A VINDICATION OF THOSE, Whose endeavours is only to make the Earth a common treasury, called DIGGERS.  
OR, Some Reasons given by them against the immoderate use of creatures, or the excessive community of women, called Ranting; or rather Renting.  
FIrst, those that are called Diggers; do look upon the Ranting Practice, to be a Kingdom without the man; which moth and rust do, may, and will corrupt; and which thiefs may break through and steal away; It is Kingdom that lies in objects; As in the outward enjoyment of meat, drink, pleasures, and women; so that the man within can have no quiet rest, unless he enjoy those outward objects in excess; all which are vanishable. Therefore it is the Devil's Kingdom of darkness, and not the Kingdom of heaven nor true peace within.  
Secondly, this outward life, in the abundant eating and drinking, and actual community with variety of women is the only life of the five senses which is the life of the Beast, or living flesh; And fights against reason, who is the seed or tree of life, or the righteous man that is within. For when the sensitive power, which is the son of bondage rules, than Reason which is the son of freedom, is trod under foot, and in the absence thereof the whole body, whole Families, nay, whole Nations are distempered; But when Reason rules in the house or heart, not suffering the senses to run into excess in any action: then the whole body enjoys quiet rest and peace. Therefore that immoderate ranting practice of the Senses, is not the true life of peace.  
Thirdly, the Ranting practice is the proper Kingdom of Covetousness, or King Lust of the flesh, which is the Kingdom of darkness, full of unreasonableness, madness and confusion; it is the land of darkness, bringing forth nothing but misery to the Inhabitants thereof, for,  
Fourthly, it is destructive to the body, house, or Temple, wherein Reason, or the spiritual power dwells; it brings diseases, infirmenesse, weaknesses and rottenness upon the body, and so ruins the house about the man's ears, that he cannot live in quiet peace; for diseases of body causes sorrow of mind. And as moderation in any action brings peace, so excess brings diseases and death. Therefore the unrationall ranting practice, is not the life of rightness, nor peace.  
Fifthly it brings vexation to the mind or man within▪ for when you want your delight in the excessive copolation with Women, and in the super abundant eating and drinking, which is the wasteful spending of the Treasures of the Earth. As the Ranting practice is, Then Angar, rage and variety of vexations possesses the mind, and inflames their hearts to quarrelling, kill, burning houses or Corn, or to such like distructivenesse.  
Sixtly, The Ranting practice is a peace breaker; it breaks the peace in Families, and rents in pieces mankind, for where true Love hath united a man and woman to be Husband and Wife, and they live in peace, when this Ranting power or king lust of the flesh comes in, he separates those very friends, causing both sides to run into the Sea of confusion, madness and destruction, to leave each other, to leave their Children, and to live in discontent each with other.  
It pretends love to all men and women. But yet he is a beast that respects persons; for the richest and fairest must be his associate.  
Seaventhly, This excess of Feminine society, hinders the pure and natural Generation of man, and spills the seed in vain, and instead of a healthful growth of mankind it produces weakness and much infirmnesse, through immoderate heat; so that either the Mother hath much more pain in child bearing, or else the child is filled with such infirmnesse, that it proves a burden to the Mother or nurse, or through diseases he brings with him into the world he proves either not long lived, or a fool, or else a sickly, weakly thing that is a burden to himself: So that this moderate Ranting, is not a health full builder up of the creation man, but a violent waster and destroyer of the health and strength of man. This false generating fire, is the foundation of much lamentation for children begotten through this forced immoderate heat of lust, proves, furious, and full of rage, it is a breeder of much distemper, Wars, and quarrels; It is one cause if not the chief of the rising up of the hairy man, which is a destroyer of himself and others. And the mother and child begotten in this manner, is like to have the worst of it, for the m●n will be gone and leave them; and regard them no more than other women, like a Bull that begets a Calf, that never takes care neither for Cow nor Calf, after he hath had his pleasure. Therefore you women beware, for this ranting practice is not the restoring, but the destroying power of the creation.  
Eightly, The Ranting practice, is the support of Idleness, for they that are, the Sons and Daughters of that unrationall power, neither can nor will work, but live idle, like wand'ring bussi bodies, expressing and cheating others, that are simple and of a civil flexible nature, so that by seeking their own freedom they embodage others which is the selfish, but not the universal Love, for true Love seeks the preservation of others as of oneself, or else for want of food and raiment, through an inward proud sullenness, either starves their own bodies, or else through an inward rage endeavours the ruin of others.  
Ninthly, This Ranting power, or god, is full of sutletie to deceive others of what they can, and is a nurse of hardness of heart against others, when he hath deceived them, for this is his nature, to gets what he can from others, labours to eat up other and make them poor, and then to laugh and rejoice in others poverty.  
Tenthly, The Ranting power, would make this Covenant with all men, to put out their eyes, or suffer him quietly to put them out, and to s●e by his eyes, and to walk by his legs, and then he calls them high lighted creatures, otherwise he tells them they live below them, and is in the dark, and rather than proud civility would be counted ignorant, it will yield, and first stands looking and saying, I can say nothing against this ranting practice, and then afterwards yields, and then is ensnared and taken by the suitle deucaring Ranting Beast. But now he that obeys reasons, Law of righteousness within, shall escape that snare.  
Eleventhly, This Ranting power, is the resurtection of the unclean doggish beastly nature, ●t is the resurrection of the filth, unrighteouse power in all his branches, and it is high now, but will rise higher, for it must rise to the height to show himself a complete man of darkness, that he may come to judgement, and so be cast out of heaven, That is out of mankind.  
For as he is upon his resurrection, so the man of pure life, reason, and righteousness, is upon his resurrection too. Who is rising to purge and to restore the ereation, and to set it down in peace. And these two men, one of Light, and the other of darkness, now strives with great vehemency; the sons of darkness may live in their vanishable peace and tread the sons of light under feet but the sons of peace shall rise up, and take peace from the Earth.  
There is only two things, I must speak as an Advice in Love  
First, let every one that intends to live in peace, set themselves with diligent labour to Till, Dig, and Blow, the Common and barren Land, to get their bread with righteous moderate working, among a moderate minded people, this prevents the evil of Idleness, and the danger of the Ranting power.  
Secondly, Let none go about, to suppress that ranting power by their punishing hand, for it is the work of the Righteous and rational spirit within not thy hand without that must suppress it; But if thou wilt needs be punishing: Then see thou be without sin thyself, and then cast the first Stone, at the Ranter; Let not sinners punish others for sin, but let the power of thy Reason and righteous action, shame and so beat down their unrationall actings.  
Would thou live in peace; Then look to thy own ways, mind thy own Kingdom within, trouble not at the unrational government of other men's kingdoms without; Let every one alone, to stand and fall to their own Master for thou being a sinner, and strives to suppress sinners by force, thou wilt thereby but increase their rage, and thy own trouble: but do thou keep close to the Law of righteous reason, and thou shalt presently see a return of the Ranters: for that spirit within must shame them, and turn them, and pull them out of darkness.  
This I was moved to write, as a Vindication of the Diggers, who are slandered with the Ranting action: And my end is only to Advance the Kingdom of peace, in and among mankind, which is and will be torn in pieces by the Ranting power, if reason do not kill this this fine headed, or sencitive Beast.  
All you that are merely civil, and that are of a loving and flexible disposition wanting the strength of reason: and the life of universal love, leading you forth to seek the peace and preservation of every single body, as of one's self; You are the People that are like to be tompted, and set upon an torn into pieces by this devouring Beast; the Ranting power.  
Febr. this 20. 1649. Gerrard Winstanley.   

Therefore know all ye Lasivious, feedars, or Sarvers of your own bellies, that ye are breeders of all foul filthy beastly and Abominable Children, which come into the world to preach to that Nation, where they appear, what the first sign sign of filthy Sin or lasivious feeding heats, begot for lasivious feeding, causeth lascivious acting which if they knew the resurrection or eternal judgement, they durst not act.  
I am told there are some people goes up and down in the Country among such as are friends to the Diggers gathering Monies in their names. And they have a note wherein my name and divers others are subscribed. This is to certify that I never subscribed my name to any such note. Neither have we that are called Diggers received any money by any such Collections, therefore to prevent this Cheat: we desire if any are willing to cast a gift in, to further our work of Digging upon the Commons, that they would send it to our own hands by some trusty friend of their own.  
March this 4th. 1649. Your friend Gerrard Winstanley.  
FINIS.