John Lilburne shows defiance to the tyrants who would force him to pay tythes to the Church (1648)

In his typical confrontational style Lilburne tells his oppressors what he will do, namely deliberately break the law, why he will do it, because he thinks they are the ones breaking the laws of England not him, and that he plans to encourage even more people to do the same. This is a major reason why he was imprisoned so many times during the English Civil Wars and Revolution. In addition to the refreshing vigor of his legal reasoning, what makes this pamphlet especially interesting is that much of it is written as a kind of “Handbook for Prisoners of Conscience” where he tells other would-be “defiers of the law” how to conduct themselves when they are being arrested, what to say to the police, what to expect when they are brought before a judge in a court of law, and how to continue their defiance while in prison. His final words of advice are how to quote the exact words of the great jurist Sir Thomas Coke when “they” come for you with a warrant of arrest: “if they will imprison your person, go not but by force, & be sure to stand upon the legality of the warrant, which that you may fully and truly understand the forme of it; I shall give you at large the words of Sr. Edward Coke in the 2 part of his institutes fol. 590, 591, 592…” Note also the cheeky place and date of publication at the bottom of the title page: “London, Printed for the information of all men, that are not willing to be Priest ridden and to be slaves to Tyrannie and oppression, Jan. 1648.”