging for gifts or rewards? Ought not you to countenance and encourage them that do well, and be a terror to them which do evil? Justice is so. And he that is of God, and bears his sword, turns the edge

of it against all sin and wickedness, injustice and oppression; and so sets up justice and judgment in the gates, that the poor may be delivered from him that is too mighty for him, and that the cause of the fatherless, widow, and stranger may not fall, but hath an ear open to the cries of the poor and helpless, who have but little money, and few friends; that a poor man may not be afraid to appear in a good cause, against the greatest oppression in the nation." And ought not you to judge without respect of persons, or without seeking respect to your own persons, worship or honour from men, but only to advance justice, righteousness and equity and righteousness, which is of God, so that you may be honoured by the Lord; for true humility is honour, and he that honours the Lord, him he will honour; and such have been honoured in all ages, though they never sought it from men."

66

This and much more he wrote to the rulers. And to the preachers thus.

66 'And you who say you are the teachers of the nation, how long will it be ere you look at your own ways? Is not all manner of filthiness amongst you, which you should lead the people out of? Is there not among you drunkenness, gluttony, whoredom, and sporting, sitting down

to eat and to drink, and rising up to play: swearing, lying, backbiting, false accusing, railing, slandering, contention, strife and envy? Yea, are not the best of you given to pride and covetousness, which is idolatry: fulness of bread and abundance of idleness? Are not you hirelings, and teach for the fleece? Do not you contend for money with your own hearers, and sue them at law for it; yea, although they cannot satisfy your demands, without sinning against the light in their own conscience, and so sin against God? are you not bitter and persecutors of any that come to discover your lewdness, crying out to the magistrate to uphold you in your beastly ways, and to stop the mouths of all those whom God hath sent to witness against you ? And many more works of this nature are amongst you, which the pure all-seeing eye of God hath shewed unto his people, to be among you, and therefore it is that they come out from you, lest they partake with you of your sins and plagues. But are you not blind leaders of the blind, when you neither see these to be the works of darkness, nor those that follow you. Wo unto you that devour souls for money and gain, the day of your account is at hand. repent, the blood of souls is upon you," &c.

The lawyers in the same writing had a stroke also, thus.

"And you lawyers, ought not you to plead the cause of equity, between man and man for equity sake, without respect to yourselves or others, but only to truth itself; that a just cause may be owned in whomsoever it concerns? But is not the justest cause sure to fall, if the party have not money to satisfy your demands; which are many times very unreasonable? And you who should instruct people in the ways of truth, and peace, do not you by your wisdom teach them lies, and strife? Do not you advise your plaintiffs, as you call them, to declare in bills, things that are not true, and make small offences seem very great by false glosses? For say you, we may declare what we will, and prove what we can; so that you, and they whom you act for, know before-hand, that scarce one thing of ten can be proved, neither is true? Is this the way to make up the breach, and preserve peace and truth amongst people? O miserable fall from God, when that law which should before preserve in peace, is used to aggravate offences beyond truth, and so make differences greater. And do not you delight to fish in troubled waters; and the greater dissention amongst the people, the more is your gain? Are not your purses filled, and your estates raised in the ruins of the people? And are not those laws which ought to be used to preserve people from oppression, by abusing,

made the undoing of whole families, impoverishing towns and countries? The law, as it is now used, is scarce serviceable for any other end, but for the envious man, who hath much money to revenge himself of his poor neighbours, which, may be, never did him wrong. Is there any appearing for the poor against the rich, although his cause be just, but by deceit, delays, and expences, the remedy is worse than the disease?"

Much more he wrote to the lawyers, to stir them up to do justice, and then addressed himself to the people in general, in these words.

"And you people of the nation, that have seen the hand of God against the prince and people for these and the like abominations, and you yourselves are escaped, as brands plucked out of the fire? have you at all turned to him who hath smitten you? Or are you bettered by correction? Or have you made your peace with the Almighty? Although you have seen war, and the sword reaching to the very soul, are you not every one to your own power, gathering fuel to that fire which hath been burning in the land, and hath consumed thousands; which should have been as a warning unto you who are escaped, to return to the Lord from the evil of your doings? But are not