George Fox

“ Let that be taken away and stopt, and all those Courts pulled down that doth oppress and hold up oppression, that Justice maybe done without oppression, not for money. These things hath shamed the so-called Ministers of the Gospel, who sue people up and down, people they do no work for, and so do not bring glad tidings to the Nations, but trouble, as their fruits have declared. What trouble are men brought into by their Courts and Sessions whom they do no work for? ”

“ Let all the poor people, blinde and lame, and creeples be provided for in the Nation, that there may not be a beggar in England nor England's Dominions, that you may say you come to be equal with the Jewes, that had the law that made provision for widows, strangers and fatherless. He that turns his ears from hearing the poor, turns his ears from the Law, which says to provide for them, for ye have read the practice of the Church, the Saints which were in the Gospel, which doth condemn this Nation's practice. ”

“ Let no one go under the name of Minister, that would have Creatures to be whipt, stockt and prisoned, for they that fight with the powers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness, they must lay aside outward sword and spear, the whip, the stockings, and the prisonings, and they must come to the spiritual weapons, the Spirit of God in themselves, to bring the Creatures into the Liberty of the sons of God. Only they that fight with Creatures fight with outward weapons. ”

“ Let no Judge, nor Justice, nor Sherif that is ambitious, Highminded, bear rule, or bear any Government, for such are out of the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom, with which they should order the Creation to the Glory of God the Creator. ”

“ Let neither Beggars nor Blind people, nor Fatherless, nor Widows, nor Cripples go a Begging up and down the streets, but that a house may be provided for them all, and meat, that there be never a Beggar among you; and let those great Fees of Gaolers and Garnishmoney be taken away. Through those Fees many have layn long in Prison. ”

“ And you that are Officers, that have great estates of your own, and Commanders, and men of Authority, do that which you do freely, and that will be the way for to gain the love of God and your Countrey, and the way to take off this oppression, and it will be the way that the poor might have the more plenty, and it will be the way whereby Justice, and the Gospel may run freely without money and without price. ”

“ But Abel, Abraham and Christ who were as strangers and had no certain dwelling house, were not vagabonds, and Christ had nowhere to lay his head:
26. And let none be Gaolers that are drunkards, or swearers or oppressors of people, but such as may be good patterns to prisoners. And let none lie long in Gaol, for that is the way to spoil people, and to make more thieves, for there they learn wickedness together. Let no peevish man bear any office, or ambitious, for he will be exalted with the rich, and a shame to the poor, and not hear their cause. ”

“ Now the people of the World that come into our meetings, spit on us, throw stones at us, set and throw dogs at us, speak all matter of evil upon us, and all manner of slander. Them that be great Professors and great talkers and pluckers down practice this, yet if our friend go into the Steeple-house, and ask but a question, they will hale him out, and cast him in prison, or if he speak never a word, they will cast him in prison, and if he do not go, they will cast him in prison for asking a question. ”

“ Let none that meet together in the fear of God, in several houses, waiting upon the Lord, praying, or exhorting, & edifying one another in the most holy faith, let them not have their houses broken, their windows broken, and they pulled out of their houses, and knockt down and beat, and houses unthatched, and many pulled down, and men plucked out, and knocked down, as many have been. ”

“ Let all the Priests restore to the poor people, who have so excessively taken away their goods, treble and treble. If you be the men that will do justice, make them to restore those goods again; and that is but just. ”

“ Let no man be fined, and his goods be spoiled, because for conscience sake towards Christ and his commands he cannot swear. Let no man be put out of place or office or service because he cannot swear, because he doth what he doth faithful to God, at yea and nay to serve in his place where he is. ”

“ Let all the Stage-players, May-Games, Shoffel-boards, Dice, Cards, Nineholes, Foot-balls, and Hand-balls, and Fidlings, and all these vain Musicks be taken away, which stir up the light vain minds of people that doth not know what to eat and drink, nor what to put on. ”

“ Let no man be put out of place for saying thee to a particular, and you to many who acts in the singular and plural. Let none be put out of place or office for not doffing their hats, who take not, nor give not the honour below, but to the higher Power their soul is subject, who receive the honour that comes down from above. ”

“ Let no man be prisoned because he swears not at all, not by Heaven, nor by earth, nor by book, nor any other oath, but abides in the Doctrine of Christ, and keeps to yea and nay, and keeps his commands who witnesses the end of all strife. ”

“ Let all those Schools & Colledges down, who makes Ministers by the will of man, so that all may come to wait upon God and Christ Jesus, whereby they are made Ministers by his will that redeems people out of the earth, and let not the mouth be stopped which the Lord opens. ”

“ Now if you say, that we call your Ministers Priests, we do so from your law, your great law book calls them so, and then their practice shewes it.
21. And let no man be whipped, or stocked, or imprisoned, as many have been, for bidding people repent in a market, and to lay aside their deceitful Merchandize, and their couzening and cheating, and swearing, and cursing, and to keep to yea and nay in all their communications.
22. Let no men be prisoned, and their money be taken away, for going to visit prisoners, and to relieve them in what they wanted. ”

“ Let nothing be put in Bills that are more than the thing is, and let nothing be put in Writs more than the thing is, and let nothing be put in Indictments more than the thing is.
6. Let no man speak in an unknown tongue.
7. Let no man be prisoned for not doffing his hat. Let no man unable, un-man and weaken himself about that. ”

“ Let none have their goods strained and spoiled, and made havock on, or be cast into prison for not paying Clerks wages for turning the hour-glass, and saying Amen, and such like services.
12. Let no one be put to death for chattel, for money or any outward thing. Let them restore, and minde the Law of God which is equity and measurable, agreeable to the offence, and minde the judges of Old, and Moses, and their judgement (let the thief live to restore for his theft) , and minde the Apostles' doctrine: let him that stole, steale no more, but work with his hands the thing that is good. ”

“ And away with all these stipend-men and glebe-land men, augmentation men, [able bodied men provided money by the state directly of by legislation entitling them to collect money] gifts, fees and reward, &c.
42. Let no man, Priest nor Lawyer, have Tithes, augmentations, stipends, glebe lands, great fees, gifts and rewards, but if any one will preach or read the Law, let him do it freely, for God is a free God, and so are his people, and Christ is a free Christ, and offered himself freely. ”

“ Such are not a terrour to evil-doers, but let them upon the righteous, and such God will overturn, as often as they get up. Cain, that Governour who built a City, he was called vagabond, who killed faithful Abel, and that he did so, he had not an habitation in God. ”

“ Let no man or woman be summoned up two hundred miles or upward to the Court at London, because they cannot give the Priests Tithes, who doth no work for them, and when they appeared they will prison them, because they did not appear by an attorney, and swear their answers. ”