^" ./■%■ x^' >-^, "^^ V*' •.v:;^^X°-'oon^-^v-^:^^. .^^ -^^ ; ^ >^ -Jy^ v^ •%'"• O 0^ ^J. vV • ^" ^- ,A^' -^y-j ^0^ f^^iV'^ <^ 4 ^ ^ ^^^•- ©0^ ^.,^^'*' .*#; .^'^%. - ,0 c PILGRIM'S PROGRESS, A LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN, BY ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ., LL.D. POET LAUREATE, &c., &c., &C ILLUSTRATED WITH FIFTY CUTS, BY ADAMS, AFTER DESIGNS BY CHAPMAN, HARVEY, AND OTHERS. NEW YORK: J. C. DERBY, 8 PARK PLACE. CINCI]!^KATI: H. W. DERBY. 18 5 5. .•i*° .-.. . -&^\i Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1836, by Harper & Brothers, m the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New -York, Oh thou, whom, borne on fancy's eager wtog Bafils. to the season of life's happy spring, I pleased remember, and while memory yot Holds fast her office here, can ne'er forget; Ingenious dreamer, in whose well-told tale Sweet fiction and sweet truth alike prevail; Whose humorous vein, strong sense, and simple styUx May teach the gayest, make the gravest smile ; Witty, and well employed, and, like thy Lord, Speaking in parables his slighted word; I name thee not, lest so despised a name Should move a sneer at thy deserved fame ; Yet e'en in transitory life's late day, That mingles all my brown with sober gray Revere the man. whose Pilgrim marks the road, And guides the PRoanEss of the soul to God COIVFSB. LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS, yROM ORIGINAL DESIGNS, BY CHAPMAN, HARVEY, AND OTHERS, ENGRAVED BY ADAMS. PAGE I. Frontispiece •■• • >• ^ II. Portrait of Bunyan. ■•■•• 3 PART I. III. The Author, Dreaming 83 IV. Evangelist directing Christian 65 V. Christian running from his Wife and Children 86 VI. Help drawing Christian out of the Slough of Despond .j. • . . 90 VII. Christian at the Wicket-gate. 98 Vni. Interpreter showing Christian the Fire of Grace 105 IX. Christian losing his Burden at the Cross 109 X. Christian Weeping in the Arbour 115 XI. Christian passing the Lions 117 Xn. Christian's Fight with ApoUyon 128 Xm. The Valley of the Shadow of Death 130 XIV. Christian in the Valley of the Shadow of Death 131 XV. Christian passing the Cave of Giant Pope 134 XVI, The Return of Pliable, derided by "all sorts of people." 137 XVn. Moses and Christ meeting Faithful 139 XVTII. Evangelist pointing out Vanity-Fair 154 XIX. Faithful carried to Heaven 162 XX. The Pilgrims in the Dungeon of Giant Despair 176 XXI. The Pilgrims escaping from Doubting Castle 178 XXn. Tlie Delectable Mountains 179 XXIII. The Perspective Glass 183 XXIV. Pilgrims in the Net 192 XXV. Christian and Hopeful passing through the River 211 XXVI. Pilgrims across the River 216 9 10 CONTENTS. PART II XXVn. The Author awoke from his Second Dream , 225 XXVIII. The Mission of Secret to Christiana and Children 232 XXIX. Christiana and her Sons 234 XXX. Christiana, her Children, and Mercy set off. 238 XXXI. Mercy Faints: the Keeper raises her 2^ XXXII. The Man with the Mack-rake 251 XXXm. Parable of the Hen and Chicfeens 2-53 XXXIV. Halt of the Pilgrims at the Cross where Christian lost his Burden 260 XXXV. Great-heart, Giant Grim, and the Lions 268 XXXVI. The Contented Shepherd-Boy 284 XXXVII. The Pilgrims overtaking Honest 292 XXXVIII. Great-heart daring Giant Slay-good to Combat 309 XXXrX. Pilgrims looking at the Pillar of Salt .' 320 XL. Doubting Castle Demolished 322, XLL The Pilgrims rejoicing at the Death of Giant Despair 323 XLn. Sleepers on the Enchanted Ground 336 XLIII. Christiana passing the River 311 XLIV. Elstow Church and Belfry, Bedfordshire 11 XLV. Singular Autograph of the Author 35 XLVI. Specimen of the Author's Handwriting » 36 XLVn. Emblematical Design, End of the Life 72 SLVin. Emblematical Design, End of the Pilgrim's Progress , 44f fElstow Church and Belfrf.J THE LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. "When Cowj-er composed his Satires, he hid the name of Whitefield " beneath well-sounding Greek ;" and abstamed from mentioning Bunyan while he panegyrized him, " lest so despised a name should move a sneer." In Bunyan's case this could hardly have been needful forty years ago ; for though a just appreciation of our elder and better writers was at that time far less gen- eral than it appears to be at present, the author of the Pilgrim's Progress was even then in high repute. His fame may literally be said to have risen ; beginning among the people it had made its way up to those who are called the public. In most instances the many receive gradually and slowly the opinions of the few respecting literary merit ; and sometimes in assentation to such authority profess with their lips an admiration of they know not what, they know not why. But here the opinion of the multitude had been ratified by the judicious. The people knew what they admired. It is a book which makes its way through the fancy to the understanding and the heart : the child peruses it with wonder and delight ; in youth we discover the genius which it displays ; its worth is apprehended as we advance in years, and v/a perceive its merits feelingly in decHning age. 11 12 LIFE OF JOHN BUKYAN. John Bunyan has faithfully recorded his own spiritual history. Had he dreamed of being " for ever known," and taking his place among those who 3iay be called the immortals of the earth, he would probably have introduced more details of his temporal circumstances and the events of his life. But glorious dreamer as he was, this never entered into his imaginations ; less con- cerning him than might have been expected has been preserved by those of his own sect, and it is now not likely that any thing more should be recovered from oblivion. The village of Elstow, which is within a mile of Bedford, was his birthplace, 1628, the year of his birth ; and his descent, to Mse his own words, " of a low inconsiderable generation, my father's house," he says, " being of that rank that is meanest and most despised of all the families in the land." It is stated in a history of Bedfordshire that he was bred to the business of a brazier, and worked as a journeyman in Bedford : but the bra- ziers' company would not deem itself more honoured now if it could show the name of John Bunyan upon its rolls, than it would have felt disparaged then by any such fellowship ; for he was as his own statement implies, of a generation of tinkers, born and bred to that calling as his father had been before him. Wherefore this should have been so mean and despised a calling is not however apparent, when it was not followed as a vagabond employment, but, as in this case, exercised by one who had a settled habitation, and who, mean as his condition was, was nevertheless able to put his son to school, in an age when very few of the poor were taught to read and write. The boy learned both, "according to the rate of other poor men's cnildren," but soon lost what little he had been taught, " even," he says, " almost utterly." Some pains also, it may be presumed, his parents took m impressing hirn with the sense of his religious duties ; otherwise, when in his boyhood he be- came a proficient m cursing and swearing above his fellows, he would not have neen visited by such dreams and such compunctious feelings as he has de- scribed. " Often," he says, " after I had spent this and the other day in sin, I have in my bed been greatly afflicted, while asleep, with the apprehensions of devils, and wicked spirits, who still, as I then thought, laboured to draw me away v/ith them." His waking reflections were not less terrible than these fearful visions of the night; and these, he says, "when I vi^as but a child, but nine or ten years old, did so distress my soul, that then in the midst of my many sports and childish vanities, amidst my vam companions, I was often much cast down, and afilicted in my mind therewith ; yet could I not let go my sins. Yea, I was also then so overcome with despair of life and heaven, that I should often wish, either that there had been no hell, or that I had been a devil, supposing they were only tormentors ; that if it must needs be that I went thither, I might be rather a tormentor, than be tormented myself." These feelings when he approached towards manhood, recurred as might be expected less frequently and with less force ; but though he represents him- self as having been what he calls a town-smner, he was never so given over to a reprobate mind, as to be wholly free from them. For though he became so far hardened m profligacy that he could " take pleasure m the vileness of his companions," yet the sense of right and wrong was not extinguished LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN 1 .1 iiim, and it shocked him if at any tune he saw those who pretended to be religious act in a manner unworthy of their profession. Some providential escapes during this part of his life, he looked *back upon afterward, as so many judgments mixed with mercy. Once he fell into a creek of the sea, once out of a boat into the river Ouse near Bedford, and each time was nar- rowly saved from drowning. One day an adder crossed his path ; he stunned it with a stick, then forced open its mouth with the stick, and plucked out the tongue, which he supposed to be the sting, with his fingers, " by which act," he says, " had not God been merciful unto me, I might by my desperateness have brought myself to my end." If this indeed were an adder, and not a harmeless snake, his escape from the fangs was more remarkable than he was himself aware of. A circumstance which was likely to impress him more deeply occurred in the eighteenth year of his age, when being a soldier in the parliament's army he was drawn out to go to the siege of Leicester : one of the same company wished to go in his stead ; Bunyan consented to exchange with him, and this volunteer substitute standing sentinel one day at the siege was snot through the head with a musket-ball. Some serious thoughts this would have awakened in a harder heart than Bunyan's ; but his heart never was hardened. The self-accusations of such a man are to be received with some distrust, not of his sincerity, but of his sober judgment. It should seem that he ran headlong into the boisterous vices which prove fatal to so many of the ignorant and the brutal, for want of that necessary and wholesome restrictive discipline which it is the duty of a government to provide ; biat he was not led into those habitual sins which infix a deeper stain. "Had not a miracle of precious grace prevented, I had laid myself open," he says, " even to the stroke of those laws, which bring some to disgrace and open shame before the face of the world." That grace he had ; — he was no drunkard, for if he had been he would loudly have pro- claimed it ; and on another point we have his own solemn declaration, in one of the most characteristic passages in his whole works, where he replies to those who slandered him as leading a licentious life with women. " I call on them," he says, " when they have used the utmost of their endeavours, and made the fullest inquiry that they can, to prove against me truly, that there is any woman in heaven or earth or hell, that can say I have at any time, in any place, by day or night, so much as attempted to be naught with them. And speak I thus to beg mine enemies into a good esteem of me 1 No, not I ! I will in this beg behef of no man. BeUeve, or disbelieve me in this, 'tis all a-case to me. My foes have missed their mark in this their shooting at me. I am not the man. I wish that they themselves be guiltless. If all the fornicators and adulterers in England were hanged up by the neck till they be dead, John Bunyan, the object of their envy would be still alive and well I know not whether there be such a thing as a woman breathing under the copes of heaven, but by their apparel, their children, or by common fame, except my wife." And " for a v?ind-up in this matter," calling again not only upon men, but angels to jrove him guilty if he be, and upon God for a record upon his soul that in thes ^ things Kf wec!- innocent, he savs, " not that I have 2 1-4 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN heen tl. s kept because of any goodness in me more than any other, but Go^ bas beei merciful to me, and has kept me " Bunyan married presently after his substitute had been killed at the siege of Leicester, probably therefore before he was nineteen. This he might have counted among his mercies, as he has counted it that he was led " to light upon a wife" whose father as she often told him, was a godly man who had been used to reprove vice both in his own house and among his neighbours, and had lived a strict and holy life both in word and deed. There was no im- prudence in this early marriage, though they " came together as poor as poor might be, not having so much household stuff as a dish or a spoon betwixt them both ;" for Bunyan had a trade to which he could trust, and the young woman had been trained up in the way she should go. She brought him for her por- tion two books which her father had left her at his death : " the Plain Man'i Pathway to Heaven" was one : the other was Bayly, Bishop of Bangor's *' Practice of Piety," which has been translated into Welsh, (the author's native tongue,) into Hungarian, and into Polish, and of which more than fifty editions were published m the course of a hundred years. These books he sometimes read with her ; and though they did not, he says, reach his heart to awaken it, yet they did beget within him some desires to reform his vicious life, and made him fall in eagerly with the religion of the times, to go to church twice a day with the foremost, and there very devoutly say and sing as others did ; — yet, according to his own account, retaining his wicked life. At this time Bunyan describes himself as having a most superstitious vene- ration for " the high place, priest, clerk, vestment, service, and what else, - belonging to the Church," counting the priest and clerk most happy and without doubt blessed because they were as he then thought the servants of God, yea, he could "have laid dovra at the feet of a priest, and have been trampled upon by them, their name, their garb and work, did so intoxicate and bewitch" him. The service it must be remembered, of which he speaks, was not the Liturgy of the Church of England, (which might not then be used even in any private family without subjecting them to the penalty of five pounds for the first offence, ten for the second, and a year's imprisonment for the third,) but what the meager directory of the victorious Puritans had sub- stituted for it, in which only the order of the service was prescribed, and all else left to the discretion of the minister. The first doubt which he felt in this stage of his progress, concerning his own prospect of salvation, was of a curious kind : hearing the Israelites called the peculiar people of God, it oc- curred to him that if he were one of that race, his soul must needs be safe ; having a great longing to be resolved about this question he asked his father at last, and the old tinker assuring him that he was not, put an end to his hopes on that score. One day the minister preached against Sabbath breaking, and Bunyan who used especially to follow his sports on Sundays, fell in conscience under that sermon, verily believing it was uitended for him, and feeling what guilt was, which he could not remember that he had ever felt before. Home he went iith a great burden upon his spirit ; but dinner removed that burden ; lu* LIFE OP JOHN BDNYAN 10 animal spirits recovered from tneir depression ; he shook the scimon out of his mind, and away he went with great dehght to his old sports. The Puii- tans notwithstanding the outcry which they had raised against what is called the Book of Sports, found it necessary to tolerate such recreations on the Sabbath, but is it more remarkable to find a married man engaged in games which are now only practised by boys. Dinner had for a time prevailed ove/,^'^ that morning's sermon ; but it was only for a time ; the dinner sat easy upon him, the sermon did not ; and in the midst of a game of cat, as he was about to strike the cat from the hole, it seemed to him as if a voice from heaven suddenly darted into his soul and said. Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven 1 Or have thy sins, and go to hell 1 *' At this," he continues, " I vv^as put to an exceeding maze : wherefore leaving my cat upon the ground, I looked up to heaven, and was as if I had with the eyes of my understand- ing, seen the Lord Jesus looking down upon me, as being very hotly displeas- ed with me, and as if he did severely threaten me with some grievous punish- ment for these and other ungodly practices." The voice he believed was from heaven, and it may be inferred from his relation that though he was sensible the vision was only seen with the mind's eye he deemed it not the less real. The effect was to fasten upon his spirit a sudden and dreadful conclusion that it was too late for him to turn away from his wickedness, for Christ would not forgive him ; he felt his heart sink in despair, and this insane reasoning past in his mind, *' My state is surely miserable ; miserable if I leave my sins, and but miserable if I follow them. I can but be damned ; and if I must be so, I had as good be damaed for many sins, as be damned for few." Thus he says, " I stood in the midst of my play, before all that were present, but yet I told them nothing ; but having made this conclusion, I returned desperately to my sport again. And I well remem- ' bcr that presently this kind of despair did so possess my soul, that I was persuaded I could never attain to other comfort than what I should get in sin : for heaven was gone already, so that on that I must not think. Wherefore I found within me great desire to take my fill of sin, still studying what sin was and yet to be committed, that I might taste the sweetness of it — lest I should die before I had my desires. In these things I protest before God I lie not : neither do I frame this sort of speech : these were really, strongly, and with all my heart, my desires. The good Lord whose mercy is unsearchable, for- give me my transgressions '" When thus faithfully describing the state of his feelings at that time, Bun- yan was not conscious that he exaggerated the character of his offences. Yet in another part of his writings he qualifies those offences more truly where he speaks of himself as having been addicted to " all manner of youthful vanities ;" and this relation itself is accompanied with a remark that it is a usual temptation of the devil " to overrun the spirits with a scurvy and seared frame of heait and benumning of conscience : so that though there be not much guilt attending the poor creatures who are thus tempted, " yet they con ■ tinually have a secret conclusion within them, that there is no hope for them." This state lasted with him little more than a month ; it then happened that as 1(3 i.rrn of JOn\ rtjnyan. he stooi] at a ncignoours snop window, " cursing and swearing and playnig the inauman," after his wonted manner, the woman of the house heard him, and though she was (he says) a very loose and ungodly wretch she told him that he made her tremble to hear him ; '' that he was the ungodl'iest fellow for swearing that ever she heard in all her life ; and that by thus doing he was able to spoil all the youth in the whole town if they came but in his company." The reproof came with more efTect than if it had come from a better person : it silenced him, and put him to secret shame, and that too, as he thought, "before the God of heaven ;" wherefore, he says, "while I stood there, and hanging down my head, I wished with all my heart that I might be a little child again, that my father might leara me to speak without this wicked way of swearing ; for thought I, I am so accustomed to it, that it is vain for me to think of a reformation." From that hour however the reformation of this, the only actual sin to which he was addicted, began. Even to his own wonder it took place, and he who till then had not known how to speak unless he put an oath before and another behind to make his words have authority, discovered that he could speak better and more pleasantly without such expletives than he had ever done before. Soon afterward he fell in company with a poor man who talked to him concerning religion and the Scriptures in a manner which took his attention, and sent him to his bible. He began to take great pleasure in reading it, especially the historical parts ; the Epistles he says *'he could not away with, being as yet ignorant both of the corruption of our nature and of the want and worth of Christ to save us." And this produced such a change in his whole deportment, that his neighbours took him to be a new man, and were amazed at his conversation from prodigious profaneness to a moral and religious life. They began to speak well of him, both to his face and behind his back, and he was well pleased at having obtained, and as he thought, deserved, their good opinion. And yet, he says, " I was nothing but a poor painted hypocrite — I did all I did either to be seen of, or to be well spoken of by men — I knew not Christ, nor grace, nor faith, nor hope ; and as I have well seen since, had I then died, my state had been most fearful." Bunyan had formerly taken great delight in bell ringing; but now that his conscience "began to be tender," he thought it "a vain practice," in other words a sm ; yet he so hankered after this his old exercise, that though he durst not pull a rope himself, he would go and look at the ringers, not without a secret feeling that to do so was unbecoming the religious character which he now professed. A fear came upon him that one of the bells might fall ; to secure himself against such an accident, he stood under a beam that 'ay athwart the steeple, from side to side : but his apprehensions being orxe awakened he then considered that the bell might fall with a swing, hit the wall first, rebound, and so strike him in its descent. Upon this, he retired to the 'steeple door, and thinking himself safe enough there,' for if the bell should fall he could slip out. Further than the door he did not venture, nor did he long continue to think himself secure there ; for the next fancy which possess- ed him was that the steeple itself might fall ; and this so possessed him and 6® LIFE OP JOHN BUNYAN 17 shook hi mind, that he dared not stand at the door longer, but fled for fear the tower should come down upon him — to such a state of nervous weakness had a diseased feeling brought his strong body and strong mind. — The last amusement from which ne weaned himself was that of dancing : it was a full year before he could quite leave that : but m so doing, and in any thing in which he thought he was performing his duty, he had such peace of mind, such sat" faction, that — " to relate it," he says, *' in mine own way, I thought no ma) in England could please God better than I. — Poor wretch as I was, I was a' this while ignorant of Jesus Christ, and going about to establish my own righteousness, and had perished therein, had not God in mercy showed me more of my state by nature." Mr. Scott in the life of Bunyan prefixed to his edition of the Pilgrim's Progress says it is not advisable to recapitulate those impressions which con- stitute a large part of his religious experience. But Bunyan's character would be imperfectly understcad, and could not be justly appreciated, if this part of his history were kept out of sight. To respect him as he deserves, to admire him as he ought to be admired, it is necessary that we should be inform- ed not only of the coarseness and brutahty of his youth, but of the extreme ignorance out of which he worked his way, and the stage of burning enthu- siasm through which he passed — a passage not less terrible than that of his own Pilgrim in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. His ignorance, like the brutal manners from which he had now been reclaimed, was the consequence of his low station in life, but the enthusiasm which then succeeded was brought on by the circumstances of an age in which hypocrisy was pregnant; and fanaticism rampant throughout the land. *' We intended not," says Bax- ter, " to dig down the banks, or pull up the hedge and lay all waste and com- mon, when we desired the prelates' tyranny might cease." No : for the intention had been under the pretext of abating one tyranny, to establish a far severer and more galling in its steady in doing this the banks had been thrown down, and the hedge destroyed and while the bestial herd who broke in rejoiced in the havoc, Baxter and other such erring though good men stood marvelling at the mischief which never could have been effected, if they had not mainly assisted in it. The wildest opinions of every kind were abroad, *' divers and strange doctrines," with every wind of which, men having no longer an anchor whereby to hold, were carried about and tossed to and fro. They passed with equal facihty from strict puritanism to the utmost license of practical and theoretical impiety, as antinomians or as atheists ; and from extreme profligacy to extreme superstition in any of its forms. The poor man oy whose conversation Bunyan was first led into " some love and liking of religion," and~mduced to read the Bible and to delight m it, became a ranter, wallowed in his sins as one who was secure in his privilege of election, and finally havmg corrupted his heart, nerverted his reason and seared his con- science, laughed at his former professions, persuaded himself that there was neither a future state for man, nor a God to punish or to save him, and told Bunyan that he had gone through all religions, and in this persuasion had fall- en upon the right at last ' 2* 18 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. Some of the Ranters' books wore put into Bunyan's hands. Then: eflfect was to perplex hina : he read them, and thought upon them, and betook him- self properly and earnestly thus to prayer: — " Lord, I am not able to know the truth from error : leave me not to my own blindness, cither to approve of, or condemn this doctnne. If it be of God, let me not despise it ; if it be of the devil, let me not embrace it. Lord, I lay my soul in this matter only at thy feet ; let me not be deceived, I humbly beseech thee !" And he was not deceived ; for though he fell in with many persons who from a strict profes- sion of religion had persuaded themselves that having now attained to the perfection of the saints, they were discharged from all obligations of morality, and nothing which it might please them to do would be accounted to them as sin, neither their evil arguments nor their worse example infected him. " Oh," he says, " these temptations were suitable to my flesh, I being but a young man, and my nature in its prime ; but God, who had, as I hope, designed me for better things, kept me in fear of his name, and did not suffer me to accept such cursed principles. And blessed be God who put it in my heart to cry to him to be Kept and directed, still distrusting my own wisdom." These people could neither corrupt his conscience nor impose upon his understanding ; he had no sympathies with them. But one day when he was tinkering in the streets of Bedford, he overheard three or four poor women, who as they sat at a door in the sunshine were conversing about their own spiritual state. He was himself " a brisk talker in the matter of religion," but these persons were in their discourse " far above his reach." Their talk was about a new birth — how they were convinced of their miserable state by nature — how God had visited their souls with his love in the Lord Jesus — with what words and promises they had been refreshed and supported against the temptations of the Devil — ^how they had been afflicted under the assaults of the enemy, and how they had been borne up ; and of their own wretched- ness of heart, and of their unbelief, and the insufficiency of their own righteous- ness. " Methought," says Bunyan, " they spake, as if you did make them speak. They spake such pleasantness of Scripture language, and with such appearance of grace in all they said, that they were to me as if they had found a new world, as if they were 'people that dwelt alone, and were not to be reckoned among their neighbours.' " He felt his own heart shake as he heard them ; and when he turned away and went about his employment again, their talk went with him, for he had heard enough to convince him that he '' wanted the true tokens of a true godly man," and to convince him also of ehe blessed condition of him that was indeed one. He made it his business therefore frequently to seek the conversation of these women. They were members of a small Baptist congregation which a Kentish man, John Gifford by name, had formed st Bedford. Gifford's history is remarkable ; he had been a major m the kmg'a army, and continuing true to the cause after the ruin of his party, engaged in the insurrection of his loyal countrymen, for which he and eleven others were condemned to the gallows. On the night before the intended execution his sister came to visit him : she found the sentinels who kept the door asleep, and she urged him to take the :.IFE OF JOHN nUNYAxN. 19 opportunity of escaping, which he alone of the prisoners was able to attempt, for his companions had stupified themselves with drink. Gifford passed safely through the sleeping guard, got into the field, lay there some three days in a ditch till the great search for him was over, then by the help of his friends was conveyed in disguise to London, and afterw^ard into Bedfordshire, where as long as the danger continued he was harboured by certain royalists of rank in that county. When concealment was no longer necessary, he came as a Btranger to Bedford and there practised physic : for in those days they who took upon themselves the cure of bodies seem to have entered upon their prac- tice with as little scruple concerning their own qualifications for it, as they who undertook the cure of souls : if there was but a sufficient stock of bold- ness to begin with, it sufficed for the one that they were needy, for the others that they were enthusiastic Gifford was at that time leading a profligate and reckless life, like many of his fellow-sufferers whose fortunes had been wrecked in the general calamity : he was a great drinker, a gambler, and oaths came from his lips with habitual profaneness. Some of his actions indeed are said to have evinced as much Extravagance of mind, as wickedness of heart ; and he hated the puritans so Heartily for the misery which they had brought upon the nation, and upon him- self in particular, that he often thought of killing a certain Anthony Harring- ton for no other provocation than because he was a leading man among per- sons of that description in Bedford. For a heart and mind thus diseased there is but one cure ; and that cure was vouchsafed at a moment when his bane seemed before him. He had lost one night about fifteen pounds in gambling, a large sum for one so circumstanced ; the loss made him furious, and "many desperate thoughts against God" arose in him, when looking into one of the books of Robert Bolton, what he read in it startled him into a sense of his own condition. He continued some weeks under the weight of that feeling ; and when it past away, it left him in so exalted and yet so happy a state of mind, that/rom that time till within a few days of his death, he de- clared — "he lost not the light of God's countenance — no not for an hour." And now he inquired after the meetings of the persons whom he had former- ly most despised, and^" being naturally bold, would thrust himself again and again into their company, both together and apart." They at first regarded him with jealousy ; nor when they were persuaded that he was sincere, did they readily encourage him in his desire to preach ; nor after he had made himself acceptable as a preacher, both in private and public trials, were they forward to form themselves into a distinct congregation under his care, " the more ancient professors being used to live, as some other good men of those times, without regard to such separate and close communion." At length eleven persons, of whom Anthony Harrington was one, came to that deter mination and chose him for their pastor ; the principle upon which they enter- ed into this fellowship one with another, and afterward admitted those who should desire to jom them, being faith in Christ and holiness of life, without respect to any difference in outward or circumstantial things. The poor women whose company Bunyan sought after he had listened to \iO LJFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. their talk, were members of Gjfford's little flock. The first effect of IkS conversation with them was that he began to look into the Bible with new eyes, and "indeed was never out of it," either by reading or meditation. He now took delight in St. Paul's epistles, which before he " could not away with ;" and the first strong impression which they made upon him was tnat he wanted the gifts of wisdom and knowledge of which the apostle speaks, and was doubtful whether he had faith or not ; yet this was a doubt which he could not bear, being certain that if he were without faith, he must perish. Being " put to his plunge" about this, and not as yet consulting with any- one, he conceived that the only means by which he could be certified was by trying to work a miracle, a delusion which he says the tempter enforced and strengthened by urging upon him those texts of scripture that seemed to look that way. One day as he was between Elstow and Bedford the temptation was hot upon him that he should put this to the proof by saying *' to the puddles tliat were in the horse-pads, be dry; and to the dry places he ye "pud- dles ! And truly one time I was going to say so indeed ; but just as I was about to speak, this thought came in my mind, ' but go under yonder hedge, and pray first that God would make you able.' But when I had concluded to pray, this came hot upon me, that if I prayed, and came again, and tried to do it, and yet did nothing notwithstanding, then to be sure I had no faith, but was a cast-away, and lost. Nay thought I, if it be so, I will not try yet, but will stay a little longer." About this time the happiness of his poor acquaintance whom he believed to be in a sanctified state v^^as presented to him, he says, in a kind of vision — that is, it became the subject of a revery, a waking dream — in which the germe of the Pilgrim's Progress may plainly be perceived, *'I saw," he says, " as if they were on the sunny side of some high mountain, there refreshing themselves with the pleasant beams of the sun, while I was shivering and shrinking in the cold, afflicted with frost, snow and dark clouds. Methought also betwixt me and them, 1 saw a wall that did compass about this mountain ; now through this wall my soul did greatly desire to pass ; concluding that if I could, I would even go into the very midst of them, and there also comfort myself with the heat of their sun. About this wall I thought myself to go again and again, still prying as I went, to see if I could find some way or passage, by which I might enter therein ; but none could I find for some time. At the last I saw, as it were, a narrow gap, like a little doorway in the wall, through which I attempted to pass. Now the passage being very strait and narrow, I made many offers to get in, but all in vain, even until I was well nigh quite beat out by striving to get in. At last, with great striving, me- thought I first did get in my head ; and after that, by a sideling striving, my shoulders, and my whole body : then was I exceeding glad, went and sat down in the midst of them, and so was comforted with the light and heat of their sun. Now the mountain and wall, &c. was thus made out to me. The mountain signified the church of the living God ; the sun that shone thereon, the comfortable shining of his merciful face on them that were within : the wall, I thought, was the world, that did make separation between the Chris- LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 21 tians and the world : and the gap which was in the wall, I thought, was Jesus Christ, who is the wav to God the Father. But forasmuch as the passage was wonderful narrow, even so narrow, that I could not but with great difficulty- enter in thereat, it showed me that none could enter into life, but those that were in downright earnest ; and unless also they left that wicked world behind them ; for here was only room for body and soul, but not for body and soul and sin." But though he now prayed wherever he was, at home or abroad, in the house or in the field, two doubts still assaulted him, whether he was elected, and whether the day of grace was not gone by. By the force and power of the first he felt, even when he " was in a flame to find the way to heaven," as if the strength of his body were taken from him ; and he found a stum- bling block in this text, " it is neither in him that willeth, nor in him that run- neth, but in God that showeth mercy."* It seemed to him that though he should desire and long and labour till his heart broke, no good could come of it, unless he were a chosen vessel of mercy. " Therefore," he says, " this would stick me, ' how can you tell that you are elected 1 and what if you should not? — Lord, thought I, what if I should not indeed ! It may be you are not, said the tempter. It may be so indeed, thought I. Why then, said Satan, you had as good leave off, and strive no farther." And then the text that disturbed him came again into his mind : and he knowing not what to say nor how to answer, was " driven to his v/it's end, little deeming," he says, " that Satan had thus assaulted him, but that it was his own prudence which had started the question." In an evil hour were the doctrines of the gospel sophisticated with questions which should have been left in the schools? for those who are unwise enough to employ themselves in excogitations of useless subtlety ! Many are the poor creatures whom such questions have driven to despair and madness, and suicide ; and no one ever more narrowly escaped from such a catastrophe than Bunyan. After many weeks when he was even *' giving up the ghost of all his hopes," another text suddenly occurred to him : " Look at the generations of old, and see, did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded 1" He weni, with a lightened heart to his Bible, fully expecting to find it there ; but he found it not — and the "good people" whom he asked where it was, told him they knew of no such place. But in the Bible he was well assured it was, and the text which had " seized upon his heart with such comfort anil strength" abode upon him, for more than a year ; when looking into the Apocrypha, theref he met with it, and was at first he says somewhat daunted at finding it there — not in the canonical books. " Yet," he says, " forasmuch as this sentence was the sum and substance of many of the promises, it was my duty to take the comfort of it ; and I blessed God for that word, for it was of good to me." But then the other doubt which had lain dormant, awoke again in strength — "how if the day of grace be pasf? "What if the good people of Bedford who were already converted, were all that were to be saved in those parts 1" he then was too late, for they had got the blessing before he came 1 •' Oh that I had turned sooner." was then his cry ; " Ob • Romans, ix. 16. 2 Ecclesiasticus, ii. 10. t Eccleshsticns ii. 30. 22 LIFE OF JOHN EUNYAN. that I had turned seven years ago ! To think that I should trifle away my time, till my soul and heaven were lost !" From these fears the recurrence of another passage in Scripture delivered him for a while, and he has remarked that it came into his mind just in the same place where he " received his other encouragement." The text was that in which the servant who had been sent into the streets and lanes to bring in the poor, and maimed and the halt and the blind to the supper from which the bidden guests absented themselves, returns and says to the master of the house, " Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room /"* "These," says Bunyan, "were sweet words to me truly I thought that by them I saw there was place enough in heaven for me ; and moreover that when the Lord Jesus did speak these words, he then did think of me ; and that he, knowing the time would come when I should be afflicted with fear that there was no place left for me in his bosom, did speak this word, and leave it upon record, that I might find help thereby against this vile temptation This I then verily believed." But then came another fear ; None but those who are called, can inherit the kingdom of heaven ; — and this he apprehended was not his case. With longings and breathings in his soul which, he says, are not to be expressed, he cried on Christ to call him, being " all on a flame" to be in a converted state ; " Gold ! could it have been gotten for gold, what could I have given for it ! Had I had a whole world it had all gone ten thousand times over for this." Much as he had formerly respected and venerated the ministers of the church, with higher admiration he now regarded those who, he thought, had attained to the condition for which he was longing. They were "lovely in his eyes ; they shone, they walked, like a people that carried the broad seal of heaven about them." When he read of those whom our Saviour called when he was upon earth, to be his disciples, the wishes which his heart conceived were — " Would I had been Peter : — would I had been John : — or would I had been by and heard him when he called them ! How would I have cried, O Lord call me also !" In this state of mind, but comforting himself with hoping that if he were not already converted, the time might come when he should be so, he imparted his feelings to those poor women whose conversa- tion had first brought him into these perplexities and struggles. They report- ed his case to Mr. Giffbrd, and GifFord took occasion to talk with him, and mvited him to his house, where he might hear him confer with others " about the dealings of God with their souls." This course was little likely to compose a mind so agitated. What he heard in such conferences rather induced fresh disquiet, and misery of another kind. The inward wretchedness of his wicked heart, he says, began to be discovered to him, and to work as it had never done before ; he was now conscious of sinful thoughts and desires which he had not till then regarded ; and in persuading him that his heart was innately and wholly wicked, his spiritual physician had well nigh made him believe that it was hopelessly and incurably so. In vam did those to whom he applied for consolation tell him • Luke xiv. 22. LIFE OF JOHIM BUNYAN. 23 ot the promises ; they might as well have told him to reach the sun, as to reiy upon the promises, he says ; original and inward pollution was the plague and affliction which made him loathsome in his own eyes — and as in his dreadful state of mind he believed, in the eyes of his Creator also ! Sin and corrup- tion, he thought, would as naturally bubble out of his heart as water from a fountain. None but the devil he was persuaded could equal him for inward wickedness ! '• Sure," thought he, " I am forsaken of God ; sure I am given up to the devil and to a reprooate mind. — I was sorry that God had made me man. — I counted myself alone, and above the most of men unblessed !" These were not the torments of a guilty conscience : for he observes that " the guilt of the sins of his ignorance was never much charged upon him ;" and as to the act of sinning, during the years that he continued in this pitiable state, no man could more scrupulously avoid what seemed to him sinful in thought, word or deed. " On," he says, *' how gingerly did I then go, in all I did or said ! I found myself as in a miry bog, that shook if I did but stir, and was as there left both of God and Christ, and the spirit, and all good things." False notions of that corruption of our nature which it is almost as perilous to exaggerate as to dissemble, had laid upon him a burden heavy as that with which his own Christian begins his pilgrimage. The first comfort which he received, and which had there not been a mist before his understanding he might have found in every page of the gospel, came to him in a sermon, upon a strange text, strangly handled : " Behold thou art fair, my love ; behold thou art fair !"* The preacher made the words " my love" his chief and subject matter ; and one sentence fastened upon Bunyan's mind. " If," said the preacher, " it be so, that the saved soul is Christ's love, when under temptation and destruction ; — then poor tempted soul, when thou art assaulted and afflicted with temptations, and the hidings of God's face, yet think on these two words, ' My Love,'' still !" — What shall I get by thinking on these two words 1 — said Bunyan to himself, as he return- ed home ruminating upon this discourse. And then twenty times together — " thou art my love, thou art my love," recurred in mental repetition, kindling, his spirit ; and still, he says, *' as they ran in my mind they waxed stronger and warmer, and began to make me look up. But being as yet between hope and fear, I still replied in my heart, 'but is it true"? but is it truel' At which that sentence fell upon me, ' He wist not that it was true which was come unto him of the Angel. 'f Then I began to give place to the word — and now I could believe that my sins should be forgiven me : yea I was now taken with the love and mercy of God, that I remember, I could not tell how to contain till I got home : I thought I could have spoken of his love, and have told of his mercy to me, even to the very crows that sat upon the ploughed lands before me, had they been capable to have understood me. — Wherefore I said in my soul with much gladness, well, I would I had a pen and ink here, I would write this down before I go any farther, for surely 1 will not forget this forty years hence. But alas ! within less than forty days I ; to question all again !" • Solomoii'3 Song iv. 1. + Acts xii. 9. 24 LIFE OF JOHiN BUNYAN. • Shaken continually thus by the hot and cold fits of a spiritual ague, his imagination was wrought to a state of excitement in which its own shapings became vivid as realities, and affected him more forcibly than impressions from the external world. He heard sounds as in a dream ; and as in a dream held conversations which were inwardly audible though no sounds were utter> ed, and had all the connexion and coherency of an actual dialogue. Reati. they were to him in the impression which they made, and in their lasting effect ; and even afterward, when his soul was at peace, he believed them, in cool and sober reflection, to have been more than natural. Some few days after the sermon, he was much " followed," he says, by these words of the gospel, " Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you !"* He knew that it was a voice from within — and yet it was so articulately distinct, so loud, and called as he says so strongly after him, that once in particular when the words Simon ! Simon ! rung in his ears he verily thought some man had called to him from a distance behind, and though it was not his name, sup- posed nevertheless that it was addressed to him, and looked round suddenly to see by whom. As this had been the loudest, so it was the last time that the call sounded in his ears ; and he imputes it to his ignorance and foolishness at that time, that he knew not the reason of it ; for soon, he says, he was feel- ingly convinced that it was sent from heaven as an alarm, for him to provide against the coming storm — a storm which " handled him twenty times worse than all he had met with before." Fears concerning his own state had been the trouble with which he had hitherto contended ; temptations of a different, and. even more distressful kind assailed him now — blasphemies and suggestions of unbelief, which when he recorded the history of his own soul, he might not and dared not utter, either by word or pen ; and no other shadow of consolation could he find against them, than in the consciousness that there was something in him that gave no consent to the sin. He thought himself surely possessed by the Devil ; ht was "bound in the wings of the temptation, and the wind v^'ould carry hhv. away." When he heard others talk of the sin against the Holy Ghost, dio- coursing what it might be, " then would the tempter," he says, " provoke me to desire to sin that sin, that I was as if I could not, must not, neither should be quiet until I had committed it : — ^no sin would serve but that. If it were to be committed by speaking of such a word, then I have been as if my mouth would have spoken that word, whether I would or no. And in so strong a measure was this temptation upon me, that often I have been ready to clap my hands under my chin, to hold my mouth from opening : and to that end also I have had thoiights at other times, to leap with my head downward into some muckhill-hole or other, to keep my mouth from speaking." Gladly now would he have been in the condition of the beasts that perish, for he counted the estate of every thing that God had made far better than liis own, such as it had now become. While this lasted, which was about a year, he was most distracted when attending the service of his meeting, or reading the Scriptures, or when in prayer. He imagined that at such times he felt the * Luke xxii. 31. «>.IFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 25 enemy behind him pulling his clothes ; that he was " continjially at him, to have done ; — ^break off — make haste — ^you have prayed enough !" The more he strove to compose his mind and fix it upon God the more did the tempter labour to distract and confound it, "by presenting," says he, " to my heart and fancy the form of a bush, a bull, a besom, or the like, as if I should pray to these. To these he would also (at some times especially) so hold my mind, that I was as if I could think of nothing else, or pray to nothing else but to these, or such as they." Wickeder thoughts were sometimes cast in — such as " if thou wilt fall down and worship me !"* But while Bunyan suffered thus grievously under the belief that these thoughts and fancies were the immediate suggestions of the evil spirit, that belief made him at times more passionate in prayer , and then his heart " put forth itself with inexpressible groaning," and his whole soul was in every word. And although he had been taught in childhood to lay up the comfort- able promises of the gospel in his heart and in his soul, that they might be as a sign upon his hand and as a frontlet between his eyes, yet he had not read the Bible so diligently without some profit. When he mused upon these words in the Prophet Jeremiah, " thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet, return again to me, saith the Lord ;"t he felt that they were some support to him, as applying to his case ; and so also was that saying of the same Prophet, that though we have done and spoken as evil things as we could, yet shall we cry unto God, "My Father, thou art the guide of my youth V't and return unto him. More consolation he derived from the Apostle who says, " he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."§ And again, " if God be for us, who can be against us T'li And again, " for I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."^ This also was a help to him " because I love, ye shall love also !"** These, he says, were " but hints, touches and short visits ; very sweet when present, only they lasted not." Yet after a while he felt himself not only delivered from the guilt which these things laid upon his conscience, " but also from the very filth thereof;" the temptation was removed, and he thought himself " put into his right mind again." At this time he " sat (in puritanical language) under the ministry of holy IVTr. Giffordj" and to his doctrine he ascribed in some degree this mental con valescence. But that doctrine was of a most perilous kind for the preacher exhorted his hearers not to be contented with taking any truth upon trust, nor to rest till they had received it with evidence from heaven ; — that is, till their beliftf should be confirmed by a particular revelation ! without this, he warned them, they would find themselves wanting in strength when temptation came. This was a doctrine which accorded well with Bunyan's ardent temperament ; unless he had it with evidence from heaven, let men say what they would, • Matthew iv. 9. t m. i. t lb. v. 4. § 2 Corinth, v. 21. B Romans, viii. 31. H lb. 38. 39. •* John xiv. 19. 3 25 LIJ^E OF JOHN EUNYAN. all was nothing to him, so apt was he " to drink in the doctrine and to pray," he says, " to God that in nothing which pertained to God's glory and his own eternal happiness he would suffer him to be without the confirmation thereof from heaven." That confirmation he believed was granted him ; *' Oh," he exclaims, " now, how was my soul led from truth to truth by God ! — there was not any thing that I then cried unto God to make known and reveal unto me but he was pleased to do it for me !" He had now an evidence, as he thought, of his salvation, from heaven, with golden seals appendant, hanging in his sight : he, who before had lain trembling at the mouth of hell, had now as it were the gate of heaven in full view : " Oh !" thought he, " that I were now fourscore years old, that I might die quickly — that my soul might be gone to rest!" And his desire and longings were that the last day were come, after which he should eternally enjoy in beatific vision the presence of that Almighty and all-merciful Saviour who had offered up himself, an all- sufficient sacrifice for sinners. While Bunyan was in this state, a translation of Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians fell into his hands, an old book, so tattered and thumb-worn, "that it was ready to fall piece from piece if he did but turn it over." Here in the work of that passionate and mighty mind, he saw his own soul reflected as in a glass. " I had but a little way perused it," he says, " when I found my condition in his experience so largely and profoundly handled as if his book had been written out of my heart." And in later life, he thought it his duty to declare that he preferred this book of Martin Luther before all the books he had ever seen, (the Bible alone excepted,) as fittest for a wounded conscience ■/ Mr. Coleridge has delineated, with his wonted andpeculiar ability, the strong resemblance between Luther and Rousseau, men who to ordinary observers would appear in the constitution of their minds, most unlike each other. . In different stages of his mental and spiritual growth, Bunyan had resembled both ; like Rousseau he had been tempted to set the question of his salvation upon a cast; like Luther he had undergone the agonies of unbelief and deadly fear, and according to his own persuasion, wrestled with the enemy. 1 know not whether any parallel is to be found for him in the next and strongest part of his history ; for now when he was fully convinced that his faith had been confirmed by special evidence from heaven — when his desire was to die and be with Christ — an almost unimaginable temptation which he might well call more grievous and dreadful than any with which he had before been afllicted, came upon him ; it was " to sell and part with Christ — to exchange him for the things of this life — for any thing :" for the space of a year he was haunted by this strange and hateful suggestion, and so continually that he was " not rid of it one day in a month, nor sometimes one hour in many succeeding days," unless in his sleep. It intermixed itself with whatever he thought or did. " I could neither eat my food," he says, " stoop for a pin, chop a stick, or cast mine eye to look on this or that, but still the temptation would come, * sell Christ for this, or sell Christ for that ; sell him, sell him, sell him !' Sometimes it would run in my thoughts not so little as a hundred times together, 'sell him . LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 27 sell him, sell him, sell him !' Against which, I may say, for whole hours together, I have been forced to stand as continually leaning and forcing my spirit against it, lest haply, before I were aware, some wicked thought might arise in my heart, that might consent thereto : and sometimes the tempter would make me believe I had consented to it ; but then should I be tortured upon a rack for whole days together. This temptation did put me to such scares — that by the very force of my mind, in labouring to gainsay and resist this wickedness, my very body would be put into action — ^by way of pushing or thrusting with my hands or elbows, still answering as the destroyer said ' sell Him ;' 'I will not ! I will not ! I will not ! no, not for thousands, thousands, thousands of worlds !' and thus till I scarce knew where I was, or how to be composed again." This torment was accompanied with a prurient scrupulosity which Eunyan when he became his own biographer looked back upon as part of the same temptation proceeding immediately from the Evil One : " he would not let me eat at quiet, but forsooth when I was set at the table, I must go thence to pray ; I must leave my food now, and just now — so counterfeit holy would this devil be ! When I was thus tempted, I would say in myself ' now I am at meat, let me make an end.' 'No,' said he, ' you must do it now, or you will displease God and despise Christ.' " Thus was he distracted, imagining these things to be impulses from God, and that to withstand them was to disobey the Almighty ; "and then," says he, "should I be as guilty because I did not obey a temptation of the Devil as if I had broken the law of God indeed !" In this strange state of mind he nad continued about a year when one morn- ing as he lay in bed, the wicked suggestion still running in his mind, " sell Him, sell him, sell him, sell him," as fast as a man could speak, and he answering as fast, " no, no, not for thousands, thousands, thousands," till he was almost out of breath — he felt this thought pass through his heart, " let Him go if he will," and it seemed to him that his heart freely consented thereto. " Oh," he exclaims, " the diligence of Satan ! Oh the desperateness of man's heart ! Now was the battle won, and down fell I, as a bird that is shot, from the top of a tree, into great guilt and fearful despair. Thus getting out of my bed I went moping into the field, but God knows with as heavy a heart as mortal man I think could bear ; where for the space of two hours I was like a man bereft of life, and as now, past all recovery, and bound over to eternal punishment." Then it occurred to him what is said of Esau by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, now having sold his birthright when he would afterward have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for "he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."* At the recol- lection of a better text,* the words of that disciple (blessed above all men) whom Jesus loved, he had for a while such relief that he began to conceive peace in his soul again, " and methought," says he, " I saw as if the tempter did leer and steal away from me as being ashamed of what he had done." But this was only like a passing gleam of sunshine : the sound of EsaAi's fate • xii. 16. 17. t John i. 7 28 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. was always in his ears ; his case was worse than Esau's, worse than David's ; m Peter's came nigher to it ; yet Peter's was only a denial of his master, this a ^' selling of his Saviour : — he came nearer therefore to Judas than to Peter ! And though he was yet sane enough to consider that the sin of Judas had been deliberately committed, whereas his on the contrary, was " against his prayer and striving — in a fearful hurry, on a sudden," the relief which that consideration brought was but little, and only for a while. The sentence concerning Esau, literally taken more unhappily applied, fell like a hot thun- derbolt upon his conscience ; " then should I, for whole days together feel my very body, as well as my mind, to shake and totter under the sense of this dreadful judgment of God ; — such a clogging and heat also at my stomacL. by reason of this my terror, that I was sometimes as if my breast-bone would split asunder." And then he called to mind how Judas burst asunder ; and feared that a continual trembling like his was the very mark that had been set on Cain ; and thus did he " twist and twine and shrink" under a burden which so oppressed him that he could " neither stand nor go, nor lie, either at rest or- quiet." This fatal sentence possessed him so strongly that when thinking on the words in Isaiah, "I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins ; return unto me, for I have redeemed thee !"* — and when it seemed to his diseased imagination that this text called audibly and loudly after him, as if pursuing him, so loudly as to make him, he says, look as it wefe, over his shoulder, behind him, to see if the God of grace were follow- ing him with a pardon in his hand ; — the echo of the same sentence still sounded in his conscience ; and when be heard " Return unto me, for I have redeemed thee, return, return !" articulated as it seemed to him with a loud voice — it was overpowered by the inward echo, " he found no place of repent- ance, though he sought it carefully with tears." How little would some of the most frequent and contagious disorders of the human mind be understood, if a sufferer were not now and then found collected enough, even in the paroxysms of the disease to observe its symptoms, and detail them afterward, and reason upon them when in a state to discrimi- nate between what had been real and what imaginary. Bunyan was never wholly in that state. He noted faithfully all that occurred in his reveries, and faithfully reported it ; but there was one thing happened at this time, which after an interval of twenty years, appeared to him, who was accustomed to what he deemed preternatural impressions, so much more preternatural than all his former visitings, that he withheld it from the first relation of his own life, and in a later and more enlarged account narrated it so cautiously as to imply more than he thought it prudent to express. " Once," he says, " as I was walking to and fro in a good man's shop, bemoaning of myself in my sad and doleful state ; afflicting myself with self-abhorrence for this wicked and ungodly thought ; lamenting also this hard hap of mine, for that I should commit so great a sin ; greatly fearing I should not be pardoned ; praying also in my heart, that if this sin of mine did differ from that against the Holy • xliv. 22. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 29 Ghost, the Lord would show it to me ; and being now ready to sink with fear ; suddenly there was, as if there had rushed in at the window, the noise of wind upon me, but very pleasant, and as if I heard a voice speaking, ' Didst ever refuse to be justified by the blood of Christ? And withal my whole life of profession past was, in a moment opened to me, wherein I was made to see that designedly I had not. So my heart answered groaningly, *no!' Then fell with power, that word of God upon me, ' See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh !'* This made a strange seizure upon my spirit ; it brought light with it, and commanded a silence in my heart of all those tumultuous thoughts that before did use, like masterless hell-hounds, to roar and bellow and make a hideous noise within me. It showed me also that Jesus Christ had yet a word of grace and mercy for me ; that he had not, as I had feared, quite forsaken and cast off my soul. Yea, this was a kind of chide for my proneness to desperation ; a kind of threatening of me, if I did not, notwith- standing my sins and the heinousness of them, venture my salvation upon the Son of God. But as to my determining about this strange dispensation, what it was, I know not ; or from whence it came, I know not ; I have not yet in twenty years time been able to make a judgment of it ; / thought then here what I should he loath to speak. But verily that sudden rushing wind was as if an angel had come upon me : but both it and the salvation, I will leave until the Day of Judgment. Only this I say, it commanded a great calm in my soul ; it persuaded me there might be hope ; it showed me, as I thought, what the sin unpardonable was ; and that my soul had yet the blessed privilege to flee to Jesus Christ for mercy. But, I say, concerning this dispensation, I know not what yet to say unto it ; which was also in truth the cause that at first I did not speak of it in the book. I do now also leave it to be thought on by men of sound judgment. I lay not the stress of my salvation thereupon, but upon the Lord Jesus, in the promise : yet seeing I am here unfolding of my secret things, I thought it might not be altogether inexpedient to let this also show itself, though I cannot now relate the matter as there T did experience it." The " savour" of this lasted about three or four days, and then he began to mistrust and to despair again ! Struggling nevertheless against despair, he determined that if he must die it should be at the feet of Christ in prayer : and pray he did, though the saying about Esau was ever at his heart "like a flaming sword, to keep the way of the tree of life, lest he should taste thereof and live." " Oh," he exclaims, " who knows how hard a thing I found it to come to God in prayer !" He desired the prayers of those whom he calls the people of God, meaning Mr. GifFord's little congregation, and the handful of persons within his circuit who were in communion with them : yet he dreaded lest they should receive this answer to their prayers in his behalf "pray not for him, for I have rejected him." He met indeed with cold consolation from an " ancient Christian," to whom he opened his case and said he was afraid he had committed the sin against the Holy Ghost ; this man like one of Job's comforters, replied, he thought so too ; but Bunyan comforted himself, b^ • Hebrews xii. 25. 3* 30 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. finding upon a little further conversation that this friend of his, " though a good man, was a stranger to much combat with the devil." So he betook himself again to prayer, as well as he could, but in such a state of mind, that " the most free and full and gracious words of the Gospel," only made him the more miserable. " Thus was he always sinking whatever he conld do." " So one day I walked to a neighbouring town," he says, "and sat dowi. upon a settle in the street, and fell into a very deep pause, about the most fearful state my sin had brought me to : and after long musing I lifted up my head, but methought I saw as if the sun that shineth in the heavens did grudge to give me light ; and as if the very stones in the street and tiles upon the houses, did band themselves against me. Methought that they all combined together to banish me out of the world ! I was abhorred of them, and unfit to dwell among them, because I had sinned against the Saviour. Oh how happy now was every creature over I was ! for they stood fast and kept their station ; but I was gone and lost !" In this mood breaking out in the bitterness of his soul, he said to himself with a grievous sigh, "how can God comfort such a wretch 1" And he had no sooner said this, than quick as the return of an echo, he was answered " this sin is not unto death." He says not that this seemed to be spoken audibly, but that it came to him with power and sweetness and light and glory ; that it was a release to him from his former bonds, and a shelter from his former storms. On the following evening this aupportation as he calls it began to fail ; and under many fears, he had recourse to prayer, his soul crying with strong cries, " Lord, I beseech thee show me that thou hast loved me with an everlasting love !" and like an echo the words returned upon him " I have loved thee, with an everlasting love."* That night he went to bed in quiet; and when he awoke in the morning, " it was fresh upon my soul," he says, " and I believed it." Being thus, though not without many misgivings, brought into "comfort- able hopes of pardon," the love which he bore towards his Saviour worked' in him at this time " a strong and hot desire of revengement" upon himself, for the sin which he had committed ; and had it been the Romish superstition which Bunyan had imbibed he might now have vied with St. Dominic the Cuirassier, or the Jesuit Joam d' Almeida in inflicting torments upon his own miserable body. A self-tormentor he continued still to be, vacillating between hope and fear : sometimes thinking that he was set at liberty from his guilt, sometimes that he had left himself " neither foot-hold, nor hand-hold among all the stays and praps in the precious word of life." One day, when earnestly in prayer, this Scripture fastened on his heart : "0 man, great is thy faith !'' " even," he says, " as if one had clapped me on the back, as I was on my knees before God." At another time, when doubting whether the blood of Christ was sufficient to save his soul, and dreading lest that doubt should not be removed, the inward voice for which he listened sounded suddenly within his heart, " He is able."t — " But methought this word able was spoke loud unto me ; it showed a great word ; it seemed to be writ in great letters, and gave such a justle to my fear and doubt for the time it tarried with me, as I * Jeremiah xxxi 3. t Hebrews vii. 25. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 31 never had all my life either before or after." But it tarried only about a day. Next, when he was trembling in prayer under a fear that no word of God could help him, this part of a sentence darted in upon hira, " My grace is sufficient." A little while before he had looked at that very text, and thrown down the book, thinking it could not come near his soul with comfort ; " then I thought it was not large enough for me ; no, not large enough ; — but now it was as if it had arms of grace so wide, that it could not only enclose me. but many more besides." In such conflicts he says "peace would be in and out, sometimes twenty times a day ; comfort now and trouble presently ; peace now, and before I could go a furlong, as full of fears and guilt as ever heart could hold ! For this about the sufficiency of grace, and that of Esau's parting with his birthright, would be like a pair of scales within my mind : sometimes one end would be uppermost, and sometimes again the other, according to which would be my peace or troubles." He prayed therefore to God for help to apply the whole sentence which of himself he was not as yet able to do. He says, " that he gave, that I gathered, but further I could not go, for as yet it only helped me to hope there might be mercy for me ; * my Grace is sujicieni ;' it answered his question that there was hope ; but he was not contented because for thee was left out, and he prayed for that also. It was at a meeting with his fellow-believers, when his fears again were prevaiHng, that the words for which he longed, according to his own expres- sion "broke in" upon him, "My Grace is sufficient for thee, my Grace is sufficient for thee, my Grace is sufficient for thee,^' — three times together. He was then as though he had seen the Lord look down from heaven upon him, " through the tiles and direct these words to him. It sent him mourning home ; it broke his heart, and filled him full of joy, and laid him low as the dust. And now he began to venture upon examining " those most fearful and terrible Scriptures," on which till now he scarcely dared cast his eyes, (" yea had much ado a hundred times to forbear wishing them out of the Bible :") he began " to come close to them, and read them and consider them, and to weigh their scope and tendency." The result was a clear perception that he had not fallen quite away ; that his sin, though devilish, had not been consented to, and put in practice, and that after deliberation — not public and open ; that the texts which had hitherto so appalled him were yet consistent with those which proffered forgiveness and salvation. " And now remained only the hinder part of the tempest, for the thunder was gone past ; only some drops did still remain." And when one day in the field, the words, " Thy righteousness is in heaven," occurred to him, "methought withal," he says, " I saw with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God's right hand — there, I say, as my righteousness — for my righteousness was Christ himself, ' the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.' "* Then his chains fell off in very deed : he was loosed from his affliction, and his temptations fled away. This was after two years and a half of incessant agitation and wretched- ness. Bunyan thought he could trace the cause of this long temptation to a sin which he had committed, and to a culpable omission. He had, during th© * Hebrews xiii. 8. 32 LIFE OF JOHN BUN Y AN. time when doubt and unbeliet assailed him, tempted the Lord by asking of him a sign whereby it might appear that the secret thoughts of the heart were known to him ; and he had omitted when praying earnestly for the removal of present troubles, and for assurances of faith, to pray that he might be kept from temptation, " This," he says " I had not done, and therefor*^ was thus suffered to sin and fall. — And truly this very thing is to this day of such weight and awe upon me, that I dare not when I come before the Lord, go off my knees, until I entreat him for help and mercy against the temptations that are to come ; and I do beseech thee, Reader, that thou learn to beware of my negligence, by the affliction that for this thing I did, for days and months and years, with sorrow undergo." Far ''.ore satisfactorily could he trace in himself the benefits which he derived from this long and dreadful course of suffering under which a weaker body must have sunk, and from which it is almost miraculous that any mind should have escaped without passing into incurable insanity. Before that trial, his soul had been, " perplexed with unbelief, blasphemy, hardness of heart, questions about the being of God, Christ, the truth of the word, and certainty of the world to come."—" Then," he says, " I was greatly assaulted and tormented with atheism ; but now the case was otherwise ; now was God and Christ continually before my face, though not in a way of comfort, but in a way of exceeding dread and terror. The glory of the holiness of God did at this time break me to pieces ; and the bowels and compassion of Christ did break me as on the wheel ; for I could not consider him but as a lost and rejected Christ, the remembrance of which was as the continual breaking of my bones. The Scriptures also were wonderful things unto me ; I saw that the truth and verity of them were the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; those that the Scriptures favour, they must inherit bliss ; but those that they oppose and condemn, must perish for ever- more — Oh ! one sentence of the Scripture did more afflict and terrify miy mind, I mean those sentences that stood against me (as sometimes I thought they every one did) — more, I say, than an army of forty thousand men that might come against me. Wo be to him against whom the Scriptures bend themselves !" But this led him to search the Bible and dwell upon it with an earnestness and intensity which no determination of a calmer mind could have commanded. "This made me," he says, "with careful heart and watchful eye, with great fearfulness, to turn over every leaf, and with much diligence mixed with its natural force and latitude. By this also I was greatly holden off my for- mer foolish practice of putting by the word of promise when it came into my mind : for now, though I could not suck that comfort and sweetness from the promise as I had done at other times, yea, like to a man a-sinking, I should catch at all I saw ; formerly I thought I might not meddle with the promise, unless I felt its comfort ; but now 'twas no time thus to do, the Avenger of Blood too hardly did pursue me." If in the other writings of Bunyan, and especially in that which has made his name immortal, we discover none of that fervid language, in which his confusions and self-examination are record- ed — none of those " thoughts that breathe and words that burn," — none of LIFE OF JOHN EUNYAN. 33 that passion m which the reader so far participates as to be disturbed and dis- tressed by it — here we perceive how he acquired that thorough and familiar acquaintance with the Scriptures which in those works is manifested. " Now therefore was I glad," he says, " to catch at that Word, which yet I had no ground or right to own ; and even to leap into the bosom of that promise, that yet I feared did shut its heart against me. Now also I should labour to take the word as God hath laid it down, without restraining the natural force of one syllable thereof. Oh ! what did I now see in that blessed sixth of John, " and him that comes to me I will in nowise cast out /"* Now I began to consider with myself, that God hath a bigger mouth to speak with, than I had a heart to conceive with. I thought also with myself, that he spake not his words in haste, or in an unadvised heat, but with infinite wisdom and judgment, and in very truth and faithfulness. I should in these days, often in my greatest agonies, even flounce toward the promise, (as the horses do towards sound ground, that yet stick in the mire,) concluding, (though as one almost bereft of his wits through fear,) ' on this I will rest and stay, and leave the fulfilling of it to the God of heaven that made it!' Oh, many a pull hath my heart had with Satan for that blessed sixth of John ! I did not now, as at other times, look principally for comfort, (though, how welcome would it have been unto me !) but now, a word, a word to lean a weary soul upon, that it might not sink for ever ! 'twas that I hunted for ! Yea, often when I have been making to the promise, I have seen as if the Lord would refuse my soul for ever : I was often as if I had run upon the pikes, and as if the Lord had thrust at me, to keep me from him, as with a flaming sword !" When Bunyan passed from this horrible condition into a state of happy feeling, his mind was. nearly overthrown by the transition. " I had two or three times," he says, " at or about my deliverance from this temptation, such strange apprehensions of the grace of God, that I could hardly bear up under it ; it was so out of measure amazing when I thought it could reach me, that I do think if that sense of it had abode long upon me, it would have made me uncapable of business." He had not however yet attained that self- control which belongs to a sane mind ; for after he had been formally admitted into fellowship with GifFord's little congregation, and had been by him baptized accordingly, by immersion, probably in the river Ouse, (for the Baptists at that time sought rather than shunned publicity on such occasions,) he was for nearly a year pestered with strange and villanous thoughts whenever he com- municated at the meeting. These however left him. When threatened with consumption at one time, he was delivered from the fear of dissolution, by faith, and the strong desire of entering upon eternal life ; and in another illness, when the thought of approaching death for awhile overcame him, " behold," he says, "as T was va. the midst of those fears the words of the Angels carrying jl,azarus into Abraham s oosom, darted m upon me, as who should say, ' so shall it be with thee when thou dost leave this world !' This did sweetly revive my spirits, and help me to hope in God ; which when 1 had with comfort mused on awhile, that word fell with great weight upon my * John vi. 37, 34 LIFE OF JOHN HUNYAN, uind, * Death, where is thy sting'? Grave, where is thy victory? A; this, I became both well in body and mind at once ; for my sickness did pres- ently vanish, and I walked comfortably in my work for God again." Gilford died in 1655, having drawn up during his last illness an Epistle to his congregation, in a wise and tolerant and truly Christian spirit : he exhorted them to remember his advice that when any person was to be admitted. a member of their community, that person should solemnly declare that " union with Christ was the foundation of all saints' communion," and merely an agreement concerning " any ordinances of Christ, or any judgment or opinion about externals;" and that such new members should promise that " through Grace they would would walk in love with the Church, though there should happen any difference in judgment about other things." " Concernmg sepa- ration from the Church," the dying pastor pursued, " about baptism, laying on of hands, anointing with oil, psalms, or any other externals, I charge every one of you respectively as ye will give an account of it to our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge both quick and dead at his coming, that none of you be found guilty of this great evil, which some have committed, and through a zeal for God — yet not according to knowledge. They have erred from the law of the love of Christ, and have made a rent in the true church, which is but one." Mr. Ivimey, in his History of the English Baptists, says of Gifford : " His labours were apparently confined to a narrow circle ; but their effects have been very widely extended, and will not pass away when time shall be no more. We allude to his having baptized and introduced to the Church the wicked Tinker of Elstow. He was doubtless the honoured EvangeUst who pointed Bunyan to the Wicket Gate, by instructing him in the knowledge of the Gospel : by turning him from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. Little did he think such a chosen vessel was sent to his house, when he opened his door to admit the poor, the depraved, and the despairing Bunyan." But the wickedness of the Tinker has been greatly overcharged ; and it is taking the language of self-accusation too literally to pronounce of John Bunyan that he was at any time depraved. The worst of what he was in his worst days is to be expressed in a single word, for which we have no syno- nyme, the full meaning of which no circumlocution can convey, and which though it may hardly be deemed presentable in serious composition, I shall use, as Bunyan himself (no mealy-mouthed writer) would have use it, had it in his days borne the same acceptation in which it is now universally under- stood ; — in that word then, he had been a blackguard : — The very head and front of his oflfending Hath this extent, no more. Such he might have been expected to be by his birth, breeding and vocation, scarcely indeed by possibility could he have been otherwise ; but he was never a vicious man. It has been seen that at the first reproof he shook off, at once and for ever, the practice of profane swearing, the worst if not the only sin to which ne was ever addicted. He must have been still a very young man when that outward reformation took place, which little as he. after- LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 35 ward valued it, and insufRcient as it may have been, gave evidence at least of right intentions under the direction of a strong- will : and throughout his sub- sequent struggles of mind, the force of a diseased imagination is not more manifest, than the earnestness of his religious feelings and aspirations. His connexion with the Baptists was eventually most beneficial to him ; had it not been for the encouragement which he received from them he might have lived and died a tinker ; for even when he cast off, like a slough, the coarse habits of his early hfe, his latent powers could never, without some such encouragement and impulse, have broken through the thick ignorance with which they were incrusted. The coarseness of that instruction could hardly be conceived if proofs of it were not preserved in his own handwriting. There is no book except the Bible which he is known to have perused so intently as the Acts and monu- ments of John Fox the martyrologist, one of the best of men ; a work more hastily than judiciously compiled in its earlier parts, but i^valuable for that greater and far more important portion w'iiich has obtained \)r it its popular name of the Book of Martyrs. Bunyan's own copy of this work is in exist- ence,* and valued of course as such a relic of such a man ought to be. In each volume he has written his name beneath the title-page in a large and stout print-hand, thus : — And under some of the wood-cuts he has inserted a few rhymes, which are undoubtedly his own composition ; and which, though much in the manner of the verses that were printed under the illustrations to his Pilgrim's Progress when that work was first adorned with cuts, (verses worthy of such embel- lishments,) are very much worse than even the worst of those. Indeed, it would not be possible to find specimens of more miserable doggerel. But as It has been proper to lay before the reader the vivid representation of Bunyan in his feverish state of enthusiasm, that the sobriety of mind into which he settled may be better appreciated and the more admired ; sofor a like reason is it fitting that it should be seen, from how gross and deplorable a state of * It was purchased in the year 1780 by Mr. -Wontner of the Minories ; froin him it descended to his daughter Mrs. Parnell of Botolph-lane ; and by her obliging permis- sion the verses have been transcribed and fac-similes taken from it. For this and for other kind assistance the present edition is indebted to Mr. Richard Thomson, author of "An Historical Essay on Magna Charta, with a General View and Explanation of the Whole of the Enghsh Charters of Liberties ;"— a book as beautifully and appropriately adorned as it is elaborately and learnedly compiled. The edition of the Acts and Monuments is that of 1641, 3 vols, folio, the last of those m black-letter, and probably the latest when it came into Bunyan's hands. One of his signatures bears the date of 1662 : but the verses must undoubtedly have been written some years ealier, before the publication of his first tract. 36 l-fFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. ignorance that intellect which produced the Pilgrim's Progress worked ita way. — These then are the verses : — Under the print of an Owl appearing to a Council held by Pope John at Rome. (Acts and Monuments, vol. i. 781.) Doth the owle to them apper which putt them all into a fear Will not the man & trubel crown cast the owle unto the ground. Another is here presented as it appears in his own rude handwriting undel the martyrdom of Thomas Haukes — who having promised to his friends that he would lift his hand above his head toward heaven, before he gave up the ghost, in token to them that a man under the pain of such burning might keep his mind quiet and patient, lifted his scorched arms in fulfilment of that pledge, after his speech was gone, and raised them in gesture of thanksgiving triumpL towards the living God. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 37 Under the martyrdonv of John Hus, (Acts and Men. vol. i. 821) • • heare is John hus that you may see uesed in deed with all crulity. But now leet us follow & look one Mm Whear he is full field in deed to the brim. Under the martyrdom of John Rogers, the Protomartyr ir. the Marian Per secution, (lb. vol. iii. 133) : — It was the will of X. (Christ) that thou should die Mr Rogers his body m the flames to fry. O Blessed man thou did lead this bloody way, O how wilt thou shien with X in the last day. Under the martyrdom of Lawrence Sanders, (lb. vol. iii. 139) : — Mr Sanders is the next blessed man in deed J And from all trubels he is made free. Farewell world «fe all hear be lo For to my dear Lord I must gooe. There is yet one more of these tinker's tetrasticks, penned in the margm, Deside the account of Gardener's death : — the blood the blood that he did s'ned is falling one his one head ; and dredfuU it is for to see the begiimes of his misere. Vol. iii. p. 527. These curious inscriptions must have been Bunyan's first attempts in verse ; he had no doubt found difficulty enough in tinkering them to make him proud of his work when it was done ; for otherwise he would not have written them in a book which was the most valuable of all his goods and chattels. In latter days he seems to have taken this book for his art of poetry, and acquired from It at length the tune and the phraseology of such verses as are there inserted — with a few rare exceptions, they are of Robert Wisdom's school, and something below the pitch of Sternhold and Hopkins. But if he learned there to make bad verses, he entered fully into the spirit of its better parts, and received that spirit into as resolute a heart as ever beat h\ a martyr's bosom. From the examples which he found there, and from the Scriptures which he perused with such intense devotion, he derived " a rapture" —that raising from ignorance — Carried him up into the air of action —And knowledge of himself: And when the year after Gilford's death a resolution was passed by the meet- ing, that " some of the brethren, (one at a time,) to whom the Lord may have given a gift, be called forth, and encouraged to speak a word in the church for mutual edification," Bunyan was one of the persons so called upon. " Some," he says, " of the most able among the Saints with us — I say, the most ablf 4 38 LIFE or JOHN BUNYAN. for judgment and holiness of life — as they conceived, did perceive that God had counted me worthy to understand something of his will in his holy and blessed Word ; and had given me utterance in some measure to express what I saw to others for edification. Therefore, they desired me, and that with much earnestness, that I would be willing at some times, to take in hand in one of the meetings, to speak a word of exhortation unto them. The which, though at the first it did much dash and abash my spirit, yet being still by them desired and entreated, I consented to their request; and did twice, at two several assemblies, (but in private,) though with much weakness and infirm- ity, discover my gift amongst them ; at which, they not only seemed to be, but did solemnly protest, as in the sight of the great God, they were both affected and comforted, and gave thanks to the Father of mercies for the grace bestowed on me." In those days, the supply of public news came so slowly, and so scanty when It came, that even the proceedings of so humble an individual as Bun- yan became matter of considerable attention in the town of Bedford. His example drew many to the Baptist-meeting, from curiosity to discover what had affected him there and produced such a change in his conversation. " When I went out to seek the Bread of Life, some of them," he says, " would follow, and the rest be put into a muse at home. Yea, almost all the town, at first, at times would go out to hear at the place where I found good. Yea, young and old for a while had some reformation on them : also some of them perceiving that God had mercy upon me, came crying to him for mercy too." Bunyan was not one of those enthusiasts who thrust themselves forward in confident reliance upon what they suppose to be an inward call. He entered upon his probation with diffidence and fear, not daring " to make use of his gift in a public way :" and gradually acquired a trust in himself and a consciousness of his own qualifications, when some of those who went into the country to disseminate their principles and make converts, took him in their company. Exercising himself thus, as occasion offered, he was encouraged by the approbation with which others heard him ; and in no long time, " after some solemn prayer, with fasting, he was, " more particularly called forth, and appointed to a more ordinary and public preaching, not only to and amongst them that believed, but also to offer the Gospel to those who had not yet received the faith thereof." The Bedford meeting had at this time its regular minister whose name was John Burton ; so that what Bunyan received was a roviag commission to itinerate in the villages round about ; and in this he was so much employed, that when in the ensuing year he was nominated for a deacon of the congre- gation, they declined electing him to that office, on the ground that he was too much engaged to attend to it. Having in previous training overcome his first diffidence, he now " felt in his mind a secret pricking forward" to this minis- try ; not "for desire of vain glory," for he was even at that time "sorely afflicted" concerning his own eternal state, but because the Scriptures encouraged him, by texts which ran continually in his mind, whereby " I was made," he says, *' to see, that the Holy Ghost never intended that men who LIFE OF JOHN BUN Y AN. 39 have gifts and abilities should bury them in the earth, but rather did command and stir up such to the exercise of their gift, and also, did command those that were apt and ready, so to do." Those gifts he had, and could not but be conscious of them ; he had also the reputation of possessing them, so that people came by hundreds to hear him from all parts round about, though " upon divers accounts ;" some to marvel, and some perhaps to mock : but some also to listen, and to be " touched with a conviction that they needed a Saviour." " But I first," he says, *' could not believe that God should speak by me to the heart of any man, still counting myself unworthy : yet those who were thus touched would love me and have a particular respect for me : and though I did put it from me that they should be awakened by me, still they would confess it, and affirm it before the saints of God. They would also bless God for me, (unworthy wretch that I am !) and count me God's instrument that showed to them the way of salvation. Wherefore, seeing them in both their words and deeds to be so constant, and also in their hearts so earnestly pressing after the knowledge of Jesus Christ, rejoicing that ever God did send me where they were, then I began to conclude it might be so that God had owned in his work such a foolish one as I. and then came that word of God to my heart with much sweet refreshment, " the blessing of them that were ready to perish is come upon me ; yea I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy."* "When he first began to preach, Bunyan endeavoured to work upon his hearers by alarming them ; he dealt chiefly in communications, and dwelt upon the dreadful doctrine that the curse of God " lays hold on all men as they come into the world, because of sin." *' This part of my work," says he, " I fulfilled with great sense : for the terrors of the law, and guilt for my trans- gressions, lay heavy upon my conscience. I preached what I felt — what I smartingly did feel — even that under which my poor soul did groan and trem- ble to astonishment. Indeed, I have been as one sent to them from the dead. I went myself in chains, to preach to them in chains ; and carried that fire in my own conscience, that I persuaded them to be aware of. I can truly say — that when T have been to preach, I have gone full of guilt and terror even to the pulpit-door ; and there it hath been taken off and I have been at liberty in my mind until I had done my work ; and then immediately, even before I could get down the pulpit-stairs, I have been as bad as I was before. Yet God carried me on; but surely with a strong hand, for neither guilt nor hell could take me off my work." This is a case like that of the fiery old soldier John Haime, who was one of Wesley's first lay-preachers. When he was in a happier state of mind, he took a different and better course, " still preaching what he saw and felt ;" he then laboured "to hold forth our Lord and Saviour" in all his offices, relations and benefits unto the world ; — and *' to remove those false supports and props on which the world doth lean, and by them fall and perish." Preaching, however, was not his only employ- ment, and though still working at his business for a maintenance, he found time to compose a treatise against some of those heresies which the firsj * Job xxix. 13. 40 LIFE OF JOHN BUNVAN. Quakers poured forth so profusely in their overflowing enthusiasm. In that age of theological warfare, no other sectaries acted so eagerly upon the offensive. It seems that they came into some of the meetings which Bunyan attended to bear testimony against the doctrines which were taught there ; and this induced him to write his first work, entitled " Some Gospel Truths opened according to the Scriptures : or the Divine and Human Nature in Christ Jesus ; His coming into the world ; His Righteousness, Death, Resurrection, Ascen- sion, Intercession, and Second Coming to Judgment, plainly demonstrated and proved." Burton prefixed to this treatise a commendatory epistle, bidding the reader not to be offended because the treasure of the Gospel was held forth to him in a poor earthen vessel by one who had neither the greatness nor the wisdom of this world to commend him. " Having had experience," he says, "with many other saints of this man's soundness in the faith, of his godly conversation, and his ability to preach the Gospel, not by human art, but by the Spirit of Christ, and that with much success in the conversion of sinners — I say having had experience of this, and judging this book may be profitable to many others, as well as to myself, I thought it my duty upon this account to bear witness with my brother to the plain and simple, and yet glo- rious truths of our Lord Jesus Christ." It may be asked, how is it possible that the man who v^nrote such illiterate and senseless verses in the margin of his Book of Martyrs, could have com- posed a treatise like this, about the same time, or shortly afterward 1 To this it may be replied that if the treatise were seen in its original spelling it might have at first-sight as tinkerly an appearance as the verses : but in those days, persons of much higher station spelt quite as loosely — perhaps all who were not professionally scholars — for it was before the age of spelling-books ; and it may be believed that in most cases the care of orthography was left to the printers. And it is not to be concluded from Bunyan's wretched verses that he would write as wretchedly in prose ; in versifying he was attempting an art which he had never learned, and for which he had no aptitude ; but in prose he wrote as he conversed and as he preached, using the plain slraightforwarch language of common life. Burton may have corrected some vulgarisms, but other correction would not be needed ; for frequent perusal of the Scriptures had made Bunyan fully competent to state what those doctrines were which the Quakers impugned : he was ready with the scriptural proofs ; and in a vigorous mind like his right reasoning naturally results from right premises. An ill judgment might be formed of Bunyan's treatise from that part of its title which promises *' profitable directions to stand fast in the doctrine of Jesus the Son of Mary, against those blustering storms of the Devil's temp- tations, which do at this day, like so many Scorpions, break loose from the bottomless Pit, to bite and torment those that have not tasted the virtue of Jesus, by the Revelation of the Spirit of God." Little wisdom and less moderation might be expected in a polemical discourse so introduced ! It is however a calm, well-arranged and well-supported statement of the scriptural doctrines on some momentous points which the primitive Quakers were understood by others to deny ; and which in fact, though they did not so LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 41 understand themselves, they frequently did deny, both virtually and explicity, when in the heat and acerbity of oral disputation they said, they knew not what ; and also, when under the same belief of immediate inspiration, they committed to writing whatever words came uppermost, as fast as the pen could put them down, and subjected to no after-revision what had been pro- duced with no forethought. " I would not have thee think," says Bunyan, " that I speak at random in this thing ; know for certain that I myself have heard them blaspheme — yea, with a grinning countenance, at the doctrine ■>f that Man's second coming from heaven, above the stars, who was born of the Virgin Mary. Yea, they have told me to my face, that I have used conjura- tion and witchcraft, because what I preached was according to the Scriptures. I was also told to my face, that I preached up an idol, because I said that the Son of Mary was in heaven, with the same body that was crucified on the cross ; and many other things have they blasphemously vented against the Lord of Life and Glory and his precious Gospel. The Lord reward them according as their work shall be !" A reply to this (published originally like the treatise which provoked it, as a pamphlet) is inserted among " the Memorable Works of a Son of Thunder and Consolation, namely that True Prophet and Faithful Servant of God and Suflerer for the Testimony of Jesus, Edward Burroughs — Published and Printed for the good and benefit of Generations to come, in the year 1672." This answer is entitled, " The True Faith of the Gospel of Peace contended for in the Spirit of Meekness ; and the Mystery of Salvation, (Christ within, the Hope of Glory,) Vindicated in the Spirit of Love, against the Secret Opposition of John Bunyan, a Professed Minister in Bedfordshire." Words soft as dew, or as the droppings of a summer-cloud ; but they were the forerunners of a storm, and the Son of Thunder breaks out at once : — " How long ye crafty Fowlers will ye prey upon the innocent, and shoot at him secretly 1 How long s»hall the righteous be a prey to your teeth, ye subtle Foxes who seek to devour 1 The just One against whom your bow is bent, cries for vengeance against you in the ears of the Lord. Yet you strengthen your hands in iniquity, and gird yourselves with the zeal of madness and fury ; you think to swallow up the harmless and to blot out the name of the righteous, that his generation may not be found on earth. You shoot your arrows of cruelty, even bitter words, and make the innocent your mark to prey upon. You de- spise the way of uprightness and simplicity, and the path of craft and subtlety you tread: your dens are in darkness, and your mischief is hatched upon your beds of secret whoredom. Yet, you are found out with the searching eye of the Lord ; and as with a whirlwind will he scatter you, and your name shall rot, and your memorial shall not be found, and the deeper you have digged the pit for another the greater will be your own fall. And John Bun- yan and his fellow, who have joined themselves to the broken army of Magog, now in the heat of the day of great striving, are not the least of all guilty among their brethren, of secret smiting the innocent, with secret lies and slanders, who have showed themselves in defence of the Dragon against the Lamb, in this day of war betwixt them." In this strain the Son of Thunder 4* 42 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. roars and blazes away, like a Zeuj vxpiftpEnErm in prose. " Your spirit is tried, and your generation is read at large, and your stature and countenance is clearly described to me, to be of the stock of Ishmael, and of the seed of Cain, whose line reacheth unto the murdering Priests, Scribes and Pharisees. Oh thou blind Priest, whom God hath confounded in thy language — the design of the devil in deceiving souls is thy own, and I turn it back to thee. Thoii directest altogether to a thing without, despising the light within, and worship- ping the name of Mary in thy imagination, and knowest not Him who was before the world was, in whom alone is salvation and in no other. — If we should diligently search, we should find thee, through feigned words, through covetous- ness, making merchandise of souls, loving the wages of unrighteousness : and such were the scoffers whom Peter speaks of, among whom thou art found in thy practice, among them who are preaching for hire, and love the error of Balaam, who took gifts and rewards. — The Lord rebuke thee, thou unclean spirit, who hast falsely accused the innocent to clear thyself from guilt ; but at thy door guilt lodges, and I leave it with thee ; clear thyself if thou art able. And thy wicked reproaches we patiently bear, till the Lord appear for us : and we are not greater than our Lord, who was said to have a devil by thy generation : and their measure of wickedness thou fulfils, and art one of the Dragon's army against the Lamb and his followers ; and thy weapons are slanders ; and thy refuge is lies ; and thy work is confused, and hath hardly gained a name in Babylon's record ; and by us (so much of it at least is against us) is cast by as our spoiled prey, and trampled upon in all thy reproachful speeches, who art unclean." Mixed with these railings were affirmations as honestly made that the Quakers owned all the Scriptures which Bunyan had alleged against them, concerning the life, and death and resurrection of our Lord, yet withal bearing witness " that without the revelation of Christ within, there is no salvation." There were many and wide differences between Bunyan and the Quakers, but none upon these points when they understood each other, and when the duakers understood themselves. He replied in a vindication of his treatise, complaining that his opponent had uttered a very great number of heresies, and falsely reported many things ; and wishing him to be sober, if he could, and to keep under his unruly spirit, and not to appear so much, at least not so grossly, a railing Rabshakeh. He maintained, which was in fact the point at issue, that the opinions held at that day by the Quakers were the same that the Ranters had held long ago, " only the Ranters had made them threadbare at an alehouse, and the Quakers had set a new gloss upon them again by an outward legal holiness, or righteousness." He dwelt upon the error of the Quakers in confounding conscience with the Spirit of Christ, thereby " idoli- zing and making a God" of what " is but a creature, and a faculty of the soul of man, which God hath made," — which " is that in which is the law of Nature, which is able to teach the Gentiles, that sin against the law is sin against God, and which is called by the Apostle* but even Nature itself."— '* wonderful that men should make a God and a Christ of their con- * 1 Corinth, xi. 14. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 43 Bcientes because they can convince of sin !" To the reproach of making merchandise of souls and loving the wages of unrighteousness he answered thus : " Friend, dost thou speak this as from thy own knowledge, or did any other tell thee so ■? However, that spirit that led thee out of this way is a lying Spirit. For though I be poor and of no repute in the world, as to out- ward things, yet this grace I have learned, by the example of the Apostle, to preach the truth ; and also to work with my hands, both for mine own living, and for those that are with me, when I have opportunity. And I trust that the Lord Jesus who hath helped me to reject the wages of unrighteousness hitherto, will also help me still, so that I shall distribute that which God hath given me freely, and not for filthy lucre's sake. Other things I might speak in vindication of my practice in this thing. But ask of others, and they will tell thee that the things I say are truth : and hereafter have a care of receiving . any thing by hearsay only, lest you be found a publisher of those lies which are brought to you by others, and so render yourself the less credible." This reproof was so far lost upon his antagonist that he returned thus to the charge: "Thou seemest to be grieved, and calls this a false accusation. But let's try ; the cause admits dispute. Art not thou in their steps, and among them that do these things 1 Ask John Burton, with whom thou art joined close to vindicate him and call him brother, hath he not so much yearly, £150, or more, (except thou hast some ofit,) which is unrighteous wages, and hire, and gifts, and rewards 1 What sayest thou ] Art thou not in his steps, and among, and with, him and them that do these things 1 If he be thy brother, and thou so own him, what is evil in him whom thou vindicatest I lay upon thee. Though thou bid me have a care of receiving by hearsay, what I have said and received in this is truth, though thou evade it never so much." Burroughs must have examined very little into the truth or probability of what he heard when he could believe and repeat that a poor Baptist-meeting at Bedford raised £150 a year for its minister ! — " Your words," says he, " de- scribe your nature ; for by your voice I know you to be none of Christ's sheep ; and accordingly I . .tdge in just judgment and in true knowledge. Envy is of Cain's nature and seed; and that you are ; and liars are of Ishmael's stock, and you are guilty of that ; and you are among the murdering Priests' party, and close joined to them, in doctrine and practice, especially in writing against us. Thy portion shall be howling and gnashing of teeth, for the liar's portion is the lake. I reprove thee by the spirit of the Lord, and so leave thee to receive thy reward from the just God of righteous judgment, who upon thy bead will render vengeance in flames of fire, in his dreadful day. A liar and slanderer thou art, a perverter and wrester of the right way of God and of the Scriptures, a hypocrite and dissembler, a holder-forth of damnable doctrines, an envious man and false accuser — and all thy lies, deceits, con- fusions, hypocrisies, contradictions, and damnable doctrines of devils, with impudence held forth by thee, shall be consumed in the pit of vengeance. — Alas, alas for thee, John Bunyan ! thy several months' travail in grief and pain is a fruitless birth, and perishes as an untimely fig, and its praise is blotted out among men, and it's passed away as smoke. Truth is a-top of thee, and 44 LIFE OF JOHN HUNYAiN. aulreaches thee — and it shall stand for ever to confound thee and all its ene- mies ; and though thou wilt not subject ♦hy mind to serve it willingly, yet a slave to it must thou be ; and what thou dost in thy wickedness against it, the end thereof brings forth the glory of it, and thy own confounding and shame. And now be wise and learned, and put off thy armour : for thou mayest under- stand the more thou strives, the more thou art entangled, and the higher thou arises in envy, the deeper is thy fall into confusion ; and the more thy argu- ments are, the more increased is thy folly. Let experience teach thee, and thy own wickedness correct thee ; and thus I leave thee. And if thou wilt not own the Light of Christ in thy own conscience, nor to reform thee and convince thee, yet in the day of judgment thou shalt own it ; and it shall witness the justness of the judgment of the Lord when for thy iniquities he pleads with thee. And behold as a thief in the night, when thou art not aware. He will come ; and then wo unto thee that art polluted !" Bunyan made no farther reply either to the reasoning or Rahshaking of his opponent ; for although as he says it pleased him much " to contend with great' earnestness for the word of faith and the remission of sins by the death and sufferings of our Saviour," he had no liking for controversy, and moreover saw that " his work before him ran in another channel." His great desire was to get into what he calls " the darkest places of the country," and awaken the religious feelings of that class of persons, who then as now, in the midst of a Christian nation, were lilce the beasts that perish. While he was thus usefully employed " the doctors and priests of the country," he says, began to open wide against him, ** and in the year 1657, an indictment was preferred against him at the assizes for preaching at Eaton ; for though this was in the golden days of Oliver Cromwell, the same writer who tells us that " in those days there was no persecution,"* observes " that the Presbyterian ministers who were then in possession of the livings could not bear with the preaching of an illiterate tmker and an unordained minister."! But the Presbyterians were not the only clergy who had intruded into the benefices of their loyal brethren, or retained those which were lawtnlly their own by conforming to the times and deserting the church in whose service they were ordained. There was a full proportion of Independents among these incumbents and some Baptists also. And that there was much more persecution during the Protectorate than Cromwell would have allowed, if he could have prevented it, may be seen by the history of the Quakers — to say nothing of the Papists, against whom the penal laws remained in full force — nor of the Church of England. The sim- ple truth is, all parties were agreed in the one Catholic opinion that certain doctrines are not to be tolerated ; they differed as to what those doctrines were ; and they differed also as to the degree in which they held the principle of intolerance, and the extent to which they practised it. The Papists, true to their creed, proclaimed it without reserve or limit, and burnt all heretics wherever they had power to do so. The Protestants there- fore tolerated no Papists where they were strong enough to maintain the as- cendency which they had won. The Church of England would have silenced all * Iviiney's Hist, o ' e F»?.ptists. vol. ii. p. 28. t lb. p. 34. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 45 sectaries ; it failed in the attempt, being betrayed by many of its ow n members ; and then the Sectaries overthrew the Church, put the Primate to death, ejected all the clergy who adhered to their principles, imprisoned some, deported others, and prohibited even the private and domestic use of the Liturgy. The very Baptists of Bunyan's congregation, and at a time too when Bunyan was their pastor, interdicted* a " dearly beloved sister" from communicating with a church of which her son-in-law was minister, because he was not a Baptist ; and they excluded f a brother "because in a great assembly of the Church of England he was profanely bishoped, after the antichristian order of that gener- ation, to the great profanation of God's order, and heart-breaking of his Chris- tian brethren." The Independents flogged and hanged the Quakers : and the Quakers prophecied in the gall of bitterness against all other communities, and condemned them to the bottomless pit, in hearty belief and jubilant expectation that the sentence would be carried into full effect by the Devil and his Angels. It is not known in what manner the attempt at silencing Bunyan was de- feated. He tells us that the ignorant and malicious were then stirred up to load him with slanders; and that whatever the devil could devise, and his instruments mvent, was " whirled up and down the country" against him, thinkmg that by that means they should make his ministry to be abandoned It was rumoured that he was a witch, a Jesuit, a highwayman : and now it was that the aspersions cast upon his moral character called forth that charac- teristic vindication of himself which has already been noticed. Equally characteristic is the appeal which he made to his own manners and deport- ment. " And in this," says he, " I admire the wisdom of God, that he made me shy of women from my first conversion until now. These know, and can also bear me witness with whom I have been most ultimately concerned, that it is a rare thing to see me carry it pleasant towards a woman. The common salutation of woman I abhor ; 'tis odious to me in whomsoever I see it. Their company alone I cannot away with ! I seldom so much as touch a woman's hand ; for I think these things are not so becoming me. When I have seen good men salute those women that they have visited, or that have visited them, I have at times made my objection against it ; and when they have answered that it was but a piece of civility, I have told them, it is not a comely sight. Some indeed have urged the holy kiss : but then I have asked why they made balks 1 Why they did salute the most handsome, and let the ill-favoured go 1 Thus how laudable soever such things have been in the eyes of others, they have been unseemly in my sight." — Dr. Doddridge could not have thus de- fended himself. But though this passage might have been written by a saint of the monastic calendar, Bunyan was no woman-hater. He had at this time married a second wife ; and that he " carried it pleasant" towards her, appears by her behaviour towards him in his troubles. Those troubles came on a few months only after the Restoration, Bunyan being one of the first persons after that event, who was punished for non- conformity. The nation was in a most unquiet state. There was a restless, rancorous, implacable party who would have renewed the civil war, for th© • Ivimey, vol. ii. p. 37. tib. p. 4G, 46 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. sake of again trying the experiment of a commonwealth, which had so com- pletely and miserably failed when the power was in their hands. They looked to Ludlow as their general ; and Algernon Sidney* took the first opportu- nity of soliciting for them men from Holland, and money from France. The political enthusiasts who were engaged in such schemes counted upon the sectaries for support. Even among the sober sects there were men who at the cost of a rebellion would gladly have again thrown down the Church Estab- lishment, for the hope of setting up their own system during the anarchy that must ensue. Among the wilder, some were eager to proclaim King Jesus, and take possession of the earth as being the saints to whom it was promised ; and some, (a few years later, less in hope of effecting their republican pro- jects than in despair and vengeance, conspired to burn London : they were discovered, tried, convicted and executed ; they confessed their intention ; they named the day which had been appointed for carrying it into effect, be- cause an astrological scheme had shown it to be a lucky one for this design ; and on that very day the fire of London broke out. In such times the Gov- ernment was rendered suspicious by the constant sense of danger, and was led as much by fear as by resentment to severities which are explained by the necessity of self-defence — not justified by it, when they fall upon the innocent, or even upon the less guilty. \ warrant was issued against Bunyan as if he had been a dangerous person, because he went about preaching ; this office was deemed, (and well it might be,) incompatible with his calling ; he was known to be hostile to the restored Church, and probably it might be remembered that he had served in the Par- liament's army. Accordingly he was arrested at a place called Samsell in Bedfordshire, at a meeting in a private house. He was aware of this inten- tion, but neither chose to put off the meeting, nor to escape, lest such conduct on his part should make " an ill savour in the country ;" and because he was resolved " to see the utmost of what they could say or do to him ;" so he was taken before the Justice, Wingate by name, who .had issued the warrant Wingate asked him why he did not content himself with following his calling, instead of breaking the law ; and Bunyan replied that he could both follow his calling, and preach the word too. He was then required to find sureties ; they were ready, and being called in were told they were bound to keep him from preaching, otherwise their bonds would be forfeited. Upon this Bunyan declared that he would not desist from speaking the word of God. While his mittimus was making in consequence of this determination, one whom he calls an old enemy of the truth, entered into discourse with him, and said he had read of one Alexander, the coppersmith, who troubled the Apostles-— " aiming 'tis like at me," says Bunyan, "because I was a tinker ; to which I answered that I also had read of priests and Pharisees that had their hands in the blood of our Lord." Ay, was the rejoinder, and you are one of those * OEuvres de Louis xiv. T. 2, p. 204. Ludlow's Memoirs, (Edinburgh, 1751,) vol. 3, 151, 156. Ludlow's passport from the Comte d'Estrades, sent him that he might go from Switzerland to Paris, there to confer with Sidney upon this project, is printed in the same volume, p. 157. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. ' 47 Pharisees, for you make long prayers to devour widows' houses. " I answer- ed," says Bunyan, " that if he had got no more by preaching and praying than I had done, he would not be so rich as now he was." This ended in his com- mittal to Bedford jail there to remain till the quarter sessions. He was offered his liberty if he would promise not to call the people together, but no such promise would he make ; and when he was told that none but poor, simple, ignorant people came to hear him, he replied that such had most need of teaching, and therefore it was his duty to go on in that work. It appears however that after a few days he listened to his friends, and would have given bond for his appearance at the sessions : bnt the magistrate to whom they applied was afraid to take it. ** "Whereat," says Bunyan, "I was not at all daunted, but rather glad, and saw evidently that the Lord had heard me. For before I went down to the justice, I begged of God that if I might do more good by being at liberty than in prison, that then I might be set at liberty ; but if not — His will be done ; for I was not altogether without hopes, out that my imprisonment might be awakening to the saints in the country : therefore I could not tell which to choose ; only I in that manner did commit the thing to God. And verily at my return, I did meet my God sweetly in the prison again, comforting of me, and satisfying of me that it was His will and mind that I should be there." Some seven weeks after this the Sessions were held, and John Bunyan was indicted as a person who " devilishly and perniciously abstained from coming to church to hear divine service, and who vsras a common upholder of several unlawful meetings and conventicles to the great disturbance and distraction of the good subjects of this kingdom." He answered that as to the first part of this he was a common frequenter of the church of God : but being de- manded whether he attended the parish church, he replied that he did not, and for this reason, that he was not commanded so to do in the word of God ; we were commanded there to pray, but with the spirit, not by the common prayer- book, the prayers in that book being made by other men, and not by the motion of the Holy Spirit within our own hearts. And as to the Lord's prayer, said he, " there are very few that can, in the spirit, say the two first words of that prayer ; that is, that can call God their father, as knowing what it is to bo born again, and as having experience that they are begotten of the spirit of God ; which if they do not, all is but babbling." Having persuaded himself by weak arguments Bunyan used them as if they had been strong ones : " Show me," he said, " the place in the Epistles where the common prayer-book is written, or one text of Scripture that commands me to read it, and I will use it. But yet, notwithstanding, they that have a mind to use it, they have their liberty ; that is, I would not keep them from it. But for our parts, we can pray to God without it. Blessed be his name !" But the Sectaries had kept their countrymen from it, while they had the power ; and Bunyan himself in his sphere laboured to dissuade them from it. Men who are called in question for their opinions, may be expected to under or over state them at such times, according as caution or temerity may pre- dominate in their dispositions. In none of Bunyan's writings does he appear 48 LIFE OF JOHN BU^YAN. 60 little reasonable, or so little tolerant, as upon these examinations. He was a brave man — a bold one — and believed himself to be an injured one, standing up against persecution . for he knew that by his preaching, evident and certain good was done ; but that there was any evil in his way of doing it, or likely to arise from it, was a thought which, if it had arisen in his own mind, he would immediately have ascribed to the suggestion of Satan. Some farther disputation ensued : "we were told," he said, •' to exhort one anothei daily, while it is called to day :" but the Justice replied he ought not to preach- In rejoinder he offered to prove that it was lawful for him and such as him to preach, and quoted the Apostle's words, " as every man hath received the gift, even so let him minister the same unto another. Let me a little open that Scripture to you, said the magistrate : As every man hath received his gift ; that is, as every man hath received a trade, so let him follow it. If any man have received a gift of tinkering as thou hast done, let him follow his tinker- ing. And so other men. their trades, and the divine his caUing." But John insisted that spiritual gifts were intended in this passage. The magistrate said men might exhort if they pleased in their families, but not otherwise John answered, " if it were lawful to do good to some, it was lawful to do good to more. If it were a good thing to exhort our families, it was good to exhort others. And if it were held a sin for them to meet together and seek the face of God, and exhort one another to follow Christ, he would sin still." They were now at a point. You confess the indictment then 1 said the mag- istrate. He made answer — " this I confess : We have had many meetings together, both to pray to God, and to exhort one another ; and we had the sweet comforting presence of the Lord among us for our encouragement ; blessed be his name ! There I confess myself guilty, and no otherwise." Then said the magistrate : " Hear your judgment ! You must be had back again to prison, and there lie for three months following ; and at three months' end, if you do not submit to go to church to hear divine service, and leave your preaching, you must be banished the realm. And if after such a day as shall be appointed you to be gone, you shall be found in this realm, or be found to come over again without special license from the king, you must stretch by the neck for it ; I tell you plainly." Bunyan resolutely ansv/ered that if " he were out of prison to-day, he would preach the Gospel again to- morrow, by the help of God !" Back therefore he was taken ; " and I can truly say," he says, " I bless the Lord for it ; that my heart was sweetly refreshed in the time of my examin ation, and also afterward at my returning to the prison, so that I found Christ's words more than bare trifles, where he saith, " He will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gamsaynor resist." Three months elapsed, and the Clerk of the Peace then went to him by desire of the magistrate to see if he could be persuaded to obedience. But Bunyan insisted that the law, being intended against those who designed to do evil in their meetings, did not apply to him. He was told that he might exhort his neighbours in private discourse, if he did not call togetner an as- • T.nke xxi. 15. LIFE OF JOHN BUrsYAM. 49 semblv of people ; this he might do, and do much good thereby, without breaking the law. But, said Bunyan, if I may do good to one, why not tc two ] and if to two why not to four, and so to eight, and so on 1 Ay, said the Clerk, and to 'a hundred, I warrant you ! Yes, Bunyan answered, I think I should not be forbidden to do as much good as I can. They then began to discuss the question whether under pretence of doing good, harm might not be done, by seducing the people, and Banyan allowed that there might be many who designed the destruction of the government : let them, he said, be punished, and let him be punished also should he do any thing not becoming a man and a Christian ; if error or heresy could be proved upon him he would disown it, even in the market-place ; but to the truth, he would stand to the last drop of his blood. Bound in conscience he held himself to obey all righ- teous laws, whether there were a king or not ; and if he offended against them, patiently to bear the penalty. And to cut off all occasion of suspicion as touching the harmlessness of his doctrines, he would willingly give any one the notes of all his sermons, for he sincerely desired to live in peace and to submit to the present authority. " But there are two ways of obeyincr," he observed ; " the one to do that which I in my conscience do believe that I am bound to do, actively ; and where I cannot obey actively, there I am willing to lie down, and to suflFer what they shall do unto me." And here the interview ended, Bunyan thanking him for his " civil and meek discoursing," and breath ing a wish that they might meet in heaven. Shortly afterward the coronation took place, and the proclamation which allowed persons to sue out a pardon during twelve months from that day, had the effect of suspending the proceedings against him, if any farther were in- tended. When the assizes came, his wife presented a petition to the Judges that they would impartially take his case into consideration. Sir Matthew Hale was one of these Judges, and expressed a wish to serve her if he could, but a fear that he could do her no good ; and being assured by one of the Justices that Bunyan had been convicted, and was a hot-spirited fellow, he waived the matter. But the high sheriff encouraged the poor woman to make another effort for her husband before they left the town ; and accordingly " with a bashed face and a trembling heart," she entered the Swan Chamber where the two Judges and many magistrates and g-entry of the country were in company together. Trembling however as she was, Elizabeth Bunyan had imbibed something of her husband's spirit. She had been to London to peti- tion the House of Lords in his behalf, and had been told by one whom she calls Lord Barkwood that they could do nothing, but that hio releasement was committed to the judges at these next assizes ; and now I am come to you, she said, and you give neither releasement, nor relief ' And she complained to Hale that he was kept unlawfully in prison, for the indictment was false, and he was clapped up before there were any proclamations against the meet- ings. One of the Judges then said he had been lawfully convicted. "It is false," replied the woman ; " for when they said to him do you confess the indictment, he said only this, that he had been at several meetings both when there was preaching the Word and prayer, and that they had God's nresence 5 50 LIPE OF JOHN BUNYAN. among them." Will your husband leave preaching! said Judge Twisden; if ne will do so, then send for him. " My Lord," said she, " he dares not leave preaching, as long as he can speak." Sir Matthew himself was not likely to be favourably impressed by this sort of pleading. But he listened sadly when she told him that there were four small children by the former wife, one of them blind ; that they had nothing to live upon while their father was in prison, but the charity of good people ; and that she herself " smayed" at the news when her husband was appre- hended, being but young and unaccustomed to such things, fell in labour, and continuing in it for eight days was delivered of a dead child. Alas, poor wo- man ! said Hale. But Twisden said poverty was her cloak, for he under- stood her husband was better maintained by running up and down a-preaching, than by following his calling. Sir Matthew asked what was his calling, and was told that he was a tinker. Yes, observed the wife, and because he is a tinker and a poor man, therefore he is despised and cannot have justice. The scene ended in Sir Matthew's mildly telling her he was sorry he could do her no good ; that what her husband had said was taken for a conviction, and that there was no other course for her than either to apply to the king, or sue out his pardon, or get a writ of error, which would be the cheapest. She urged them to send for Bunyan that he might speak for himself ; his appearance however would rather have confirmed those in their opinions who said that there was not such another pestilent fellow in the country, than have moved the Judges in his favour. Elizabeth Bunyan concludes her account by say- ing, " this T remember, that though I was somewhat timorous' at my first entrance into the chamber, yet before I went out I could not but break forth into tears ; not so much because they were so hard-hearted against me and my husband, but to think what a sad account such poor creatures will have to give at the coming of the Lord !" No farther steps for procuring his release were taken at this time ; either because the means for defraying the legal expenses could not be raised ; or, which is quite as probable, because it was certain that Bunyan thinking himself in conscience bound to preach in defiance of the law, would soon have made his case worse than it then was. For he had fortunately a friend in the jailer, and was somewhat like a prisoner at large, being allowed to go whither he would, and return when he thought proper. He attended the meetings of the congregation to which he belonged, he was employed by them to visit dis- orderly members, he was often out in the night, and it is said that many of the Baptist congregations in Bedfordshire owe their origin to his midnight preaching. " I followed my wonted course," he says, " taking all occasions to visit the people of God, exhorting them to be steadfast in the faith of Jesus Christ, and to take heed that they touched not the Common Prayer, &c." — an &c., more full of meaning than that which occasioned the dishonest outcry against the &c. oath. So far did this liberty extend that he went " to see the Christians at London," — an indiscretion which cost the jailer a severe reproof, and had nearly cost him his place ; and which compelled him to with- Qold any farther indulgence of this kind, " so," says Bunyan, " that I must riot LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 51 HOW look out of the door." "They charged me," he adds, "that I went thither to plot and raise divisions and make insurrections, which God knows was a slander." It was slanderous to charge him with plotting, or with trai- torous intentions ; but in raising divisions he was, beyond all doubt, actively and heartily engaged. The man who distinguished a handful of Baptists in London as the Christians of that great metropolis, and who when let out by favour from his prison, exhorted the people of God as he calls them to take baed that they touched not the common prayer, was not employed in pro- MOting unity, nor in making good subjects, however good his intentions, how- ever orthodox his creed, however sincere and fervent his piety. Peace might be on his lips, and zeal for the salvation of others in his heart ; but he was certainly at that time no preacher of good will, nor of Christian charity. And without reference to human laws, it may be affirmed that the circumstances which removed this high-minded and hot-minded man from a course of dan- gerous activity, in which he was as little likely to acquire a tolerant spirit, as to impart it, and placed him in confinement, where his understanding had leisure to ripen and to cool, was no less favourable for his moral and religious nature than it has ultimately proved to his usefulness and his fame. Nothing is more certain than that the gratification which a resolute spirit feels in satisfying ics conscience exceeds all others ; this feeling is altogether distinct from that peace of mind which under all afHictions abides in the re- generate heart ; nor is it so safe a feeling, for it depends too much upon excitement, and the exaltation and triumph which it produces are akin to pride. Bunyan's heart had been kindled by the Book of Martyrs — cold and insensible indeed must any heart be which could dwell without emotion upon those precious records of religious heroism ! He had read in those records with perfect sympathy the passionate epistle which the Italian Martyr Pomponius Algerius addressed from prison to his friends. That martyr was. a student at Padua, and in what in one sense may be called the golden age of literature, had been devoted to study from his childhood with ambitious diligence and the most hopeful success. *' To mitigate your sorrow which you take for me," said this noble soldier of the noble army, " I cannot but impart unto you some portion of my delectation and joys which I feel and find, to the intent that you may rejoice with me and sing before the Lord. — I have found a nest of honey and honey-comb in the entrails of a lion. — Behold He that was once far from me, now is present with me : whom once scarce I could feel, now I see more apparently ; whom once I saw afar off, now I behold near at hand : whom once I hungered for, the same now approacheth and reach eth His hand unto me. He doth comfort me, and heapeth me up with gladness ; He min- istereth strength and courage ; He healeth me, refresheth, advanceth and comforteth me, — The sultry heat of the prison, to me is coldness : the cold winter to me is a fresh spring-time in the Lord. He that feareth not to be burnt in the fire, how will he fear the heat of the weather 1 Or what careth he for the pinching frost, who burneth with the love of the Lord "? This place is sharp and tedious to them that be guilty ; but to the innocent — here droppeth delectable dew, here floweth pleasant nectar, here runneth sweet milk, here 52 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. is plenty of all good things. — Let the miserable worldling say if there be any plot, pasture or meadow, so delightful to the mind of man as here ! Here is mount Sion ; here I am already in heaven itself. Here standeth first Christ Jesus in the front : about him stand the old patriarchs, prophets and evan- gelists, apostles, and all the servants of God ; of whom some do embrace and cherish me ; some exhort, some open the sacraments unto me, some comfort me, other-some are singing about me. How then shall I be thought to be alone, among so many and such as these, the beholding of whom to me is botb solace and example !" " This man," says Bunyan, " was when he wrote this letter, in the house of the forest of Lebanon — in the church in the wilderness — in the place and way of contending for the truth of God , and he drank of both cups — of that which was exceeding bitter, and of that which was exceeding sweet : and the reason why he complained not of the bitter, was because the sweet had over- come it. As his afilictions abounded for Christ, so did his consolations by him ; so did I say 1 they abounded much more. But was not this man, think you a giant 1 A pillar in this house 1 Had he not also now hold of the shield of faith '\ Yea, was he not now in the combat ■? And did he not behave himself valiantly 1 Was not his mind elevated a thousand degrees beyond sense, carnal reasons, fleshly love, self concerns, and the desire of embracing worldly things '? This man had got that by the end that pleased him : neither could all the flatteries, promises, threats or reproaches, make him once listen to, or inquire after what the world, or the glory of it could afford. His mind was captivated with delights invisible, he coveted to show his love to his Lord by laying down his life for his sake. He longed to be there, where there shall be no more pain, nor sorrow, nor sighing, nor tears, nor troubles !" Bunyan had thoroughly conformed his own frame of mind to that which he thus admired ; but there were times when his spirit failed, and there is not a more characteristic passage in his works than that in which he describes his apprehensions, and inward conflict, and final determination : '' I will tell you a pretty business," he says ; " I was in a very sad and low condition for many weeks ; at which times also, being but a young prisoner and not acquainted with the laws, I had this lying much upon my spirits, that my imprisonment might end at the gallows, for aught that I could tell. Now therefore Satan laid hard at me, to beat me out of heart, by suggesting this unto me ; * but how, if when you come indeed to die, you should be in this condition ; that is, as not to savour the things of God, nor to have any evidence upon your soul for a better state hereafter? (for indeed at that time all the things of God were hid from my soul.) Wherefore when I at first began to think of this, it was a great trouble to me ; for I thought with myself, that in the condition I now was, I was not fit to die ; neither indeed did I think I could, if I should be called to it. Besides, I thought with myself, if I should make a scrambling shift to clamber up the ladder, yet I should either with quaking, or other symptoms of fainting, give occasion to the enemy to reproach the way of God, and his people for their timorousness. This therefore lay with great trouble upon me ; for methought I was ashamed to die with a pale face and tottering t.IFE OF JOHN EUNYAN. 53 knees, m such a case as this. Wherefore I prayed to God that he would comfoit me, and give me strength to do and suffer what he should call me to ; yet no comfort appeared, but all continued hid. I was also at this time so really possessed with the thought of death, that oft I was as if I was on the ladder with the rope about my neck. Only this was some encouragement to me ; I thought I might now have an opportunity to speak my last words unto a multitude, which I thought would come to see me die ; and, thought I, if, it must be so, if God will but convert one soul by my last words, I shall not count my life thrown away, nor lost. "But yet all the things of God were kept out of my sight; and still the tempter followed me with, 'but whither must you go when you diel what v\ ill become of you 1 where will you be found in another world '? what evi- dence have you for heaven and glory, and an inheritance among them that are sanctified 1' Thus was I tossed for many weeks, and knew not what to do. At last, this consideration fell with weight upon me, that it was for the word and way of God that I was in this condition, wherefore I was engaged not to flinch a hair's breadth from it. I thought also that God might choose whether he would give me comfort now, or at the hour of death ; but I might not there- fore choose, whether I would hold my profession or not. I was bound, but He was free. Yea, it was my duty to stand to his word, whether He would ever look upon me or save me at the last ; wherefore, thought I, the point being thus, I am for going on, and venturing my eternal state with Christ, whether I have comfort here or no. If God doth not come in, thought I, I will leap off the ladder even blindfold into eternity ; sink or swim — -come heaven, come hell ; — Lord Jesus, if thou wilt catch me, do : — if not, I will venture for thy name I" John Bunyan did not ask himself how far the case of those martyrs, whose example he was prepared to follow, resembled the situation in which he was placed. Such a question, had ho been cool enough to entertain it, might have shown him that they had no other alternative than idolatry or the stake : but that he was neither called upon to renounce any thing that he did believe, nor to profess any thing that he did not ; that the congregation to which he belonged held at that time their meetings unmo- lested ; that he might have worshipped when he pleased, where he pleased, and how he pleased ; that he was only required not to go about the country holding conventicles ; and that the cause for that interdiction was — not that persons were admonished in such conventicles to labour for salvation, but that they were exhorted there to regard with abhorrence that Protestant Church which is essentially part of the constitution of this kingdom, from the doctrines of which church, except in the point of infant baptism, he did not differ a hair's breadth. This I am bound to observe, because Bunyan has been, and no doubt will continue to be, most wrongfully represented as having been the victim of intolerant laws, and prelatical oppression. But greater strength of will and strength of heart could not have been man ifested, if a plain duty wherewith there may be no compromise had called for that sacrifice which he w^as ready to have made. I would be wronging him here were the touching expression of his feelings under these circumstances 5* 54 LIFE OF JOHN BUN Y AN. to be withheld. *' I found myself," he says, " a man encompassed with infirm- ities. The parting with my wife and poor children, hath often been to me m this place, as the pulling the flesh from the bones ; and that not only be- cause I am somewhat too fond of these great mercies, but also because I should have often brought to my mind the many hardships, miseries and wants that my poor family was like to meet with, should I be taken from them ; especiallj my poor blind child, who lay nearer my heart than all besides. Oh, the thoughts of the hardships I thought my poor blind one might go under would break my heart to pieces ! — Poor child ! thought I, what sorrow art thou like to have for thy portion in this world ! Thou must be beaten ; must beg ; suffer hunger, cold, nakedness and a thousand calamities, though I cannot now endure the wind should blow upon thee ! Bat yet, recalling myself, thought I, I must venture you all with God, though it goeth to the quick to leave you f Oh, I saw in this condition I was a man who was pullingdown his house upon the heads of his wife and children ; yet, thought I, I must do it, I must do it ! And now I thought on those two milch-kine that were to carry the Ark of God into another country and to leave their * calves behind them." These fe^rs past away when he found that no further proceedings were intended against him. But his worldly occupation was gone, for there was an end of tinkering as well as of his ministerial itinerancy ; " he was as effect- ually called away from his pots and kettles," says Mr. Ivimey, "as the apostles were from mending their nets ;" he learned therefore to make tagged thread-laces, and by this means supported his family. They lost the comfort of his presence ; but in other respects their condition was not worsened by his imprisonment, which indeed was likely to render them objects of kindness as well as of compassion to their neighbours. In an age when the state of our prisons was disgraceful to a Christian people, and the treatment of prisoners not unfrequently most inhuman, Bunyan was fortunate in the place of his confinement and in the disposition of his jailer, who is said to have committed the management of the prison to his care, knowing how entirely he might be trusted. He had the society there of some who were suffering for the same cause ; he had his Bible and his Book of Martyrs ; and he had leisure to brood over his own thoughts. The fever of his enthusiasm had spent itself; the asperity of his opinions was softened as his mind enlarged ; and the Pilgrim's Progress was one of the fruits of his imprisonment. But before that work is spoken of more particularly, it will be convenient to pursue the story of his life to its close. He remained a prisoner twelve years. But it appears that during the last four of those years he regularly attended the Baptist meeting, his name being always in the records ; and in the eleventh year the congregation chose him for their pastor, " he at the same time accepted the invitation, and gave him- self up to serve Christ and his church in that charge, and received of the Elders the right hand of fellowship." The more recent historian of the Bap- tists says, " how he could exercise his pastoral office in preaching among them, while he continued a prisoner in the jail, we are at a loss to conceive :"-— * 1 Samuel vi. 10. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYA/J. 55 unquestionably only by being a prisoner at large, and having the liberty of the town while he lodged in the prison. There is a print in which be is repre- sented as pursued by a rabble to his own door ; but there is no allusion to any such outrage in any part of his works : in his own neighbourhood, where he had always lived, it is most unlikely to have happened ; and if Bunyan had any enemies latterly, they were among the bigots of his own persuasion. His character had by this time obtained respect, his books had attracted notice, *nd Dr. Barlow, then Bishop of Lincoln, and other Churchmen, are said to have pitied " his hard and unreasonable sufferings so far as to stand very much his friends in procuring his enlargement."* How this was affected is not known. From this time life appears to have past smoothly. His congregation and his other friends bought ground and built a meeting-house for him, and there he continued to preach before large audiences. Every year he used to visit London, where his reputation was so great that if a day's notice were given, *' the meeting-house in Southwark, at which he generally preached, would not hold half the people that attended. Three thousand persons have been gath- ered together there ; and not less than twelve hundred on week days, and dark winter's mornings at seven o'clock." He used also to preach in the surrounding counties. The Baptist congregation at Hitchin is supposed to have been founded by him. Then meetings were held at first about three miles from that town, in a wood near the village of Preston, Bunyan standing in a pit, or hollow, and the people round about on the sloping sides. " A chimney corner at a house in the same wood is still looked upon with vener- ation, as having been the place of his refreshment." About five miles from Hitchin was a famous Puritan preaching place called Bendish. It had been a malt house, was very low, and thatched, and ran in two directions, a large square pulpit standing in the angles ; and adjoining the pulpit was a high pew, in which ministers sat out of sight of informers, and from which, in case of alarm they could escape into an adjacent lane. The building being much decayed, this meeting was removed in 1787 to a place called Coleman Green ; and the pulpit, which was there held to be the only remaining one in which Bunyan had preached, was with a commendable feeling carefully removed thither. But another " true pulpit," is shown in London, in the Jewin street meeting. It is said that Owen greatly admired his preaching, and that being * This is the statement given in the continuation of his hfe, appended to his o\vn ac- count of himself, and supposed to have been written by Charles Doe, a Baptist minister, who was intimately acquainted with him. Mr. Ivimey, however, to invalidate this pro- daces a passage from the preface to one of Owen's sermons : this passage says, that " Bunyan was confined upon an excommunication for noncomformity ; that there w?^ a law that if any two persons would go to the bishop of the diocess, and oifer a cautionary bond that the prisoner should conform in half a year, the bishop might release him upon t7aat bond ; that Barlow was apphed to, to do this, by Owen whose tutor he had been ; that Barlow refused unless the lord chancellor would issue out an order to him to take the cautionary bond and release the prisoner : that this, though very chargeable, was dcme, and that Bunyan was then set at liberty, but little thanks to the bishop." "From this account," says Mr. Ivimey, "'it should seem the honour given to Dr. Barlow has been ill bestowed." Upon this statement it will be sufficient to observe that Bunyan was not imprisoned upon a sentence of excommunication ; and that he would not have been imprisoned at all, if he vrould have allowed his friends to enter into a bond for him, far less objectionable on his part than the fraudulent one upon which, it is here pre- tended, he was released at last. 56 LIFi; OF JOHN BUN Y AN. asked by Charles II., " how a learned man such as he could sit and listen to an illiterate tinker ;" he replied, " May it please your majesty, could I possess that tinker's abilities for preaching, I would most gladly relinquish all my iearning." This opinion would be discreditable to Owen's judgment, if he really enter- tained it, and the anecdote were entitled to belief. For great part of Bun-, yan's tracts are supposed to contain the substance of his sermons, which it is said he commonly committed to writing, after he had preached them ; and certainly if he had left no other proofs of his genius, these would not have perpetuated his name. But the best sermons are not always those which produce most effect in delivery. A reader may be lulled to sleep by the dead letter of a printed discourse, who would have been roused and thrilled if the same discourse had come to him m a stream of living oratory, enforced by the tones, and eye, and countenance, and gestures of the preacher. One who is as much in earnest as he was, even if his matter should be worse, and his manner feebler, will seldom fail to move hearers, when they see that he is moved himself. But Bunyan may be supposed to have been always vehement and vigorous in delivery, as he frequently is in his language. One day when he had preached " with peculiar warmth and enlargement," some of his friends came to shake hands with him after the service, and observed to him what "a sweet sermon" he had delivered. "Ay I" he replied, "you need not remind me of that ; for the devil told me of it before I was out of the pulpit." This anecdote authenticates itself. He became a voluminous writer, and published about three score tracts or books. They have been collected into two folio volumes, but indiscrimi- nately arranged, and without any notice of their respective dates : and this is a great fault : for by a proper arrangement, or such notices, the progress of his mind might more satisfactorily be traced. Some passages occur in them which may make us shudder ; these are very few, and in what may probably be deemed bis earher works, because such passages are found in them. A very few also there are in which the smut of his old occupation has been left upon the paper. The strongest prejudice which he retained, and precisely for this reason that it was the most unreasonable, was his dislike of the Liturgy — the Book of Common Prayer, being, like " the common salutation of women," "what he could not away with." But the general tenor of his writings is mild, and tolerant, and charitable ; and if Calvinism had never worn a blacker appearance than :n Bunyan's works, it could never have become a term of reproach ; nor have driven so many pious minds, in horror of it, to an opposite extreme. Bunyan looked for a Millennium, though he did not partake of the madness of the fifin-monarchy men, nor dream of living to see it. He agreed with the Particular or stricter Baptists that church-communion was to be held with those only, who are " visible Saints by calling ;" that is, with those who make a profession of faith and repentance and holiness, and who are now called Professors in their own circle, but in those days took to themselves compla cently the appellation of Saints. He dared not hold communion with others LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 51 he said, because the Scriptures so often command that all the congregation should be holy ; and because so to do, would be ploughing with an ox and an ass together ; and because God has threatened to plague the " mingled peo pie" with dreadful punishments. " It is all one," he says, " to communicate with the profane, and to sacrifice to the devil." But he held that difference of opinion concerning baptism should be no bar to communion ; and for this he was attacked by Kiffin and Jessey, two of the most eminent among the Baptists. The more particular Particulars had long been displeased with his tolerance upon this point, and had drawn away some of his congregation ; and Bunyan complained of this " Church-rending" spirit. "Yourself," he says to KifRn, " could you but get the opportunity, under pretence of this innocent ordinance as you term it, of water-baptism, would not stick to make inroads and outroads too, in all the churches that suit not your fancy in the land ! For you have already been bold to affirm that all those that have baptized infants, ought to be ashamed and repent, before they be showed the pattern of the house : and what is this but to threaten that, could you have your will of them, you would quickly take from them their present church privileges'!" He com- plains of " brethren of the baptized way who would not pray with men as good as themselves, because they were not baptized, (that is, re-baptized) — but would either like Quakers stand with their hats on their heads, or else with- draw till they had done." One of his opponents had said upon this subject, that " if it be preposterous and wicked for a man and woman to cohabit together, and to enjoy the privi- leges of a married estate" without the solemnity of public marriage, "so it is no less disorderly upon a spiritual account for any one to claim the privileges of a church, or to be admitted to the same, till they had been under the solem- nity of re-baptism." " These words," said Bunyan, " are very black ; — I wot that through ignorance and a preposterous zeal he said it. God give him repentance !" They neither judged nor spoke so charitably of him : they called him a Machiavelian, a man devilish, proud, insolent and presumptuous ; — some compared him to the Devil ; others to a Bedlamite, others to a sot ; and they sneered at his low origin and the base occupation from which he had risen : " such insults," said he, " I freely bind unto me, as an ornament among the rest of my reproaches, till the Lord shall wipe them off at his coming." They reproached him for declining a public conference with them in London upon the matter in dispute. To this he answered thus : " the reason why I came not amongst you, was partly because I consulted mine own weakness, and counted not myself, being a duU-headed man, able to engage so many of the chief of you as I was then informed intended to meet me. I also feared in personal disputes, heats and bitter contentions might arise, a thing my spirit hath not pleasure in. I feared also that both myself and words would be misrepresented ; — for if they that answer a book will alter and screw argu- ments out of their places, and make my sentences stand in their own words, not mine, when, I say, my words are in a book to be seen ; what would you have done had I in the least, either in matter or manner, though but seemingly miscarried among you 1" 58 LIFE OF JOHN HUNYAN. Throughout this controversy Bunyan appear*? to great advantage as a meek good man, beyond the general spirit of his age in toleration, and far beyond that of his fellov^r sectarians. His vfas indeed so Catholic a spirit, that though circumstances had made him a sectarian, he liked not to be called by the de- nomination of his sect. " I knew none," says he, " to whom that title is so proper as to the disciples of John. And since you would know by what name. I would be distinguished from others, I tell you, I would be, and I hope I am, a Christian ; and choose if God should count me worthy, to be called a Christian, a Believer, or other such name which is approved by the Holy Ghost. And as for those factious titles of Anabaptists, Independents, Pres- byterians, or the like, I conclude that they come neither from Jerusalem nor from Antioch, but rather from Hell and Babylon ; for they naturally tend to divisions. You may know them by their fruits." In another of his treatises he says, "jars and divisions, wranglings ard prejudices eat out the growth, if not the life of religion. These are those waters of Marah that imbitter our spirits, and quench the spirit of God. Unity and Peace is said to be like the dew of Hermon,* and as a dew that descended upon Sion, when the Lord promised his blessing. Divisions run religion into briers and thorns, contentions and parties. Divisions are to churches, like wars in countries ; where war is, the ground lieth waste and untilled ; none takes care of it. It is love that edifieth, but division pulleth down. Divisions are as the northeast wind to the fruits, which causeth them to dwindle away to nothing : but when the storms are over, every thing begins to grow. When men are divided they seldom speak the truth in love ; and then no marvel, they grow not up to Him in all things which is the head. — It is a sad presage of an approaching famine, (as one well observes) — not of bread, nor water, but of hearing the Word of God, when the thin ears of com devour the plump full ones ; when our controversies about doubtful things, and things of less moment eat up our zeal, for the more indisputable and practical things in religion ; which may give us cause to fear, that this will be the character by which our age will be known to posterity, that it was the age which talked of religion most, and loved it least." It is of the divisions among those who could as little conform with one another, as with the Church of England, that he is here speaking. And when his Mr. Badman says, " that no sin reigneth more in the world than pride among professors," and asks, " who is prouder than your professors 1 scarcely the devil himself." Bunyan assents to this condemnation in the character of Mr. Wiseman, saying, " Who can contradict him . the thing is too apparent for any man to deny." In his last sermon he complains of tiie many prayerless professors in London, " Coffee-houses," he says, " will not let you pray ; trades will not let you pray ; looking-glasses will not let you pray : but if you was born of God you would." In another place his censure is directed against the prayerfull ones. " The Pharisee, saith the text, stood and prayed with himself. It is at this day," says Bunyan, '" wonderful common, for men to pray extempore also : to pray by a book, by a premeditated set form, is now out of fashion : he is counted nobody now, * Psalm cxxxiij.3. LIFE OF JOHN KUNYAN, 59 that cannot at any time, at a minute's warning, make a prayer of half an hour long. I am not against extempore prayer, for I believe it to be the best kind of praying; but yet I am jealous that there are a great many such prayers made, especially in pulpits and public meetings, without the breathing of the Holy Ghost in them : for if a Pharisee of old could do so, why may not a Pharisee now do the same 1 — Great is the formality of religion this day, and little the power thereof ! — How proud, how covetous, how like the world in garb and guise, in words and actions, are most of the great professors of this our day ! But when they come to divine worship, especially to pray, by theii words and carriage there, one would almost judge them to be angels in heaven." Thus it appears Bunyan, like Wesley, lived to perceive " that often where there is most profession, there is least piety." This is manifest also in another passage, which is moreover worthy of notice because it is in Bishop Latimer's vein. It is in his " Heavenly Foot- man ; or description of the man that gets to heaven, together with the way he runs in, the marks he goes by ; also some directions how to run so as to obtain." No doubt it contains the substance of some of his sermons ; and to sermons in such a strain, however hearers might differ in taste and in opin- ions, there are none who would not listen. — " They that will have heaven, they must run for it, because the devil, the law, siii, death and hell, follow them. There is never a poor soul that is going to heaven, but the devil, the law, sin, death and hell, make after that soul. ' The devil, your adversary, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour.' And I will assure you, the devil is nimble ; he can run apace ; he is light of foot ; he hath over- taken many ; he hath turned up their heels, and hath given them an everlasting fall. Also the law 1 that can shoot a great way : have a care thou keep out of the reach of those great guns the ten commandments ! Hell also hath a wide mouth ; and can stretch itself farther than you are aware of ! And as the angel said to Lot, ' Take heed, look not behind thee, neither tarry thou in all the plain, (that is any where between this and heaven,) lest thou be con- sumed,' so say I to thee, take heed, tarry not, lest either the devil, hell, death, or the fearful curses of the law of God do overtake thee, and throw thee down in the midst of thy sins so as never to rise and recover again. If this were well considered, then thou, as well as I, wouldst say, they that will have heaven must run for it !" " But, if thou wouldst so run as to obtain the kingdom of heaven, then, be sure that thou get into the way that leadeth thither : for it is a vain thing to think that ever thou shalt have the prize, though thou runnest never so fast, unless thou art in the way that leads to it. Set the case, that there should be a man in London that was to run to York for a wager ; now though he run never so swiftly, yet if he run full south, he might run himself quickly out of breath, and be never the nearer the prize, but rather the farther off; just so is it here : it is not simply the runner, nor yet the hasty runner, that winneth the crown, unless he be in the way that leadeth thereto. I have observed, that little time that I have been a professor, that there is a great running to and fro, some this way, and some that way, vet it is to be feared most of them are out 60 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. of the way ; and then, though they run as swift as the eagle can fly, they are benefited nothing at all! — Here is one run a Quaking, another a Ranting; one again runs after the Baptism, and another after the Independency. Here's one for Free-will, and another for Presbytery ; and yet possibly most of these sects run quite the wrong way ; and yet every one is for his life, his soul — either for heaven or hell ! — Mistrust thy own strength, and throw it away ! Down on thy knees in prayer to the Lord, for the spirit of truth ! Keep com- pany with the soundest Christians that have most experience of Christ : and be sure thou have a care of Quakers, Ranters, Free-willers : also do not have too much company with some Anabaptists, though I go under that name myself." Little has been recorded of Bunyan during the sixteen years betvyreen his enlargement and his death. It appears that besides his yearly visit to London, he made stated circuits into other parts of England ; that he exerted himself to relieve the temporal wants of those who were suffering as nonconformists under oppressive laws ; that he administered diligently to the sick and afflicted, and successfully employed his influence in reconciling differences among "professors of the gospel," and thus prevented "many disgraceful and bur- densome litigations." One of his biographers thinks it highly probable that he did not escape trouble in the latter part of Charles the second's reign " as the justices of Bedford were so zealous in the cause of persecution ;" but it is much more probable that in a place where so much indulgence had been shown him during the latter years of his imprisonment, he was let alone ; and there can be little doubt but that if he had undergone any farther vexation for the same causes, a full account of it would have been preserved. At Bedford where he was liked as well as known, he was evidently favoured : in other places he would be exposed to the same risk as other nonconforming preach- ers ; and there is a tradition among the Baptists at Reading that he sometimes went through that town dressed like a carter, and with a long whip in his hand, to avoid detection. Reading was a place where he was well known : the house in which the Baptists n.et for worship was in a lane there, and from the back door they had a bridge over a branch of the river Kennett, whereby in case of alarm they might escape. In a visit to that place he contracted the disease which brought him to the grave. A friend of his who resided there had resolved to disinherit his son ; the young man requested Bunyan to inter- fere in his behalf; he did so with good success, and it was his last labour of love ; for returning to London on horseback through heavy rain, a fever ensued which, after ten days, proved fatal. He died at the house of his friend Mr. Stradwick, a grocer, at the sign of the star on Snow Hill, and was buried in that friend's vault in Bunhill Fields* burial-ground, which the Dissenters regard as their Campo Santo — and espe- cially for his sake. It is said that many have made it their desire to be interred as near as possible to the spot where his remains are deposited. His age and the date of his decease are thus recorded in his epitaph : Mr. John Bunyan, Author of the Pilgrini's Progress, ob. 12 Aug. 1688, aet 60. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 61 The nigrim's Progress now is finished, And death lias laid him in his earthly bed. It appears that at the time of his death, the Lord Mayor, Sir John Shorter,* vas one of his London flock. But though he had obtained favour among the magist'iracy, he was not one of those nonconformists who were duped by the insidious liberality of the government at that time, and lent their aid to meas- ures which were intended for the destruction of the Protestant faith. " It is said, that he clearly saw through the designs of the court in favour of popery," (blind indeed must they have been who did not !) when James granted his indulgence to the Dissenters; and that "he advised his brethren to avail themselves of the sunshine by diligent endeavours to spread the gospel, and to prepare for an approaching storm by fasting and prayer." " He foresaw," says the Baptist minister who added a supplement to his account of his own life, '*all the advantages that could redound to the Dissenters would have been no more than what Polyphemus, the monstrous giant of Sicily would have allowed Ulysses — to wit, " that he would cat his men first, and do him the favour of being eaten last." — " When regulators went into all the cities and towns corporate to new model the magistracy, by turning out some and put- ting in others," Bunyan laboured zealously with his congregation " to prevent their being imposed on in that kind. And when a great man in those days, coming to Bedford upon some such errand, sent for him, (as was supposed) to give him a place of public trust, he would by no means come at him, but sent his excuse." His earliest biographer says also, that " though by reason of the many losses he sustained by imprisonment and spoil, his chargeable sickness, &c., his earthly treasure swelled not to excess, yet he always had sufficient to live decently and creditably." But all that Bunyan had to lose by " spoil," was his occupation as a tinker, which fortunately for him and the world was put an end to earlier than in the course of his preacher's progress he could other- wise have cast it off. That progress raised him to a station of respectability and comfort ; and he was too wise and too religious a man to desire riches either for himself or his children. When a wealthy London citizen offered to take one of his sons as an apprentice without a premium, he declined the friendly and advantageous offer, saying, " God did not send me to advance my family, but to preach the gospel." No doubt he saw something in the business itself, or in the way of life to which it led, unfavourable to the moral ,.»iaracter. His widow put forth an advertisement stating her inability to print the V'T^ings which he left unpublished. They are probably hicluded in the folio edition of his works which was published in 1692, the year of her decease, by Bunyan's successor at Bedford, Ebenezer Chandler, and John Wilson, a brother minister of the same sect, who went in Bunyan's life time from the Bedford congregation to be the first pastor of a Baptist flock at Hitchin. Three children survived him ; there were none by the second marriage ; "September 6, 1668. " Few days before, died Bunyan, his Lordship's teacher, or chaplain ; a man said to be gifted in tliat way, though once a cobbler." Ellis's Corre« spondence, vol. ii., p. 161. 6 62 LIFE or JOHN BDNYAN. and the blind daughter, the only one whom it might have troubled him to leavft with a scanty provision, happily died before him. He is said to have kept up " a very strict discipline in his family, in prayer and exhortations." Such a discipline did not in this case produce its usual ill effect ; for according to what little is known of his children, they went on in the way they had been trained. His eldest son was forty-five years a member of the Bedford meet- ing ; he preached there occasionally, and was employed in visiting the disor- derly members ; he was therefore in good repute for discretion, as well as for his religious character. The names of other descendants are in the book, of the same meeting ; in the burial ground belonging to it his great-grand- daughter Hannah Bunyan was interred in 1770 at the age of 76 ; and with her all that is related of his posterity ends. A description of his character and person was drawn by his first biographer. " He appeared in countenance," says that friend, " to be of a stern and rough temper ; but in his conversation, mild and affable, not given to loquacity or much discourse in company, unless some urgent occasion required it ; observ- ing never to boast of himself, or his parts, but rather seem low in his own eyes, and submit himself to the judgment of others ; abhorring lying and swearing ; being just in all that lay in his power to his word ; not seeming to revenge injuries ; loving to reconcile differences, and make friendship with all. He had a sharp quick eye, accomplished with an excellent discerning of persons, being of good judgment and quick wit. As for his person he was tall of stature , strong boned, though not corpulent ; somewhat of a ruddy face, with sparkling eyes ; wearing his hair on his upper lip, after the old British fashion : his hair reddish, but in his later days time had sprinkled it with gray ; his nose well set but not declining or bending, and his mouth moderately large ; his forehead something high, and his habit always plain and modest. And thus have we impartially described the internal and external parts of a person, who had tried the smiles and frowns of time, not puffed up in pros- perity, nor shaken in adversity, always holding the golden mean." Mr. Whitbread, father to the distinguished member of that name, was so great an admirer of Bunyan, that he left by will £500 to the meeting at Bed- ford, expressly as a token of respect for his memory ; the interest to be dis- tributed annually in bread to the poor of that meeting, between Michaelmas and Christmas. When Bunyan's pulpit bible was to be sold among the library of the Rev. Samuel Palmer of Hackney, Mr. Whitbread the member gave a commission to bid as much for it, as the bidder thought his father, had he been living, would have given for a relic which he would have valued so highly. It was bought accordingly for twenty guineas. It remains now to speak of that work which has made the name of Bunyan famous. It is not known in what year the Pilgrim's Progress was first published, no copy of the first edition having as yet been discovered : the second is in the British Museum ; it is " with additions," and its date is 1678 : but as the book is known to have been written du«» Bnnvan's imprisonment, which termi' LIFE or JOHN BUNYAN. 63 nate-i in 1672, it was probably published before his release, or at latest imme- diately aft-er it. The earliest with which Mr. Major has been able to supply me, either by means of his own diligent inquiries, or the kindness of his friends, is that *' eighth e-di-ti-on," so humorously introduced by Gay, and printed — not for Nicholas* Bod-ding-ton, but for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultrey, near the Church, 1682 ; for whom also the ninth was published in 1684, and the tenth in 1685. All these no doubt were large impressions. This noted eighth edition is " with additions ;" but there is no reason to suppose that they were " new ones, never made before," for the ninth and tenth bear the same promise and contain no alteration whatever. One passage of considerable length was added after the second edition — the whole scene between Mr. By-Ends and his three friends, and their subsequent discourse with Christian and Faithful. It appears to have been written with reference to some particular case ; and in Bunyan's circle, the name of the person in- tended was probably well known. Perhaps it was first inserted in the fourth impression, " which had many additions more than any preceding :" this is stated in an advertisement on the back of the frontispiece to the eighth : where it is also said, " the publisher observing that many persons desired to have it illustrated with pictures, hath endeavoured to gratify them therein : and be- sides those that are ordinarily printed to the fifth impression, hath provided thirteen copper cuts curiously engraven for such as desire them." This no- tice is repeated in the next edition, with this alteration, that the seventh instead of the fourth is named as having the additions, and the eighth as that which had the ordinary prints. I can only say with certainty that no additions have been made subsequently to the eighth, and no other alterations than such verbal ones as an editor has sometimes thought proper to make, or as creep into all books which are reprinted without a careful collation of the text. The rapidity with which these editions succeeded one another, and the demand for pictures to illustrate them, are not the only proofs of the popu- larity which the Pilgrim's Progress obtained, before the second part was published. In the verses prefixed to that part Bunyan complains of dishonest imitators. some have of late to counterfeit My Pilgrim, to their own, my title set ; Yea others, half my name and title too, Have stitched to their book, to make them do. Only one of these has fallen in my vsay — for it is by accident only that books of this perishable kind, which have no merit of their own to preserve them, are to be met with : and this though entitled " the Second part of the Pil- grim's Progress,"! has no other relation to the first than its title, which was * This immortal name appears to the sixth edition of the second part, "printed for Robert Ponder, and sold by Nicholas Boddington in Duck-Lane, 1693." t "From this present world of wickedness and misery, to an eternity of holiness and felicity, exactly described under the similitude of a dream, relating the manner and occasion of his setting out from, and difficult and dangerous journey through the world, and safe arrival at last to eternal happiness. 64 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. probably a. trick of the publishers. These interlopers may very likely have given Bunyan an additional inducement to prepare a second part himself. It appeared in 1684 with this notice on the back of the title page : " I appoint Mr. Nathaniel Ponder, out no other to print this book, John Bunyan, January 1, 1684." No additions or alterations were made in this part, though the author lived more than four years after its publication. A collation of the first part with the earliest attainable copies has enabled me in many places to restore good old vernacular English which had beeii hijudiciously altered, or carelessly corrupted. This has also been done in the second part ; but there I had the first edition before me, and this it is evident had not been inspected either in manuscript or while passing through the press, by any person capable of correcting it. It is plain that Bunyan had willingly availed himself of such corrections in the first part ; and therefore it would have been improper to have restored a certain vulgarism* of diction in the second, which the editor of the folio edition had amended. Had it not been for this consideration, I should perhaps have restored his own text. For Bunyan was confident in his own powers of expression ; he says : — - thine only way Before them all, is to say out thy say " They were strangers and Pilgrims on earth, but they desired a better country, that is a heavenly. Hebrews xi. 13, 16. " Let us lay aside every weighty and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race that is set before us. Hebrews xii. 1. "London, printed for Thomas Malthus, at the Sun, in the Poultrey. 1683." The Author who signs himself T. S. dedicates this book " to Him that is higher than the Highest ; the Almighty and everlasting Jehovah, who is the terror and confusion of the hardened and impenitent world, and the hope and happiness of all converted and returning sinners." At the conclusion is an apology for his book, wherein he says that the hope of delivering plain truth in a familiar manner, which should at the same time satisfy the judicious and yet be understood by the meanest capacities and the most illit- erate persons, was the motive "which put the author of the First Part of the Pilgrim's Progress upon composing and publishing that necessary and useful tract, which hath deservedly obtained such a universal esteem and commendation. And this consider- ation likewise, together with the importunity of others, was the motive that prevailed with m.e to compose and publish the following meditations in such a method as might sen'e as a supplement, or a second part to it : wherein I have endeavoured to supply a fourfold defect, which, I observe, the brevity of that discourse necessitated the author into : first, there is nothing said of the state of man in his first creation ; nor secondly, of the misery of man in his lapsed estate, before conversion : thirdly, a too bi'ief passing over the methods of divine goodness in the convincing, converting and reconciling of sinners to himself: and fourthly, I have endeavoured to deliver the whole in such seri- ous and spiritual phrases that may prevent that lightness and laughter, which the reading some passages therein occasions in some vain and frothy minds. And now that it may answer my design, and be universally useful, I commend both it and thee to the blessing of Him, whose wisdom and power, grace and goodness, it is that is only able to make it so. And withal I heartily wish, that what hath been formally proposed by some well- minded persons, might be more generallv and universally practised, viz., the giving of books of this nature at funerals, instead of rings, gloves, wine, or biscuit; assuring n)yself that reading, meditation, and several holy and heavenly discourses which may probably be raised upon the occasion of such presents as these, would mightily tend to the making people serious ; and furnish not only the person who discourses, but the rest who are present, and who would otherwise be employing their thoughts and tongues too, in such foolish, vain and frothy discourse, as is too commonly used at such times, with such frames of spirits as may be suitable to the greatness and solemnity of that occasion which then calls them together. Amongst those few who have practised this, abundance of good hath been observed to have been done by that means; and who knows, were it more generally used and become a custom amongst us at our burials what good might be effected thereby V * The vulgarism alluded to consists in the almost uniform use of o for have, — never marked as a contraction, as, might a made me take heed — like to a been smothered. LIFK OP JOHN BUNYAN, 65 In thine own native language, which no man Now useth, nor with ease dissemble can. And he might well be confident in it. His is a homespun style, not a man- ufactured one : and what a difference is there between its homeliness, and the flippant vulgarity of the Roger L'Estrange* and Tom Brown school ! If it is not a well of English undefiled to which the poet as well as the philologist must repair, if they would drink of the living waters, it is a clear stream of current English — the vernacular speech of his age, sometimes indeed in its rusticity and coarseness, but always in its plainness and its strength. To this natural style Bunyan is in some degree beholden for his general popu- larity ; — his language is every where level to the most ignorant reader, and to the meanest capacity : there is a homely reality about it , a nursery tale is not more intelligible, in its manner of narration, to a child. Another cause of his popularity is, that he taxes the imagination as little as the understanding. The vividness of his own, which, as his history shows, sometimes could not dis- tinguish ideal impressions from actual ones, occasioned this. He saw the things of which he was writing, as distinctly with his mind's eye as if they were indeed passing before him in a dream. And the reader perhaps sees them more satisfactorily to himself, because the outline only of the picture is presented to him, and the author having made no attempt to fill up the details every reader supplies them according to the measure and scope of his own intellectual and imaginative powers. ^ When Bunyan's success had raised a brood of imitators, he was accused of being an imitator himself. He replied to this charge in some of his most characteristic rhymes, which were prefixed to his Holy War, as an advertisa- ment to the reader. Some say the Pilgrim's Progress is not mine, Insinuating as if I would shine In name and fame by the worth of another, Like some made rich by robbing of their brother. Or that so fond I am of being Sire, I'll father bastards ; or if need require, I'll tell a lie in print, to get applause. I scorn it ; John such dirt-heap never was Since God converted him. Let this suffice To show why I my Pilgrim patronise. It came from mine own heart, so to my head, And thence into my fingers trickled ; Then to my pen, from whence immediately On paper I did dripple it daintily. Manner and matter too was all mine own ; Nor was it unto any mortal known, Till I had done it. Nor did any then By books, by wits, by tongues, or hand, or pen, Add five words to it, or wrote half a line Thereof; the whole and every whit is mine. * Let me not be understood as passing an indiscriminate censure upon Sir Roger L'Estrange's style. No better specimens of idiomatic Enghsh are to be found than in some of his writings ; but no baser corruptions and vilifications than in some of his translations. I suspect that he was led into this fault by the desire of avoiding the op- posite one into which his father had been betrayed. 6* 86 LIFE OF JOHN BUN Y AN. Also for This thine eye is now upon, The matter in this manner came from none But the same heart and head, fingers and pen As did the other. Witness all good men, Fpr none in all the world without a lie, Can say that " this is mine," excepting L I wrote not this of any ostentation ; Nor 'cause I seek of men their commendation. I do it to keep them from such surmise, As tempt them will my name to scandalize. Witness my name ; if anagramm'd to thee The letters makeNuhony in a B. John Bunyan. A passage* has already been quoted from his account of a dream, whicb evidently contains the germe of the Pilgrim's Progress. The same obvious allegory had been rendered familiar to his mind by the letter of the Italian martyr, Pomponius Algerius. " In this world," says that high-minded and triumphant witness for'the truth, " there is no mansion firm to me ; and there- fore I will travel up to the New Jerusalem, which is in heaven, and which offereth itself to me, without paying any fine or income. Behold I have en- tered already on my journey, where my house standeth for me prepared, and where I shall have riches, kinsfolks, delights, honours never failuig." But original as Bunyan believed his own work to be, and as in the main undoubtedly it is, the same allegory had often been treated before him, so often indeed that to notice all preceding works of this kind would far exceed all reasonable Umits here. Some of these may have fallen in Bunyan's way, and modified his own conception when he was not aware of any such influence. Mr. Montgomery in his very able introductory Essay to the Pilgrim's Progress, observes, " that a poem entitled the Pilgrimage, in Whitney's Emblems, and the emblem which accompanies it, may have suggested to him the first ides* of his story ; indeed, he says, if he had had Whitney's picture before him he could not more accurately have copied it in words," than in the passage where Evangelist directs Christian to the wicket-gate. Another book in which a general resemblance to the Pilgrim's Progress has been observed is the Voyage of the Wandering Knight, of which a translation from the French of the Carmelite, Jean de Carthenay, was printed in the reign of Elizabeth, the Carmelite himself having (as Mr. Douce has kindly informed me) imitated a French poem, (once very popular,) composed A. D. 1310, by Guill. de Guilleville, a monk of Ch'anliz, and entitled the Pelerin de la Vie Humaine. There is a vague general resemblance in the subject of this work, and some occasional resemblance in the details ; but the coincidences are such as the subject would naturally lead to, and the Pilgrim's Progress might have been exactly what it is, whether Bunyan had ever seen this book or not. But * There is another in his Heavenly Footman, but I know not whether this treatise was written before or after the Pilgrim's Progn-ess. "Though the way to heaven be but one, yet there are many crooked lanes and by-paths shoot down upon it, as I may piay. And notwithstanding the kingdom of heaven be the biggest city, yet usually those by- paths are the most beaten: most travellers go those ways, and therefore the woy to neavea is hard to be found, and as hard to be kept in, because of these." LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 67 he had* certainly seen Bernard's " Isle of man, or the Legal Proceedings in Man-shire against Sin ; wherein by way of a continued allegory, the chief malefactors dis'urbing both Church and Commonwealth are detected and attached; with their arraignment and judicial trial, according lo the laws of England." This was a popular book in Bunyan's time,t printed in a cheap form for popular sale, and '* to be sold by most booksellers." There is as much wit in it as in the Pilgrim's Progress, and it is that vein of witj which Bunyan has worked with such good success. It wants the charm of story, and has nothing of that romantic interest, which " holds children from sleep ;" and therefore its popularity has past away. But it is written with great spirit and ability, and for its own merit as well as for the traits of the times with which it abounds, well deserves to be reprinted. No one who reads this little book can doubt that it had a considerable eflfect upon the style of Bunyan's invention. The Bee had been shown by this elder one where honey of a peculiar flavour might be extracted, but the new honey was of our Bee's own gathering. Lately, however, a charge has been brought against John the Bee, of direct * Bunyan had evidently the following lively passage in his mind when he wrote the verses introchic-tory to his second part : " Well, I have clothed this Book as it is. It may be some humour took me, as once it did old Jacob, who apparelled Joseph differently from all the rest of his brethren in a party-coloured coat. It may also be that I look (as Jacob did on his Joseph) with more delight on this lad, than on twenty other of his brethren born before him, or on a younger Benjamin brought forth soon after him. — When I thus apparelled him, I in- tended to send him forth to his brethren, hoping thereby to procure him the more ac- ceptance, where he happily should come : and my expectation hath not failed : de- ceived altogether I am not, as was Jacob in sending his Joseph among his envious brethren ; for not only hundreds, but some thousands have welcomed him to their houses. They say they like his countenance, his habit, and manner of speaking well enough ; though others, too nice, be not so well pleased therewith." "But who can please alii or how can any one so write or speak, as to content every man? If any mistake me, and abuse him in their too carnal apprehension, without the truly intended spiritual use, let them blame themselves, and neither me nor him : for their fault is their own, which I wish them to amend. You that like him, I pray you still accept of him, for whose sake, to further your spiritual meditation, I have sent him out with these contents, and more marginal notes. His habit is no whit altered, which he is constrained by me to wear, not only on working days, but even upon holydays and Sundays too, if he go abroad. A fitter garment I have not now for him ; and if I should send out the poor lad naked, I know it would not please you. This his coat, though not altered in the fashion, yet it is made somewhat longer. For though from his first birth into the world it be near a year, yet he is grown a httle bigger. But I think him to become to his full stature : so he will be but as a little pigmy, to be carried abroad in any man's pocket. I pray you now this (second) time accept him and use him as I have intended for you, and you shall reap the fruit, though I forbid you not to be Christianly merry with him. So fare you welL in all friendly well wishes. R. B. May 28,1627. t The sixteenth edition was published in 1683. It was reprinted at Bristol about thirty years ago. + In that vein Bernard has also been followed by Bishop Womack— unless indeed (hat excellent divine intended in his Propria qucR maribus, to satirize the absurd names giveii by the Puritans to their children : this however he might intend, and yet have Imitated Bernard. The names of the Triers in his Examination of Tilenus, are Dr. Absolute, Mr. Fatality, Mr. Pretention, Mr. Efiicax, Mr. Indefectible, Dr. Confidence, Mr. Meanwell, Mr. Simulant, Mr. Take-o'-Trust, Mr. Impertinent, Mr w'arrow Grace, in whom Philip Nye was personated; Mr. Know-Little, who stood for Hugh Peters; Dr. Dubious, whom nobody doubts to be the representation of Baxter ; and Dr. Dam-Man, a name which was that of one of the Secretaries at the Dort Synod, and which to an English ear perfectly designated his rigid principles. This curious tract has been reprinted in Mr. Nichols's "Calvinism and Arminianism Compared," a work of more research concerning the age of James and Charles the First, than any other in our language. 68 LIFF. OF JOHN HUNYAN. and knavish plagiarism. The following paragraph appeared in some London Journal, and was generally copied into the Provincial newspapers : — " The friends of John Bunyan will be much surprised to hear that he is not the author of the Pilgrim's Progress, but the mere translator. It is, however, an act of plagiarism, to publish it in such a way as to mislead his readers ; but it is never too late to call things by their right names. The truth is, that the work was evsn published in French, Spanish and Dutch, besides other languages, before John Bunyan saw it ; and we have ourselves seen a copy in the Dutch lan- guage, with numerous plates, printed long previous to Bunyan's time." — " It is very difficult," says Mr. Montgomery, " to imagine for what purpose such a falsehood (if it be one) should be framed ; or how such a fact (if it be a fact) could have been so long concealed ; or when declared thus publicly, why it should never have been established by the production of this Dutch copy, with its numerous plates. Be this as it may, till the story is authenticated it must be regarded as utterly unworthy of credit." I also, upon reading this notable paragraph in a newspaper, felt as Mont- gomery had done, and as, *' it is never too soon to call things by their right names," bestowed upon it at once its proper qualification. It would indeed be as impossible for me to believe that Bunyan did not write the Pilgrim's Progress, as that Porson did write a certain copy of verses entitled the Devil's Thoughts. There must have been a grievous want of common sense in the person who wrote the paragraph, to suppose that such a plagiarism could have escaped detection till he discovered it ; Bunyan's book having been translated into those languages, (and current in them,) in one of which, according to him, the original, and in the others, earlier versions of that original than the " English Pilgrim's Progress" were existing ! But there must have been a more grievous want of fidelity in his assertions. If he had been able to read the book which he saw, this gross accusation could never have been brought against John Bunyan. The book in question, (to which without reference to this supposed plagia- rism, Mr. Douce with his wonted knowledge, had previously directeu my attention,) I have had an opportunity of perusing, through the kindness of its possessor, Mr. OfFor. A person looking (Uke Bunyan's accuser) at the prints, and not understanding the language in which the book is written, might have supposed that hints had been taken from them for the adventures at the slough of Despond, and at Vanity-fair ; but that the Pilgrim's Progress was not ? translation from the work he must have known, for the Pilgrims in the prints are women ; and it required no knowledge of Dutch to perceive that the book is written not as a narrative, but in a series of dialogues. Bolswert the engraver is the author of this book, which is entitled the Pil- grimage of Dovekin and Willekin to their Beloved in Jerusalem.* The author v\'as a true lover of his mother tongue, and more than once laments over the tiashion of corrupting it with words borrowed from other languages ; all the • Duyf kens ende Willemynkens Pelgrimagie tot haren beminden binnen Jerusalem ; na'Tlieder teghenspoot, belet ende eynde. Beschreven ende metsin-spelende beelden vvxghegheven door Boctius a Bolswert. T' Antwerpen, by Hieronimus Verdussen, A°. 1027. LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 6^ examples which he adduces of such adulterations are French. The book though totally neglected now, was once very popular ; my venerable friend Bilderdijk tells me ** that it was one of the delights of his childhood." I am obliged to Mr. Major for a French* translation of it, in which some interme- diate possessor has drawn his pen through the name of Rousseau, that name appearing, upon comparing it with a fac-simile in Rees's Cyclopaedia, and with an autograph also, to be in the hand-writing of Jean Jacques, The French translator, as might be expected, has carefully got rid of every thing which relates to Flemish manners and feelings, and the racines of the original is completely lost in his version. The two sisters Dovekin and Willekin are invited in a dream by the Be- loved, in the language of the Canticles to arise and come away. Willekin who is for a little more sleep, a little more slumber, is not inclined to accept the invitation, and disparages her lover, saying that he is no better than Joseph the carpenter and Peter the fisherman, with whom he used to keep company. Dovekin, however, persuades her to rise, and set off upon their pilgrimage to him ; it is but a day's journey : they wash at their outset in a river of clear water which has its source in Rome, and (taking the Netherlands in its way) flows to Jerusalem ; and by this river they are to keep, or they will lose them- selves. They gather flowers also at the beginning of their journey for the purpose of presenting them to the bridegroom and his mother, whose favour Dovekin says it is of the utmost importance to obtain, and who, she assures her sister, dearly loves the Netherlanders. The wilful sister collects her flow- ers without any choice or care, loses them, over-eats herself, and is obliged to go to the river to wash herself after eating ; she then finds her flowers again and they proceed till they come to a village, where it happens to be fair time, and Willekin will not be dissuaded by her prudent sister from stopping to look at some mountebanks. The print annexed is what was supposed to represent Vanity-fair, v\%ereas the story relates merely to a Flemish Kermes, and the only adventure which befalls the idle sister there is, that she brings away from ■jt certain living and loathsome parasites of humanity, who pass under a generic appellation in the French version, but in the honest Dutch original are called by their own name. Going out of her way to admire a peacock, Willekin steps in the dirt. Presently she must go see some calves at play, a cow bemires her with a whisk of its tail, and she must repair to the river and cleanse herself thero again ; thank God for this river ! says Dovekin, Poor thoughtless incorri- gible Willekin thus goes on from one mishap to another, and taking a by-path falls into a ditch, which the detector of Bunyan's plagiarism immediately sup- posed to be his slough of Despond. She goes on committing follies at every occasion, and some crimes ; and the end, (for it must be needless to pursue the story,) is that when they come within sight of Jerusalem, she climbs a steep and dangerous place, notwithstanding her sister's entreaties, in order to • Voyage de Deux Smurs : Colombelle et Volontairette, vers leur Bien-Aime en la Cite de Jertisalem : contenant pliisieurs incidens arrivez pendant leur voyage. Par Boece de Bolswert, Nouvelle Edition corrigee et chatiee selon le stile du terns, ei ^nriche de figitres en taille douce, A Liege, 1734. 70 LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. obtain a better prospect ; the wind blows her down, she falls into a deep pit full of noxious creatures, where no help can be given her, and there she is left with broken bones, to her fate. Dovekin proceeds, reaches the suburbs of Jerusalem, undergoes a purification in a tub, then makes a triumphant entrance into the city of Jerusalem in a lofty chariot, and is there with all honour and solemnity espoused to the bridegroom. And this is the book from which Bunyan was said to have stolen the Pilgrim's Progress ! If ever there was a work which carried with it the stamp of originaUty in all its parts, it is that of John Bunyan's ! Mr. D'Israeli, from whose works the best mformed reader may learn much, and who in the temper of his writings as well as in the research which they display, may be a useful model for succeeding authors, calls Bunyan " the Spenser of the people." He is indeed the prince of all allegorists in prose. The allegory is never lost sight of in the first part : in the second it is not so uniformly preserved ; parties who begin their pilgrimage in childhood, grow up upon the way, pass through the stage of courtship, marry and are given in marriage, have children and dispose of their children. Yet to most readers this second part is as delightful as the first ; and Bunyan had perhaps more pleasure in composing it, not only because he was chewing the cud of his old inventions, but because there can be no doubt that he complimented the friends whom he delighted to honour, by giving them a place among the persons of his tale. We may be sure that Mr. Valiant-for-the-Truth, Old Honest of the town of Stupidity, Mr. Despondency and his daughter Much-afraid, and their com- panions, were well known in " Bishop Bunyan's" diocess : and if no real characters, were designed by him in those who are less favourably introduced as turning back on their journey, striking into by-paths, or slumbering by the way, likenesses would be discovered where none were intended. None but those who have acquired the ill habit of always reading critically, can wish the Second Part had not been written, or feel it as a clog upon the first. There is a pleasure in travelling with another company over the same ground, a pleasure of reminiscence, neither inferior in kind nor in degree to that which is derived from a first impression. The author evidently felt this, and we are indebted to it for some beautiful passages of repose, such as that in the valley of Humiliation. The manner in which Christian's battle is refer- red to, and the traces of it pointed out, reminds me of what is perhaps the best imagined scene in Palmerin of England, where Palmerin enters a chapel, and is showii the tombs of some of the knights of King Lisuarte's court. Banyan concludes with something like a promise of a third part. There appeared one after his death, by some unknown hand, and it has had the for- tune to be included in many editions of the original work. It is impossible to state through how many editions that work has past ; probably no other book in the English language has obtained so constant and so wide a sale. The prints which have been engraved to illustrate it would form a collection, noV so extensive indeed, but almost as curious, as that which Mr. Duppa saw at Vallumbrosa, where a monk had got together about eight thousand different engravings of the Virgin Mary. The worst specimens both in wood and copper LIFE OF JOHN BUNYAN. 71 would be found among them ; as now some of the best are to be added. When the reader has seen Giant Slaygood with Mr. Feeble-mind in his hand, he will I think agree with me that if a nation of Anakim existed at this day, the artist by whom that print was designed and executed, would deserve to be appointed historical painter to his Highness the Prince of the Giants The Pilgrim's Progress has more than once been ** done into verse," but I have seen only one version, and that of only the First Part. It was printed by R. Tookey, and to be sold by the booksellers of London and Westminster ; out if there be a date to this version, it has been torn off with tlie corner of the titlepage, from this well-thumbed and well-worn copy, for the use of which (as of other rare books that have been most useful on the present occasion) I am obliged to Mr. Alexander Chalmers. The versification is in the lowest Witherish strain, one degree only above Bunyan's own : yet here and there with indications of more power than the writer has thought proper to put forth. In general the version keeps close to the original : In one place a stroke of satire is put into Apollyon's mouth, against the occasional conformists : — "Come go with me occasionally back, Rather than a preferment lose or lack." And after the Pilgrims have crossed the river, this singular illustration occurs : — " Then on all sides the heavenly host enclose, As through the upper regions all arose ; With mighty shouts and louder harmonies, Heaven's Opera seem'd as glorious to the eyes As if they had drawn up the curtain of the skies." Though the story certainly is not improved by versifying it, it is less in- ured than might have been supposed in the process ; and perhaps most readers would read it with as much interest in the one dress as m the other. A stranger experiment was tried upon the Pilgrim's Progress, in translating it into other words, altering the names, and publishing it under the title of the Progress of the Pilgrim,* without any intimation that this version is not an original work. Evangelist is here called Good-news ; Worldly Wiseman, Mr. Politic Worldly ; Legality, Mr. Law-do ; the Interpreter, Director ; the Palace Beautiful, Graces Hall ; Vanity-town is Mundus ; the Giant, is Giant Desperation ot Diffident Castle, and the prisoners released from it, instead of Mr. Despondency and his daughter Much-afraid, are "one Much-cast-dcwn, and his kinsman Almost Overcome." This would appear to have been merely the device of some knavish bookseller for evading the laws which protect literary property ; but the person employed in disguising the stolen goods must have been a Roman Catholic, for he has omitted all mention of Giant Pope, and Fidelius suffers martyrdom by being hanged, drawn, and quartered. * " In two Parts compleat. Part I. His pilgrimage from the present world to tha world to come ; discovering the difficulties of his setting forth, the hazards of his jour ney ; and his safe arrival at the Heevenly Canaan. Part II. The pilgrimage of Chris- tiana, the wife of Christianus, with her four children ; describing their dangerou.s journey, and safe arrival at the Land of the Blessed, written byway of dream. Adorned with several new pictures. Hos. xii. 10. I have used si7mlttudes." London: printec by W. O. for J. Blare, at the Looking Glass, on London-Bridge, 1705. 3 l.tFB OF JOHN BUNYAN. Tlie dialogues are much curtailed, and the book, as might be expected, very much worsened throughout ; except that better verses are inserted. Bunyan could little have supposed that his book would ever be adapted for sale among the Romanists. Whether this was done in the earliest French translation I do not know ; but in the second there is no Giant Pope ; and. .est the circumstances of the author should operate unfavourably for the recep- tion of his work, he is designated as un Ministre Anglois, nomme Jean Bun- ian, Pasteur dhme Eglise dans la Ville de Bedfort en Angleterre. This contains only the first part, but promises the second, should it be well received. The first part under the title of le Pelerinage d''un nomme Chretien, forms one of the volumes of the Petite Bibliotheque dii Catholiqiie, and bears in. the titlepage a glorified head of the Virgin. A Portuguese translation, (of the first part also,) in like manner cut down to the opinions of the public for which it was designed, was published in 1782. Indeed I believe there is no European language into which the Pilgrim's Progress has not been translated. The Holy War has been little less popular ; and if the Life and Death of Mr Badman has not been as generally read, it is because the subject is less agree- able, not that it has been treated with inferior ability. I have only now to express my thanks to Mr. Rodd the bookseller, for the niformation with which he kindly assisted me ; and to Mr. Major, who in publishing the most beautiful edition that has ever appeared of this famous book, has, by sparing no zeal in the collection of materials for it, enabled me to say that it is also the most correct. In one of the volumes collected from various quarters, which were sent me for this purpose, I observe the name of W. Hone, and notice it that I may take the opportunity of recommending his Every-Day Book, and Table-Book, to those who are interested in the preservation of our national and local cus- toms. By these very curious publications their compiler has rendered good service in an important department of literature ; and he may render yet more if he obtain the encouragement which he well deserves. Kbswiok Marcb 13^ IS30 LINES ON SEEING THE PORTRAIT* OF JOHN BUN VAN, ENGRAVED FOR THIS WORK. And this is Bunyan ! How unlike the duh Unmeaning visage which vi'as wont to stand His Pilgrim's Frontispiece — it's pond'rous scull Propp'd gracelessly on an enormous hand ; — A countenance one vainly might have scann'd For one bright ray of genius or of sense ; Much less the mental power of him who plann'd This fabric quaint of rare intelligence, And, having rear'd its pile, became immortal thence. But here we trace, iridelibly defined, All his admirers' fondest hopes could crave, Shrewdness of intellect, and strength of mind, Devout, yet lively, and acute though grave ; Worthy of Him whose rare invention gave To serious Truth the charm of Fiction's dress, Yet in that fiction sought the soul to save From earth and sin for heaven and happiness. And by his fancied dreams men's waking hours to blesj Delightful Author ! while I look upon This striking Portraiture of thee — I seem As if my thoughts on Pilgrimage were gone Down the far vista of thy pleasant Dream, Whose varied scenes with vivid wonders teem. — Slough op Despond ! Thy terrors strike mine eye ; Over the Wicket Gate I see the gleam Of Shining Light ; and catch that Mountain high, Of Difficult ascent, the Pilgrim's faith to try. The House call'd Beautiful ; the lowly Vale Of Self Humiliation, where the might Of Christian panoplied in heavenly mail, O'ercame Apollyon in that fearful fight ; The Valley, named of Death, by shades of night * For the Authenticity of the Likeness here faithfully copied, vide Walpole's Anec- doles of Paintiag by Dallaway, vol. lit. p. 262. J. M. 73 7 LIKKS ON PORTKAIT OK HHiNYAN. Eiiconipass'd, and witli horrid phantoms rile ; The Town of Vanity, where bigot spite, Ever with Christian Pilgrimage at strife, To martyr'd Faithful gave the Crown of endless liife ' Thence, on with Christian, and his Hopeful peer, To Doubting Castle's dungeons I descend ; The Key of Promise opes those vaults of fear ; — And now o'er Hills Delectable I wend To Beulah's sunny plains, where sweetly blend Of flowers, and fruits, and song a blissful maze ; 'Till at the Bridgeless Stream my course I end, E) ing the farther shore with rapture's gaze, Vhere that Bright City basks in glory's sunless blaze ' Immortal Dreamer ! while thy magic page To such celestial visions can give birth. Well may this Portraiture our love engage, Which gives, with grace congenial to thy worth, The form thy living features wore on earth : For few may boast a juster, prouder claim Than thine, whose labours blending harmless mirth AVith sagest counsel's higher, holier aini, Have from the wise and good won honourable Fame. A.nd still for marvelling Childhood, blooming Youth, Ripe Manhood, silver-tress'd and serious Age, — Ingenious Fancy, and instructive Truth Richly adorn thy allegoric page. Pointing the warfare Christians yet must wage, Who wish to journey on that heavenly road ; And tracing clearly each successive stage Of the rough path thy holy Travellers trod, The Pilgrim' » Progress marks to glory, and to God I BERNARD BARTON. % THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME? DELIVERED UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM! PART I., WHEREIN ARE DISCOVERED, THE MANNER OF HIS SETTING OUT ; HIS DANGEROUS JOURNEY; AND SAFE ARRIVAL AT THE DESIRED COUNTRY BY JOHN BUNYAN. "I HAVE USED SIMILITUDES." -HOSEA, c. XII. v. 10. I t I THE AUTHOR'S APOLOGY FOR HIS BOOK. When at the first I took my pen in hand. Thus for to write, I did not understand That I at all should make a little booK. In such a mode : Nay, I had undertook To make another ; which when almost done. Before I was aware, I this begun. And thus it was : I, writing of the way And race of saints in this our gospel-dav. Fell suddenly into an allegory About their journey, and the way to glory, In more than twenty things, which I set down :' This done, I twenty more had in my crown ; And they again began to multiply, Like sparks that from the coals of fire do fly. Nay then, thought I, if that you breed so fast, I'll put you by yourselves, lest you at last Should prove ad infinitum, and eat out The book that I already am about. "Well, so I did ; but yet I did not think To show to all the world my pen and ink In such a mode ; I only thought to make I knew not what ; nor did I undertake Thereby to please my neighbour; no, not I ; I did it mine own self to gratify. Neither did I but vacant seasons spend In this my scribble ; nor did I intend But to divert myself, in doing this, From worser thoughts, which make me do amiss. Thus I set pen to paper with delight, And quickly had my thoughts in black and white. For having now my method by the end. Still as I puU'dj it came ; and so I penn'd 77 THE AUTHOR S APOLOGY. It down ; until at last it came to be, For length and breadth, the bigness which you see. Well, when I had thus put my ends together, I show'd them others, that I might see whether They would condemn them, or them justify ; And some said, Let them live ; some, Let them die j Some said, John, print it : others said, Not so : Some said, It might do good ; others said, No. Now, was I in a strait, and did not see W^iicn was the best thing to be done by nie : At last I thought, since you are thus divided, I print it will, and so the case decided. For, thought I, some I see would have it done. Though others in that channel do not run : To prove, then, who advised for the best, Thus I thought fit to put it to the test. I further thought, if now I did deny Those that would have it thus to gratify, I did not know but hinder them I might Of that which would to them be great delight : ' For those which were not for its coming forth, I said to them. Offend you I am loath ; Yet, since your brethren pleased with it be, Forbear to judge, till you do further see. If that thou wilt not read, let it alone ; Some love the meat, some love to pick the bone ; Yea, that I might them better moderate, I did too with them thus expostulate :— : May I not write in such a style as this 1 In such a method too, and yet not miss My end, thy good 1 Why may it not be done 1 Dark clouds bring waters, when the bright bring none. Yea, dark or bright, if they their silver drops Cause to descend, the earth, by yielding crops, Gives praise to both, and carpeth not at either. But treasures up the fruit they yield together; Yea, so commixes both, that in their fruit None can distinguish this from that ; they suit Her well when hungry ; but, if she be full. She spews out both, and makes their blessing null. You see the ways the fisherman doth take To catch the fish : what engines doth he makel Behold ! how he engageth all his wits ; Also his snares, lines, angles, hooks, and nets , Yet fish there be, that neither hook nor line. Nor snare, nor net, nor engine, can make thine : nil. ALiTHOR's Ai'Oi,i.f,Y. 79 They must be grop'd for, and be tickled too. Or they will not be catch'd, whate'er you do. How does the fowler seek to catch his game ! B) divers means, all which one cannot name : His guns, his nets, his lime-twigs, light, and bell . He creeps, he goes, he stands : yea, who can tell Of all his postures ^ Yet there's none of these Will make him master of what fowls he please. Yea, he must pipe and whistle to catch this, Yet, if he does so, that bird he will miss. If that a pearl may in a toad's head dwell, And may be found too in an oyster shell : If things that promise nothing do contain What better is than gold, who will disdain, That have an inkling of it, there to look, That they may find it 1 Now, my little book (Though void of all these paintings, that may make It with this or the other man to take) Is not without those things that do excel What do in brave but empty notions dwell. Well, yet lam not fully satisfy' d, That this your book will stand, ivhen soundly try''d. Why, what's the matter 1 It is dark ! What though ! But it is feigned. What of that I trow 1 Some men, by feigned words, as dark as mine, Make truth to spangle, and its rays to shine ! But they want solidness. Speak, man, thy mind ' They drown the weak ; metaphors make us hlirid Solidity, indeed, becomes the pen Of him that writeth things divine to men: But must I needs want solidness, because By metaphors I speak ^ Were not God's laws, His gospel laws, in olden time held forth By shadows, types, and metaphors "^ Yet loath Will any sober man be to find fault With them, lest he be found for to assault The highest Wisdom : No ; he rather stoops. And seeks to find out what by pins and loops, By calves and sheep, by heifers and by rams, By birds and herbs, and by the blood of lambs, God speaketh to him ; and happy is he That finds the light and grace that in them be. Be not too forward, therefore, to conclude That I want solidness, that I am rude • so THE author's apology. All things solid in show, not solid be ; All things in parable despise not we, Lest things most hurtful lightly we receive. And things that good are, of our souls bereave. My dark and cloudy words, they do but hold The truth, as cabinets enclose the gold. The prophets used much by metaphors To set forth truth ; yea, whoso considers Christ his apostles too, shall plainly see That truths to this day in such mantles be. Am I afraid to say that holy writ, Which for its style and phrase puts down all wit, Is every where so full of all these things, (Dark figures, allegories,) yet there springs, From that same book, that lustre, and those rays Of light, that turn our darkest nights to days. Come, let my carper to his life now look, And find there darker lines than in my book He findeth any ; yea, and let him know, That in his best things there are worse lines too. May we but stand before impartial men. To his poor one I dare adventure ten, That they will take my meaning in these lines Far better than his lies in silver shrines. Come, Truth, although in swaddling-clouts I find, Informs the judgment, rectifies the mind ; Pleases the understanding, makes the will Submit ; the memory too it doth fill With what doth our imagination please : Likewise it tends our troubles to appease. Sound words, I know, Timothy is to use, And old wives' fables he is to refuse ; But yet grave Paul him nowhere did forbid The use of parables, in which lay hid That gold, those pearls, and precious stones, that wera Worth digging for, and that with greatest care. Let me add one word more ; O man of God ! Art thou offended ' Dost thou wish I had Put forth my matter in another dress 1 Or that I had in things been more express '' To those that are my betters, as is fit, Three things let me propound, then I submit : 1. I find not that I am deny'd the use Of this my method, so I no abuse Put on the words, things, readers, or be rude In handling figure or similitude I THE author's APOlAiGY. SI In application ; but all that I may Seek the advance of truth, this or that way. Denied, did T say 1 Nay, I have leave (Examples too, and that from them that have God better pleased, by their words or ways, Than any man that breath eth now-a-days) Thus to express my mind, thus to declare Things unto thee that excellentest are. 2. I find that men (as high as trees) will write Dialogue-wise ; yet no man doth them slight For writing so : indeed, if they abuse Truth, cursed be they, and the craft they use To that intent ; but yet let truth be free To make her sallies upon thee and me, Which way it pleases God ; for who knows how, Better than he that taught us first to plough, To guide our minds and pens for his design ] And he makes base things usher in divine. 3. I find that holy writ, in many places. Hath semblance with this method, where the cases Do call for one thing to set forth another : Use it I may then, and yet nothing smother Truth's golden beams : nay, by this method may Make it cast forth its rays as light as day. And now, before I do put up my pen, I'll show the profit of my book, and then Commit both me and it unto that hand That pulls the strong down, and makes weak ones stand This book, it chalketh out before thine eyes The Man that seeks the everlasting prize : It shows you whence he comes, whither he goes ; What he leaves undone ; also what he does ; It also shows you how he runs and runs, Till he unto the Gate ot Glory comes. It shows too who set out for life amain, As if the lasting crown they would obtain. Here also you may see the reason why They lose their labour, and like fools do die, This book will make a traveller of thee, If by its counsel thou wilt ruled be ; It will direct thee to the Holy Land, If thou wilt its direction understand ; Yea, it will make the slothful active be ; The blind also delightful things to see. Art thou for something rare and profitable * Qs" wouldst thou see a truth within a fable? ■IHL AUJtliJK\-; APOLuGY. Art thou forgetful ] Woiildest thou remember From New-year's day lo the last of December ] Then read my fancies ; they will stick like burs, And may be to the helpless comforters. This book is writ in such a dialect As may the minds of listless men affect . It seems a novelty, and yet contains Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains. Wouldst thou divert thyself from melancholy 1 Wouldst thou be pleasant, yet be far from folly 1 Wouldst thou read riddles and their explanation 1 Or else be drowned in thy contemplation ] Dost thou love picking meat 1 Or wouldst thou see A man i' the clouds, and hear him speak to thee ] Wouldst thou be in a dream, and yet not sleep ! Or wouldst thou m a moment laugh and weep "* Wouldst thou lose thyself and catch no harm, And find thyself again without a charm 1 Wouldst read thyself, and read thou know'st not what. And yet know whether thou art blest or not, By reading the same lines 1 then come hither ! And lay my book, thy head, and heart together. JOHN BUN f Ai^ [The Author dreaming.] THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS IN THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. The Jail. S I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and laid me down in that place to sleep ; and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back.* I looked, and sn w him open the book, and read therein, and as he read he Avept and trembled : and not being able longer to con- , , , . , -, ° , , . His outcry tain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, " What shall I do !"t •Isa. Ixiv. 6. Lukexiv. 33. Psalm xxxviii. 4. Ht-b. ii. 2. Acts xvi 31. t Acts ii. 37 33 84 pilgrim's i-KOui{i;s». In this plight, therefore, he went home, and reframed himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive liis distress ; but he could not he silent long, because that his trouble increased ; wherefore, at length, he brake his mind to bis wife and children, and thus he began to talk to them : " O ! my dear wife," said he, "and you the children of my boAvels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone, by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me : moreover, I am for certain informed, that this Tins world. ^ . .,1,1 ' 1 r- n , ' our city will be burnt with fire from heaven ; in which fearful overthrow both myself, with thee my wife, and you lie knows -no way my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, of escape as yet. except (the which yet I see not) some way of es- cape may be found, whereby we may be delivered. At this his rela- tions were sore amazed ; not for that they believed that what he had said to them was true, but because they thought that some phrensy- distemper had got into his head; therefore, it drawing towards night, and they hoping that sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed ; but the night was as troublesome to him as the day : wherefore, instead of sleeping, he spent it in sighs and tears. So, when the morning was come, they would know how he did ; he told them, Worse and worse. He also set to talking to them again ; but they began to be hardened. They also thought Carnal physic for a to drive away his distemper by harsh and smdy sick soul. carriage to him : sometimes they would deride, sometimes they would chide, and sometimes they would quite neg- lect him ; wherefore he began to retire himself to his chamber to pray for and pity them, and also to condole his own misery : he would also walk solitarily in the fields, sometimes reading, and sometimes praying ; and thus for some days he spent his time. Now I saw, upon a time, when he was walking in the fields, that he was (as he was wont) reading in his book, and gfeatly distressed m his mind ; and, as he read, he bm'st out as he had done before, ciying, " What shall I do to be saved ?''* I saw also, that he looked this way and that way, as if he would run ; yet he stood still, because (as I perceived) he could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and saw a man named Evan- gelist coming to him, and asked. Wherefore dost thou cry ? He answered. Sir, I perceive, by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment j and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.f Then said Evangelist, Why not willing to die, since this life • Acts xvi. 30, fi I . \ Ileb, ix. 27. .lob x. 21, 22. Ezek. xxii. 1-1. [Evangelist directs Christian.} is attended with so many evils ? The man answered, Because 1 fear that this burden that is upon my back will sink me lower than the graye, and I shall fall into Tophet.* And, sir, if I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit to go to judgment, and from thence to execution ; and the thoughts of these things make me cry. Then said Evangelist, if this be thy condition, why standest thou still ? He answered, Because I know not whither to go. Then he gave him a parchment- n^r^sslty of 'flying roll, and there was -written within, " Fly from the wrath to come !"t The man therefore read it, and, looking upon Evangelist very carefully, said, Whither must I fly ? Then said Evangelist, point- mg with his finger over a very wide field, Do you see yonder wicket 85 [Christian running from his wife and children.] „, . ,^ ^ate?* The man said, No. Then said the other, Clirist, andtheway ^ /. . i- , ^x tt -it to him, cannot be Do you see yonder shmmg Jight?t He said, I found without the think I do. Then said Evangeiist, Keep that light ^^'^ in your eye, and go up directly thereto, so shall thou see the gate ; at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do. So I saw in my dream, that the man began to run ; noAV, he had not run far from his own door, when his wife and children, per- ceiving it, began to cry after him to return ; but the man put his fingers in his ears,J and ran on, crying, Life, life, eternal life ! So he looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the plain. § ^, ^ ^ ^ The neighbours also came out to see him run, They that fly from == , i , i , the wrath to come ^^^ 9-s he ran, some mocked, others threatened, are a gazing-stock and some Cried after him to return; and, among to the world. II ^^^^^ ^-^sl^ ^- j ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ resolved to fetch him back by force ; the name of the one was Obstinate, and the name of the other Pliable. Now, by this time, the man was got a good distance from them; but, how- WetiiowWm.^"^" ^^^^' *W were resolved to pursue him, which they did, and in a little time they overtook him. Then said the man. Neighbours, wherefore are ye come ? Thev • Matth. vii. 13. § Gen. xix. 17. t Psalra ? Jer, X 2 Pet. i. 19. r Luke xjv. 26. .86 said, To persuade you. to go back with us: but he said, that can by no means be. You dwell, said he, in the city of Destruction, (the place also where I was born :) I see it to be so ; and, dying there, sooner, or later, you will sink lower than the grave into a place that burns with fire and brimstone. Be content, good neighbours, and go along with me. What ! said Obstinate, and leave our friends and our comfoits behind us ? Yes, said Christian, (for that was his name,) because that all which you forsake is not to be compared with a little of that that 1 am seeking to enjoy ;* and if you will go along with me, and hold it, you shall fare as I myself; for there, wherel go, is enough and to spare.f Come away, and prove my words. Obst. What are the things you seek, since you leave all the world to find them ? Chr. I seek an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away ;X ^^d it is laid up in heaven, and safe there, to be bestowed, at the time appointed, on them that diligently seek it. Read it so, if you will, in my book. Tush ! said Obstinate ; away Avith your book : will you go back with us or no ? No, not I, said the other, because I have laid my liand to the plough. § Obst. Come then, neighbour Pliable, let us turn again, and go home without him. There is a company of these crazy-headed coxcombs that, when they take a fancy by the end, are wiser in their own eyes than seven men that can render a reason. Then said Pliable. Don't revile ; if what the good Christian says i-s true, the things he looks after are better than ours ; my heart inclines to go with my neighbour. Obst. What ? more fools still ? Be ruled by me, and go back ; who knows whither such a brain-sick fellow will lead you? Go back, go back, and be wise. Ch7\ Nay, but do thou come with thy neighbour. Pliable ; there are such things to be had which I spoke of, and ^^ . . ' , ^. f . 1 . , ,/> IT Christian and Ob- many more glories besides. It you believe not me, stinate pull for Pii- read here in this book : and for the truth of what able's soul. is expressed therein, behold, all is confirmed by the blood of him that made it.|I Well, neighbour Obstinate, saith Pliable, I begin to come to • 2 Cor. iv. 18. t Luke xv. 17. J 1 Pet. 1. 4. Heb. xi. Ifi 5 Luke ix. 02. 8 Heb. ix. 17-21. 88 PILGKIM's PR0GIitJ33. a point: I intend to go along with this good man, tian. companion, do you know the way to this desired place ? Chr. I am directed by a man, whose name is Evangelist, to speed me to a little gate that is before us, where we shall receive instructions about the way. PH. Come then, good neighbour, let us be gomg. Then they went both together. Obstinate goes rail- ^.^'^ ^ ^^^^ g° ^^^^ ^o my place, said Obstinate ; ing back. I will be no companion of such misled fantastical fellows. Talk between Now I saw in my dream, that, when Obstinate Christian and "was gone back. Christian and Pliable went talking ^^^ ^" over the plain ; and thus they began their discourse. Chr. Come, neighbour Pliable, how do you do ? I am glad you are persuaded to go along with me : had even Obstinate himself but felt what I ha^e felt of the powers and terrors of what is yet unseen, he would not thus lightly have given us the back. Pli. Come, neighbour Christian, since there are none but us two here, tell me now farther, what the things are, and how to be enjoyed, whither we are going? God's things un- Chr. I can better conceive of them with my mind, speakabie. tij^j^ speak of them with my tongue ; but yet since you are desirous to know, I will read of them in my book. Pli. And do you think that the words of your book are cer- tainly true ? Chr. Yes, verily ; for it was made by him that cannot lie. * Pli. Well said ; what things are they ? Chr. There is an endless kingdom to be inhabited, and ever- lasting life to be given us, that we may inhabit that kingdom for ever, f Pli. Well said ; and what else ? Chr. There are crowns of glory to be given us, and gar- ments that Avill make us shine like the sun in the firniament of heaven. :j: Pli. This is very pleasant ; and what else ? Chr. There shall be no more crying nor sorrow; for he that is owner of the place will wipe all tears from our eyes. || Pli. And what company shall we have there ? Chr. There we shall be with seraphims and cherubims, crea- • Titus i. 2. f Isaiah xlv. 17. John x. 27-29. ? 9Tini. iv. 8 Rev. xxli. 5. Matth, xiii. 43. !! Isa. xv. 8. Rev. vii. 16, 17 and xx\. 4. pilgrim's progklss. 89 tures that will dazzle your eyes to look on them * There also you shall meet Tvith thousands and ten thousands that have gone before us to that place : none of them are hurtful, but loving and holy ; every one walking in the sight of God, and standing in his presence with acceptance for ever. In a word, there we shall see the Elders with their golden crowns ; there we shall see the holy Virgins with their golden harps ; tnere we shaL see men tnat, by the world, were cut in pieces, burnt in flames, eaten of beasts, drowned in the seas, for the love they bare to the Lord of the place ; all well, and clothed with immortality as with a gamient. f Pli. The hearing of this is enough to ravish one's heart ; but are these things to be enjoyed? How shall we get to be sharers thereof? Chr. The Lord, the governor of the country, hath recorded that in this book ; the substance of which is, if we be truly willing to have it, he will bestow it upon us freely.^ Pli. Well, my good companion, glad am I to hear of these things. Come on, let us mend our pace ! Chr. I cannot go so fast as I would, by reason of this burden that is on my back. Now I saw in my dream, that, just as they had ended this talk, they drew nigh to a very miry slough that was in the midst of the plain : and they, being heedless, did both fall The slough of Des- suddenly into the bog ; the name of the slough was P"""^- Despond. Here, therefore, they wallowed for a time, being griev- ously bedaubed with the dirt j and Christian, because of the burden that was on his back, began to sink in the mire. Then said Pliable, Ah, neighbour Christian, where are you now? Truly, said Christian, I do not know. At this, Pliable began to be offended, and angerly said to his fellow. Is this the happiness you have told me all this while of? If we have such ill speed at our first setting out, what may we expect betwixt this and our journey's end? May I get it is not enough to out again with my life, you shall possess the brave be pliable, country alone for me ! And with that he gave a desperate struggle or two, and got out of the mire on that side of the slough which was next to his own house ; so away he went, and Christian saw him no more. Wherefore Christian was left to tumble in the slough of Des- * Isa. vi. 2. 1 Thess. iv. 17. Rev. v. 11. t Rev, iv. 4. and xiv. 1, 5. John xi. 2,5. 2 Cor. v. 2, 3, 5. i Isa. Iv. 12. John, vi. 37 and vii. 37 Rev. xxi. 6 and xxii. 17 8* [Help drawing Christian ouL uir.li if Despond. 1 ^^ . . pond alone : but still he endeavoured to struggle Christian m trou- ^ . . , ,. i i , , c ^ ? bie, seeks still to to that Side 01 the slough that Avas larthest irom Ret farther from his his own house, and next to the wicket-gate ; the °^™ house. which he did, but could not get out because of the burden that was upon his back. But I beheld, in my dream, that a man came to him, whose name was Help, and asked him, What he~ did there? Sir, said Christian, I was bid to go this way by a man call- ed Evangelist, who directed me also to yonder gate, that I might escape the wrath to come ; and, as I was going thither, I fell in here. Help. But why did not you look for the steps ? Chr. Fear followed me so hard, that I fled the next way, and fell in. T^jen said he, Give me thine hand ! So lie gave him his hand, 90 The promises. PILGRIM'S rROGREHS 91 and he drew him out. and set him, upon sound „ . , , , ., 1 . ' 1 • * Jic'-P I'rts him out. ground, and bid mm go on his way.* Then I stepped to him that pbjcked him out, and said. Sir, wherefore, since over this place is the way from the city of De- struction to yonder gate, is it that this plat is not mended, that poor travellers might go thither with more security ? And he said unto me. This miry slough is such a place as cannot be mended : it is the descent whither the scum and filth that attends conviction for sin doth continually run ; and there- sio^gi^ ^DeTpond^ fore it is called the slough of Despond ; for still as the sinner is awakened about his lost condition, there arise in his soul many fears and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions, which all of them get together, and settle in this place ; and this IS the reason of the badness of this ground. It is not the pleasure of the King that this place should remain so badrf his labom'ers also have, by the direction of his Majesty's surveyors, been for above these sixteen hundred years employed about this patch of ground, if perhaps it might have been mended : yea, and to my knowledge, said he, here have been swallowed up at least twenty thousand cart-loads, yea, millions, of wholesome instructions, that have at all seasons been brought from all places of the King's dominions, (and they that can tell, say they are the best materials to make good ground of the place,) if so be it might have been mended ; but it is the slough of Despond still, and so will be, when they have done what they can. True, there are, by the direction of the Lawgiver, certain good and substantial steps placed even through the very ^^ . - » 1 . -1 1 !_ 1 • 1 . 1 The promise offer- midst of this slough ; but at such time as this place giveness and ac- doth much, spew out its filth, as it doth against ceptance to life, by change of weather, these steps are hardly seen ; or,- ^^^^i" Chnst. if they be, men, through the dizziness of their heads, step beside ; and then they are bemired to purpose, notwithstanding the steps be there : but the ground is good, when they are once got in at the gate. % Now I saw in my dream, that, by this time, Pli- ,1 .1 ^ -L- 1. c< !-• • 1-T- Pliable is \isited by able was got home to his house. So his neighbours j^jg neighbours. came to visit him ; and some of them called him wise man for coming back, and some called him /ooZ for hazarding himself with Christian ; others again did mock at his cowardliness, saying. Surely, since you began to venture, I would not have been so base as to have given out for a few difficulties. So Pliable sat * Psiihn xl. 2. t Isaiah, xxxv. 3, 4, H Sam. xii. 23 92 pilgrim's progress. sneaking among them. But at last he got more confidence ; and then they all tm'ned their tales, and began to deride poor Christian behind his back. And thus much concerning Pliable. Now as Christian was walking solitary by himself, he espied onw afar off, come crossing over the field to meet him ; Worldly Wiseman ^^^ their hap was to meet iust as thev were cros- nieets with Chris- . , r> i i mi i , tian. smg the way of each Other. The gentleman's name that met him was Mr. Worldly Wiseman; he dwelt in the town of Carnal Policy, a very great town, and also hard by from whence Christian came. This man, then, meeting with Christian, and having some inkling of him, for Christian's setting forth from the city of Destruction was much noised abroad, not only in the town where he dwelt, but also it began to be the town-talk in some other places ; Mr. Worldly Wiseman, therefore, having some guess of him, by beholding his laborious going, by observing his sighs and groans, and the like, began thus to enter into some talk with Christian. Wor. How now, good fellow ; whither away after this burdened manner ? Talk between Mr. Chr. A burdened manner indeed, as ever, I think, Worldly Wiseman poor creature had ! And whereas you ask me, and Christian. Whither away ? I tell you, sir, I am going to yonder wicket-gate before me ; for there, as I am informed, I shall be put in a way to be rid of my heavy burden Wo7\ Hast thou a wife and children ? Chr. Yes ; but I am so laden with this burden, that I cannot take that pleasure in them as formerly ; methinks I am as if I had none.* Wor. Wilt thou hearken to me, if I give thee counsel ? Chr. If it be good, I will ; for I stand in need of good counsel. Wor. I would advise thee, then, that with all speed get thyself Worldly Wise- I'id of thy burden ; for thou wilt never be settled in man's counsel to thy mind till then ; nor canst thou enjoy the ben- Christian. ^g^^ ^^ ^j^^ blessings which God hath bestowed upon thee till then. Chr. That is that which I seek for, even to be rid of this heavy burden ; but get it off myself I cannot ; nor is there any man in our country that can take it off my shoulders ; therefore am I going this way, as I told you, that I may be rid of my burden. Wor. Who bid thee go this way to be rid of thy burden ? Chr. A man that appeared to me to be a very great and hon ourable person ; his name, as I remember, is Evangelist. Wor. Beshrew him for his counsel ! there is not a more danger Pii.ciHLM's pkOc;Ri:s.s. 98 ous and troublesome way in the world than is that „ ,,, ,^, „,. , • 1 1 . , 1. " -.1 11-, Mr. Worlcily WiS3 into which he hath directed thee; and that thou man conciemneai shalt find, if thou wilt be ruled by his counsel. Thou Evangelist's coun- hast met with something, as I perceive, already ; ^^^' for I see the dirt of the slough of Despond is upon thee ; but that slough is the beginning of the sorrows that do attend those that go on in that Avay. Hear me, I am older than thou ; thou art like to meet with, in the way which thou goest, wearisomeness, painful- ness, hunger, perils, nakedness, swords, lions, dragons, darkness, and, in a word, death, and what not. These things are certainly true, having been confirmed by many testimonies. And should a man so carelessly cast away himself, by giving heed to a stranger ? Chr. Why, sir, this burden upon my back is ^,^ ^ more terrible to me than are all these things which heart of a young you have mentioned; nay, methinks I care not Christian. what I meet w^ith in the w^ay, if so be I can also meet with deliv- erance from my burden. Wor. How camest thou by the burden at first ? Chr. By reading this book in my hand. Woi\ I thought so ; and it is happened unto thee as to other weak men, who, meddling with things j^^t mershTuid'be too high for them, do suddenly fall into thy dis- serious in reading traction; which distractions do not only unman the Bible. men, (as thine I perceive have done thee,) but they run them upon desperate adventures, to obtain they know not what. Chr. I know what I would obtain ; it is ease for my heavy burden. Wor. But why wilt thou seek for ease this way, seeing so many dangers attend it, especially since (hadst thou but patience to hear me) I could direct thee to the obtaining of what thou desirest, without the dangers that thou, in this way, wilt run thyself into ; yea, and the remedy is at hand. Besides, I will add, that, instead of these dangers, thou shalt meet with much safety, friendship, and content. Chr. Sir, I pray open this secret to me. Wor. Why, in yonder village, (the village is named Morality,) there dwells agentleman,whosenameisLegality, a very judicious man, and a man of a very good name, that has skill to help men off with such burdens as thine is from their shoulders; yea, to my knowledge, he hath done a great deal of good this He prefers Moraii- w^ay. Ay, and besides, he hath skill to cure those ty before the strait that are somewhat crazed in their wits with their ^^^®* burdens. To him, as I said, thou mayst go and be helped pres- ently. His house is not quite a mile from this place : and if he PILliHlMS I'l should not happen tu be at home himself, he hath a pretty young man to his son, Avhose name is Civility, that can do it (to speak on) as well as the old gentleman himself. There, I say, thou mayst be eased of thy burden ; and if thou art not minded to go back to thy former habitation, as indeed I would not wish thee, thou mayst send for thy wife and children to thee to this village, where there are houses now stand empty, one of which thou mayst have at a reasonable rate : provision is there also cheap and good ; and that which will make thy life the more happy is, to be sure, there thou shalt live by honest neighbours, in credit and good fashion. Christian snared Now was Christian somewhat at a stand ; but by Mr. Worldly presently he concluded, if this be true which this Wiseman's words, gentleman hath said, my wisest course is to take his advice ; and with that he thus farther spake. Chr. Sir, Avhich is my way to this honest man's house? Wor. Do you see yonder high hill ? Chr. Yes, very well. ^ . Wor. By that hill you must go: and the first Mount Sinai. , ^ . i . house you come at is his. So Christian turned out of his way to go to Mr. Legality's house for help ; but behold, when he was got now hard by the hill, it „^ . . ^ .^ seemed so high, and also that side of it that was Christian afraid -i ti i i that Mount Sinai ^^^xt the wayside did hang so much over, that would fall on his Christian was afraid to venture further, lest the *^^^^' hill should fall on his head : wherefore there he stood still, and wotted not what to do. Also his burden now seemed heavier to him than while he was in his way. There came also flashes of fire out of the hill, that made Christian afraid that he should be burnt ; * here, therefore, he did sweat and quake for fear. And now he began to be sorry that he had taken Mr. Worldly Wiseman's counsel; and with that he saw Evangelist coming to meet him; at the sight also of whom he began to blush for shame. So Evangelist drew nearer and nearer, and, coming Evangelist findeth tip to him, he looked upon him with a severe and Christian under dreadful countenance ; and thus began to reason Mount Sinai ^^-^j^ Christian. What dost thou here, Christian ? said he : at which words, Evan-reiiit reasons Christian knew not what to answer. Wherefore afi-esh with Chris- at present he stood speechless-before him. Then ''^"- said Evangelist farther, Art not thou the man that I found crying without the walls of the city of Destruction ? Chr. Yes, dear sir, I am the man. • Exod. xix. 16, 18. Ileb. xii 21 FILGHIM S PKUUUK.SS. 96 Evan. Did uot I direct thee the way to the little wicket-gale? Yes, dear sir, said Christian. Evan, How is it, then, that thou art so quickly turned aside, for tnou art now out of the way ? Chr. I met with a gentleman so soon as I had got over the slough of Despond, who persuaded me that I might, in the village before me, find a man that could take off my burden. Evan. What was he ? Chr. He looked like a gentleman, and talked much to me, and got me at last to yield ; so I came hither : but when I beheld this hill, and how it hangs over the way, I suddenly made a stand, lest it should fall on my head. Evan. What said that gentleman to you ? Chr. Why he asked me whither I was going ? and I told him. Evan. And what said he then? Chr. He asked me if I had a family ? and I told him: but said I. I am so loaden with the burden that is on my back, that I can not take pleasure in them as formerly. Evan. And what said he then ? Chr. He bid me with speed get rid of my bm-den ; and I told hhn, it was ease that I sought ; and, said I, I am therefore going to yonder gate to receive farther direction how I may get to the place of deliverance. So he said that he would show me a better way, and short, not so attended with difficulties as the way, sir, that you set me in ; which way, said he, will direct you to a gen- tleman's house that hath skill to take off these burdens : so 1 believed him, and turned out of that way into this, if haply I might be soon eased of my burden. But when I came to this place, and beheld things as they are, I stopped for fear (as I said) of danger ; but I now know not what to do. Then said Evangelist, stand still a little, that I may show thee the words of God. So he stood trembling. Then Evangelist convin- said Evangelist, " See that ye refuse not him that ces him of his speaketh ; for if they escaped not Avho refused him ^^'^°'^' that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven."* He said, moreover, " Now, the just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."t He also did thus apply them : Thou art the man that art running into misery ; thou hast begun to reject the counsel of the Most High, and to draw back thy foot from the way of peace, even almost to the hazarding of thy perdition. Then Christian fell down at his feet as dead, crying, Wo is me, •Heb. xii. 25. tHeb. x.38. lur I am undone ! Ai the sight of which Evangelist caught him by t lie right handj saying, "All manner of sin and blasphemies shall be forgiven unto men."* " Be not faithless, but believing."t Then did Christian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, as at first, before Evangelist. Then Evangelist proceeded, saying. Give more earnest heed to the things that I shall tell thee of. I w^ill now show thee who it was that deluded thee, and who it was also to whom he sent thee. That man that met thee is one Worldly Wiseman, and rightly is »r rxr ,j, ttt- ^^ §0 callcd i partly because he savoureth onlv of Mr. Worldly Wise- . , . ^, , r i , , , ^ , , man described by the doctrme ol this world, (therefore he always Evangelist. goes to the town of Morality to church,) and partly because he loveth that doctrine best, for it saveth him best from the Cross ; and because he is of this carnal temper, therefore he seeketh to pervert my ways, though right. Now, there are three things in this man's counsel that thou must utterly abhor: — 1. His turning thee out of the way. 2. His labouring to render the Cross odious to thee. 3. And his setting thy feet in that way that leadeth unto the administration of death. First, Thou must abhor his turning thee out of the way, yea, and thine own consenting thereto ; because this is to reject the counsel of God, for the sake of the counsel of a Worldly Wiseman. The Lord says, " Strive to enter in at the Strait Gate,"J the Gate to which I send thee ; " For strait is the Gate that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."§ From this little Wicket-Gate, and from the way thereto, hath this wicked man turned thee, to the bringing of thee almost to destruction ; hate, therefore, his turning thee out of the way, and abhor thvself for hearkening to him. Secondly, Thou must abhor his labouring to render the Cross odious unto thee ; for thou art to "prefer it before the treasures of Egypt."|| Besides, the King of Glory hath told thee, that "he that will save his life shall lose it."T[ And he that comes after him, "and hates not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."** I say, therefore, for man to labour to persuade thee, that that shall be thy death, without which, the Truth hath said, thou canst not have eternal life, this doctrme thou must abhor. Thirdly, Thou must hate his setting of thy feet in the way that leadeth to the ministration of death. And for this thou must con- * Matth. xii. 31. 1 John xx. 27. t Luke xiii. 24. § Matth. vii. 14. Heb. xi. 25, 26. H Mark viii. 38. John xii. 25. Matth. x. 39. ** Luke xiv. 26. riLUUIM'a PU0GRE3S. 97 sider lo whom he sent thee, and also how unable that person was to deliver thee from thy burden. He to whom thou wast sent for ease, being by name Legality,* IS the son of that Bondwoman, which now is, and is in bondage with her children, and is in a mystery this mount Sinai, which tliou hast feared, will fall on thy head. Now, if she with her children are in bondage, kow canst thou expect by them to be made free ? This Legality, therefore, is not able to set thee free from thy burden. No man was as yet ever rid of his burden by him ; no, nor ever is like to be : ye cannot "be justitied by the works of the law;" for by the deeds of the law no man living can be rid of his burden : therefore Mr. Worldly Wiseman is an alien, and Mr. Legality is a cheat : and for his son Civility, nothwithstand- ing his simpering looks, he is but a hypocrite, and cannot help thee. Believe me, there is nothing in all this noise that thou hast heard of these sottish men, but a design to beguile thee of thy salvation, by turning thee from the way in which I had set thee. After thi;^, Evangelist called alGU.d to the Heavens for confirmation of w^hai he had said ; and with that there came words and fire out of the mountain under which poor Christian stood, which made the hair of his flesh stand up. The words were thus pronounced : " As many as are of the w^orks of the law are under the curse : for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."t Now Christian looked for nothing but death, and began to cry out lamentably, even cursing the time in which he met with Mr. Worldly Wiseman, still calling himself a thousand fools for heark- ening to his counsel : he also was greatly ashamed to think that this gentleman's arguments, flowing only from the flesh, should have the prevalency with him so far as to cause him to forsake the right way. This done, he applied himself again to Evangelist in words and sense as follows : — Chr. Sir, what think you ? is there any hope ? ^, _ ^ _ ' 111 1 ^^tr• t Clinstian inquires May I now go back, and go up to the W icket- jf j^^ j.^^^ y^t 1,^ Oate ? Shall I not be abandoned for this, and sent iiappy. back from thence ashamed ? I am sorry I have hearkened to this man's counsel : but may my sin be forgiven 7 Then said Evangelist to him. Thy sin is very great, for by it thou hast committed two evils : thou hast forsaken the way that is good, to tread in forbidden paths ; yet will the Man at the Gate receive thee, for he has good-will foltriiira. ^^^ for men ; only, said he, take heed that thou turn •Gal. iv. 21,27. t G^il. iii. 10. 9 .wlc^''""^" [Christian at the Wicket-gatcl not aside again, " lest thou perish from the way, when his wnilh IS kindled but a little."* Then did Christian address himself to go back ; and Evangejist, after he had kissed him, gave him one smile, and bid him God speed. So he w^ent on with haste, neither spake he to any man by the way ; nor, if any asked him, would he vouchsafe them an answer. He went like one that was all the while treading on forbidden ground ; and could by no means think himself safe, till again he was got mto the way which he had left to follow Mr. Worldly Wiseman's counsel. So, m process of time, Christian got up to the Gate. Now^, over the Gate there was written, " Knock, and it shall be opened unto you."t He knocked, therefore, more than once or twice, saying. May I now enter here? Will he within Opori to sorry me, lliou;,Mi I have been • Psahi. i!. 12 1 Matt!., vij. a pilgrim's PRUGREJsS. 93 An undeserving rebel 1 Then shall I Not fail to sing his lasting praise on higii. At last there came a grave person to the Gate, named Good-Avill, uiio asked, Who was there ? and whence he came ? and what he would have ? Chr Here is a poor bm*dened smnei , 1 come from the city of Destruction, but am going to mount Zion, that I may be delivered from the wrath to come : I would therefore, sir, since I am in- formed that by this gate is the way thither, know if you are willing to let me in. I am willing with all my heart, said he : and ^^'"' -f r;'^] ''^ '^ -, , ^ opened to broken With that he opened the Gate. hearted sinners. So when Christian was stepping m, the other gave him a pull : then said Christian, What means that ? The other told him, a little distance from this Gate there is erected a strong Castle, of which Beelzebub is the captain : g^^^^^ ^^^^5^^ ^j^^.^^ from thence both he and them that are with him that enter the strait shoot arrows at those that come up to this Gate, s^^®- if haply they may die before they can enter in. Then said Christian, I rejoice and tremble. So, ^ , , • 1 ■««- 1 ^ 1 ■, Christian entered when he Avas got in, the Man at the Gate asked ti^e gate with joy him. Who directed him thither ? and trembling. Chr. Evangelist bid me come hither and knock ^aik between (as I did :) and he said that you, sir, would tell Goodwin and me what 1 must do. Christian. Good. An open Door is set before thee, and no man can shut 1 Chr. Now I begin to reap the benefit of my hazards. Good. But how is it that you came alone ? Chr. Because none of my neighbours saw their danger, as T saw mine. Good. Did any of them know of your coming ? C7ir. Yes, my wife and children saw me at the first, and called after me to turn again ; also some of my neighbours stood crying and calling 'after me to return ; but I put my fingers in my ears, and so came on my way. Good. But did none of them follow you to persuade you to .go back. Chr. Yes ; boln Obstinate and Pliable. But when they saw that they could not prevail. Obstinate went railing back, but Pliable came with me a little way. Good. But why did he not come through ? Chr. We indeed came both together until Ave came to the slouch 100 riLGRLM'ri PROGUtS.^. of Despond, into the which we also suddenly fell ; and then Avas mv nei;?hbour Pliable discouraj^ed, and would not A man may have ,■' r ^ ttt. p L- company when he adventure farther. Whereiore, getting out again, sets out for heaven on the side next to his own house, he told me I and yet go ihiiiier g^ould possess the brave Country alone for him ; alone. i i • it • ^ i\ SO he Avent his way, and I came mine ; he atier Obstinate, and I to this Gate. Then said Good-will, Alas ! poor man : is the celestial glory of so little esteem with him, that he counteth it not worth running the hazard of a few difficulties to obtain it ? Truly, said Christian, I have said the truth of Pliable ; and if I Christian accuseth should also say the truth of myself, it will appear himself before the there is no betterment 'twixt him and myself. 'Tis man at the gate. true, he Went back to his own house; but I also turned aside to go into the Way of Death, being persuaded thereto by the carnal argument of one Mr. Worldly Wiseman. Good. Oh, did he light upon you ? what, he would have had you seek for ease at the hands of Mr. Legality ? they are both of them a very cheat. But did you take his counsel ? Chr. Yes, as far as I durst. I went to find out Mr. Legality, until I thought that the Mountain that stands by his house would have fallen upon my head j wherefore there I was forced to stop. Good. That Mountain has been the death of many, and will be the death of many more ; 'tis well you escaped being by it dashed in pieces. Chr. Why, truly, I do not know what had become of me there, had not Evangelist happily met me again, as 1 was musing in the midst of my dumps ; but 'twas God's mercy that he came to me again, for else I had never come hither. But now I am come, such a one as I am, more fit indeed for death by that Mountain, than thus to stand talking with my Lord; but oh ! what a favour is this to me, that yet I am admitted entrance here ! Good. We make no objections against any, notAvithstanding all that they have done before they come hither, they " in nowise are cast out ;"* and therefore, good Christian, come a Christian is com- ,. , . , , t -n 11 \ 1 forted a-rain and ^^^^1^ ^^Y With me, and I Will teach thee about the directed yet on his way thou iTiust go. Look before thee, dost thou ^^^y- see this narroAV way 1 THAT is the way thou must go. It was cast up by the Patriarchs, Prophets, Christ, and his Apostles ; and it is as straight as a rule can make it ; this is the Way thou must go • Jolni vi. 37. imlgrim's prochrsh. 10 1 But, said Christian, are there no turnings nor ciui.stian afraid of windings, by which a stranger may lose his way ? l^^^^^^^'s way. Good, Yes, there are many ways butt down upon this ; and they are crooked and wide : but thus thou mayest distinguish the right from the wrong : the right only being strait and narrow.* Then I saw, in my dream, that Christian asked him further, if he could not help him off with his hisTm^en.^^ ^'^ burden that was upon his back ; for as yet he had not got rid thereof, nor could he by any means get it off without help. He told him, As to thy burden, be content to There is no deiiv bear it, imtil thou comest to the place of deliv- erance from the orance; for there it will fall from thy back of it- sinbatbythedeatu self. and blood of Christ Then Christian began to gird up his loins, and to address him- self to his journey. So the other told him that, by that he was gone some distance from the Gate, he would come at the house of the Interpreter, at whose door he should knock, and he should show him excellent things. Then Christian took nis leave of his friend, and he again bid him God speed. Then he went on till he came at the house of christian comes to the Interpreter, where he knocked over and over ; the house of the at last one came to the door, and asked, Who was i"*^^^^^^^'^' there ? Chr. Sir, here is a traveller, who was bid by an acquaintance of the good Man of this House, to call here for my profit ; I would therefore speak with the Master of- the house. So he called for the Master of the house, who, after a little time, came to Christian and asked him, What he would have ? Sir, said Christian, I am a man that am come from the city of Destruction, and am going to mount Zion ; and I Avas told by the Man that stands at the Gate, at the head of this way, that if I called here, you would show me excellent things, such as would be helpful to me on my journey. Then said the Interpreter, Come in ; I will show thee that which will be profitable to thee. So he commanded his man to light the Candle, and bid Christian follow '^'"^ °^' liim so he had him into a private room, and bid his Man open a door ; the which when he had done. Christian saw christian sees a the picture of a very grave Person hang up against gi^ave picture. the wall; and this was the fashion of it; it had eyes lifted up to Heaven, the best of Books in his hand, the Law of The fashion of the Truth was Avritten upon his lips, the World was picture. * Matth vii. 14. 9* l();i PILGRIM S PROGRKS55. behind his back; it stood as if it pleaded with Men, and a Crown of ^'old did hang over his head. Then said Christian, What meaneth this ? hit. The Man whose picture this is, is one of a thousand : he can beget children, travail in birth with children, and nurse them him- The meaning of self when they are born. * And whereas thou seest the picture. iiim with his eyes lift up to Heaven, the best of Books in his hand, and the Law of Truth writ on his lips, it is to show thee, that his work is to know and unfold dark things to sin- ners; even as also thou seest him stand as if he pleaded with men. And whereas thou seest the World as cast behind him, and that a Crown hangs over his head, that is to show thee, that, slighting and despising the things that are present, for the love that he hath to his Master's service, he is sure, in the world that comes next, to have glory for his reward. Now, said the Interpreter, I have Why he showed showed thee this picture first, because the Man iiim this picture whose picture this is, is the only Man whom the ^'^^^' Lord of the place, whither thou art going, hath au- thorized to be thy guide in all difficult places thou may st meet with in the way : wherefore, take good heed to what I have showed thee, and bear well in thy mind what thou hast seen, lest, in thy journey, thou meet with some that pretend to lead thee right ; but their way goes down to Death. Then he took him by the hand, and led him into a very large parlour that was full of dust, because never swept: the Avhich after he had reviewed a little while, the Interpreter called for a man to sweep. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust began so abun- dantly to fly about, that Christian had almost therewith been choked. Then said the Interpreter to a damsel that stood by, Bring hither water, and sprinkle the room: the which when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure. Then said Christian, What means this? The Interpreter answered. This parlour is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the Gospel: the dust is his original sin, and inward corruptions, that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first is the Law ; but she that brought water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel. Now, whereas thou sawest, that as soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about, that the room could not by him be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choked therewith; this is to show thee, tliat the law, mstead of cleansing the heart (by its working) from sin, doth revive, pui strength into, and increase it in the soul, even • (^or. iv. 5. Oal. iv. 19 l'U.(;>il.M S i'HoUHESS. nil as it doth discover and forbid it; for it dutii not give power u> subdue.* Again, as thou saw-est the damsel sprinkle the room with water, upon which it Avas cleansed with pleasure, this is to show thee, that when the gospel comes in the sweet and precious influence thereof to the heart, then I say, even as thou sawest the damsel lay the dust, by sprinkling the floor Avitli water, »o is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean, through the faith of it, and consequently fit for the King of Glory to inhabit, t I saw, moreover, in my dream, that the Inter- He showed hiui preter took him by the hand, and had him into a Passion and Pa little room, where sat two little children, each one t'<^"^«- in his chair. The name of the eldest was Passion, and the name of the other Patience. PassioE seemed to be much discontented, but Patience was very quiet Then Christian ask- Passion will have ed, What is the reason of the discontent of Pas- it"<>w. sion? The Interpreter answered. The governor of them would have him stay for his best things till the beginning patience is for of next year but he will have all now; but Pa- ^^'aifi"g- t'ience is willing to wait. Then I saw that one came to Passion, and brought „ . ^., .. . ' --■ . Passion hath his iiim a bag of treasure, and poured it down at his d-osire, andqtiickJy feet; the which he took up^ and rejoiceil therein, lavishes ail away. and withal laughed Patience to scorn: but I beheld but awhile, and he had lavished all away, and had nothing left him but rags. Then said Christian to the Interpreter, Expound this matter more fully to me. So he said, These two lads are figures ; Passion, of the men of this world, and Patience, of the men of that vdiich is to come: for. SIS here thou seest, Passion Vv^ill have all now, this year, that is to say, in this world ; so are the men of this woxld ; they must have all their good things now ; they cannot stay till the next year, that is, until the next world, for their portion of good. Tnat proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two in ^^^ J^'^^^^j^^'IJ" the bush," is of more authority with them, than are ]^^^^^ all the divine testimonies of the good of the world to come. But as thou sawest that he had quickly lavished all away, and had presently left him nothing but rags, so will it be with all such men at the end of. this world. Then said Christian. Now I see that Patience patience had the lias the best wisdom, and that upon many accounts, best wisdom. * Rom. vii 6. 1 Cor. xv. 56 Rom. v. 2(3. t John XV. 3. Eplu v. 2(3. Acri= xv. 9. Rom. x\i.'2v>. 2fi. John xv, 13. 1, Because he stays for the best things. 2. And also because he will have the glory of his, when the other has nothing but rags. Jut. Nay, you may add another, to wit, The glory of the nexi world will never wear out : but these are suddenly gone. There- fore Passion had not so much reason to laugh at Patience, because he had his good things first, as Patience will have I hmgs that are , , V, . 7 t » ^ i • t i • iirst imist give to laugh at Passion, because he had his best tilings place, but things last ; for first inust give place to last, because last Mat die ast are j^^g^ have his time to come ; but last gives plaCv:? lasting, _ ' or to nothing, for there is not another to sa-ceeetl. He, therefore, that hath his portion first must needs have a time Uf spend it ; but he that hath his portion last must have it lastingly : therefore it is said of Dives, ''In thy lifetime tho:i} i)»inaiah xxvi. 21. Mi.^ah vii. 16, 17. Psalm v. -1. 5. Mai. iii 2, 3. Ilan. vii. 9, 10. Mark ;ii. i:i chap, xiv. 32. Mai. iv. 1. I.nkr iii. 1". I T1h>ss. iv. ItJ. 17. Rom. ii. 14, lb. [Christian losing !iis Diinieri al tlie Cro.-?s.) In what 1 have begun to take in hand : Then let me think on them, and understand Wherefore they show'd me were ; and let me be Thankful, Ogood Interpreter ! to thee. Now I saw in my dream that the highway, up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that walJ was called Salvation. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Chris- tian run, tut not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back.* ' He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending ; and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a Sepulchre. So I eeav in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the Cross, his Burden loosed from off his should.^rs, and 109 * Isaiah xxvi. 1. 10 lie Hll,(U{l.\r.S l'ilU(iUF,S8. fell from off his back, and began to tumble; and so continued l.o lo, till it came to the mouth of the Sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. „,, ^ ^ , Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and VVlien God releas- ., ., , ^^ tt i i • es us or our guilt said, With a merry heart, '• He hath given me rest ami burden, we by his soiTow, and life by his death." Then he are as tiiose that gj^^^j g^y^ ^ ^.^^^^ ^q j^qJ^ ^^^ wonder ; for it was leap for joy, . , A , y~. very surprising to him, that the sight of the Cross should thus ease him of his Burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Now, as he stood looking and weeping, behold three shining ones came to him, and saluted him with •^ Peace be to thee :" so the first said to him, " l^hy sins be for- sriven thee:" the second stripped him of his rags, and clothed him with change of raiment. The third also " set a mark on his fore- head," and gave him a Roll, with a 'seal upon it, which he bid him look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the Celes- tial Gate ; so they went their way. Then Christian gave three leaps of joy, and went on singing,* Thus far did I come loaden with my sin ; Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in, A Christian can Till I came hither ! What a place is this ! aing, though alone. Must here be the beginning of my bliss 1 when God doth give Must here the Burden fail from off my back 1 him joy in his heart. Must hei'e the strings that bound it to me crack 7 Bless'd Cross ! bless'd Sepulchre ! bless'd rather be The Man that there waa put to shame for me. I saw then, m my dream, that he went on thus, even until he came at a bottom, where he saw, a little out of the way, three men fast asleep, with fetters upon their S^^ptb^^"'^ neels. The name of the one was Simple, another Sloth, the third Presumption. Christian, then, seeing them lie in this case, went to them, if peradventure he might awake them ; and cried. You are like them that sleep on the top of a mast ; for the Dead Sea is under you, a gulf that hath no bottom : awake, therefore, and come away ; be willing also, and I will help you off with your irons. He also told them, If he that goeth about like a roaring lion comes by, you will certainly become a prey to his teeth. With that There is no per- i,,i , • i ■, ,.. suasion will do, if they looked upon him, and began to answer him in God openeih not this sort : Simple said, I see no danger ; Sloth said, the eyee. yet a little more sleep ! and Presumption said. •Zech. xii. 10 Mark ii 5. Z^cb. iii 4. Eph.i.l3. pilgrim's iMionnrss. 11 1 Every fat must stand upon its own bottom. And y t]ie house of tlic Interpreter'? J'll.GKIMS PUoGKEiS. I I'J Chr. Yes, and did see sucli things there, the remembrance of which will stick by me as long as I live : especially ^ , , <- , . ^ . 7^, . . ^ . ■' A rehearsal of wliaf three thmgs, to wit. How Christ, in despite of he saw in the way of Satan, maintains his work of grace in the heart ; how the Man had sinned himself quite out of hopes of God's mercy ; and also the dream of him that thought in his sleep the Day of Judgment was come. Piety. Why, did you hear him tell his dream ? Chr. Yes, and a dreadful one it was, I thought ; it made my heart ache as he was telling of it; but yet I am glad I heard it. Piety. Was this all you saw at the house of the Interpreter? Chr. No, he took me, and had me where he showed me a stately palace, and how the people were clad in gold that were in it ; and how there came a venturous Man, and cut his way through the armed men that stood in the door to keep him out; and how he was bid to come in and win eternal glory. Methought those things did ravish my heart ! I would have stayed at that good man's house a twelvemonth, but that I knew I had farther to go. Piety. And what saw you else in the way. Chr. Saw ! Why, I Avent but a little farther, and I saw one, as 1 thought in my mind, hang bleeding upon a Tree: and the very sight of him made my burden fall off my back; for I groaned under a very heavy burden, but then it fell down from off me ! 'Twas a strange thing to me, for I never saw such a thing before ; yea, and w^hile I stood looking up, (for then I could not forbear looking,) three Shining ones came to me; one of them testified that my sins were forgiven me ; another stripped me of my rags, and gave me this broidered coat which you see; and the third set the Mark which you see in my forehead, and gave me this sealed Roll: (and with that he plucked it out of his bosom.) Piety. But you saw more than this, did you not ? Chr. The things that I have told you were the best ; yet some other matters I saw; as namely, I saw three men, Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, lie asleep a little, out of the way as I came, with irons upon their heels ; but do you think I could awake them ? I also saw Formality and Hypocrisy come tumbling over the wall, to go, as they pretended, to Zion; but they were quickly lost, even as I myself did tell them, but they w^ould not believe : but, above all, I found it hard work to get up this hill, and as hard to come by the Lion's mouths ; and truly, if it had not been for the good man the porter, that stands at the Gate, I do not know but that, after all, I might have gone back again ; but, T thank God, I am here, and thank you for receiving me. 12U ni.Giii.M 3 riiu<.i!i;ss. Then Prudence thought good to ask liim a lew questions, aful desired his ansAver to them. Prudence dis- Prud. Do j^ou not think sometimes of the coun- courees him. try from whence you came ? Christian's ^^^'^' Yes, but with much shame and detestation ; tiioughtsofhis truly, if I had been mindful of that country from naiive country whence I came out, I might have had opportunity to have returned; but now I desire a better country, that is a heav- enly one. * Prud. Do you not yet bear away with you some of the things that then you were conversant withal? Christian distasted Chr. Yes, but greatly against my will ; especially with carnal cogita- my inward and carnal cogitations, with which all tions. j^y countrymen, as well as myself, were delighted ; but now all those things are my grief; and might I but choose ,,^ . . , , . mine own things, I would choose never to think Christian's choice. ,. , , . =■ ' , , ^ , , , ot those things more ; but when I would be a-doing of that which is best, that which is worst is with me. f Prud. Do you not find sometimes as if those things were van- quished, which, at other times are your perplexity '? Chr. Yes, but that is but seldom ; but they aire hourf ^"'' ^°^'^'" ^° ^^^ golden hours in which such things happen to me. Prud. Can you remember by what means you find your annoy ances at times, as if they were vanquished ? Chr. Yes, when I think what I saw at the Cross How Christian gets that wiU do it; and when I look upon my broidered con-uptkfns"^ "^ ^o^^j ^^^^ ^^^^ ^0 it ; and when I look into the Roll that I carry in my bosom, that will do it ; and when my thoughts wax warm about whither I am going, that will do it. Prud. And what is it that makes you so desirous to go to mount Zion ? Chr. Why, there I hope to see Him alive that vviiy ciu-istian ^[^ hang dead XDn the Cross ; and there I hope to mount Zion. ^ ^^ ^^^ of all those things, that, to this day, are in me an annoyance to me ; there they say there is no death, and there I shall dwell with such company as I like best For, to tell you truth, I love Him, because I was by Him eased of my Burden. And I am weary of my inward sickness ; I would fain be where I shall die no more, and with the company that shall continually cry, Holy. Holy, Holy.X • neb. xi. 15, IG. t Roin vii. 15. : Isaiah .xxv. 8. Rev. xxi.4. pilgrim's progress. 12\ Then said Charity to Christian, Have you a charity discourses family ? Are you a married man ? him- Chr. 1 have a vs^ife and four small children. Char. And why did not you bring them along with you ? Then Christian wept, and said, Oh ! how wil- ^^ . ,. , , ^ > ' HP Christian's love to lingly would I have done it ! but they were all of ^jg wife and chii- them utterly averse to my going on pilgrimage. dren. Char. But you should have talked with them and have endeav- oured to have shown them the danger of staying behind. Chr. So I did ; and told them also what God had shown me of the destruction of our city ; but I seemed to them as one that mocked, and they believed me not.* Char. And did you pray to God, that he would bless youi counsel to them 1- Chr. Yes, and that with much affection; for you must think that my wife and poor children were very dear to me. Char. But did you tell them of your own sorrow, and fear of destruction ? for I suppose that destruction was visible enough to you. Chr. Yes, over, and over, and over. They r^. . ,. , f ' ' . ' . ■' Christian's fear ol might also see my fears m my countenance, m my perishing might be tears, ajid also in my trembling under the appre- read in his very nension of the judgment that did hang over our <^«™tenance. heads ; but all was not sufficient to prevail with them to come with me. Char. But what could they say for themselves why they came not? Chr. Why, my wife was afraid of losing this ^^ , ^ ■" •' . ^ n T 1 The cause why his world ; and my children were given to the foolish wife and children delights of youth; so, what by one thing, and what did not go with by another, they left me to wander in this manner ^*™' alone. Char. But did you not, with your vain life, damp all "that you by words used by way of persuasion to bring them away with , you ? Chr. Indeed I cannot commend my life, for I am conscious to myself of many failings therein : I kn.ow also, that a man by his conversation may soon overthrow what, by argument or persua sion, he doth labour to fasten upon others for their good. Yet this I can say, I was very wary of giving them occasion, by any un- seemly action, to make them averse to going on pilgrimage. Yea. * Cen. xix. 14. 122 pilgrim's progress. for this very thing, they would tell me I was too conversation ^ be^ Precise, and that I denied myself of things, for their fore his wife and sakes, in which they saw no evil. Nay, I think I children. j^^y g.^^.^ ^]^^^ ^f -yj-j^r^i tj^gy ga,^ jq ^e did hinder them, it was my great tenderness in sinning against God, or of doing any wrong to my neighbom'. Char. Indeed Cain hated his brother, because his own works . were evil, and his brother's righteous ; and if thy tiieir blood if they wife and children have been offended with thee perisii. for this, they thereby show themselves to be impla- cable to good : thou hast delivered thy soul from their blood.* Now I saw in my dream, that thus they sat talking together until supper was ready. So, when they had made What Christian had j A * j 1 \ +i, + vi to his supper. ready, they sat down to meat : nov/ the table was furnished with fat things, and wine that was well refined ; and all their talk at the table was about the Lord of the Hill ; as, namely, about what He had done, and per^-time. ^ ^"^ wherefore He did v/hat He did, and why He had built that house ; and by what they said, I per- ceived that He had been a great warrior, and had fought with and slain him that had the power of death, but not without great danger to himself, which made me love him the more.f For, as they said, and as I believe, said Christian, He did it with the loss of much blood ; but that which put the glory of grace into all He did, was, that He did it out of pure love to this country. And, besides, there were some of them of the household that said they had been and spoke with Him since He did die on the Cross ; and they have attested that they had it from his own lips, that He is such a lover of poor Pilgrims, that the like is not to be found from the east to the Avest. They moreover gave an instance of what they affirmed ; and that was, He had stripped himself of his glory, that he might do this for the poor : and that they heard him say and affirm, that he would not dioell in the mountain of Zion alone. They Christ makes prin- ., ^^ j. ^ ^ t t T\'^ ces of beggars. said, moreover, that he had made many Pilgrims Princes, though by nature they were beggars born, and their original had been the dunghill.:]: Thus they discoursed together till late at night ; and, after they had committed themselves to their Lord for protection, they betook „,..,,, themselves to rest ; the Pilgrim they laid in a large Christian's bed- , , , . , •^ , •, f chamber. Upper chamber, whose window opened towards the sun-rising : the name of the chamber was Peace, • J John iii. 12. Ezck. iii. 10. t Ilcb. ii. H, 15, | 1 Sam, ii. 8 Psalm cxiii. 7 pilgrim's progress. 123 where he slept till break of day, and then he awoke and sang : Where am I now 1 Is this the love and care Of Jesus, for the men that Pilgrims are, Thus to provide 1 that I should be forgiven ; And dwell already the next door to heaven ! So in the morning they all got up ; and after some more dis- course, they told him. that he should not depart till they had shown him the rarities of that place. Christian had into And, first, they had him into the Study, where he^aw there, they showed him Records of the greatest anti- quity ; in which, as I remember my dream, they showed him the pedigree of the Lord of the Hill, that he was the Son of the Ancient of Days, and came by that eternal generation. Here also was more fully recorded the acts that he had done, and the names of many hundreds that he had t;3Vpd into his service ; and how he had placed them in such habitations that could, neither by length of days, nor decays of nature, be dissolved. Thea they read to him some of the worthy acts that some of his servants had done; as how they had subdued kingdoms, vnrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens.* Then they read again in another part of the Records of the house, where it was shown how willing their Lord was to receive into his favour any, even any, though they in time past had o^ered great affronts to his person and proceedings. Here also were sev- eral other histories of many other famous things, of all which Christian had a view ; as of things both ancient and modern, to- gether with prophecies and predictions of things that have their certain accomplishment, both to the dread and amazement of ene- mies, and the comfort and solace of Pilgrims. The next day they took him and had him into ^ 1 -i •' , 1 1 . n Christian had into the armory, where tney showed him all manner j^^g armory, of furniture which their Lord had provided for Pil- grims ; as sword, shield, helmet, breastplate, all-prayer, and shoes that would not wear out : and there was here enough of this to harness out as many men, for the service of their Lord, as there be stars in the heaven for multitude. They also showed hun some of the engines with christian is made which some of his servants had done wonderful to see ancient things. They shov^ed him Moses's rod, the ^^'"^^ * Ileb. xi. 33. 34. 124 pilgrlm's progress. hammer and nail with which Jael slew Sisera, the pitchers, trumpets, and lamps, too with which Gideon put to fligh* the armies of Midian. Then they showed him the ox's goad, wherewith Shamgar slew six hundred men. They showed him also the jawbone with which Samson did such mighty feats. They showed him, moreover, the sling and stone with which David slew Goliah of Gath ; and the sword also with which the Lord will kill the Man of Sin in that day that he shall rise up to the prey. They showed him, besides, many excellent things, with which Christian was much delighted. This done, they went to their rest again. Then I saw, in my dream, that on the morrow he got up to go forward 3 but they desired him to stay till the next day also ; and and then, said they, we will, if the day be clear, show you the Delectable Mountains ; which, they said, would yet farther add to his comfort, because they were nearer the desired haven than Christian showed ^^^ place where at present he was : so he consented the Delectable and Stayed. When the morning was up, they had Mountains. j^ijj^ to the top of the house, and bid him look south ;* so he did; and behold, at a great distance, he saw a most pleasant mountainous country, beautified with woods, vineyards, fruits of all sorts, flowers also, with springs and fountains, very delectable to behold. Then he asked the name of the country? they said, it was Immanuel's Land ; and it is as common, said they, as this hill is, to and for all the Pilgrims ; and when thou comest there,.from thence thou mayest see to the Gate of the Celestial City, as the shepherds that live there will make appear. Now he bethought himself of setting forward, and they were willing he should : but first, said they, let us go again into the Christian set for- armory : so they did ; and, when he came there, ^^^"d- they harnessed him from head to foot with what was of proof, lest perhaps he should meet with assaults in the way. Christian sent away He, being therefore thus accoutred, walked out armed. ^ith his friends to the gate, and there he asked the porter, if he saw any Pilgrim pass by ? Then the porter an- swered. Yes. Pray, did you* know him? said he. Par. I asked his name, and he told me it was Faithful. O ! said Christian, I know him ! he is my townsman, my near neighbour ; he comes from the place where I was born. How far do you think he may be before ? Por. He is got by this time below the hill. * Isaiah xxxiii. 16, 17. pilgrim's progress, 125 Well, said Christian, good porter, the Lord be h^.^ ciuistian and with thee, and add to all thy blessings much in- the porter greet crease, for the kindness thou hast showed to me. ^^ parting. Then he began to go forward ; but Discretion, Piety, Charity, and Prudence, would accompany him down to the foot of the hill. So they went on together, reiterating their former discourses, till they came to go down the hill. Then said Christian, As it was difficult coming up, so far as I can see, it is dangerous going down, ^es, said Prudence, so it is ; for it is a hard matter The valley of Hu- for a man to go down into the Valley of Humilia- miiiation. lion, as thou art now, and to catch no slip by the way ; therefore, said they, we are come out to accompany thee down the hill. So he began to go down the hill, but very warily j yet he caught a slip or two. Then I saw in my dream, that these good companions (when Christian was got down to the bottom of the hill) gave him a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, and a cluster of raisins j and then he went on his way. Whilst Christian is among his godly friends, Their golden mouths make him sufficient mends For ail his griefs ; and when they let him go He's clad with northern steel from top to toe. But now, in this Valley of Humiliation, poor Christian was hard put to it ; for he had gone but a little way, before he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to meet him : his name is Apoll- yon. Then did Christian begin to be afraid, and to cast in his mind whether to go back, or to stand his ground : christian has no But he considered again that he had no armour armour for his for his back; and therefore thought, that to turn the back to him might give him greater advantage with ease to pierce him with his darts ; therefore he resolved christian's resoiu- to venture, and stand his ground ; for, thought he, tion on the ap- had I no more m my eye than the saving of my proach of ApoUyon. life, 'twould be the best way to stand. So he went on, and Apollyon met him. Now, the Monster was hideous to behold: he was clothed with scales like a Pish, (and they are his pride ;) he had wings like a Dragon, feet like a Bear, and out of his belly came fire and smoke, and his mouth was as the mouth of a Lion. When he came up to Christian, he beheld him with a disdainful countenance, and thus began to question with nim : ^ Discourse betwixt Apol. Whence come you, and whither are you Christian & Apoii bound ? yo"- 11* 126 PILGRIM S PROGRESS. Chr. I am come from the city of Destruction, which is the place of all evil, and I am going to the city of Zion. Apol. By this I perceive that thou art one of my subjects ; for all that country is mme, and I am the Prince and God of it. How is it, then, that thou hast run aAvay from thy King ? Were it not that I hope thou mayest do me more service, I would strike thee now, at one blow, to the ground. Chr. I was indeed born in your dominions ; but your service was hard, and your wages such as a man could not live on, " for the wages of sin is death ;" * Therefore, when I was come to years, I did, as other considerate persons do, look out, if perhaps I mi^' mend myself. Apol. There is no Prince that will thus lightly lose his subjects, neither will I as yet lose thee : but since thou com- ApoUyon's flcittery. , . ^ , ■' . , , plainest of thy service and wages, be content to go back: what our country will afford, I do here promise to give thee. Chr. But I have let myself to another, even to the King of Princes j and how can I with fairness go back with thee? Apoiiyon under- Apol. Thou hast done in this according to the values Christ's proverb, " Change a bad for a worse." But it is service. Ordinary for those that have professed themselves his servants, after a v/hile, to give him the slip, and return again to me. Do thou so too, and all shall be well. Chr. I have given him my faith, and sworn my allegiance to him ; how then can I go back from this, and not be hanged as a traitor? Apol. Thou didst the same to me ; and yet I am willing to pass by all, if now thou wilt yet turn and go back. Chr. What I promised thee was in my non-age ; and, besides, I count that the Prince under whose banner now I stand is able to absolve me ; yea, and to pardon also Avhat I did as to my compli ance with thee: and besides, (O thou destroying Apoiiyon !) lo speak truth, I like his service, his wages, his servants, his govern- ment, his company, and country, better than thine ; and therefore leave oif to persuade me farther; I am his servant, and I will follow him. Apol. Consider again, when thou art m cool the" grievous ends blood, what thou art like to meet with in the way of Christians, to that thou goest. Thou knowest that, for the most dissuade Christian -^^^1, his servants come to an ill end, because thev from persisting in -^ ' . , ^ tt " his way. ^^^ transgressors against me and my ways. How many of them have been put to shameful deaths! * Rom. vi. 23. I'lLGHlM'ri I'KoCHESS. 127 And, besides, thou couiitest his service better than mine, whereas he never yet came from the place where he is to deliver any that served him out of their hands ; but as for me, how many times, as all the world very well knows, have I delivered, either by power or fraud, those that have faithfully served me, from him and his, though taken by them ! — and so will I deliver thee. Chr. His forbearing at present to deliver them is on purpose to try their love, whether they will cleave to him to the end ; and as for the ill end thou sayest they come to, that is most glorious in their account ; for, for present deliverance, they do not much expect it ; for they stay for their glory, and then they shall have it, when their Prince comes in his, and the gloiy of the angels. Afol. Thou hast already been unfaithful in thy service to him, and how dost thou think to receive wages of him? Chr. Wherein, O Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to him ? Apol. Thou didst faint at first setting out, when , „ , ^ 1 , ,,,. , 1,-^-rT- 1 Apollyon plead3 thou wast almost choked m the gulf oi Despond ; christian's infirm- thou didst attempt wrong ways to be rid of thy ities against him. Burden ; whereas thou shouldst have sta^^ed till thy Prince had taken it off. Thou didst sinfully sleep, and lose thy choice things. Thou wast also almost persuaded to go back at the sight of the Lions ; and when thou talkest of thy journey, and of what thou hast heard and seen, thou art inwardly desirous of vain-glory in all that thou sayest or dost. Chr. All this is true, and much more which thou hast left out ; but the Prince whom I serve and honour is merciful, and ready to forgive : but, besides, these infirmities possessed me in thy country ; for there I sucked them in, and I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon of my Prince. Then Apoliyon broke out into a grievous rage, , „ T *^u--D- fTU^u- Apollyon m a rage saymg, I am an enemy to this Prmce I I hate his faUg upon Chris- person, and laws, and people, and am come out on tian. purpose to withstand thee. Chr. Apollyon, beware what you do ; for I am in the King's highway, the Way of Holiness ; therefore take heed to yourself. Then Apollyon straddled quite over the w^hole breadth of tl;ie way, and said, I am void of fear in this matter ; prepare thyself to die ; for I swear by my infernal den that thou shalt go no farther . here will I spill thy soul ! — And with that he threw a flaming darl at his breast; but Christian had a shield in his hand, with which he caught it, and so prevented the danger of that. Then did Christian draw, for he saw it w^as time to bestir him, and Apollyon as fast made at him, throv/ing darts as thick as haih [Christian's fight with Apollyon.] Dy the which, notwithstanding all that Christian could do to avoid , . . , , it, Apollyon wounded him in his head, his hand, Christian wounded , ft mi ■ i /-eyond them, beguile and over-reach them. Besides, he brings up rns sons to follow his steps ; and if he finds in any of them a fool- ish timorousness, (for so he calls the first appearance of a tender conscience,) he calls them fools and blockheads, and by no means will employ them in much, or speak to their commendation before o«;hers. For my part, I am of opinion that he has, by his wicked ife, caused many to stumble and fall ; and will be, if God prevents 'bit, the ruin of many more. Faith. Well, my brother, I am bound to believe you; not only ■lecause you say you know him, but because like a Christian, you .iiake your reports of men. For I cannot think that you speak these :iiings of ill-will, but because it is even so as you say. Chr. Had I known him no more than you, I might perhaps have :r«.ouglit of him as at the first you did ; yea, had he received this i'cjport at their hands only that are enemies to religion, I should aave thought it had been a slander, (a lot that oft falls from bad xien's mouths upon good men's names and professions ;) but all •;aese things, yea, and a great many more as bad, of my own know- ledge, I can prove him guilty of. Besides, good men are ashamed if him; they can neither call him brother nor friend; the very aaming of him among them makes them blush, if they knew him. Faith. Well, I see that sayirig and doing are two things ; and lereafter I shall better observe this distinction. Chr. They are two things indeed, and are as diverse as are the soul and the body : for as the body, without the iifion * ^ soul, is but a dead carcass : so saying^ if it be alone, is but a dead carcass also. The soul of religion is ae practick part : '' Pure religion and undefiled, before God and ae Father, is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afllic- lon, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." This Talk- itive is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and saying will make * Rom. ii. 21, 2-3, pilgrim's progress 147 a good Christian, and thus he deceiveth his own soul. Hearing is but as the sowing of the seed; talking is not sufficient to prove that fruit indeed is in the heart and life; let us assure ourselves that, at the day of doom, men shall be judged according to their fruit. It will not be said then. Did you believe ? but were you doers or talkers only? and accordingly shall they be judged. The End of the World is compared to our harvest ; and you know men at harvest regard nothing but fruit. Not that any thing can be accepted that is not of Faith ; but I speak this to show you how insignificant the profession of Talkative will be at that day.* Faith. This brings to my mind that of Moses, by which he de- scribeth the beast that is clean. He is such a one that parteth the hoof, and cheweth the cud ; not that parteth the hoof only, or that cheweth the cud only. The hare cheAveth the cud, but yet is un- clean, because he parteth not the hoof.f And this paithfui convinced truly resembleth Talkative. He cheweth the cud ; of the badness of he seeketh knoAvledge, he cheweth upon the word ; Talkative. but he divideth not the hoof, he parteth not with the way of sinners ; but, as the hare, he retaineth the foot of a dog or bear, and there- fore he is unclean. Chr. You have spoken, for aught I know, the true gospel sense of these texts. And I will add another thing : Talkative like two Paul calleth some men, yea, and those great talk- things that sound ers too, " sounding brass and tinkling cymbals ;" ""Without life, that is, as he expounds them in another place, "things without life, giving sound;" things without life, that is, without the tine faith and grace of the Gospel ; and, consequently, things that shall never be placed in the Kingdom of Heaven among those that are the Children of Life ; though their sound, by their talk, be as it were the tongue or voice of an angel.| Faith. Well, I was not so fond of his company at first, but I am as sick of it now. What shall we do to be rid of him ? Chr. Take my advice, and do as I bid you, and you shall find that he will soon be sick of your company too, except God shall touch his heart and turn it. Faith. What would you have me do ? Chr. Why, go to him, and enter into some serious discourse about the poicer of religion; and ask him plainly, (when he has approved of it, for that he will,) whether this thing be set up in his heart, house, or conversation 7 '. Tames i. 27. See verse 2, 3, 21, 26. See Malth, xxiii. 2. t Levit. xi Deut. xiv. t I Cor. xiii. 1-3. clia]) xiv. 7. 14S pilgrim's progress. Then Faithful stepped forward again, and said to Talkative, Come, what cheer, how is it now ? Talk. Thank you, well. I thought we should have had a great deal of talk by this time. Faith. Well, if you will, we will fall to it now; and smce you left it with me to state the question, let it be this : How doth the savmg grace of God discover itself when it is in the heart of man 1 raikative's false Talk. I perceive then that our talk must be about discovery of a the powev of things. Well, it is a very good ques- work of grace. ^-jq^ ^nd I shall be willing to answer you, and take my answer in brief, thus: First, Where the grace of God is in the leart, it causeth there a great outcry against sin. Secondly Faith. Nay, hold : let us consider of one at once. I think you ihould rather say, it shows itself, by inclining the soul to abhor ts sin. Talk. Why, wliat difference is there between ciymg out agamst md abhorring of sin ? I'he crying out Faith. Oh ! a great deal. A man may cry out . gainst sin no sign against sin of policy ; but he cannot abhor it but by grace. virtue of a godly antipathy against it. I have heard nany cry out against sin in the pulpit, who yet can abide it well mough in the heart, house, and conversation. Joseph's mistress •ried out with a loud voice, as if she had been very chaste; but she vould willingly, notwithstanding that, have committed unclean- less with him.* Some cry out against sin even as a mother cries )ut against her child in her lap, when she calleth it slut and naughty iirl, and then falls to hugging and kissing it. Talk. You lie at the catch, I perceive. Faith. No, not I! I am only for setting things right. But what 5 the second thing whereby you would prove a discovery of a =vork of grace in the heart ? Talk. Great knowledge of gospel mysteries. Faith. This sign should have been first ; but, first or last, it is Jreat knowledge also false : for knowledge, great knowledge, may )o sign of grace. be obtained in the mysteries of the gospel, and yet 10 work of Grace in the soul : yea, if a man have all knowledge, le may yet be nothing, and so consequently be no child of Grod. When Christ said, "Do you know all these things?" and the dis- jiples had answered, " Yes," he added, " Blessed are ye, if ye io them." He doth not lay the blessing in the knowledge of 'hem, but in the doing of them ; for there is a knowledge that is not attended with doing: "He that knoweth his Master's will. * Gen. xxiix. 15. pilgrim's PH0GRES3. 14!J and doth it not." A man may know like an ange^, Knowledge, ami and yet be no Christian ', therefore your sign of it knowledge. is not true. Indeed, to knoio is a thing that pleaseth talkers and boasters ; but to do is that which pleaseth God : Not that the heart can be good without knowledge ; for, without that, the heart is naught. There are therefore two sorts of knowledge : knowledge that resteth in the bare speculation of things, and knowledge that is accompanied with the grace of faith and love, True knowied<^e which puts a man upon doing even the will of God attended with en- from the heart. The first of these will serve the deavours. talker; but, without the other, the true Christian is not content, " Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law ; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart."* Talk. You lie at the catch again : this is not for edification. Faith. Well, if you please, propound another sign how this work of grace discovereth itself where it is. Talk. Not I ; for I see we shall not agree. Faith. Well, if you will not, will you give me leave to do it ? Talk. You may use your liberty. Faith. A work of grace in the soul discovereth itself either to him that hath it, or to standers by. f To him that one good sign of hath it, thus : it gives him conviction of sin, espe- grace. cially the defilement of his nature, and the sin of unbelief (for the sake of which he is sure to be damned, if he findeth not mercy at God's hand, by faith in Jesus Christ.) This sight and sense of things worketh in him sorrow and shame for sin. He findeth,- moreover, revealed in him the Saviour of the world, and the ab- solute necessity of closing with him for life ; at the which he findeth hungerings and thirstings after him; to which hungerings, &c., the promise is made. Now, according to the strength and weakness of his faith in his Saviour, so is his joy and peace, so is his love to holiness, so are his desires to know him more, and also Co serve him in this world. But, though I say it discovereth itself thus unto him, yet it is but seldom he is able to conclude that this is a v/ork of grace, because his corruptions now, and his abused reason, make his mind to misjudge in this matter. Therefore, in him that hath this work, there is required a very sound judgment, before he can with steadiness conclude that this is a work of grace. To others it is thus discovered : 1. By an experimental confes- sion of faith in Christ. % 2. By a life answerable to that confes- * Psalm cxix. 34. \ John xvi. 8. Rom. vii. 24. Mark x\'i. 16. Psalm xxxviii. 18. Jer. xxxi. 19. Gal. li. 15. Rev. 1. 6, &c X Rom. x. 10. 13* loO FILGUlM'ri PROGRESS. sion ; * to wit, a life of holiness, heart-liolmess ; family-holiness, if he hath a family ; and by conversation-holiness in the world ; which, in the general, teacheth him mwardly to abhor his sin, and himself for that, in secret ; to suppress it in his family, and to promote holiness in the world, not by talk only, as a hypocrite or talkative person may do, but by a practical subjection in faith and love to the power of the word, f And now, sir, as to this brief description of the work of grace, and also the discovery of it, if you have aught to object, object; if not, then give me leave to pjjo- pound to you a second question. Talk. Nay, my part is not now to object, but to hear. Let me therefore have your second question. Faith. It is this : Do you experience this first part of the de- A^nother good sign scription of it, and doth your life and conversation of grace. testify the same ? Or standeth your religion in word or tongue, and not in deed and truth ? Pray, if you incline to answer me in this, say no more than you know the God above will say Amen to, and also nothing but what your conscience can justify you in : " For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth." Besides, to say I am thus and thus, when my conversation and all my neighbours tell me I lie, is great wickedness. Then Talkative at first began to blush; but recovering himself, he thus replied : You come now to experience, to conscience, and God ; and to appeal to him for justification of what is spoken. Talkative not pleas- This kind of discourse I did not expcct ; nor amldis- ed with Faitiiful's posed to give an answer to such questions, because question. j ^Q^^^ ^q^ myself bound thereto, unless you take upon you to be a catechiser : and though you should so do, yet I may refuse to make you my judge. But, I pray, will you tell me why you ask me such questions ? The reason why Faith. Because I saw you forward to talk, and Faithful put him to because I knew not that you had aught else but that question. notion. Besides, to tell you the truth, I have heard of you, that you are a man whose religion lies in talk, and that your conversation gives this your mouth-profession the lie. They Faithful's plain ^^Y 7°^ ^^^ ^ ^P°^ among Christians, and that re- deaiing with Talk- ligion fareth the worse for your ungodly conversa- ^tive. tion ; that some have already stumbled at your wicked ways ; and that more are in danger of being destroyed thereby. Your religion, and an alehouse, and covetousness, and uncleanness, and swearing, and lying, and vain company-keeping, • Pliil. i. 27. t Matth. V. 9. Psalm 1. 20. John xiii. 5, 6. f-'lLGRIM'ri Pf?OGItESS 151 etc., will stand together. The proverb is true of you whicli is said of a whore, viz. : " That she is a shame to all women !" so are you a shame to all professors. Talk. Since you are so ready to take up re- ^ „ . . / , , ■' ^ ^ ^ Talkative flmss jwrts, and to judge so rashly as you do, I cannot away from Faiih but conclude you are some peevish or melancholic f»i. man, not fit to be discoursed with ; and so Adieu ! Then came up Christian, and said to his brother, I told you how It would happen ; your words and his lusts could not agree. He had rather leave your company than reform his life. „,. x-111- Ti .A good nddanci But he IS gone, as I said ; let him go ; the loss is no man's hut his own ; he has saved us the trouble of going frojh him ; for he continuing (as I suppose he will do) as he is, he would have been but a blot in our company ; besides, the Apostle says, " From such withdraw thyself." Faith. But I am giad we had this little discourse with him ; it may happen that he will think of it again : however, I have dealt plainly with him, and so am clear of his blood, if he perisheth. Chr. You did well to talk so plainly as you did. There is but little of this faithful dealing with men now-a-days, and that makes religion to stink in the nostrils of so many as it doth ; for they are these talkative fools whose religion is only in word, and are de- bauched and vain in their conversation, that (being so mucii admitted into the fellowship of the godly) do puzzle the world, blemish Christianity, and grieve the sincere, I wish that all men would deal with such as you have done ; then should they either be made more conformable to religion, or the company of saints would be too hot for them. Then did Faithful say : — How Talkative at first lifts up his plumes ! How bi-avely doth he speak ! How he presumes To drive down all before him ! But so soon As Faithful talks of heart-tcork, like the moon That's past the full, into the wane he goes ; And so will all but he that heai-t-icork knows. Thus they went on, talking of what they had seen by the way ; and so made that way easy, which would otherwise, no doubt, have been tedious to them for now they went through a Wilderness. Now, when they were almost quite out of this Wilderness, Faith- ful chanced to cast his eye back, and espied one coming after them ; and he knew him. Oh ! said Faithful to his brother, who comes yonder ? Then Christian looked, and said, It is my good friend 152 pilgrim's PR0GK1]S3. Evangelist. Ay, and my good friend too, said fars^fhem. ''""" faithful; for it was he that set me on the way to the Gate. Now was Evangelist come up unto them, and thus saluted them : — Evan. Peace be to you, dearly beloved, and peace be to your helpers. Chr. Welcome, welcome, my good Evangelist ; theTi-ht o/htm.^* ^^^ ^^°^^^ °^ ^^y countenance brings to my remem- brance thy ancient kindness, and unwearied labours for thy eternal good. And a thousand times welcome, said good Faithful ; thy com- pany, O sweet Evangelist, how desirable is it to us poor pilgrims ! Then said Evangelist, How hath it faxed with you, my friends, since the time of our last parting 7 What have you met with, and how have you behaved yourselves ? Then Christian and Faithful told him of all things that had hap- pened to them on the way, and how, and with what difficulty, they had arrived to that place. Pvight glad am I, said Evangelist, not that yon them!'^ *^^^a*'°" t*^ have met with trials, but that you have been vic- tors ; and for that you have, notwithstanding many weaknesses, continued in the way to this very day. I say, right glad am I of this thing, and that for mine own sake and yours. I have sowed, and you have reaped ; and the day is coming, when both he that sowed and they that reaped shall rejoice together ; that is, if you hold out : for in due time ye shall reap, if ye faint not. The crown is before you, and it is an incorruptible one: so run, that you may obtain it ! Some there be that set out for this crown, and, after they have gone far for it, another comes in and takes it from them. Hold fast, therefore, that you have j let no man take youi' crown. You are not yet out of the gunshot of the devil ; you have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Let the kingdom be always before you, and believe stead- fastly concerning things that are invisible. Let nothing that is on this side the other world get within you ; and, above all, look well to your own hearts, and to the lusts thereof; for they are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Set your faces like a flint ; you have all power in heaven and earth on your side.* Tiiey do thank him Then Christian thanked him for his exhortation , for his exhona- but told him withal, that they would have him ^'""'5- speak farther to them for their help the rest of the way ; and the rather, for that they well knew that he was a Prophet, ' John iv. 36. Gal. vi. 9. 1 Gov. ix. 24, 27. Rav. iii. II. pilgrim's progress. 153 and could tell them of things that might happen unto them, and also how they might resist and overcome them : to which request Faithful also consented. So Evangelist began as followeth : — My sons, you have heard in the words of the truth of the gospel that you must, through many "oubfet^hty Thin tribulations, enter into the kingdom of Heaven, meet with in Van- And again, that, in every city, bonds and afflictions i'y-Fair, and en- abide you ; and therefore you cannot expect that steadfastness!™ you should long go on your pilgrimage without them, in some sort or other. You have found something of t < truth of these testimonies upon you already, and more will immi' diately follow ; for now, as you see, you are almost out of thiv wilderness, and therefore you will soon come into a Town tha you will by-and-by see before you 5 and in that Town you will b« hardly beset with Enemies, who will strain hard but they will kil you ; and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the test] mony which you hold, with blood ; but be you faithful unto death and the King will give you a Crown of Life. He „ , „ ,. 1 11 11- 1 1 -n 1 He whose lot it mj that shall die there, although his death will be un- be there to suffei natural, and his pain perhaps great, will yet have win have the bette the better of his fellow; not only because he will °^ bis brother. be arrived at the Celestial City soonest, but because he will escapt many miseries that the other will meet with in the rest of his- journey. But when you are come to the Town, and shall fine fulfilled what I have here related, then remember your friend, anr quit yourselves like men, and commit the keeping of your souls t( God in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Then I saw in my dream that, when they were got out of tht Wilderness, they presently saw a Town before them, and thenam< of that Town is Vanity ^ and at the Town there is a fair kepi called Vanity -fair ; it is kept all the year long; it beareth tht name of Vanity-fair, because the Town where it is kept is lighten than vanity ; and also because all that is there sold, or that cometi thither, is vanity : as is the saying of the wise, " All that cometi is vanity."* This Fair is no new-erected business, but a thing of ancient standing. I will show you the J^i^s Farn*^"'^^ °^ original of it. Almost five thousand years ago, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these twt honest persons are ; and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, wit} their companions, perceiving by the path that the Pilgrims made that their way to the City lay through this Town of Vanity, they • Isaiah xl. 17. EccI i. 2.-i). 11 17. [Evangelist pointing out Vanity -Fair.] The merchandise of this Fair. contrived here to set up a Fair ; a Fair wherein should be sold aU sorts of vanity, and that it should last all the yeai long. Therefore, at this fair, are all such mer chandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, hon- ours, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts ; as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not. And, moreover, at this Fair, there is at all times to be seen, jugglings, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind. Here are to be seen too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red colour. And as, in other Fairs of less moment, there are several rows and streets, under their proper names, where such and such wares are vended, so here likewise you have the proper places, rows streets, (viz. countries and kingdoms,) where the wares of this Fair are soonest to be found. Here IS the Britain Row, the French Row, the Italian Row, the Spanish Row, the German Row, where several sorts of Vanities are to be sold. But as, in other Fairs, some one com- modity is the chief of all the fair, so the Avare of Rome, and her \r)-\ The streets of this Fair. PIIXiiaM'ri PRtjGRESM. i.')5 merchandis'/, is greatly prornuted in this laii ; only our Ei g.'jsn nation, with some others, have taken a dislike thereat. Now, as I said, .the way to the Celestial City lies just tbougii this Town Avhere this lusty Fair is kept ; and he that wou d go to the City, and yet not go through this Town, must needs go o'ji of the World. The Prince of princes himself, Christ wem when, here, went through this Town to his own through this fair. Country, and that upon a Fair-day too : yea, and as I think, i was Beelzebuh, the chief lord of this fair, that invited him to biiV of his Vanities; yea, would have made him Lord of the Fair, vculd he but have done him reverence as he went through the T' Avn ) yea, because he was such a Person of Honour, Beelzebub liaci him from street to street, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a little time, that he might, if possible, allure that blessed One to cheapen and buy some of his vanities : but Christ bought no- he had no mind to the merchandise, and therefore thing in this Fair, left the Town, without laying out so much as one farthing upon these vanities. This Fair, therefore, is an ancient thing, of li>ng stand-ing and a very great Fair.* Now, these Pilgrims, as I said, must needs go The pilgrim semei through this Fair. "Well, so they did ; but behold, the Fair. TncFsor even as they entered into the Fair, all the people '" ^ hubbu k. sbwi in the Fair were moved, and the Town itself, as it ^^™' were, in a hubbub about them, and that for several reasons ; tm. First, The Pilgrims were clothed with such kind The first csnseof of raiment as was diverse from the raiment of any ^^ hubbub, that traded in that Fair. The people, therefore, of the Fair, made a great gazing upon them. Some said they were fools: some they were bedlams ; and some, they were outlandish men."} Secondly, And as they wondered at their apparel. The second eaKst so they did likewise at their speech ; for few could o^the hubbub understand what they said ; they naturally spoke the language of Canaan, but they that kept the Fair were the Men of this Worlds so that, from one end of the Fair to the other, they seemed barfog* rians each to the other. Thirdly, But that which did not a little amuse Third cause i'.S PR0GRKS9. 1G3 Ihj-ends. Yes, I will assure you that it is ; and 1 have very many rich kindred there. w Chr. Pray, who are your kindred there, if a man may be so hold ? By-ends. Almost the whole town ; but in particular, my Lord Turn-about, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair-speech, (from whose ancestors that town first took its name ;) also Mr. Smooth- man, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Anything; and the parson of our parish, Mr. Two-tongues, was my mother's own brother, by father's side ; and, to tell you the truth, I am become a gentleman of good quality ; yet my great-grandfather was but a waterman, looking one way, and rowing another; and I got most of my estate by the same occupation. Chr. Are you a married man ? By-ends. Yes ; and my wife is a very virtuous ^1 1 1 . f» • ^ 1 The wife and kin woman, the daughter ot a vutuous woman; she dred of By-ends was my Lady Feigning's daughter ; therefore she came of a very honourable family, and is arriveri to such a pitch of breeding, that she knows how to carry it to ali, nven to Prince and peasant. 'Tis true, we somewhat differ in where By-end religion from those of the strictest sort ; yet but in differs from other* two small points : First, We never strive against ^" religion, wind and the tide. Secondly, We are always most zealous wher Religion goes m his silver slippers ; we love much to walk with him in the street, if the sun shines, and the people applaud him. Then Christian stepped a litrle dside to his fellow Hopeful, say- mg. It runs in my mind, that this is one By-ends of Fair-speech ; and, if it be he, we have as very a knave in our company as dwel- leth in all these parts. Then said Hopeful, Ask him ; methinks he should not be ashamed of his name. So Christian came up with him again, and said. Sir, you talk as if you knew something more than all the world doth ; and if I take not my mark amiss, I deem I have half a guess of you; is not your name Mr. By-ends of Fair-speech. ? By-ends. This is not my name ; but indeed it is a nickname that is given me by some that cannot abide me ; and I must be content to bear it as a reproach, as other good men have borne theirs before me, Chr. But did you never give an occasion to men to call you by this name ? By-ends. Never, never ! The worst that over I I'j ^ • xi • i • ^1 • How By-ends go did to give them an occasion to give me this name ^^^ ^^^^^ was, that I had always the luck to jump in my judgment with the present way of the times, whatever it was. and IG4 riLGRIM'.S PROGRESS. my chance was to get thereby ; but if things are thus cast upon me, let me count them a blessing ; but let not the malicious load me therefore with reproach. Chr. I thought, indeed, that you were the man that I heard of; and, to tell you what I think, I fear this name belongs to you more properly than you are willing we should think it doth. „ _, . . , By ends. Well, if you will thus imagine, I can- He desires to keep 11. -V7- 1 n n 1 r ■ company with rea- ^ot help it. You shall hnd me a iair company- ««"• keeper, if you will still admit me your associate. Chr. If you will go with us, you must go against wind and tide ; the which, I perceive, is against your opinion : you must also own Religion in his rags, as well as when in his silver slippers ; and stand by him too when bound in irons, as well as when he walketh the streets with applause. By-ends. You must not impose nor lord it over my faith ; leave me to my liberty, and let me go with you. Chr. Not a step farther, unless you will do, in what I propound, as we. Then said By-ends, I shall never desert my old principles, since they are harmless and profitable. If I may not go parT"^ ^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ you, I must do as I did before you overtook me, even go by myself, until some overtake me that will be glad of my company. Now I saw in my dream, iha<. Christian and Hopeful forsook him, and kept their distance betore him ; but one of them looking back saw three men following Mi. By-ends ; and behold, as they came up with him, he m^ade them a very low congee, and they also gave him a compliment. The men's names "anions. "'"^ ''""'" ^^re, Mr. Hold-the-world, Mr. Money-love, and Mr. Save-all ; men that Mr. By-ends had formerly been acquainted with ; for, in their minority, they were school- fe lows, and were taught by one Mr. Gripeman, a schoolmaster in Love-gain, which is a market-town in the county of Coveting, in th(; north. This schoolmaster taught them the art of getting, either by violence, cozenage, flattery, lying, or by putting on a guise of i-eligion ; and these four gentlemen had attained much of the art of their master, so that they could each of them have kept such a school themselves. Well, when they had, as I said, thus saluted each other, Mr. Money-love said to Mr. By-ends, Who are they upon the road be- fore us ? for Christian and Hopeful were yet within view. By-ends' character By-ends. They are a couple of far countrymen of the pilgrims. tj^^t, after their mode, are going on pilgrimage. ffLGRIM's PROGRESS. 165 Money-love. Alas ! why did they not stay, that we might have had their good company ; for they, and we, and you, sir, I hope, are all going on a pilgrimage. By-ends. We are so indeed ; bat the men before us are so rigid, and love so much their own notions, and do also so lightly esteem the opinions of others, that let a man be never so godly, yet, if he jumps not with them in all things, they thrust him quite out of their company. Mr. Save-all. That's bad ; but we read of some that are right- eous overmuch ; and such men's rigidness prevails with them to judge and condemn all but themselves. But, I pray, what and how many were the things wherein you differed ? By-ends. Why, they, after their headstrong manner, conclude that it is duty to rush on their journey all weathers, and I am for waiting for wind and tide. They are for hazarding all for God at a clap, and I am for taking all advantage to secure my life and estate. They are for holding their notions, though all other men be against them ; but I am for religion, in what and so far as the times and my safety will bear it. They are for religion when in rags and contempt ; but I am for him when he walks in his silver slippers, in the sunshine, and with applause. Mr. Ilold-the-world. Ay, and hold you there still, good Mr. By- ends ! for, for my part, I can count him but a fool that, having the liberty to keep what he has, shall be so unwise to lose it. Let us be wise as serpents ; it's best to make hay while the sun shines ; you see how the bee lieth still all winter, and bestirs her only when she can have profit with pleasure. God sends sometimes rain, and sometimes sunshine ; if they be such fools to go through the first, yet let us be content to take fair weather along with us. For my part, I like that religion best that will stand with the security of God's good blessings unto us ; for who can imagme, that is ruled by his reason, since God has bestowed upon us the good things of this life, but that he would have us keep them for his sake ? Abra ham and Solomon grew rich in religion ; and Job says, that a good man " shall lay up gold as dust." But he must not be such as the men before us, if they be as you have described them. Mr. Save-all. I think that we are all agreed in this matter, and therefore there needs no more words about it. Mr. Money-love. No, there needs no more words about this matter indeed ; for he that believes neither Scripture nor reason, (and you see we have both on our side,) neither knows his own liberty, nor seeks his own safety. Mr. By-ends. My brethren, we are, as you see, going all on 166 pilgrim's progress. pilgrimage, and, for our better diversion from things that are bad, give me leave to propound unto you this question : — Suppose a man, a minister or a tradesman, &c., should have an advantage lie before him to get the good blessings of this life, yet so as that he can by no means come by them, except, in appear- ance at least, he becomes extraordinary zealous in some points of religion that he meddled not w^ith before ; may he not use this means to attain his end, and yet be a right honest man ? Mr. Money-love. I see the bottom of your question ; and, with these gentlemen's good leave, I will endeavour to shape you an answer. And ^rs^, to speak to your question, as it concern eth a minister himself: Suppose a minister, a worthy man, possessed but of a very small benefice, and has in his eye a greater, more fat and plump by far ; he has also now an opportunity of getting it, yet so as by being more studious, by preaching more frequently and zealously, and because the temper of the people requires it, by altering of some of his principles. For my part, I see no reason Avhy a man may not do this, (provided he has a call,) ay, and more a great deal besides, and yet be an honest man. For why ? 1. His desire of a greater benefice is lawful, (this cannot be contradicted,) since 'tis set before him by Providence; so then he may get it if he can, making no question for conscience sake. 2. Besides, his desire after that benefice makes him more studious, a more zealous preacher, &c., and so makes him a better man ; yea, makes him better improve his parts, which is according to the mind of God. 3. Now, as for his complying with the temper of his people, by deserting, to serve them, some of his principles, this argueth, (1.) That he is of a self-denying temper; (2.) Of a sweet and winning deportment ; and, (3.) So more fit for the ministerial function. 4. I conclude, then, that a Minister that changes a Small for a Great should not, for so doing, be judged as covetous ; but rather, since he is improved in his parts and industry thereby, be counted as one that pursues his call, and the opportunity put into his hand to do good. And now to the second part of the question, which concerns the Tradesman you mentioned : Suppose such a one to have but a poor employ in the world, but, by becoming religious, he may mend his market, perhaps get a rich wife, or more and far better cus- tomers to his shop ; for my part, I see no reason but this may be lawfully done. For why? 1. To become religious is a virtue, by what means soever a mao becomes so. pilgrim's progress. 167 2. Nor is it unlawful to get a rich wife, or more custom lo my shop. 3. Besides, the man that gets these by becoming religious, gets that which is good of them that are good, by becoming good himself; so, then, here is a good wife, and good customers, and good gain, and all these by becoming religious, which is good. Therefore, to become religious to get all these, is a good and profitable design. This answer, thus made by Mr. Money-love to Mr. By-ends's question, was highly applauded by them all ; wherefore they con- cluded, upon the whole, that it was most wholesome and advan- tageous ; and because as they thought, no man was able to con- tradict it. and because Christian and Hopeful were yet within call, they jointly agreed to assault them with the question as soon as they overtook them ; and the rather, because they had opposed Mr. By-ends before. So they called after them, and they stopped, and stood still till they came up to them ; but they concluded, as they went, that not Mr. By-ends, but old Mr. Hold-the-world, should propound the question to them ; because, as they supposed, their answer to him would be without the remainder of that heat that was kindled betwixt Mr. By-ends and them, at their parting a little before. So they came up to each other ; and, after a short salutation, Mr. Hold-the-world propounded the question to Christian and his fellow, and bid them to answer it if they could. Then said Christian, even a babe in religion may answer ten thousand such questions ; for if it be unlawful to follow Christ for loaves, (as it is,*) how much more abominable is it to make of him and religion a stalking-horse, to get and enjoy the world ! Nor do we find any other than heathens, hypocrites, devils, and witches, that are of this opmion. 1. Heathens ; for when Hamor and Shechem had a mind to the daughter and cattle of Jacob, and saw that there was no way for them to come at them but by being circumcised, they said to their ■companions, " If every male of us be circumcised as they are cir- cumcised, shall not their cattle, and their substance, and every beast of theirs, be ours ?" Their daughters and their cattle were that which they sought to obtain, and their religion the stalking- horse they made use of to come at them. Read the whole story, f 2. The hypocritical Pharisees were also of this religion : Long prayers were their pretence, but to get widow's houses was their intent ; and greater damnation was from God their judgment. X 3. Judas, the devil, was also of this religion : he Avas religious ' John vi. t Geu, xxxiv, 20-21 t Liikc xx. 47. 168 pilgrim's progress. . . for the bag, that he might be possessed of what was put therein j but he was lost, cast away, and the very Son of Perdition. 4. Simon, the wizard, was of this religion too ; for he would have had the Holy Ghost, that he might have got money therewith j and his sentence from Peter's mouth was according.* 5. Neither will it out of my mind but that that man that takes up religion for the world, will throw away religion for the world j for so surely as Judas designed the world in becoming religious, so surely did he also sell religion and his Master for the same. To answer the question therefore, affirmatively, as I perceive you have done, and to accept of, as authentic, such answer, is both heath- enish, hypocritical, and devilish ; and your reward will be according to your works. Then they stood staring one upon another, but had not where- Avith to answer Christian. Hopeful also approved of the sound- ness of Christian's answer; so there was a great silence among them. Mr. By-ends and his company also staggered and kept behind, that Christian and Hopeful might outgo them. Then said Christian to his fellow, if these men cannot stand before the sentence of men, what will they do with the sentence of God ? And if they are mute when dealt with by vessels of clay, what will they do when they shall be rebuked by the flames of a devouring fire ? The ease that pii- Then Christian and Hopeful outwent them again, grims have is but and Went till they came at a delicate plain, called httie in this hfe. Ease, where they went with much content: but that plain was but narrow, so they quickly got over it. Now, at the farther side of that plain was a little hill, called Lucre, and in that hill a Silver Mine, which some of them that had formerly gone Lucre-hiii, a dan- that Way, because of the rarity of it, had turned gcrous hiu. aside to see ; but going too near the brim of the pit, the ground being deceitful under them broke, and they were slain. Some also had been maimed there, and could not, to their dying day, be their own men again. Demas at the hill Then I saw in my dream, that a little off the road Lucre. over against the Silver Mine, stood Deman, (gen- lie calls to Chris- tlemaii-like,) to call passengers to come and see; tianand Hopeful to who said to Christian and his fellow. Ho! turn come to him. ^side hither, and I will show you a thing. Chr. What thing so deserving as to turn us out of the way to see it ? Demas. Here is a silver mine, and some digging in it for trea- sure; if you will come, with a little pains, you may richly provide for yourselves. • Acts viii. 19-22. PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 169 Then said Hopeful, Let us go see. Not I, said CJiristian; I have heard of this place iiopefui tempted before now, and how many have there been slain; to go, but Christian and, besides, that treasure is a snare to those that ^°^^^ ^''^ ^^""^ seek it, for it hindereth them in their pilgrimage. Then Christian called to Demas, saying. Is not the place dan- gerous? Hath it not hindered many in their pilgrimage ?* De^nas. Not very dangerous, except to those that are careless But withal he blushed as he spake. Then said Christian to Hopeful, Let us not stir a step, but still keep on our way. Hope. I will warrant you, when By-ends* comes up, if he hath (he same invitation as we, he will turn in thither to see. Chr. No doubt thereof, for his principles lead him that Vv^ay, and ci hundred to one but he dies there. Then Demas called again, saying. But will you not come over and see? Then Christian roundly answered, saying, De- Christian roundetii mas, thon art an enemy to the right ways of the "P Demas. Lord of this way, and hast been already condemned, for thine own turning aside, by one of his Majesty's Judges; and why seekest thou to bring us into the like condemnation ? Besides, if we at all turn aside, our Lord the King will certainly hear thereof, and will there put us to shame, where we would stand with boldness before him. t Demas cried again, that he also was one of their fraternity ; and that, if they would tarry a little, he also himself would walk with them. Then said Christian, What is thy name? Is it not the same by the which I have called thee ? Demas. Yes, my name is Demas ; I am the son of Abraham. Chr. I know you; GehaziAvas your great-grandfather, and Judas your father, and you have trod in their steps. It is but a devilish prank that thou usest. Thy father was hanged for a traitor, and thou deservest no better reward. Assure thyself, that when we come to the King, we will tell him of this thy behaviour. Thus they went their way. % By this time. By-ends and his companions were By-ends goes over come again within sight, and they, at the first beck, ^^ Demas. went over to Demas. Now, whether they fell into the pit by look- ing over the brink thereof, or whether they went down to dig, or whether they were smothered in the bottom by the damps that • Hosea iv. 8. +2 Tim. iv. 10. J 2 Kinps v. 20. MaHh. xxvi 14, IS.— xxvii. 1-6, 15 170 PILGRIM'S PROGRE&fS. commonly arise, of these things I am not certain; but this I oh- served, that they never were seen again in the way. Then san^ Christian : — By-ends and Silver Demas both agree y One calls, the other runs, that lie may be A sharer in his lucre ; so these do Take up in this world, and no fartlier go. Now I saw that, jnst on the other side of this yiomiment^''^"^^ P^^^"' ^^^ Pilgrims came to a place, where stood an old Monument hard by the highway-side, at the sight of which they were both concerned, because of the strange- ness of the form thereof; for it seemed to them as if it had been a woman transformed into the shape of a pillar. Here, thereforey they stood looking and looking upon it, but could not lor a time tell what they should make thereof. At last. Hopeful espied, written above, upon the head thereof, a writing in an unusual hand j but he, no scholar, called to Christian, (for he was learned,) to see if he could pick out the meaning; so he came, and, after a little ia,ying of the letters together, he found the same to be this. He- member LoVs wife. So he read it to his fellow; after which they both concluded that that was the pillar of salt into which Lot's wife was turned, for her looking back, with a covetous heart, when she was going from Sodom for safety ;* which sudden and ama- zing sight gave them occasion for this discourse : — Chr. Ah 1 my brother, this is a seasonable sight ; it came oppor- tunely to us, after the invitation which Demas gave us to come over to view the hill Lucre ; and had we gone over as he desired us, and as thou wast inclining to do, my brother, we had, for aught I know, been made, like this woman, a spectacle for those that shall come after to behold. Hope. I am sorry that I was so foolish, and am made to wonder that I am not now as Lot's wife, for wherein was the difference betwixt her sin and mine ? She only looked back, and I had a desire to go see. Let grace be adored, and let me be ashamed that ever such a thing should be in my heart. Chr. Let us take notice of what we se^ here, for our help fojr lime to come. This woman escaped one judgment; for she fell not by the destruction of Sodom ; yet she was destroyed by an- other. As we see, she is turned into a pillar of salt. Hope. True ; and she may be to us both caution and example «:aution, that we should shun her sin; or a sign of what judgmeiit ' Gen. xix. 25. pilgrim's PR0GKES3. J 71 Will overtake such as shall not be prevented by this caution. So ivorah, Dathan, and Abiram, with the two hundred and fifty men that perished in their sin,* did also become a sign or example to others to beware. But, above all, I muse at one thing, to wit, how Demas and his fellows can stand so confidently yonder to look foi that treasure, which this Avoman, but for looking behind her after, (for we read not that she stepped one foot out of the way,) was turned into a pillar of salt ; especially since the judgment which overtook her did make her an example, within sight of where they are ; for they cannot choose but see her, did they but lift up their eyes. Clir It is a thing to be wondered at, and it argueth that their hearts are groAvn desperate in the case ; and I cannot tell who to compare them to so fitly as to them that pick pockets in the presence of the Judge, or that will cut purses under the gallows. It is said of the men of Sodom, " That they were sinners exceedingly^''''^ because they were sinners before the Lord, that is, in his eyesight, and notwithstanding the kindnesses that he had shown them ; for the Land of Sodom was now like the garden of Eden heretofore.! This therefore provoked him the more to jealousy, and made their plague as hot as the fire of the Lord out of heaven could make it. And it is most rationally to be concluded, that such, even such as these are, that shall sin in the sight, yea, and that too in despite of such examples that are set continually before them, to caution them to the contrary, must be partakers of severest judgments. Hope. Doubtless thou hast said the truth : but what a mercy is it that neither thou, but especially I am not made myself this ex- ample ! This ministereth occasion to us to thank God, to fear before him, and always to remember Lot's wife. I saw then that they went on their way to a A. river. pleasant river, which David the king called " the River of God ;"§ but John, "the River of the Water of Life."lt Now, their way lay just upon the bank of this river ; here, there- fore. Christian and his companion walked with great delight ; they drank also of the water of the river, which was pleasant and enli- vening to their weary spirits : besides, on the banks f.^, . . VI. 'J ^ -..1 Trees by the river. 01 this river, on either side, were green trees, with all manner of fruit : and the leaves they ate to pre- , '^^^ /™'^ ^^^ I, . , , ,. 1 . .; leavesof the trees, vent surieits, and other diseases that are incident to those that heat their blood by travel. On either side of the river was also a meadow, curiously beautified with lilies, and it was • Numb, xvl 31, 32. t Gen. xiii. 13. t Ibid. ver. 10. § Psahn Ixv. 9, i Rev. xxii. 1. 2. Ezek. xivii. 172 PILGRIM'S PROGRESg. A meadow, in green all the year long. In this meadow they which, they lie lay down and slept: for here they might lie own o s eep. down safely.* When they awoke, they gathered again of the fruit of the trees, and drank again of the water of the river, and then lay down again to sleep. Thus they did several days and nights. Then they sang : — Behold ye how these crystal streams do glide, To comfort pilgrims, by the highway side ! The meadows green, besides their fragrant smell, Yield dainties for them ! and he who can tell What pleasant fruit, yea, leaves, these trees do yield. Will soon sell all, that he may buy this field. So, when they were disposed to go on, (for they were not as yet at their journey's end,) they ate and drank, and departed. Now I beheld in my dream, that they had not journeyed far, but the river and the way for a time parted ; at which they were not a little sorry, yet they durst not go out of the way. Now, the way from the river was rough, and their feet tender by reason of their travel : so the souls of the pilgrims were much discouraged because of the way ;t wherefore, still as they went on they wished for a better way. Now, a little before them, there was, on the left hand „ ^ J of the road, a meadow, and a stile to go over into By-path meadow. . ' i . n , n -, T,r ^ It, and that meadow is called By-path Meadow. Then said Christian to his fellow. If this meadow lieth along by our way-side, let's go over into it. Then he went One temptation i-i iiiii ii i i makes way for an- to the stile to see, and behold a path lay along by other. the way on the other side of the fence. 'Tis ac- cording to my wish, said Christian ; here is the easiest going. Come, good Hopeful, and let us go over. Hope. But how if this path should lead us out of the way ? . . That's not likely, said the other. Look, doth it may lead weak ^^^ S^ along by the way-side ? So Hopeful, being ones out of the persuaded by his fellow, went after him over the ^^^y* stile. When they were gone over, and were got into the path, they found it very easy for their feet ; and withal they, looking before them, espied a man walking as they did, and his name was Vain-conjidence ; so they called after him, and asked fl.»^T,of u sc fo^ ^i"^3 Whither that way led? He said, To the See what it is too r~\ ^ • ^ r^ r ^ • • - • suddenly to fall in Celestial Gate. Look, said Christian, did not I tell with strangers. you SO ? By this you may see we are right. So they followed, and he went before them. But, behold, the night came on, and it grew very dark ; so they that were behind lost •jight oi him that went before. * Psalm xxiii. Isa. xxxv 8. t Numb. xxi. 4. PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 173 He, therefore, that went before, (Vain-confidence by name,) not seeing the way before him, fell into ^ainyorious in."'^ a deep pit, which was on purpose there made, by the Prince of those grounds, to catch vain-glorious fools withal, and was dashed in pieces with his fall. Now Christian and his fellow heard him fall. So they called to know the matter, but there was none to answer ; only they heard a groaning. Then said Hopeful, Where are we now ? Then was his fellow silent, as mistrusting that he had led him out of the way. And now it began to rain, and thunder, and lighten in a most dreadful manner, and the water rose amain. Then Hopeful groaned within himself, saying, chnSnL^dHope" ! that I had kept on my way. fui. Chr. Who could have thought that this path should have led us out of the way ? Hope. I was afraid on't at the very first, and therefore gave you that gentle caution. I would have spoke plainer, but that you are older than I. Chr. Good brother, be not offended : I am sorry christian's repen 1 have brought thee out of the way, and that I have tance for leading put thee into such imminent danger. Pray, my '^'^ brother out of brother, forgive me ; I did not do it of an evil in- ^ ^^^* tent. Hope. Be comforted, my brother, for I forgive thee ; and believe too that this shall be for our good. Chr. I am glad I have with me a merciful brother j but we must not stand here ; let us try to go back again. Hope. But, good brother, let me go before. Chr. No, if you please, let me go first, that if there be any dan- ger, I may be first therein ; because by my means we are both gone out of the way. No, said Hopeful, you shall not go first ; for your mind being troubled may lead you out of the way again. Then, for their encouragement, they heard the voice of one say- ing, " Let thine heart be towards the highway ; even the way that thou wentest, turn again." * But by this time the They are in dan- waters were greatly risen ; by reason of which the gerof drowning as way of going back was very dangerous. Then I ^ ^^ ^o ac . thought that it is easier going out of the way when we are m, than going in when we are out. Yet they adventured to go back; but it was so dark, and the flood was so high, that, in their gomgback, they had like to have been drowned nine or ten times. ' Jer. xxxi. 21. 15* 174 pilgrim's progress. Neither could they, with all the skill they had, get again to the stile that night. Wherefore, at last, lighting under a little shelter. They sleep in the ^^^Y ^^^ down there till the day brake ; but. being grounds of Giant weary, they fell asleep. Now there was, not far Despair. from the place where they lay, a castle, called Doubting Castle, the owner whereof was Giant Despair, and it was in his grounds they now were sleeping ; Avherefore he getting up in the morning early, and walking up and down in his fields, caught Christian and Hopeful asleep in his grounds. Then, with a grim and a surly voice, he bid them awake, and asked them whence they were, and what they did in his grounds ? They told , ^ , , . him they were Pilgrims, and that they had lost He finds them in , , roi • -, ^ r-^- -xt- i i • iiis ground, and their way. Then said the Giant, You have this carries them to night trespassed on me, by trampling in and lying Doubtmg Castle. ^^ ^^^ grounds, and therefore you must go along with me. So they were forced to go, because he was stronger than they. They also had but little to say, for they knew themselves in a fault. The Giant therefore drove them before him, and put them into his Castle, in a very dark dungeon, nasty and stinking lo the spirits of these two men. Here then they lay, from Wed- The grievousness ^^^sday moming till Saturday night, without one of their imprison- bit of bread, or drop of drink, or light, or any to ''^^"*'- ask how they did. They were therefore here in evil case, and were far from friends and acquaintance. Now, in this place. Christian had double sorrow, because 'twas through his unadvised counsel that they were brought into this distress. Now Giant Despair had a wife, and her name Avas Diffidence. So, when he Avas gone to bed, he told his wife what he had done, to Avit, that he had taken a couple of prisoners, and cast them into his dungeon, for trespassing on his grounds. Then he asked her also, What he had best to do further Avith them? So she asked liim, What they Avere, Avhence they came, and Avhither they Avere bound? and he told her. Then she counselled him, that, when he arose in the morning, he should beat them Avithout mercy. So, Avhen he arose, he getteth him a grievous crab-tree cudgel, and goes down into the dungeon to them, and there first falls to rating of them, as if they Avere dogs, although they never gave him a On Thursday, Gi- word of distaste ; then he fell upon them, and beat ant Despair beats them fearfully, in such sort that they Avere not able his prisoners. ^^ ^^^^ themselves, or to turn them upon the floor. This done, he withdraAvs, and leaves them there to condole their misery, and to mourn under their distress ; so all that day they spent their time in nothing but sighs and bitter lamentations. T he PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 175 ti^xl she talked with her husband further about them, and, under- standing that they were yet alive, did advise him to counsel them to make way with themselves ; so, when morning was come, he goes to them in a surly manner as before, and perceiving them to be very sore with the stripes that he had given them the day before, he told them, that since they were never like to come out of that place, their only way would be forthwith to make ^^^ ^^j^^ ^.^^^ an end of themselves, either with knife, halter, or Despair counsels poison : for why, said he, should you choose to live, t^^em to kill thcm- seeing it is attended with so much bitterness ? But they desired him to let them go. With that he looked ugly upon them, and, mshing to them, had doubtless made an end of them himself, but that he fell in one of his fits (for The Giant some- he sometimes, in sunshiny weather, fell into fits) t'^^^^s has fits. and lost for a time the use of his hands; wherefore he withdrew, and left thein, as before, to consider what to do. Then did the prisoners consult between themselves, whether it was best to take his counsel or no; and thus they began to discourse: — Brother, said Christian, what shall we do? The christian cmshe,. life that w« now live is miserable! For my part I know not whether is best, to live thus, or to die out of hand. " My soul chooseth strangling rather than life ;" * and the Grave is more easy for me than this dungeon ! Shall we be ruled by the Giant? Hope. Indeed our present condition is dreadful, and death would be far more welcome to me, than thus for ever to abide. But yel let us consider, the Lord of the country to which we are going hath said, " Thou shalt do no murder ;'' no, not to another man's person: much more, then, are we forbidden to take his counsel to kill our- selves- Besides, he that kills another can but commit murder upon his body ; but for one to kill himself, is to kill Hopeful comforts body and soul at once. And, moreover, my broth- ^i™- er, thou talkest of ease in the Grave ; but has thou forgotten the Hell whither for certain the murderers go ? for " no murderer hath eternal life," &c. And let us consider again, that all the law is not in the hand of Giant Despair ; others, so far as I can under- stand, have been taken by him as well as we, and yet have escaped out of his hands. Who knows but that God, who made the world, may cause that Giant Despair may die ; or that, at some time or otlier, he may forget to lock us m ; or but he may, in a short time, have another of his fits before us, and may lose the use of his limbs ? and if ever that should come to pass again, for my part, I am re solved to pluck up the heart of a man, and to try my utmost to gel * Job vii. 15. [The Pilgrims in Lie Dungeon of Giant Despair.] from under his hand. I was a fool that I did not try to do it before ? hut, however, my brother, let's he patient, and endure a while ; the time may come that may give us a happy release ; hut let us not be our own murderers." With these Avords Hopeful at present did moderate the mind of his brother ; so they continued together, in the dark, that day in their sad and doleful condition. Well, towards evening, the Giant goes down into the dungeon again, to see if his prisoners had taken his counsel ; but, when he came there, he found them alive ; and, truly, alive was all ; for now, what for want of bread and water, and by reason of the wounds, they received w^hen he beat them, they could do little hut breathe. But, I say he found them alive: at which he fell into a grievous rage, and told them that, seeing they had disobeyed his counsel, it should be worse with them than if they had never been born. At this they trembled greatly, and I think that Christian fell into a swoon; but, coming a little to himself again, they renewed their discourse about the Giant's counsel, and whether yet they had besi ciiristian still de- ^^^^^ ^^ "^ ^°* Now Christian again seemed for do- jected. ing it ; but Hopeful made his second reply as fol- loweth : — My brother, said he, rememberest thou not how valiant thoi* hast been heretofore ? Apollyon could not crush thee ; nor could 176 pilgrim's progrrss. 177 ail that thou didst hear, or see, or feel, in the tt r i r . ' ' ) ^ Hopeful comforts Valley of the Shadow of Death. What hardship, him again by cai- terror, and amazement hast thou already gone I'^if former tilings through land art thou no wnothmg but fears? Thou '° remembrance. seest that I am in the dungeon with thee, a far weaker man by nature than thou art ; also this Giant hath wounded me as well as thee, and hath also cut off the bread and water from my mouth, and with thee I mourn without the light. But let us exercise a little more patience. Remember how thou playedst the man at Vanity-fair, and wast neither afraid of the chain nor cage, nor yet of bloody death. Wherefore let us (at least to avoid the shame that becomes nol a Christian to be found in) bear up with patience as well as we can. Now, night being come again, and the Giant and his Avife being m bed, shfe asked him concerning the prisoners, and if they had taken his counsel 1 To w-hich he replied, They are sturdy rogues ; they choose rather to bear all hardships than to make way with themselves. Then said she, Take them into the Castle-Yard to- morrow, and show them the bones and sculls of those that thou hast already despatched ; and make them believe, ere a week comes to an end, thou wilt tear them in pieces, as thou hast done their fellows before them. So, when the morning was come, the Giant goes to them again. and takes them into the Castle-Yard, and shows them as his wife had bidden him. These, said he, were Pilgrims as you are once : and thev trespassed on my grounds as you have ^ ^ I J 1 T .1- u? £* T * \u ■ ^'^ Saturday, the done ; and, when I thought fit, I tore them m ^iant threatened pieces ; and so within ten days I will do you. Go, that shortly lie get you down to your den again! and with that he ^^°"i.^ P"^^^ ^^^"' beat them all the way thither. They lay, there- fore, all day on Saturday, in lamentable case, as before. Now, when night was come, and when Mrs. Diffidence and her husband the Giant were got to bed, they began to renew their discourse of their prisoners ; and withal the old Giant wondered that he could neither by his blows nor counsel bring them to an end. And with that his wife replied, I fear, said she, that they live in hopes that some will come to relieve them ; or that they have pick-locks about them, by the means of which they hope to escape. And sayest thou so, my dear, said the Giant : I will therefore search them in the morning. Well, on Saturday, about midnight, they began to pray, and con- tinued in prayer till almost break of day. - Now, a little before it was day, good Christian, as one. halt A key in Chris- tian's bosom called Troinise, opens a- ny lock in Doubt- ing Castle. "^Ue Pilgrims escaping from Doubting Castle.] amazed, brake out into this passionate speech : What a fool, quoth he, am 1, to lie in a stinking dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise^ that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle. Then said Hopeful, That's good news : good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom, and try. Then Christian pulled it out of his bosom, and began to try at the dungeon door, whose bolt, as he turned the key, gave back, and the door flew open with ease, and Christian and Hopeful both came out. Then he went to the outward door, that leads into the Castle-Yard, and with his key opened that door also. After that he went to the iron gate, for that must be opened too ; but that lock vvex^t damnable hard, yet the key did open it. Then they thrust (Tli-e Delectable Mountaiiis.J open the gate to make iheir escape with speed; but that gale, asiJ opened, made such a creaking, that it waked Giant Despair, who hastily rismg to pursue his prisoners, felt his limbs to fail ; for his fits took him again, so that he could by no means go after them. Then they went on, and came to the King's highway, and so were safe, because they were out of his jurisdiction. Now, when they were gone over the stile, they began to contrive with thernselves what they should do at that stile, to prevent those that should come after from falling into the hands of Giant Despair. So they consented to erect there a Pillar, and to ^ pj^g^^ erected engrave upon the side thereof this sentence : " Over by Christian and this stile is the way to Doubting Castle, which is ^i^ fellow. kept by Giant Despair, who despiseth the King of the Celestial Country, and seeks to destroy his holy Pilgrims." Many, there- fore, that followed after read what was written, and escaped the danger. This done, they sang as follows : — Out of the way we went, and then we found, What 'twas to tread upon forbidden ground , And le t them that come after have a care, Lest they, for trespassing, his prisoners are. Whose castle 's Doubting, and whose name 's Despair. 179 ISO pilgrim's progress. They went then till they came to the Detectabte Mountahir'^ ^ Mountains ; which mountains belong to the Lord of that Hill of which we have spoken before: so fhey went up to the mountains to behold the gardens and orchards^ the vineyards, and fountains of water j where also They arc refreshed . ^^.^^^ ^^^^ Washed themselves, and did freely 5IV the mountains, ■' ' ' ■' eat of the vmeyards. Now there were on the tops oi these mountains Shepherds feeding their flocks, and they stood by the highway-side. The Pilgrims, therefore, went to them, and leaning upon their staffs, as is common with weary !e1dr*'^'''^'^" Pilgi"-ims, when they stand to talk with any by the way, they asked, Whose Delectable Moimtains are these ? and whose be the sheep that feed upon them ? Shep. These mountains are ImmanuePs land, and they are within sight of his City : and the sheep also are his, and he laid down his life for them. Chr. Is this the way to the Celestial City? Shep. You are just in your way. Chr. How far is it thither ? Shep. Too far for any but those who shall get thither indeed. Chr. Is the v/ay safe, or dangerous ? Shep. Safe for those for whom it is to be safe, " but transgressors shall fall therein."* Chr. Is there in this place any relief for Pilgrims that are weary and faint in the way ? Shep. The Lord of these Mountains hath given us a charge " not to be forgetful to entertain strangers ;"t therefore the good of the place is before you. I saw also in my dream, that when the Shepherds perceived they were wayfaring men, they also put questions to them, (to which rhey made answer as in other places,) as, Whence came you? and hoAv got you into the way ? and by what means have you so per- severed therein ? for but few of them that begin to come hither do show their face on these Mountains. But when weicome^lhem^^ ^^^ Shepherds heard their answers, being pleased therewith, they looked very lovingly upon them, and said, " Welcome to the Delectable Mountains !" The Shepherds, I say, whose names were Knowledge, Expert' ence, Watchful, aud Sincere, took them by the hand, and had them 10 their tents, and made them partake of what was ready at present. They said, moreover, We would that you should stay here awhile, 10 be acquainted with us, and yet more to solace yourselves with • Hos. xiv. 9. t Ileb. xiii. 1,2. pilgrim's progress. 181 the good of these Delectable Mountains. Then they told ihcni that they were content to stay : so they went to rest that night, because it was very late. Then I saw in my dream, that, in the morning, the Shepherds called up Christian and Hopeful to walk with them upon the Moun- tains : so they went forth with them, and walked a ^vhile, having a pleasant prospect on every side. Then said the „, oil 11 1 %N,i n 1 1 They are bLowu bhepherds, one to another. Shall we show these wonders. Pilgrims some wonders ? So, when they had con- cluded to do it, they had them first to the top of a '^^^^ mountain of Error hill called Error, which was very steep on the farthest side, and bid them look down to the bottom. So Christian and Hopeful looked down, and saw, at the bottom, several men dashed all to pieces by a fall that they had from the top. Then said Christian, What meaneth this ? The Shepherds answered, Have you not heard of them that were made to err, by hearkening to Hymeneus and Philetus, as concerning the faith of the resurrec- tion of the body ?* They answered, Yes. Then said the Shep- herds, Those that you see dashed in pieces at the bottom of this mountain are they : and they have continued to this day unburied, (as you see,) for an example to others to take heed how they clamber too high, or how they come too near the brink of this mountain. Then I saw that they had them to the top of an- „ ^ . , . , , P 1 • ^ , . Mount Caution. other mountain, and the name oi that is Caution, and bid them look afar off; which when they did, they perceived, as they thought, several men walking up and down among the tombs that were there j and they perceived that the men were blind, because they stumbled sometimes upon the tombs, and be- cause they could not get out from among them. Then said Chris- tian, What means this ? The Shepherds then answered. Did you not see, a little below these Mountains, a stile that led into a meadow, on the left hand of this way? They answered, Yes. Then .^aid the Shepherds, From that stile there goes a path that leads directly to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair ; and these men, (pointing to them among the tombs,) came once on pilgrimage, as you do now, even until they came to that same stile. And,. because the right way was rough in that place, they chose to go out of it into that meadow, and there were taken by Giant Despair, and cast into Doubting Castle ; where, after they had a while been kept m the dungeon, he at last did put out their eyes, and led them among '■ 2 Tim. ii. 17. 132 pilgrim's progress. those tombs, where he has left them to wander to this very day ; that the saying of the wise man might be fulfilled, " He that wan- dereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congre- gation of the dead."* Then Christian and Hopeful looked one upon another with tears gushing out, but yet said nothing to the Shepherds. Then I saw m my dream, that the Shepherds had them to another place in a bottom, where was a door in the side of a hill ; and they opened the door, and bid them look in. They looked in, therefore, and saw that within it was very dark and smoky ; they also thought that they heard there a rumbling noise, as of fii-e, and a cry of some tormented, and that they smelt the scent of brimstone. Then said Christian, What means this ? The Shepherds told . . . „ 1, them, This is a by-way to Hell, a way that hypo- A by-way to Hell. . ' . -^ , ■' , ,, i • i . , • , crites go m at ; namely, such as sell their birthright with Esau ; such as sell their Master with Judas ; such as blas- pheme the gospel with Alexander ; and that lie and dissemble with Ananias, and Sapphira his wife. Then said Hopeful to the Shepherds, I perceive that these had (jn them, even every one, a show of pilgrimage, as we have now ; had they not ? Shep. ¥"68, and held it a long time too. Hope. How far might they go on in pilgrimage in their day, since they, notwithstanding, were thus miserably cast away ? Shep. Some further, and some not so far, as these Mountains. Then said the Pilgrims one to the other, We have need to cry lo ihe Strong for strength. Shep. Ay, and you will have need to use it when you have It too ! By this time the Pilgrims had a desire to go forward, and the Shepherds a desire they should ; so they walked together towards the end of the Mountains. Then said the Shepherds one to another, Let us here show the Pilgrims the Gates of the Celestial City, if they The Shepherds' ^^^^ skill to look through our perspective glass. Perspective Glass. The Pilgrims then lovingly accepted the motion ; The bill Clear ^"^ ^^^Y ^^^ ^^^m to the top of a high hill, called Clear ^ and gave them the glass to look. Then they tried to look, but the remembrance vile fear. ^f ^^^^ ^^st thing that the Shepherds had shown them made their hands shake ; by means of which impediment they could not look steadily through the glass j yet they thought they saw something like the Gate, and- also some * Trov. xxi. 16. [Tjie Perspective fJJass.i of the glory of the place. Thus they went awav and sing this song : — Thus, by the Shepherds, secrets are reveal'd, Wliich from all other men are kept conceal'd . Come to the Shepherds, then, if you would see Things deep, things hid, and that mysterious be. When they were about to depart, one of the . ^, ^ -, I ,/..7 *i A- twofold caution. fehepherds gave them a note of the way. Another of them bid them beware of the Flatterer. The third bid them 'ake heed that they slept not upon the Enchanted Ground; and I he fourth bid them God speed. So I awoke from my dream. And I slept, and dreamed again, and saw the same two Pilgrims g^oing doAvn the Mountains, along the highway, towards the City. 183 184 pilgrim's progress. Now, a little below these Mountr'as, on the left ceiu^out"of°wmrh hand, lieth the country of Conceit; from which came Ignorance. country there comes into the way in which the Pilgrims walked a little crooked lane. Here, therefore, they met with a very, brisk lad that came out of that country, and his name was Ignorance. So Christian asked him, from what parts he came ? and whither he was going ? Christian and igno- ^SnoT. Sir, I was bom in the country that lietli ranee have some ofF there, a little on the left hand ; and I am going 'aik- to the Celestial City. Chr. But how do you thmk to get in at the Gate ? for you may find some difficulty there. As other good people do, said he. Chr. But what have you to show at that Gate, that the Gate should be opened to you ? Ignor. I know my Lord's will, and have been The grounds of ig- » good liver ; I pay every man his own; I pray, norance's hope= fast, pay tithes, and give alms, and have left my country, for whither I am going. Chr. But thou camest not in at the Wicket-Gate that is at the head of this way ; thou camest in hither through that same crooked lane ; and therefore I fear, however thou mayst think of thyself, when the reckoning day shall come, thou wilt have laid to thy charge that thou art a thief and a robber, instead of getting admit tance into the City. IT f 11 *!, ^^^ Ignor. Gentlemen, ye be utter strangers to me , lie telleth every ° ' •' . . one he is but a I know you not : be content to follow the religiou 'ooi- of your country, and I will follow the religion of mine. I hope all will be well. And as for the Gate that you talk of, all the world knows that that is a great way off of our country. I cannot think that any man in all our parts doth so much as know the way to it ) nor need they matter whether they do or no, since we have, as you see, a fine pleasant green lane, that comes down from our country the next way into the way. When Christian saw that the man was wise in his own conceit, he said to Hopeful, whispering. There is more hope of a fool than of him: and said moreover. When he that is a foolwalketh by the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every f foo^ ''^''^ '^ ^° °^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^s ^ ^^'^^' W^^^ ' s^^ll ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ with him, or outgo him at present, and so leave !iim to thmk of what he hath heard already, and then stop again for him afterward, and see if by degrees we can do any good by him? Then said Hopeflil : — PILGKnfd l^ItOGKEbS. 185 Let Ignorance a little while now muse On what is said, and let him not refuse Good counsel to embrace, lest he remain Still ignorant of what's the chiefest gain. God sailh, Those that no understanding have, (Although he made them.) them he will not save. Ha farther added. It is not good, I think, to say to hmi all at once ; let us pass him by, if you Will, and talk to hun anon, even OS he is able to hear it. So they both went on, and Ignorance he came after. Now, when they had passed him a little way, they entered into a very dark lane, where they met a man whom seven Devils had bound with seven strong cords, and were a-carrying him back to the door that they saw on the side of the hill. Now good Chris- tian began to tremble, and so did Hopeful his companion ; yet as the Devils led away the man, Christian looked to see if he knew him, and he thought it might be one Turn-away^ that dwelt in the town of Apostacy. But he did one^Turn-awaT"' not perfectly see his face j for he did hang his head like a thief that is found. But, being gone past. Hopeful looked after him, and espied on his back a paper with this inscription, " Wanton Professor, and damnable Apostate." Then said Chris- tian to his fellow, Now I call to my remembrance christian teiieth that which was told me of a thing that happened his companion a to a good man hereabout : the name of that man story of Little-faith. was Little-faith^ but a good man, and he dwelt in the town of Sincere. The thing was this : At the entering in at this passage, there comes down from Broad- -p^"^ ^^^^ Lane. way-Gate a lane, called Dead Marl's Lane^ so called because of the murders that are commonly done there ; and this Little-faith, going on pilgrimage as we do now, chanced to sit down there and sleep. Now there happened at that time to come down the lane, from Broad-w^ay-Gate, three sturdy rogues, and their names were Faint-heart, Mistrust, and Guilt, (three broth- ers ;) and they, espying Little-faith where he was, came galloping up with speed. Now, the good man was just awakened from hi? sleep, and was getting up to go on his journey : so they came up all to him, and, with threatening language, bid him stand. At this Little-faith looked as white as a clout, and had Little-faith robbed neither powder to fight nor fly. Then said Faint- byFaint-iieart,Mis- heart. Deliver thy purse; but he making no haste trust, and Guilt. 10 do it, (for he was loath to lose his money,) Mistrust ran up to him. and thrusting his hand into his pocket, pulled out thence a 186 pilgrim's progress. , bag of silver. Then he cried out, Thieves, thieves ! silver, and knock With that Guilt, with a great chib that was in his him clown. hand, struck Little-faith on the head, and, with that blow, felled him fiat to the ground, where he lay bleeding as one that would bleed to death. All this while the thieves stood by. But, at last, hearing that some were upon the road, and fear- ing lest it should be one Great-grace, that dwells in the town of Good-confidence, they betook themselves to their heels, and left this good man to shift for himself. Now, after a while, Little-faith came to himself, and getting up, made shift to scramble on his way. This was the story. Hope. But did they take from him all that ever he had 1 Chr. No ; the place where his jewels were they hjfbeluhing'r''^ never ransacked ; so those he kept still. But, as I was told, the good man was much afflicted for his loss ; for the thieves had got most of his spending money. That which they got not, as I said, were jewels; also he had a little odd f-ittie-faith forced i^o^^ey left, but scarce enough to bring him to his (0 beg to his jour- journey's end : nay, (if I was not misinformed,) he iiey's end. ^y^s forced to beg as he went, to keep himself alive, (for his jewels he might not sell :) but beg, and do what he could, he went, as we say, with many a hungry belly, the most part of the rest of the way.* Hope. But is it not a wonder they got not from him his certifi- cate, by which he is to receive his admittance at the Celestial Gate ? Chr. 'Tis a wonder ; but they got not that, though they missed He kept not his ^^ iiot through any good cunning of his ; for he, be- best things by his ing dismayed with their coming upon him, had own cunning. neither power nor skill to hide any thing ; so it was more by good providence than by his endeavour that they missed of that good thing, f Hope. But it must needs be a comfort to him that they got not this jewel from him, Chr. It might have been great comfort to him, had he used it as he should ; but they that told me the story said, that he made but little use of it all the rest of the way ; and that because of the dismay that he had in the taking away of his money. Indeed he forgot it a great part of the rest of his journey j and besides, when at any time it came into his mind, and he began to be comforted therewith, then would fresh thoughts of his loss come again upon aim, and these thoughts would swallow up all. * 1 Pet. iv. 18. \ 2 Tim. i. 14. 2 Pet. ii. 9 filgriim's progress. 187 Hope. Alas, poor man ! This could not but be a He is pitied by great grief to hirn. both. Chr. Grief! Ay, a grief indeed. Would it not have been so tc any of us, had we been used as he, to be robbed and wounded too, and that in a strange place, a^ he was ? 'Tis a wonder he did not die with grief, poor heart ! I was told that he scattered almost all the rest of the way with nothing but doleful and bitter complaints ; telling also to all that overtook him, or that he overtook in the way . as he went, where he was robbed, and how ; who they were that did it, and what he had lost; how he was wounded, and that he hardly escaped with life. Hope. But 'tis a wonder that his necessity did not put him upon selling or pawning some of his jewels, that he might have where- withal to relieve himself in his journey. Chr. Thou talkest like one upon whose head is christian snibbeth the shell to this very day : for what should he paAvn his fellow for unad- them? or to whom should he sell them? In all visediv speaking. that country where he was robbed, his jewels were not accounted of; nor did he want that relief which could from thence be admin- istered to him. Besides, had his jewels been missing at the Gate of the Celestial City, he had (and that he knew well enough) been excluded from an inheritance there; and that would have been worse to him than the appearance andvillany of ten thousand thieves. Hope. Why art thou so tart, my brother? Esau sold his birth right, and that for a mess of pottage, * and that birthright was his greatest jewel ; and if he, why might not Little-faith do so too ? Chr. Esau did sell his birthright indeed, and so a discourse about do many besides, and, by so doing, exclude them- Esau and Littio- selves from the chief blessing, as also that caitiff ^^''^' did ; but you must put a difference between Esau and Little-faith, and also betwixt their estates. Esau's birthright was typical, but Little-faith's jewels were not so. Esau's belly Esau was ruled by was his god ; but Little-faith's belly was not so. his lusts. Esau's want lay in his fleshly appetite ; Little-faith's did not so. Besides, Esau could see no farther than to the fulfilling of his lusts ; " for I am at the point to die," said he, " and what good will this birthright do me ?" f But Little-faith, though it was his lot to have but a little faith, was by this iitttle faith kept from such extrava- gances, and made to see and prize his jewels more than to sell them, as Esau did his birthright. You read not Esau never had any where that Esau had faith, no, not so much as faith. a little ; therefore no marvel, where the flesh only bears sway, (as ' Heb. xii. 16. + Gen. xxv. 22. 188 PiLGUlM's PflOGKESS. it will in that man where no faith is to resist,) if he sells his birtn- right, and his soul, and all, and that to the Devil of Hell ; for it ia with such as it is with the ass, " who, in her occasion cannot be turned away."* When their minds are set upon their lusts, they Little-faith could Will have them, whatever they cost. But Little- not live upon faith was of another temper : his mind was on Esau's pottage. things divine ; his livelihood was upon things that were spiritual, and from above ; therefore to what end should he that is of such a temper sell his jewels, (had there been any that would have bought them,) to fill his mind with empty things? A comparison be- "^^^^ ^ ^^^^ g^^^ ^ V^^^Y to fill his belly with hay ? tween the turtle- or Can you persuade the turtle-dove to live upon riove and the crow carrion, like the crow ? Though faithless ones can, for carnal lusts, pawn, or mortgage, or sell what they have, and themselves outright to boot ; yet they that have faith, saving faith, though but a little of it, cannot do so. Here, therefore, my brother, is thy mistake. Hope. I acknowledge it, but yet your severe reflection had almost made me angry. Chj\ Why, I did but compare thee to some of the birds that are of the brisker sort, who will run to and fro in untrodden paths, with the shell upon their heads : but pass by that, and consider the matter under debate, and all shall be well betwixt thee and me. „ . , Hope. But, Christian, these three fellows, I am Hopeful swaggers, ,■,.■, , l persuaded in my heart, are but a company oi cow- ards ; would they have run else, think you, as they did, at the noise of one that was coming on the road? Why did not Little-faith pluck up a greater heart '? He might, methinks, have stood one brush with them, and have yielded when there had been no remedy. i\o great heart for ^^- That they are cowards many have said, God where there is but few have found it SO in the time of triai. As but little faith. foj, a gj^gj^t heart. Little-faith had none; and I per- ceive by thee, my brother, hadst thou been the man concerned, thou art but for a brush, and then to yield. And, courage when we eerily, since this is the height of thy stomach, now are out, then when they are at a distance from us, should they appear vi are in. jq thee as they did to him, they might put thee to second thoughts. But consider, again, they are but journeymen thieves ; they serve under the King of the Bottomless Pit, who, if need be, will come in to their aid himself, and his voice is "as the roaring of a Lion.'- i myself have been engaged as this Little-faith was. and I found • Jer. ii. 24. pilgrim's PH0GREB9. 189 it a terrible thing. These three villains set upon christian tells hi« me md I beginning like a Christian to resist, own experience in iht gave but a call and in came their master : I ^^^'" *^^^®- w lid (as the saymg is) have given my life for a penny ; but that, a' Grod would have it, I was clothed with armour of proof. Ay, ? id yet, though I was so harnessed, I found it hard work to quit ■ lyself like a man ; no man can tell what in that combat attends is, but he that hath been in the battle himself. Hope. Well, but they ran, you see, when they did but suppose hat one Great-grace was in the way. Chr. True, they have often fled, both they and their master, Arhen Great-grace hath but appeared ; and no mar- The King's Chain- rel, for he is the King's Champion : but I trow you P'°"' ivill put some difference between Little-faith and the King's Oharopion ! All the King's subjects are not his champions, nor tan they, when tried, do such feats of war as he. Is it meet to •hink that a little child should handle Goliah as David did? or ,hat there should be the strength of an ox in a wren ? Some are jtrong, some are w eak ; some have great faith, some have little : .his man was one of the weak, and therefore he went to the wall. Hope. I would it had been Great-grace, for their sakes. Chr. If it had been he, he might have had his hands full : for I must tell you, that though Great-grace is excellent good at his weapons, and has, and can, so long as he keeps them at sword's point, do well enough with them, yet if they get within him, even Faint-heart, Mistrust, or the other, it shall go hard but they will throw up his heels. And when a man is down, you know, what can he do ? Whoso looks well upon Great-grace's face will see those scars and cuts there that shall easily give demonstration of what I say. Yea, once I heard that he should say, (and that when he was in the combat,) We despaired even of life. How did these sturdy - rogues and their fellows make David groan, mourn, and roar! Yea, Mordecai and Hezekiah too, though champions in their days, were forced to bestir them, when by these assaulted ; and yet, notwith- standing, they had their coats soundly brushed by them. Peter, upon a time, would go try what he could do; but, though some do say of him that he is the prince of the apostles, they handled him so, that they made him at last afraid of a sorry girl. Besides, their King is at their whistle ; he is never out of hearing ; and, if at any time they be put to the worst, he, if possible, comes m to help them : and of him it is said, " The sword Leviathan's sturdi- of him that layeth at him cannot hold ; the spear, "^^^' 190 PILGRIM S ItOGRESS. the dart nor the habergeon. He esteemeth iron as straw, and bras-s as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him fly : sling-stones are turned with him into stubble : darts are counted as stubble ; he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." * What can a man do in The excellent met- this case ? It is true, if a man could at every turn tie that is m Job's have Job's horse, and had skill and courage to ride ^°''^^- him, he might do notable things : for " his neck is clothed with thunder ; he will not be afraid as the grasshopper ; the glory of his nostrils is terrible ; he paweth in the valley, re- joiceth in his strength, and goeth out to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not aflrighted, neither turneth back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage, neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He saith among the trumpets, ' Ha, ha !' and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thundering of the captains, and the shouting." j" But for such footmen as thee and I are, let us never desire to meet with an enemy, nor vaunt as if we could do better, when we hear of others that have been foiled ; nor be tickled at the thoughts of our own manhood ; for such commonly come by the worst when tried. Witness Peter, of whom I made mention before ; he would swagger, ay, he would ; he would, as his vain mind prompted him to say, do better and stand more for his Master than all men ; but who so foiled and run down by these villains as he ! When, therefore, we hear that such robberies are done on the King's highway, two things become us to do; 1. To go out har- nessed, and to be sure to take a shield with us ; for it was for want of that, that he who laid so lustily at Leviathan could not make him yield. For indeed, if that be wanting, he fears us not at all. Tnerefore he that had skill hath said, ^^ Above all, take the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked?''X 2. It is good also that we desire of the King a 7convoy'! ^"^ ^^^^ convoy, yea, that he will go with us himself. This made David rejoice when in the Valley of the Shadow of Death : and Moses was rather for dying where he stood, than to go one step without his God.§ O, my brother ! if He will but go along with us, what need we be afraid of ten thousands that shall set themselves against us l\\ but, without him, the proud helpers fall under the slam.^ I, for my part, have been m the fray before now, and though, * Job xli. 26-29. T Job xxxix. 19, 20. X Eph. vl. 16. § Exod. xxxiii. la I Psalm iil. 6. IT Isaiah x. 4. pilgrim's PKOGKEaS. 191 (thiough the goodness of Him thai is best,) 1 am, as you see, alive, yet I cannot boast of my manhood. Glad shall I be if I meet with no more such brunts; though 1 fear we are not got beyond all danger. Howerer, since the Lion and the Bear have not as yet devoured me, I hope God will also deliver us from the next uncir cumcised Philistine. Then sang Christian : — Poor Little-faith ! hast been among the thieves'? Wast robb'dl Remember this, whoso beheves ; And get more faith ; then shall you victors be Over ten thousand, else scarce over three. So they went on and Ignorance followed. They went, then, till they came at a place where they saw a way ii- • ^ ^1 • J T '^1 1 ^ 1- Aw^ayand a way put Itself into their way, and seemed withal to lie as straight as the way which they should go ; and here they knew not which of the two to take, for both seemed straight before them ; therefore here they stood still to consider: and as they were think- mg about the way, behold a Man, black of flesh, but covered Avith a very light robe, came to them, J^^^^^^'''''' ^'"'^^ and asked them why they stood there? They answered, they were going to the Celestial City, but knew not which of these ways to take. Follow me, said the Man, it is thither that I am going. So they followed him in the way thai but now came into the road, which by degrees turned, and turned them so from the City that they desired to go ^, . . , .,.,. 1 ■ n 1 Christian and his to, that in little time their faces were turned away feUow deiaded. irom it ; yet they followed him. But, by-and-by, before they were aware, he led them both within '^^^f ^^^ ^^^'^'^ "' •' ' a net. the compass of a net, in which they were both so entangled that they knew not what to do ; and with that the white robe fell off the Black Mail's hack; then they saw where they were. Wherefore there they lay some time, for they could not get themselves out. Then said Christian to his fellow. Now do I see myself in an error. Did not the Shepherds bid us conditio^T^' beware of the Flatterer ? As is the saying of the wise man, so we have found it this day, " A man that flattereth his neighbour spread eth a net for his feet."* Hope. They also gave us a Note of Directions about the way for our more certain finding thereof; but therein we have also for gotten to read, and have not kept ourselves from the paths of the Destroyer. Here David w\t,s wiser than we : for, sailh he, " Con [Filgnras ill the Net.j cerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips, I have kept me from the paths of the Destroyer."* Thus they lay bewailing them- selves m the net. At last they espied a Shining A Shining One ^ . , , • i i • r- 1 1 comes to them One coming towards them, with a whip oi small with a whip in hia cords in his hand. When he was come to the '^^"'*- place where they were, he asked them. Whence they came, and what they did there ? They told him, that they were poor Pilgrims going to Zion, but were led out of their way by a Black Man, clothed in white, who bid us, said they, folloiv him, for he was going thither too. Then said he with the whip. It is Flatterer, a false apostle, that hath transformed himself into an angel of light :t so he rent the net, and let the men out. Then said he to them, Follow me, that I may set you in your way again ; so he led them back to the way they had left to follow the Flatterer. They are examin- Then he asked them, saying. Where did you lie ed, and convicted the last night? They said, with the Shepherds of forgetfuiness. ^^^^ ^he Delectable Mountains. He asked them then, if they had not a Note of Directions for the way ? They answered, Yes. But did you not, said he, when you were at a stand, pluck out and read your note? They answered. No. He asked them, Why ? They said, they forgot. He asked, moreover, * Psalm x\-ii. 1 ^200^ xi. 13, li 192 PILGRIM S PROGRESS. 192 If the Shepherds did not bid them beware of the Flatterer ? They answered, Yes ; but we did not imagine, said they, qq^.^-^^,^^^ A^e that this fine-spoken man had been he. spoken. Then I saw in my dream, that he commanded They are whippett them to lie down ; which when they did, he chas- and sent on theii tised them sore, to teach them the good way ^^y- wherein they should walk.* And as he chastised them, he said, " As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten ; be zealous, therefore, and repent."-\ This done, he bids them go on their way, and take good heed to the other directions of the Shepherds. So they thanked him for his kindness, and went softly along the right way, singing : — Come hither, you that walk along the way, See how the Pilgrims fare that go astray ; They catched are in an entangled net, 'Cause they good counsel lightly did forget. *Tis true, they rescued were : but yet, you see, They're scourged to boot : let this your caution be. Now, after a while, they perceived, afar off, one commg softly and alone, all along the highway, to meet them. Then said Chris- tian to his fellow, Yonder is a man with his back towards Zion, and he is coming to meet us. Hope. I see him: let us take heed to ourselves now, lest he should prove a Flatterer also. So he drew nearer, and at last came up to them. His name was The^^theist meets Atheist, and he asked them, Whither they were going? CTir. We are going to mount Zion. Then Atheist fell into a very great laughter. Chr. What's the meaning of your laughter ? Ath. I laugh to see what ignorant persons you are, to take upon ou so tedious a journey, and yet are like to have nothing but your idvel for your pams. Chr. Why, man ! do you think we shall not be They reason to- eceived? s^'^«^- Ath. Received I There is not such a place as you dream of in all this World. Chr. But there is m the World to come. Ath. When I was at home in mine own country, I heard as you now affirm ; and, from that hearing, went out to see, and have been seeking this City these twenty years, but find no more of it than I did the first day I set out.J * Deut. XXV. 2. 2Ccr. iv, 17. t.Rev, iii 19 t Eccl. x. 15. 17 » He laughs at them. 194 pilgrim's progress. Chr. We have both heard, and heheve tnat tnere is such a plac? to be found. The Atheist takes ^^^' ^^^ ^°^ ^j when at home, believed, I had up bis content in not come thus far to seek ; but finding none, (and this world. jqi J should, had there been such a place to be found, for I have gone to seek it farther than you,) I am going back again, and will seek to refresh myself with the things that I then cast away, for hopes of that which I now see is not. Christian proveth Then said Christian to Hopeful, his companion, hi3 brother. Is it true which this man hath said ? Hope. Take heed, he is one of the Flatterers ; Hopeful's gracious ^^^^^^^^^ ^j^^t it hath cost US once already for answer. our hearkening to such kind of fellows. What ! no mount Zion ! Did we not see from the Delectable Mountains the Gate of the City ? Also, are we not now to walk by faith ? Let us go on, lest the man with the whip overtake formed Xs'tisl ^« ^g^^^' . ^ou should have taught me that lesson, ments is a help which I will round you in the ears withal: " Ceasc, against present ^^ gQ^^ fQ Jieav the instruction that causeth to temp a ions. ^^^ from the words of knowledge?'''^ I say, my brother, cease to hear him, and let us "believe to the saving of the soul."t Chr. My brother, I did not put the question to thee for that I doubted of the truth of our belief myself, but to prove thee, and to A fruit of an hon- fetch from thee a proof of the honesty of thy heart. est heart. As for this man, I know that he is blinded by the god of this world. Let thee and I go on, knowing that we have belief of the truth, and " no lie is of the truth." % Hope. Now do I rejoice in hope of the glory of God. So they turned away from the man, and he, laughing at them, went his way. They coins to the I then saw in my dream, that they went on until enchanted ground, they Came into a certain country, whose air nat- urally tended to make one drowsy, if he came a stranger into it. . And here Hopeful began to be very dull and heavy to sleep ; Hopeful begins to wherefore he said unto Christian, I do now begin be drowsy. to grow SO drowsy, that I can scarcely hold open mine eyes ; let us lie down here, and take one nap. Christian keeps By no means, said the other, lest, sleeping, we Uim awake. never awake more. Hope. Why, my brother ? Sleep is sweet to the labouring man ; we may be refreshed, if we take a nap. * Prov. xix. 27. ^ Heb. x. 39. t 1 John ii. 21. ^ pilgrim's phogress. 195 Chr. Do you not remember that one of the Shepherds bid us beware of the Enchanted Ground ? He meant by that, that we should beware of sleeping : " Wherefore, let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober." * Hope. I acknowledge myself in a fault : and had „ . ^ , ^ , r -, ^ 1 T 1 1 1 •. • IT He IS thankful I been here alone, I had, by sleeping, run the dan- /«er of death. I see it is true that the wise man saith, " Two are better than one." f Hitherto hath thy company been my mercy ; and thou shalt have a good reward for thy labour. Now then, said Christian, to prevent drowsi Good discourse ness in this place, let us 'fall into good dis- P^eventeih drowsi- •^ ■' " ness. course. With all my heart, said the other. Chr. Where shall we begin ? Hope. Where God began with us. But do you begin, if you please. Chr. I will sing you first this song : — Wlien saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither, And hear how these two Pilgrims taUc together ; The dream- Yea, let them learn of them in any wise er's note. Thus to keep ope their drowsy slumb'ring eyes. Saints' fellowship, if it be managed well, Keeps them awake, and that in spite of heU. Then Christian began and said, I will ask you They begin at the a question: How came you to think at first of do- beginning of their ^ •' conversion. mg as you do now? Hope. Do you mean how I came at first to lOok after the good of my soul ? Chr. Yes, that is my meaning. Hope. I continued a great while in the delight of those things which were seen and sold at our Fair ; things which I believe now would have, had I continued in them still, drowned me in perdition and destruction. Chr. What things were tney ? Hope. All the treasures and riches of the world. Hopeful's life bu. Also I delighted much m noting, revelling, drinking, fore conversion, swearing, lying, uncleanness. Sabbath-breaking, and what not, that tended to destroy the soul. But I found at last, by hearing and considering of things that are divine, which indeed I heard of you, as also of beloved Faithful that was put to death, for his faith and good living, in Vanity-fair, " that the end of these things is death; % and that, " for these things' sake, the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience." § • 1 Tliess. V. 6. 1 Eocl. iv. 9. t Rom ri. 21-23. § Eph v 6. 196 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. Chr. And did you presently fall under the power of this cott' viction? Hopeful at first - Hope. No ; I was not willing presently to kno^ Bhuts his eyes the evil of sin, nor the damnation that follows upon against the light. ^.j^g commission of it; but endeavoured, when my mind at first began to be shaken with the word, to shut my eyes against the light thereof. Chr. But what was the cause of your carrying of it thus to the first workings of God's blessed Spirit upon you? Reasons of his re- Hofe. The causes were, 1. I was ignorant that sisting the light. this was the work of God upon me. I never thought that, by awakenings for sin, God at first begins the conversion of a sinner. 2. Sin was yet very sweet to my flesh, and I was loath to leave it. 3. I could not tell how to part with mine old companions, their presence and actions were so desirable unto me. 4. The hours in which convictions came upon me were such troublesome and such heart-aJOTrighting hours, that I could not bear, no, not so much as the remembrance of them upon my heart. Chr. Then, as it seems, sometimes you got rid of your trouble ? Hope. Yes, verily ; but it would come into my mind again, and then I should be as bad, nay, worse than I was before. Chr. Why, what was it that brought your sins to mind again ? When he had lost ^^V^' ^any things ; as, the sense of sin, 1. If I did but meet a good man in the streets ; or,, what brought it 2. If I have heard any read in the Bible j or, 3. If mine head did begin to ache ; or, 4. If I were told that some of my neighbours were sick; oi, 5. If I heard the bell toll for some that were dead ; or, 6. If I thought of dying myself; or, 7. If I heard that sudden death happened to others : 8. But especially when I thought of myself, that I must quickly come to judgment. Chr. And could you, at any time, with ease, get off the guilt of sin. when by any of these ways it came upon you ? Hope. No, not I : for then they got faster hold of my conscience. And then, if I did but think of going back to sin, (though my mind was turned against it,) it would be double torment to me. When he could no Chr. And how did you then? longer shake oflfhi^s jj^^^^ j thought I must endeavour to mend my feMh'enhfendea- life; or else, thought I, I am sure to be damned, vours to mend. Chr. And did you endeavour to mend ? Hope. Yes ; and fled from not only my sins, but sinful company too, and betook me to religious duties, as praying, reading, weeping pilgrim''s progress. 107 for sin, speaking truth to my neighbours, &c. These things did I, with many others, too much here to relate. Chr. And did you think yourself well then ? Hope. Yes, for a while ; but at the last my trouble Then he thought came tumbling upon me again, and that over the himself well. neck of all my reformations. Chr. How came that about, since you were now reformed 1 Hope. There were several things that brought Reformation at .as-. It upon me, especially such sayings as these : " All could not help, and our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." * " By the works of the law no man shall he justified.'^'' f " Wlien ye have done all these things, say we are unprofitable ;''"' % with many more such like. From whence I began to reason with myself thus : If all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags ; if, by the deeds of the law, no man can be justified -, and if, when we have done all, we are yet unprofitable, then it is but folly to think of Heaven bv the Law. I farther thought thus : If a man runs „. , . , ■. •■ 1 • 111 111 1 Hi^ bemg a debtor a hundred pounds mto the shopkeepers debt, and to the law troubled after that shall pay for all that he shall fetch, yet Wm. if his old debt stand still in the book uncrossed, the shopkeeper may sue him for it, and cast him into prison, till he shall pay the debt. Chr. Well, and how did you apply this to yom-self ? Hope. Why I thought thus with myself: I have by my sins run a great way into God's book, and that my now reforming will not pay off that score; therefore I should think still, under all my present amendments, but how shall I be freed from that damnation that I brought myself in danger of by my foi-mer transgressions ? Chr. A very good application : but pray go on Hope. Another thmg that hath troubled me ever His espying bad since my late amendments is, that if I look nar- things in his besdu- rowly into the best of what I do now, I still see ^^^ ^°" ^ ^ sin, new sin, mixing itself with the best of that I do ; so that now I am forced to conclude, that, notwithstanding my former fond conceits of myself and duties, I have committed sin enough in o e day to send me to hell, though my former life had been faultless. Clir. And what did you then ? Hope. Do '2 I could not tell what to do, until I broke my mind to Faithful ; for he and I were break Ss mind to well acquainted : and he told me, that unless I Faithful, who told could obtain the Righteousness of a Man that never ^'"^ ^^^ ^*y ^ ^^ had sinned, neither mine own, nor all the right- eousness of the world could save me. • Isaiah Ixiv. 6. tGalii. 16 tLuk xvil. 7* 103 PlLGRlM^S PROGRESS. Chr. Aud did you think he spake true ? Hope. Had he told me so when I was pleased and satisfied with mine own amendments, I had called him fool for his pains but now, since I see mine own infirmity, and the sin which cleaves to my best performance, I have been forced to be of his opinion. Chr. But did you think, when at first he suggested it to yoii, rhat there was such a Man to be found, of whom it might justly be said, that he never committed sin ? Hope. I must confess the words at first sounded ed I[pl?senJ'^"" Strangely j but, after a little more talk and company with him, I had full conviction about it. Chr. And did you ask him what man this was, and how you must be justified by him ? Hope. Yes ; and he told me it was the Lord Jesus, that dwel- leth on the right hand of the Most High.* And thus said he, you A more particular ^^^^^ ^^ justified by him, even by trusting to what discovery of the he hath done by himself in the days of his Flesh, way to be saved. ^-^-^^ sufiered, when he did hang on the tree. I asked him further. How that Man's Righteousness could be of such efficacy as to justify another before God ? And he told me, he was the mighty God, and did what he did, and died the death also, not for himself, but for me ; to whom his doings, and the worthiness of them, should be imputed, if I believed on him. C%r. And what did you do then 1 Hope. I made my objections against my believ- He doubts of ac ^ ^^^ ^^^^ j thought He was uot willing to save ceptation. °' ° ^ me. Chr. And what said Faithful to you then ? Hope. He bade me go to Him and see. Then 1 *rucTed ^"^^ ^^" ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ presumption. He said, No ; for I was invited to come.f Then he gave me a book of Jesus his inditing, to encourage me the more freely to come ; and he said, concerning that book. That every jot and tittle thereof stood firmer than heaven and earth.| Then I asked him, What 1 must do when I came ? and he told me, I must entreat upon my knees,§ with all my heart and soul, the Father to reveal Him to me. Then I asked him further. How I must make my supplica tions to Him ?ii And he said. Go, and thou shalt find Him upon a Mercy-Seat -^ where he sits all the year long, to give pardon and forgiveness to them that come. I told him that I knew not whal * Heb. X. Rom. iv. 2.5. Col. i. 14. I Pet. i. 19. t Matth. xi. 28. t Ibid. xxiv. 35. SPsalmxcv. 6. Dan. vi. 10. D Jer. xxix. 12, 13. IT Exod. xxv. 22. pilgrim's progress. 199 10 say when I came. And he bid me say to this effect, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" and make me know and believe in Jesus Christ : for I see, that if his Righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that Righteous- ness, I am utterly cast away. Lord ! I have heard that thou art f merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus Christ should be the Saviour of the world ; and, moreover, that thou art willing to bestow him upon such a poor smner as I am, (and I am a sinner indeed !) Lord ! take therefore this opportunity, and magnify thy grace in the salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen. Chr. And did you do as you were bidden ? Hope. Yes ; over, and over, and over. He prays. Chr. And did the Father reveal the Son to you ? Hope. No ; not at fnst, nor second, nor third, nor fourth, not fifth; no, nor at the sixth time neither. Chr. What did you then 1 Hope. What ! why, I could not tell what to do. Chr. Had you no thoughts of leaving off praying ? Hope. Yes; and a hundred times twice told. He thought to leave Chr. And what was the reason you did not ? off praying. Hope. I believed that it was true which hath been told me, to wit. That, without the Righteousness of this Christ, all the world could not save me; and therefore, thought I with He durst not leave myself, if I leave off, I die, and I can but die at the off praying, and Throne of Grace. And withal this came into my '^^y- mind, "If it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, and will not tarry." So I continued praying, until the Father showed me his Son. Chr. And how was he revealed unto you ?* Hope. I did not see him with my bodily eyes, but with the eyes of mine understanding. And to him, and^how.^ thus it was : One day I was very sad, I think, sadder than at any one time in my life ; and this sadness was through a fresh sight of the greatness and vileness of my sins ; and as I was then looking for nothing but Hell, and the everlasting damnation of my soul, suddenly, as I thought, I saw the Lord Jesus look down from heaven upon me, and saying, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."! But I replied, Lord ! I am a great, a very great sinner ! and he answered, " My grace is sufficient for thee."± Then I said, But, Lord ! what is believing ? And then I saw from that saying, " He • Eph. i. 18. 19. * Acts xvi, 31. t 2 Cor. xii. 9. 200 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. that Cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst,"* that believing and coming was all one; and that he that came, that is, ran out in his heart and aiffections after salvation by Christ, he indeed believed in Christ. Then the water stood in mine eyes ; and I asked further, But, Lord ! may such a great sinner as I am be mdeed accepted of thee, and be saved by thee ? And I heard him say, " And him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out."'\ Then I said, But how. Lord ! must I con- sider of thee in my coming to thee, that my faith may be placed aright upon thee ? Then he said, " Christ came into the world to save sinners.^^X " ^^ ^'^ ^^^ ^^^ ^f ^^^ ^'^'^ fo'^ righteous- ness to every one that believes.^^^ "jHe died for our sins, and rose again for our justification.''''^ " He loved us, and washed Its from our sins in his own blood."^ " He is Mediator be- twixt God and usP'^'^ ^^ He ever liveth to make intercession for •Ms."tt From all which I gathered, that I must look for right- eousness in his person, and for satisfaction for my sins by his blood j that what he did in obedience to his Father's law, and in submit- ting to the penalty thereof, was not for himself, but for him that will accept it for his salvation, and be thankful. And now was my heart full of jay, mine eyes full of tears, and mine affections running over with love to the name, people, and ways of Jesus Christ. Chr. This was a revelation of Christ to your soul indeed ! But tell me particularly what effect this had upon your spirit. Hope. It made me see that all the world, notwithstanding all the righteousness thereof, is in a state of condemnation. It made me see that God the Father, though he be just, can justly justify the coming sinner. It made me greatly ashamed of the vileness of my former life, and confounded me with the sense of mine own ignorance j for there never came a thought into my heart before now, that showed me so the beauty of Jesus Christ. It made me love a holy life, and long to do something for the honour and glory of the name of the Lord Jesus ; yea, I thought, that had I now a thousand gallons of blood in my body, I could spill it all for the sake of the Lord Jesus. I saw then, in my dream, that Hopeful looked back, and saw Ignorance, whom they had left behind, coming after. — Look, said he to Christian, how far yonder youngster loitereth behind ! Chr. Ay, Ay, I see him, he careth not for our company. • John vi. 35. t Ibid. 37. 1 1 Tim. i. 15. § Rom. x. 4 i Ibid. iv. 25 » Rev. i. 5. •* 1 Tim. ii. 5. tt Heb, vii. 25. pilgrim's progress. 201 Hope. But I trow it would not 2iave hurt him, had he kept pace with us hitherto. Chr. That is true ; but I'll warrant you he thinketh otherwise Hope. That I think he doth ; but, however, let us tarry for him — So they did. Then Christian said to him, Come away, man ; 1 J X 1, I-' J o Young Ignorance why do you stay so behmd ? ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^g^i„_ Ign. I take my pleasure in walking alone, even . more a great deal than in company, unless I like it the better. Then said Christian to Hopeful, (but softly,) Did I not tell you he cared not for our company ? But, however, said he, come up, and let us talk away the time in this solitary place. Then direct- ing his speech to Ignorance, he said, Come, how do you do ? How stands it between God and your soul now ? Ign. I hope well 5 for I am always full of good ^^^^^^^^,^ hope, motions, that come into my mind to comfort me as and the ground of I walk. it- Chr. What good motions ? Pray tell us. Jgn. Why, I think of God and heaven. Chr. So do the devils, and damned souls. Ign. But I think of them, and desire them. Chr. So do many that are never like to come there. " The soui of the sluggard desires and hath nothing."* Ign. But I think of them, and leave all for them. Chr. That I doubt ; for to leave all is a very hard matter, yea, a harder matter than many are aware of. But why, or for what, art thou persuaded that thou hast left all for God and heaven ? Ign. My heart tells me so. Chr. The wise man says, " He that tmsts his own heart is a fool.''t Ign. That is spoken of an evil heart, but mine is a good one. Chr. But how dost thou prove that 1 Ign. It comforts me in hopes of heaven. Chr. That may be through its deceitfulness ; for a man's heart may minister comfort to him, in the hopes of that thing for which he has yet no ground to hope. Ign. But my heart and life agree together ; and therefore my hope is well grounded. Chr. Who told thee that thy heart and life agree together ? Ign. My heart tells me so. Chr. Ask my fellow if I be a thief? Thy heart tells thee so! * Prov. xiii. 4. +Prov. xxviii. 26. 202 pilgrim's PR0GRES3. Except the Word of God beareth witness in this matter, other tes- timony is of no value. Ign. But is It not a good heart that hath good thoughts ? And IS not that a good life that is according to God's commandments 'J Chr. Yes; that is a good heart that hath good thoughts, and that is a good life that is according to God's commandments ; but it is one thing indeed to have these, and another thing only to think so. Ign. Pray, what count you good thoughts, and a life according to God's commandments ? Chr. There are good thoughts of divers kinds : some respecting ourselves, some God, some Christ, and some other things. What are good Ign. What be good thoughts respecting our- thoughts. selves ? Ckr. Such as agree with the Word of God. Ign. When do our thoughts of ourselves agree with the Word of God? Chr. When we pass the same judgment upon ourselves, which the Word passes. To explain myself, the Word of God saith of persons in a natural condition, " There is none righteous, there is none that doth good.'''' * It saith also, " That every imagination of the heart of man is only evil, and that continually.'''' f And again, " The imagination of mail's heart is evil from his youth.'''' X Now, then, when we think thus of ourselves, having sense thereof, then are our thoughts good ones, because according to the Word of God. Ign. I will never believe that my heart is thus bad. Chr. Therefore thou never hadst one good thought concerning thyself in thy life. But let me go on. As the Word passeth a judgment upon our hearts, so it passeth a judgment upon our ways ; and when the thoughts of our hearts and ways agree with the judgment which the Word giveth of both, then are both good, be- cause agreeing thereto. Ign. Make out your meaning. Chr. Why, the Word of God saith, that " man's ways are crooked ways :" § " not good, but perverse." H It saith, they are naturally out of the good way, that they have not known it. T]" Now, when a man thus thinketh of his ways, I say when he doth sensibly, and with heart-humiliation, thus think, then hath he good thoughts of his own wavs, because his thoughts now agree with the judgment of the Word of God. Ign. What are good thoughts concerniog God ? * Rom. iii. 10. t Gen. vi. 5. t Ibid. viii. 21. § P.«alm cxxv. 5. II Frov. ii. 1.5. ITRqm. iii. 1^ PILGRIM'S PUOGRESS. 203 CTir. Even as I have said concerning ourselves, when our thoughts of God do agree with what the Word saith of him ; and that is, when we think of his Being and Attributes as the Word hath taught; of which I cannot now discoui'se at large. But to speak of him with reference to us : then have we right thoughts of God, when we think that he knows us better than we know ourselves, and can see sin in us, when and where we can see none in our- selves ; Vv^hen we think he knows our inmost thoughts, and that our heart, with all its depths, is always open unto his eyes ; also when we think that all our righteousness stinks in his nostrils, and that therefore, he cannot abide to see us stand before him in any confidence, even in all our best performances. Ign. Do you think that I am such a fool as to think that God can see no farther than I ? or that I would come up to God in the best of my performances ? Chr. Why, how dost thou think in this matter ? Ign. Why, to be short, I think I must believe in Christ for justi- fication. Chr. How ! Think thou must believe in Christ, when thou seest not thy need of him 1 Thou neither seest thy original nor actual infirmities ; but hast such an opinion of thyself, and of what thou dost, as plainly renders thee to be one that did never see the neces- sity of Christ's Personal Righteousness to justify thee before God. How then dost thou say, I believe in Christ. Ign. I believe well enough for all that. Chr. How dost thou believe ? Ign. I believe that Christ died for sinners; and The faith oflgao- that I shall be justified before God from the curse, ''ance. through his gracious acceptance of my obedience to his law. Or thus, Christ makes my duties that are religious acceptable to his Father by virtue of his merits ; and so shall I be justified. Chr. Let me give an answer to this confession of thy faith. 1. Thou believest with a fantastical faith ; for this faith is no- jrhere described in the Word. 2. Thou believest with a false faith ; because it taketh justifica- lon from the Personal Righteousness of Christ, and applies it to hy own. 3. This faith maketh not Christ a justifier of thy person, but of thy actions ; and of thy person for thy action's sake, which is false. 4. Therefore this faith is deceitful, even such as will leave thee ander Avrath in the day of God Almighty. For true justifying faith puts the soul, as sensible of its lost condition by the law, apon flying for refuge unto Christ's Righteousness ; (which right- 204 PILGRIM S PROGRESS, eousnesss of nis is not an act of grace, by which he maketh, fof justification, thy obedience accepted with God ; but his personal obedience to the law, in doing and suffering for us what that re- quired at our hands.) This righteousness, I say, true faith ac- cepteth ; under the skirt of which the soul being shrouded, and by it presented as spotless before God, it is accepted and acquitted from condemnation. Ign. What ! would you have us trust to what Christ in his own person hath done without us ? This conceit would loosen the reins of our lusts, and tolerate us to live as we list. For what matter how we live, if we may be justified by Christ's Personal Righteous- ness from all, when we believe it ? Chr. Ignorance is thy name, and, as thy name is, so art thou ; even this thy answer demonstrateth what I say. Ignorant thou art of what justifying righteousness is, and as ignorant how to secure thy soul, through the faith of it, from the heavy wrath of God. Yea, thou also art ignorant of the true effects of saving faith in this Righteousness of Christ; which is to bow and win over the heart to God in Christ, to love his name, his word, ways, and people ; and not as thou ignorantlp imaginest. Hope. Ask him, if ever he had Christ revealed to him from heaven 1 Ignorance jangles ■fg'^- What! you are a man for revelations ! I do with them. believe, that what both you, and all the rest of you, say about that matter, is but the fruit of distracted brains. Hope. Why, man ! Christ is so hid in God from the natural ap- prehension of the flesh, that he cannot by any man be savingly known, unless God the Father reveals him to him. He speaks re- ^S"^' That is your faith, but not mine ; yet mine, proachfuUy ofwhat I doubt not, IS as good as yours, though I have not h^ knows not. j^ jj^y T^ead SO many whimsies as you. Chr. Give me leave to put in a word : you ought not so slightly to speak of this matter ; for this I will boldly affirm, even as my good companion hath done, that no man can know Jesus Christ but by the revelation of the Father ; yea, faith too, by which the soul lay- eth hold upon Christ, if it be right, must be wrought by the ex- ceeding greatness of his mighty power: the working of which faith, I perceive, poor Ignorance, thou art ignorant of Be awakened, then ; see thine own wretchedness, and fly to the Lord Jesus ; and by his righteousness, which is the righteousness of God, (for He himself is God,) thou shalt be delivered from condemna- tion.* ' Matth. xi. 28. Eph.i. 18. 19. pilgrim's progress. 20.' Ign YoM go so fast I cannot keep pace with ^he talk broke «p you: do you go on before; I must stay a while behind. Then they said : — Well, Ignorance, wilt thou yet foolish be, To slight good counsel ten times given thee % And if thou yet refuse it, thou shalt know, Ere long, the evil of thy doing so. Remember, man, in time ; stoop, do not fear ; Good counsel, taken weU, saves ; therefore hear ! But if thou yet shall slight it, thou wilt be The loser, Ignorance, I'll warrant thee ! Then Christian addressed himself thus to his fellow: WeH come, my good Hopeful, I perceive that thou and I must walk b) ourselves again. So I saw in my dream, that they went on apace before, and Ignorance he came hobbling after. Then said Christian to his companion, It pities me much for this poor man ; it will certainly go hard with him at last. Hope. Alas ! there are abundance in our town m this condition: whole families, yea, whole streets, and that of Pilgrims too ; and if there be so many in our parts, how many, think you, must there be m the place where he was born? Chr. Indeed, the Word saith, " He hath blinded their eyes, lest they should see," &c. But, now we are by ourselves, what do you think of such men ? Have they at no time, think you, con- victions of sin, and so consequently, fears that their state is dan- gerous 1 Hope. Nay, do you answer that question yourself, for you are the elder man. CJtr. Then I say, sometimes, (as I think,) they may ; but they, being naturally ignorant, understand not that such convictions tend to their good ; and therefore they do desperately seek to stifle them, and presumptuously continue to flatter themselves in the way of their own hearts. Hope. I do believe, as you say, that fear tends much to men's good, and to make them right at ^^^^ ^°° ^^^ ^ their beginning to go on pilgrimage. Chr. Without all doubt it doth, if it be right : for so says the Word, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."* Hope. How will you describe right fear ? Chr. True or right fear is discovered by three „. ^ ^ , ^ ^ Right fear, things. * Job. xzviii. 28, Psalm cxi. 10. Prov. i. 7.— ix. 10. 18 206 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 1. By Its rise ; it is caused by saving convictions for sin. 2. It driveth the soul to lay fast hold of Christ for salvatioti, 3. It begetteth and continueth in the soul a great reverence of God, his Word, and ways, keeping it tender, and making it afraid to turn from them to the right hand, or to the left, to any thing that may dishonour God, break its peace, grieve the Spirit, or cause the enemy to speak reproachfully. Hope. Well said ; I believe you have said the truth. Are we now almost got past the Enchanted Ground ? C/ir. Why, are you weary of this discourse ? Hope. No, verily, but that I would know where we are. Chr. We have not now above two miles farther to go thereon, v/hv iTisgoodtocryout m at which they came, their voice was heard, from when we are as- whence they were, thither ; wherefore some of the sauited. House came out, and knowing that it was Christiana's tongue, they made haste to her relief. But by that they were The Reliever got within sight of them, the women were in a very comes. great scuffle ; the children also stood crying by. Then did he that came in for their relief call out to the ruffians, saying. What is that thing you do ? Would you make my Lord's people to transgress ? He also attempted to take them, but they did make The iU ones fly to their escape over the wall into the Garden of the the devil for reUe£ man to whom the great dog belonged ; so the dog became their protector. This Reliever then came up to the Woman, and asked them how they did? So they answered, we thank thy Prince, pretty well ; only we have been somewhat affrighted ; we thank thee also for that thou earnest in to our help, otherwise we had been overcome. So, after a few more words, this Reliever said i" n it, T n J I- 1, The Reliever talks as followeth ; I marvelled much, when you was j^ ^-^^ women, entertained at the Gate above, being ye knew that ye are but weak women, that you petitioned not the Lord for a Conductor. Then might you have avoided these troubles and iangers : for he would have granted you one. Alas ! said Christiana, we were so taken with our ., , , . , T . ^ ■, r. Mark this present blessing, that dangers to come were forgot- ten by us. Beside, who could have thought that, so near the King's Palace, there could have lurked such naughty ones ? Indeed, it nad been well for us had we asked our Lord for one ; but since our Lord knew it would be for our profit, I wonder he sent not one along with us. Rel. It is not always necessary to grant things not asked for * Dent. xxii. 23, 26, 27. 248 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. lest, by so doing, they become of little esteem ,• ut ^asWngfor^^' when the Want of a thing is felt, it then comes under, in the eyes of him that feels it, that estimate that properly is its due, and so consequently will be thereafter used. Had my Lord granted you a Conductor, you would not either so have bewailed that oversight of yours in not asking for one, as now you have occasion to do. So all things work for good, and tend to make you more wary. Chr. Shall we go back again to my Lord, and confess our folly, and ask one ? Rel. Your confession of your folly I will present him with. To go back again, you need not ; for, in all places where you shall come, you shall find no want at all ; for in every one of my Lord's lodgings, which he has prepared for the reception of his Pilgrims, there is sufficient to furnish them against all attempts whatsoever. But, as I said, " He will be inquired of by them to do it for them."* And 't is a poor thing that is not worth asking for. When he had thus said, he went back to his place, and the Pilgrims went on their way. Then said Mercy, What a sudden blank is here ! Mercy!*^ ^ ^ ° I made account that we had been past all danger and that we should never see sorrow more. ^ . . , ., Thy innocency, my sister, said Christiana to Christiana's guilt. ,^ ^t. i i. ^ ^ Mercy, may excuse thee much ; but as for me, my fault is so much the greater, for that I saw this danger before I came out of the doors, and yet did not provide for it when provision might have been had. I am much to be blamed. Then said Mercy, How knew you this before you came from home ? Pray, open to me this riddle. Clir. Why, I will tell you : Before I set foot out STeafeT''*^''^™ of doors, one night, as I lay in my bed, I had a dream about this ; for methought I saw two men, as like these as ever any in the world could look, stand at my bed's feet, plotting how they might prevent my salvation. I will tell you their very words : They said ('t was when I was in my trou- bles,) What shall we do with this Woman ? for she cries out, waking and sleeping, for forgiveness. If she be suffered to go on as she begins, we shall lose her as we have lost her Husband. This, you know, might have made me take heed, and have provided when provision might have been had. Mercy makes good Well, said Mercy, as by this neglect, we have use of their neg- an occasion ministered unto us to behold our own lect of duty. imperfections, so our Lord has taken occasion there- * Ezek. xxxvi. 37. pilgrim's progress. 249 by to make manifest the riches of his grace : for he, as we see, has followed us with unasked kindness, and has delivered us from their hands that were stronger than we, of his mere good pleasure. Thus now, when they had talked away a little more time, they drew near to a House which stood in the Way, which House was built for the relief of Pilgrims, as you will find more fully related m the First Part of these Records of the Pilgrim'' s Progress. So they drew on towards the House, (the House of the „ T ^ XII I 11 , Talk in the Inter- Interpreter ;) and when they came tc the door, they preter's House a- heard a great talk in the House ; then they gave bout Christiana's ear, and heard, as they thought, Christiana men- ^'j^^ on piigrim- tioned hy name ; for you must know that there went along, even before her, a talk of her and her children's going on pilgrimage. And this was the more pleasing to them, because they had heard that she was Christian's wife, that woman who was, some time ago, so unwilling to hear of going on pilgrimage. Thus, therefore, they stood still, and heard the good people within com- mending her, who, they little thought, stood at the ci, ^ t h* door. At last Christiana knocked, as she had done at door, at the Gate before. Nowwhen she had knocked, there ry., . , ' 1 he door IS opened came to the door a young damsel, and opened the to tiiem by inno- door, and looked, and behold, two women were there, '^^'^t. Then said the damsel to them, With whom would you speak in this place ? Christiana answered, We understand that this is a privileged place for those that are become Pilgrims, and we now at this dooi are such; wherefore we pray that we may be partakers of that for which we at this time are come ; for the day, as thou seest, is very far spent, and we are loath to-night to go any further. Damsel. Pray, what may I call your name, that I may tell it to my Lord within ? Chr. My name is Christiana ; I was the wife of that Pilgrim that some years ago did travel this way ; and these be his four children. This Maiden also is my companion, and is going on pilgrimage too. Then Innocent ran in, (for that was her name,) and said to those within, Can you think who is at the door ? There is Christiana and her children, and her companion, all waiting for entertainment here. ^ Then they leaped for joy, and went and , .' told their Master. So he came to the door, and, theVn^terpreterThat ooking upon her, he said, Art thou that Christiana Christiana is turn- whom Christian the good Man left behind him ^^ Pilgrim. when he betook himself to a Pilgrim's life ? 250 PILGRIMS PROGRESS. Chr. I am that Woman that was so hard-hearted as to slight my Husband's troubles, and that left him to go on his journey alone ; and these are his four children: but now I also am come ; for I am convmced that no way is right but this. Int. Then is fulfilled that which is written of the man that said to his son, " Go, work to-day in my vineyard ;" and he said to his father, " I will not ; but afterward repented and went."* Then said Christiana, So be it. Amen. God make it a true say- ing upon me, and grant that I may be found at the last of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Int. But why standest thou thus at the door ? Come in, thou daughter of Abraham : we are talking of thee but now ; for tidings have come to us before, how thou art become a Pilgrim. Come, Children, come in ; come Maiden, come in ! So he had them all into the house. So, when they were within, they were bidden to sit down and rest them ; the which when they had done, those that attended upon Old saints glad to ^^® Pilgrims in the House came into the room to see the young ones see them. And one smiled, and another smiled, walk in God's ways, ^nd they all smiled, for joy that Christiana was become a Pilgrim ; they also looked upon the boys ; they stroked them over their faces with the hand, in token of their kind recep- tion of them; they also carried it lovingly to Mercy, and bid them all welcome into their Master's House. After a while, because supper was not ready, the The Significant Interpreter took them into his Significant room,s, and showed them what Christian, Christiana's hus- band, had seen some time before. Here therefore, they saw the Man in the Cage, the Man and his Dream, the Man that cut his way through his Enemies, and the Picture of the biggest of them all, together with the rest of those things that were then so profit- able to Christian. This done, and after those things had been somewhat digested by Christiana and her company, the Interpreter takes them apart Th with ^g^i^j ^^d has them first into a room where was a the Muck-rake ex- man that could look no way but downward, with pounded. ^ Muck-Rake in his hand : there stood also one over his head, with a Celestial Crown in his hand, and proffered him that Crown for his Muck-Rake ; but the man did neither look up nor regard, but raked to himself the straws, the small sticks, and dust of the floor. Then said Christiana, I persuade myself that I know somewhat ^=^ [The Man with the Muck-Rake.] the meaning of this ; for this is a figure of a man of this world : la it not, good sir ? Thou hast said the right, said he, and his Muck-Rake doth show his carnal mind. And whereas thou seest him rather give heed to rake up straws, and sticlis, and the dust of the floor, than to do what he says that calls to him from above, with the Celestial Crown in his hand, it is to show that heaven is but as a fable to some, and that things here are counted the only things substantial. Now, whereas it was also showed thee that the man could look no way but downward, it is to let thee know that earthly things, Avhen they are with power upon men's minds, quite carry their hearts away from God. ^^ . . mi • 1 ^1 • • /-Mill p 1 • Christiana's prayer Then said Christiana, Oh! deliver me from this against the Muck, Muck-Rake. Rake. 251 252 PILGRfAfrf PROGRESS. That prayer, said the Interpreter, has lain by till it is almost rusty; '■'■Give me not riche.9,^^* is scarce the prayer of one of ten thousand. Straws, and sticks, and dust, with most are the great things now looked after. With that Christiana and Mercy wept and said, It is, alas ! too true. When the Interpreter had showed them this, he had them into the very best room in the house ; (a very brave room it was :) so lie bid them look round about, and see if they could find any thing ^, , ^ ., profitable there. Then they looked round and Of the Spider. ^ , ^ , , • i i round -, for there was nothing to be seen but a very great Spider on the wall ; and that they overlooked. Then said Mercy, Sir, I see nothing. But Christiana held her peace. But, said the Interpreter, look again ; she therefore looked again, and said, Here is not any thing but an ugly Spider, who hangs by his hands upon the wall. Then said he. Is there Spider* ^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^ Spider in all this spacious room ? Then the water stood in Christiana's eyes, for she was a woman quick of apprehension ; and she said. Yea, Lord, there are more here than one ; yea, and spiders whose venom is far more destructive than that which is in her. The Interpreter then looked pleasantly on her, and said, Thou hast said the truth. This made Mercy to blush, and the boys to cover their faces ', for they all oegan now to understand the riddle. Then said the Interpreter again, " TTie spider taketh hold with her hands," as you see, " and is in Kings'' palaces." And where- fore is this recorded, but to show you, that how full of the venom of sin soever you be, yet you may, by the hand of Faith, lay hold of and dwell in the best room that belo»gs to the King's House above ? I thought, said Christiana, of something of this ; but I could not imagine it at all. I thought that we were like Spiders, and that we looked like ugly creatures, in what fine rooms soever we were ; but that by this Spider, that venomous and ill-favoured creature, we were to learn how to act faith, that came not into my thoughts. And yet she had taken hold with her hands, and, as I see, dwelleth in the best room in the House. God has made nothing in vain. Then they seemed all to be glad; but the water stood in their eyes ; yet they lookea one upon another, and also bowed before tlie Interpreter. Of the Hen and He had them then into another room, where was Chickens. a Hen and Chickens, and bid them observe a while. * Prov. XXX. 8. [The Pilgrims at the nouse of the Interpreter— Paraole ol the Hen and Chickens. J So one of the chickens went to the trough to drink, and, every lime she drank, she lifted up her head and her eyes towards heaven. See, said he, what this little chick doth, and learn of her to acknowledge whence your mercies come, hy receiv- ing them with looking up. Yet again, said he, observe and look. So they gave heed, and perceived that the hen did walk in a four- fold method towards her chickens : 1. She had a " common call,^^ and that she hath all day long. 2. She had a " special call,'''' and that she had but sometimes. 3. She had a "brooding not e.^'' And, 4. She had an " outcry?'' Now, said he, compare this hen to your King, and these chick- ens to his obedient ones. For, answerable to ner, himself has his methods which he walketh in towards his people. By his common call, he gives nothing ; by his special call, he always has some- thing to give ; he has also a brooding voice for them that are under his wing ; and he has an outcry, to give the alarm when he seeth the enemy come. I chose, my darlings, to lead you into the room where such things are, because you are women, and they are easy for you. And, sir, said Christiana, pray let us see some more; so he had them into the slaughter-house, tj^e shee^.'^ wliere was a butcher killing a sheep ; and behold 253 32 254 pilgrim's progress. the sheep was quiet, and took her death patiently. Tnen said the Interpreter, you must learn of this sheep to suffer, and to put up with wrongs without murmurings and complaints. Behold how quietly she takes her death, and, without objecting, she suffereth her skin to be pulled over her eyes. Your King doth call you his sheep. After this, he led them into his garden, where was great variety of flowers, and he said. Do you feee all these ? So Christiana said, Yes. Then said he again. Behold the flowers are diverse in stature^ in quality^ and colour, and smelly and virtue ; and some are better than others ; also, where the gardener had set them, there they stand, and quarrel not with one another. Again, he had them into his field, which he had sown with wheat and corn ; but when they beheld, the tops of all were cut ofl', only the straw remained. He said again, This ground was dunged, and ploughed, and sowed, but what shall we do with the crop ? Then said Christiana, burn some, and make muck of the rest. Then said the Interpreter again. Fruit, you see, is that thing you look for, and for want of that you condemn it to the fire, and to be trodden under foot of menj beware that in this you condemn not yourselves ! Then, as they were coming in from abroad, they Selpide?'" ^''^ espied a little robin with a great spider in his mouth : so the Interpreter said, Look here ; so they looked, and Mercy wondered ; but Christiana said, What a dis- paragement it is to such a pretty little bird as robin red-breast is, he being also a bird above many, that loveth to maintain a kind of sociableness with men ! I had thought they had lived upon crumbs of bread, or upon other such harmless matter ; I like him worse than I did. The Interpreter then replied, This robin is an emblem very apt to set forth some professors by ; for, to sight, they are as this robin, pretty of note, colour, and carriage : they seem also to have a very great love for professors that are sincere ; and, above all others, to desire to sociate with them, and to be in their company, as if they could live upon the good man's crumbs. They pretend also that therefore it is that they frequent the house of the godly, and the appointments of the Lord ; but when they are by themselves, as tLe robin, they can catch and gobble up spiders ; they can change their diet, drink iniquity and swallow down sin like water. So, when they were come again into the house, because supper as yet was not ready, Christiana again desired that the Interpreter pilgrim's progress. 255 would either show or tell of some other things that Pray, and you will are profitable. get at that which Then the Interpreter began, and said, The fatter yetiiesunreveaied. the sow is, the more she desires the mire ; the fatter the ox is, the more gamesomely he goes to the slaughter ; and the more healthy the lustful man is, the more prone he is unto evil. There is a desire in women to go neat and fine ; and it is a comely thing to be adorned Avilh that which in God's sight is of great price. 'Tis easier watching a night or two than to sit up a whole year together ; so 'tis easier for one to begin to profess well, than to hold out as he should to the end. Every shipmaster, when m a storm, will willingly cast that over- board which is of the smallest value in the vessel ; but who will throw the best out first ? None but he that feareth not God. One leak will sink a ship, and one sin will destroy a sinner. He that forgets his friend is ungrateful unto him ; but he that forgets his Saviour is unmerciful to himself. He that lives in sin, and looks for happiness hereafter, is like hbn that soweth cockle, and thinks to fill his barn with wheat or barley. If a man would live well, let him fetch his last day to him, and make it always his company-keeper. Whispering and change of thoughts prove that sm is in *he world. If the world, which God sets light by, is counted a thing of tl- Worth with men, what is heaven, that God commendeth? If the life that is attended with so many troubles is so loath i be let go by us, what is the life above ? Every body will cry up the goodness of men ; but who is there, chat is, as he should be, affected with the goodness of God? We seldom sit down to meat, but we eat and leave : so there is in Jesus Christ more merit and righteousness than the whole world has need of. When the Interpreter had done, he takes them out into his garden again, and had them to a tree whose inside was all rotten and gone, and yet it grew, and had leaves. ^Jttln^atTeart** '^ Then said Mercy, What means this ? This tree, said he, whose outside is fair, and whose inside is rotten, is it, to which many may be compared that are in the garden of God ; who with their mouths speak high in behalf of God, but indeed will do nothing for him ; whose leaves are fair, but their heart good for nothing but to be tinder for the devil's tinder-box. 956 pilgrim's progress. They are at sup- Now supper was ready, the table spread, and all per- things set on the board ; so they sat down and did eat, Avhen one had given thanks. And the Interpreter did usually entertain those that lodged with him with music at meals; so the minstrels played. There was also one that did sing, and a very fine voice he had His song was this :— The Lord is only my support, And he that doth me feed : How can I then want any thing Whereof I stand in need? Talk at supper. When the song and music was ended, the Inter- preter asked Christiana, What it was that first did move her to betake herself to a Pilgrim's life ? Christiana an- A repetition of swered, First, The loss of my Husband came into Christiana's expe- my mind, at which I was heartily grieved ; but all ^^^^^^- that was but natural affection. Then, after that :ame the troubles and pilgrimage of my husband into my mind, and also how like a churl I had carried it to him as to that. So guilt took hold of my mind, and would have drawn me into the pond ; but that opportunely I had a dream of the well-being of my ' husband, and a letter sent me by the King of that Country, where my husband dwells, to come to him. The dream and the letter together so wrought upon my mind, that they forced me to this way. Lit. But met you with no opposition before you set out of doors ? Chr. Yes ; a neighbour of mine, one Mrs. Timorous, (she was a-kin to him that would have persuaded my husband to go back for fear of the Lions,) she all-to-befooled me for, as she called it, my intended desperate adventure ; she also urged what she could to dishearten me to it, the hardships and troubles that my husband met with in the way ; but all this I got over pretty well. But a dream that I had of two ill-looking Ones, that I thought did plot how to make me miscarry in my journey, that hath troubled me much ; yea it still runs in my mind, and makes me afraid of every one that I meet, lest they should meet me to do me a mischief, and to turn me out of my Way. Yea, I may tell my Lord, though I would not have every body know it, that, between this and the Gate by which we got into the Way, we were both so sorely as- saulted, that we werr made to cry out Murder ! and the two that made this assault upon us were like the two that I saw m my dream. Then said the Interpreter, Thy beginning is good, thy latter end A question put to shall greatly increase. So he addressed himself to Mercjr. Mercy, and said unto her, And what moved thee to coiDe hither, sweetheart? pilgrim's progress. 257 Then Mercy blushed and trembled, and for a while continued silent. Then said he, Be not afraid ; only believe, and speak thy mind. So she began, and said, Truly, Sir, my want of .. , * ' . ' ■' ' ' -^ . Mercy's answer. experience is that which makes me covet to be m silence, and that also which fills me with fears of coming short at last. I cannot tell of visions and dreams, as my friend Christiana can; nor know I what it is to mourn for my refusing the counsel of those that were good relations. Int. What was it then, dear heart, that hath prevailed with thee to do as thou hast done ? Mercy. Why, when our friend here was packing up to be gone from our town, I and another went accidentally to see her. So we knocked at the door, and went in. When we were within, and seeing what she was doing, we asked her, what was her meaning ? She said, she was sent for to go to her Husband ; and then she up and told us how she had seen him in a dream, dwelling in a curious place among Immortals^ wearing a Crown, playing upon a Harp, eating and drinking at his prince's table, and singing praises to him for bringing him thither, &c. Now, methought, while she was telling these things unto us, my heart burned within me ; and I said in my heart. If this be true, I will leave my father and my mother, and the land of my nativity, and will, if I may, go along with Christiana. So I asked her farther of the truth of these things, and if she would let me go with her ? for I saw now, that there was no dwel- ling, but with the danger of ruin, any longer in our town. But yet I came away with a heavy heart ; not for that I was unwilling to come away, but for that so many of my relations were left be- hind. And I am come with all the desire of my heart ; and will go, if T may, with Christiana unto her husband and his King. Int. Thy setting out is good, for thou has given credit to the truth; thou art a Ruth, who did, for the love she bare to Naomi, and to the Lord her God, leave father and mother, and the land of her nativity, to come out and go with a people that she knew not heretofore.* " The Lord recompense thy work, and full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." Now supper was ended, and preparation was xhey undress made for bed, the women were laid singly alone, themselves for and the boys by themselves. Now, when Mercy ^^^ • Ruth ii. 11, 12. 22* 258 PILGRIM S PROGRESS. was in bed, she could not sleep for joy, for tliat now her doubts of Mercy's good missing at last, were removed further from her night's rest. than ever they were before. So she lay blessing and praising God, who had had such favour for her. In the morning, they arose with the sun, and prepared themselves for their departure ; but the Interpreter v\rould have them tarry a while ; for, said he, you must orderly go from hence. Then said The bath sanctifi- he to the damsel that first opened to them, Take cation. them, and have them into the garden to the hath^ and there wash them, and make them clean from the soil which they have gathered by travelling. Then Innocent, the damsel, took them and had them into the garden, and brought them to the bath; so she told them, that there they must wash and be clean, for so her Master would have the women to do that called at his ™, V, . .. house, as they were going on pilgrimage. Then They wash in It. ' . •' , , , ^ ■, , they went m and washed, yea, they and the boys and all ; and they came out of the bath not only sweet and clean, but also much enlivened and strengthened in their joints. So, when they came in, they looked fairer a deal than when they went out to the washing. When they were returned out of the garden from the bath, the Interpreter took them, and looked upon them, and said unto them, " Fair as the moon?^ Then he called for the seaZ, wherewith _, , , thev used to be sealed that are washed in his bath. They are sealed. ^ , , , -, •, , i . -, So the seal was brought, and he set his mark upon .hem, that they might be known in the places whither they were yet to go. Now, the seal was the contents and sum of the Pas- sover which the children of Israel did eat * when they came out of the land of Egypt ; and the mark was set between their eyes. This seal added greatly to their beauty, for it was an ornament to their faces. It also added to their gravity, and made their counte- nance more like that of Angels. Then said the Interpreter again to the damsel that waited upon these Women, Go into the vestry, and fetch out garments for these people ; so she went and fetched out white Raiment, and laid it Thev are clothed down before him; so he commanded them to put It on. It was fine linen, white and clean. When *he women were thus adorned, they seemed to be a terror one to the other ; for that they could not see that glory each one had in herself, which they could see in «ach other. Now, therefore, they began to esteem each other better than themselves. For you are fairer than I am, said one; and you * Exod. xiii, 8-10 PILGRIM S PROGRESS. 259 are more comely than I am, said another. The children also stood amazed, to see into what fashion they were brought. The Interpreter then called for a Man-Servant of his, one Great- heart, and bid him take sword, and helmet, and shield ; and take these, my daughters, said he, and conduct them to the house called Beautiful, at which place they will rest next. So he took his weapons, and went before them: and the Interpreter said, God speed. Those also that belonged to the family sent them away with many a good Avish. So they went on their way, and sang : This place hath been our second stage ; Here we have heard and seen Those good things that from age to age To others hid have been. The dunghill-raker, spider, hen. The chicken, too, to me Have taught a lesson ; let me then Conformed to it be. The butcher, garden, and the field, The Robin and his bait, Also the rotten tree doth yield Me argument of weight ; To move me for to watch and pray, To strive to be sincere ; To take my Cross up day by day, And serve the Lord with fear. Now I saw m my dream, that they went on, and Great-heart before them ; so they went and came to the place where Christian's Burden fell off his back, and tumbled into a Sepulchre. Here, then, they made a pause ; and here also they blessed God. Now, said Christiana, it comes to my mind what was said to us at the Gate, to wit : That we should have pardon by vjord and deed : by word, that is, by the promise 5 by deed, to wit, in the way it was obtained. What the promise is, of that I know something: but what it is to have pardon by deed, or in the way that it was ob- tained, Mr. Great-heart, I suppose, you know j wherefore, if you please, let us hear you discourse thereof. Great-heart. Pardon by the deed done, is par- ^ comment upon don obtained by some one for another that hath what was said at need thereof; not by the person pardoned, but in *^® Gate, or a dis- , . , . , f , . , . course of our bc- the way, saith another, m which I have obtamed it : jng justified by so then, to speak to the question more at large, the Christ. pardon that you and Mercy, and these boys, have attained, was obtained by another, to wit by Him that let you in at the Gate. And He has obtained it in this double way. He has performed righteousness to cover you, and spilt his blood to wash you in. Halt of the Pilgrims at tVie Cross where Christian became eased of his Burden.] Chr. But if he parts with his righteousness to us, what will he have for himself? Great-heart. He has more righteousness than you have need of, or than he needeth himself. Chr. Pray, make that appear. Great-heart. With all my heart. But first I must premise, that He of whom we are now about to speak is One that has not his fellow. He has two natures in one person, plain to be distinguished, impossible to be divided. Unto each of these Natures a righteous- ness belongeth, and each righteousness is essential to that nature : so that one may as easily cause the nature to be extinct, as to separate its justice or righteousness from it. Of these righteous- nesses, therefore, we are not made partakers, so as that they, or any of them, should be put upon us, that we might be made just, and live thereby. Besides these, there is a righteousness which this Person has, as these two natures are joined in one ; and this IS not the righteousness of the Godhead^ as distinguished from the manhood^ nor the righteousness of the manhood^ as distinguished from the Godhead; but a righteousness which standeth in the union of both natures, and may properly be called the righteousness that is essential to his being prepared of God, to the capacity of the mediatory office which he was to be intrusted with. If he 260 pilgrim's progress, 26 J parts with his first righteousness, he parts with his Godhead ; if he parts with his second righteousness, he parts with the purity of his manhood ; if he parts with this third, he parts with that per- fection which capacitates him for the office of mediation. He has therefore another righteousness, which standeth in performance or obedience to a revealed will ; and that is it that he puts upon sin- ners, and that by which their sins are covered. Wherefore he saith, " As by one mail's disobedience many were made sinnei's so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.'''' * Chr. But are the other righteousnesses of no use to us ? Great-heart. Yes ; for though they are essential to his natures and offices, and cannot be communicated unto another, yet it is by virtue of them that the righteousness that justifies is for that pur- pose efficacious. The righteousness of his Godhead gives virtue to his obedience ; the righteousness of his manhood giveth capa- bility to his obedience to justify ; and the righteousness that standeth m the union of these two natures to his office, giveth authority to that righteousness to do the work for which it was ordained. So, then, here is a righteousness that Christ as God, has no need 01 ; for he is God without it. Here is a righteousness that Christ, as man, has no need of to make him so ; for he is perfect man c-c of as long- as I live. I had a sister named Boun- How Mercy's sis- , » ter was served by tiful, that was married to one of these churls ; but her husband j^g and she could never agree : but because my sister was resolved to do as she had begun, that is, to show kind- ness to the poor, therefore her husband first cried her down at the Cross, and then turned her out of his doors. Prud. And yet he was a professor, I warrant you. Mercy. Yes, such a one as he was, and of such as he, the world IS now full ; but I am for none of them all. ,, ^ ^ „ . , Now Matthew, the eldest son of Christiana, fell Matthew falls sick. . , n i • • i i • r ^ Sick, and his sickness was sore upon him, lor he was much pained in his bowels, so that he was with it at times pulled, as it were, both ends together. There dwelt also, not far from thence, one Mr. Skill, an ancient and well-approved physi- cian. So Christiana desired it, and they sent for him, and he came. When he was entered the room, and had a little upes o con- QJ^ggj-ygfj ^]^g j^Qy j^g concluded that he was sicK science. ^ ' of the gripes. Then he said to his mother. What diet has Matthew of late fed upon ? Diet, said Christiana, nothing but what is wholesome. The physician answered, jW^mem.^^''''^"'^ ^^^^^ ^°y ^^^ ^^^^ tampering with something tha lies in his maw undigested, and that will not away without means ; and I tell you he must be purged, or else he will die. Samuel puts his Then said Samuel, Mother, what was that which mother in nnind my brother did gafther up and eat, so soon as we of the fruit his ^ygrg gome from the gate that is at the head of this brother did eat. _ .^^ . ? . , , way I You know that there was an orchard on the left hand, on the other side of the wall, and some of the trees hung over the wall, and my brother did pluck and eat. True, my child, said Christiana, he did take thereof and did eat; naughty boy as he was ; I chid him, and yet he would eat thereof. Skill. I knew he had eaten something that was not wholesome food ; and that food, to wit, that fruit, is even the most hurtful of all. It is fruit of Beelzebub's orchard : I do marvel that none did warn vou of it : manv have died thereof. pilgrim's progress. 277 Then Christiana began to cry ; and she said, O naughty boy and O careless mother, what shall I do for my son ! Skill. Come, do not be too much dejected; the boy may do well' again, but he must purge and vomit. Chr. Pray, sir, try the utmost of your skill with him, whateTei it costs. SMIL Nay, I hope I shall be reasonable. So he made him a purge, but it was too weak : 'twas said it was made of the blood of a goat, the ashes of a heifer, and with some of the juice of hyssop, &c.* When Mr. Skill had seen that that purge was too weak, he made him one to the pur- _ , . ,, ^ ^ , , ' , . ^7 . ^. J. The Latin I borrow. pose: 'twas made ex came et sanguine Christi;j (you know physicians give strange medicines to their patients :) and it was made into pills, with a promise or two, and a propor- tionable quantity of salt. Now, he was to take them three at a time, fasting, in half a quarter of a pint of the Tears of Repent- ance.:}: When this potion was prepared and brought to the boy, he was loath to take it, though ^^^l the^physic. torn with the gripes, as if he should be pulled in pieces. Come, come, said the physician, you must take it. It goes against my stomach, said the boy. / must have you take it, said his mother. I shall vomit it up again, said the boy. Pray, sir, said Christiana to Mr. Skill, how does it taste ? It has no ill taste, said the doctor ; and with that she touched one of r^^^^ mother tastes the pills with the tip of her tongue. Oh, Matthew! it and persuades said she, this potion is sweeter than honey. If thou ^""• lovest thy mother, if thou lovest thy brothers, if thou lovest Mercy, if thou lovest thy life, take it. So with much ado, after a short prayer for the blessing of God upon it, he took it; and it wrought kindly with him. It caused him to purge, it caused him to sleep, and rest quietly ; it put him into a fine heat, and breathing sweat, and did quite rid him of his gripes. So in a Jfttle time he got up, and walked about with a stafi", and would go from room to room, and talk with Prudence, Piety, and Charity, of his distemper, and how he was healed. So, when the boy was healed, Christiana asked Mr. Skill, say ;ng, Sir, what will content you for your pains and a word of God in care to and of my child ? And he said, You must the hand of faith. pay the Master of the College of Physicians according to rules made in that case, and provided. § But, sir, said she, what is this pill good for else ? Skill. It is a universal pill ; it is good against all the diseases • Heb. X. 1-4. t John vi. 54-57. Heb. ix. 14. ? Zech. xii. 10. § Heb. xiii, 11-15. 24 278 pilgrim's progress. The pill a univer- that Pilgrims are incident to ; and, when it is well eai remedy. prepared, will keep good time out of mind. Chr. Pray, sir, make me up twelve boxes of them ; for, if I can get these, I will never take other physic. Skill. These pills are good to prevent diseases, as well as to cure when one is sick. Yea, I dare say it, and stand to it, that if a man will but use this physic as he should, " it will make him In a glass of the ^^'^^ f^^ erer."* But, good Christiana, thou must Tears of Repent- give these pills no Other way but as I have pre- ^"*^®- scribed ; for, if you do, they will do no good. So he gave unto Christiana physic for herself and her boys, and for Mercy ; and, bid Matthew take heed how he ate any more green plumhs, and kissed them, and went his way. It was told you before, that Prudence bid the boys, that if at any time they would, they should ask her some questions that might be profitable, and she would say something to them. Then Matthew, who had been sick, asked her why, for the most part, physic should be bitter to our palates ? Prud. To show how unwelcome the word of God, and the effects thereof, are to a carnal heart. Of the effects of Matth. Why does physic, if it does good, purge physic. and cause to vomit ? Prud. To show that the Word, when it works effectually, cleans- eth the heart and mind ; for, look, what the one doth to the body, the other doth to the soul. Of fire and of the Matth. What should we learn by seeing the flame sun. of our fire go upward, and by seeing the beams and sweet influences of the sun strike downward 1 Prud. By the going up of the j5re, we are taught to ascend to heaven by fervent and hot desires. And by the sun's sending his heat, beams, and sweet influences downward, we are taught that the Saviour of the world, though high, reacheth down with his grace and love to us below. ^, ^ , ^ Matth. Where have the clouds their water ? Of the clouds, j r\ . r .^. Prud. Out of the sea. Matth. What may we learn from that ? Prud. That ministers should fetch their doctrine from God. Matth. Why do they empty themselves upon the earth ? Prud. To show that ministers should give out what they know of God to the world. Matth. Why is the rainbow caused by the sun ? • John vi. 50. pilgrim's progress. 279 Prud. To show that the covenant of God's orrace n 3 J. • r^^ ' ^ Of the rainbow. IS confirmed to us in Christ. Matth. Why do the springs come from the sea to us through the earth? Of the springs. Prud. To show that the grace of God comes to us through the body of Christ. Matth. Why do some of the springs rise out of the tops of high hills'? Prud. To show that the spirit of grace shall spring up in some that are great and mighty, as well as in many that are poor and low. Matth. Why doth the fire fasten upon the candle- ^^ ^ . , r. Of the candle. Wick? Prud. To show that, unless Grace doth kindle upon the heart, there will be no true light of life in us. Matth. Why are the wick and tallow and all spent to maintain the light of the candle ? Prud. To show that body and soul and all should be at the ser- vice of, and spend themselves to maintain in good condition that grace of God that is in us. Matth. Why doth the Pelican pierce her own breast with her bill? Prud. To nourish her young ones with her blood, and thereby to show, that Christ the Blessed so loved his young, his people, as to save them from death by his blood. Matth. What may one learn by hearing the cock ■' JO Of the cock. to crow. Prud, Learn to remember Peter's sin, and Peter's repentance. The cock's crowing shows also that day is coming on ; let then the , crowing of the cock put thee in mind of that last and terrible Day of Judgment. Now, about this time, their month was out ; wherefore they signi fied to those of the House, that 'twas convenient for them to up and be going. Then said Joseph to his mother, It is proper that you forget not to send to the house of Mr. Interpreter, to pray him to grant that Mr. Great-heart should be sent unto r^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ us, that he may be our conductor the rest of our sometimes call the way. Good boy, said she, I had almost forgot ! ^^™"S to prayers. So she drew up a petition, and prayed Mr. Watchful, the porter, to send it by some fit, man to her good friend Mr. Interpreter 3 who, when it was come, and he had seen the contents of the petition, said to the messenger, Go tell them that I will send him. When the family where Christiana was saw that they had a 280 pilgrim's progress. They provide to be purpose to go forward, they called the whole house gone on their way. together, to give thanks to their King for sending of them such profitable guests as these. Which done, they said unto Christiana, And shall we not show thee something, as our custom is to do to Pilgrims, on which thou mayst meditate when tliou art upon the way ? So they took Christiana, her children, and Mercy, into the closet, and showed them one of the apples that Eve ate of, and that she also did give unto her husband, and that for the eating of which they were both turned out of Paradise,* and asked her what she thought thai was ? Then Christiana said. It is food or poison ; I know not A sight of sin is which. So they opened the matter to her, and she amazing. Jield up her hands, and wondered. f Then they had her to a place, and showed her Jacob's Ladder. Now, at that time, there were some Angels ascending upon it.J So Christiana looked and looked to see the Angels go up : so did the rest of the company. Then they were going into another place to show them something else ; but James said to his mother, Pray bid them stay here a little A sight of Christ longer, for this is a curious sight. § So they turned is taking. again, and stood feeding their eyes with this so pleasing a prospect. After this they had them into a place where did hang up a golden Anchor : so they bid Chris- tiana take it down ; for, said they, you shall have it with you ; H for 'tis of absolute necessity that you may lay hold of that within the veil, and stand steadfast, in case you should meet with turbulent weather; so they were glad thereof. Then they Of Abraham offer- took them, and had them to the Mount upon which ing up Isaac. Abraham our father offered up Isaac his son, and showed them the altar, the wood, \hejire and the knife ; for they remain to be seen to this very day.iy When they had seen it, they held up their hands, and blessed themselves, and said. Oh ! what a man, for love to his Master, and for denial to himself, was Abra- ham ! After they had showed them all these things, Prudence Prudence's virgi- took them into a dining-room, where stood a pair of nais. excellent Virginals ; so she played upon them, and turned what she had showed them into this excellent song, saying* Eve's apple we have showed you ; Of that be you aware ! You have seen Jacob's ladder too, Upon which Angels are. •Gen. iii. 6. tRom. vii. 24. J Gen. xxviii. 12L » John i. 14. i John i. 15. Heb, vi. 19. U Gen. xxii. 9. PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 281 An Anchor you received have ; But let not these suffice, Until v?ith Abraham you have gave Your best a sacrifice. Now, about this lime, one knocked at the door ; Mr. Great-heart so the porter opened, and behold, Mr. Great-heart '^""^^s again, was there: but when he Avas come in, what joy was there! Fc it came now afresh again into their minds, how but a little whiK ago he had slain old Grim Bloody-man the giant, and had delivered them from the Lions. Then said Mr. Great-heart to Christiana and to He brings a token Mercy, My Lord has sent each of you a bottle of ^^^ ^^^ Lord with wine, and also some parched corn, together with a couple of pomegranates ; he has also sent the boys some figs and raisins, to refresh you in your way. Then they addressed themselves to their journey, and Prudence and Piety went along with them. When they came to the gate, Christiana asked the porter, if any of late went by ? He said. No ; only one some time since, who also told me that of late there had been a great robbery committed on the King's Highway as you go ; but, said he, the thieves are taken, and will shortly be tried for their lives. Then Christiana and Mercy were afraid; but Matthew said. Mother, fear nothing as long as Mr. Great-heart is to go with us, and to be our conductor. Then said Christiana to the porter. Sir, I am Christiana takes much obliged to you for all the kindnesses that you ^^^ ^^^^^ °^ t'^e have showed me since I came hither, and also for ^°^ ^^' that you have been so loving and kind to my children. I know not how to gratify your kindness ; wherefore pray, as a token of my respect to you, accept of this small mite. So she put a gold angel in his hand ; and he made her low obeisance, and The porter's bies- said, "Let thy garments be always white, and let ^^^s- thy head want no ointment. Let Mercy live, and not die ; and let not her works be few." And to the boys he said, " Do you fly youthful lusts, and follow after godliness with them that are grave and wise ; so shall you put gladness into your mother's heart, and obtain praise of all that are sober-minded." So they thanked the porter, and departed. Now I saw, in my dream, that they went forward until they were come to the brow of the hill, where Piety, bethinking herself, cried out, Alas ! I have forgot what I intended to bestow upon Christiana and her companions. I will go back and fetch it : so she ran and fetched it. While she was gone, Christiana thought she heard, in 24* 282 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. a grove a little way off on the right hand, a most curious melodious note, with words much like these :— Through all my life thy favoiir is So frankly show'd to me ; That in thy house for evermore My dwelling-place shall be. And, listening still, she thought she heard another answer it, saying : — For why 1 the Lord our God is good ; His mercy is for ever sure : His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure. So Christiana asked Prudence, Who it was that made those curious notes? They are, said she, our country birds ;* they sing these notes but seldom, except it be at the spring, when the flowers appear, and the sun shines warm ; and then you may hear them all day long. I often said she, go out to hear them ; we also oft- times keep them tame in our house. They are very fine company for us when we are melancholy ; also they make the woods, and groves, and solitary places, places desirous to be in. By this time Piety was come again ; so she said to Christiana, Piety bestoweth ^^^^ ^^^^j ^ ^^^^ brought thee a scheme of all something on them those things that thou hast seen at our house ; upon at parting. which thou mayst look when thou findest thyself forgetful, and call those things again to remembrance for thy edifi- cation and comfort. Now they began to go down the hill into the Valley of Humil- iation. It was a steep hill, and the way was slippery ; but they were very careful ; so they got down pretty well. When they were down in the Valley, Piety said to Christiana, This is the place where Christian, your husband, met with that foul fiend Apollyon, and where they had that dreadful fight that they had. I know you cannot but have heard thereof. But be of good cour- age ; as long as you have here Mr. Great-heart to be your guide and conductor, we hope you will fare the better. So when these two had committed the Pilgrims unto the conduct of their guide, he went forward, and they went after. Mr. Great-heart at '^^^^ ^^^^ ^^'' Great-heart, We need not be so the Valley of Hu- afraid of this Valley, for here is nothing to hurt us, miiiation. unless we procure it to ourselves. 'Tis true. Chris- tian did here meet with Apollyon, with whom he also had a sore * Cant. a. 11, 12. riLGRIM's PROGRESS. 283 <*j«ibat ; but that fray was the fruit of those slips that he got in his going down the hill ; for they that get slips there must look for combats here. And hence it is that this Valley has got so hard a name J Lt:.^2 common people, when they hear that some frightful thing has befallen such a one in such a place, are of opinion that that pla e is haunted with some foul fiend or evil spirit ; when, alas ! it is for the fruit of their own doing, that such things do befall them there. This Valley of Humiliation is of itself as fruitful _, ^ ■' , ^. , _ The reason why a place as any the crow llies oyer ; and I am per- christian was so suaded, if we could hit upon it, we might find, beset in the Vaiiey somewhere here abouts, something that might give of Humiliation, us an account why Christian was so hardly beset in this place. Then said James to his mother, Lo ! yonder stands a pillar, and it looks as if something was written thereon : let us go and see what it is. So they went, and found sc.rjpttoiTon it"'"' there written, ^^ Let Christiati's slips, before he came hither, and the battles that he met with in this place, be a warning- to those that come after" Lo ! said their guide, did not I tell you that there was something hereabouts that would give intimation of the reason why Christian was so hard beset in this place 1 Then turning himself to Christiana, he said. No dispar- agement to Christian more than to many others whose hap and lot it was ; for it is easier going up than down this hill, and that can be said but of few hills in all these parts of the world. But we will leave the good man; he is at rest; he also had a brave vic- tory over his enemy : let Him grant, that dwelleth above, that we fare no worse, when we come to be tried, than he ! But we will come again to this Valley of Humil- iation. It is the best and most fruitful piece of pfj'e^^"'^^^'^''^ ground in all these parts. It is fat ground, and, as you see, consisteth much in meadows; and if a man was to come here in the summer-time, as we do now, if he knew not any thing before thereof, and if he also delighted himself in the sight of his eyes, he might see that which would be delightful to him. Behold how green this Valley is ! also how beautified with lilies !* I have known many labouring men that have got good estates in this Valley of Humiliation.f " For God resisteth the ^^^ ^-^rwe in tlie 'proucl, but giveth grace to the humble ;% for indeed Valley of Humiiia- it is a very fruitful soil, and doth bring forth by ^^°^' handfuls. Some also have wished that the next way to their Fa- ther's house were here, that they might be troubled no more with •Songii. 1. 1 1 Pet. V. 5. { James iv. 5. [The contented Shepherd Boy.] either hills or mountains to go over ; but the way is the way, and there's an end. Now, as they were going along and talking, they espied a boy feeding his father's sheep. The boy was in very mean clothes, but of a fresh a well-favoured countenance, and as he sat by himself, he sung. Hark, said Mr. Great-heart, to what the shepherd's boy saith ! so they hearkened, and he said : — 284 He that is down needs fear no fall ; He that is low no pride ; He that is humble ever shall Have God to be his guide. I am content with what I have. Little be it or much ; And, Lord ! contentment still I crave^ Because thou eavest such. PILGRIM S PROGRESS. 285 Fulness to such a burden is, That go on pilgrimage : Here httle, and hereafter bliss, Is best from age to age.* Then said their guide, Do you hear him ? I will dare to say, this- boy lives a merrier life, and wears more of that herb called Hearfs-ease in his bosom, than he that is clad in silk and velvet ! ]3ut we will proceed in our discourse. In this Valley oui Lord formerly had his coun- _ , ^T ■' , - 111 111 Christ when m the try-house. He loved much to be here ; beloved flesh had his coun- also to walk these meadoAvs, for he found the air try-house in tho was pleasant. Besides, here a man shall be free "^.f^^^ ""^ ^^"™"^ from the noise and from the hurryings of this life. All states are full of noise and confusion ; only the Valley of Hu- miliation is that empty and solitary place. Here a man shall not be so let and hindered in his contemplation, as in other places he is apt to be. This is a Valley that nobody walks in, but those that love a Pilgrim's life. And though Christian had the hard hap to meet here with Apollyon, and to enter with him in a brisk encoun- ter, yet I must tell you, that in former times men have met with angels here ; have found pearls here ; and have in this place found the Words of Life.j Did 1 say, our Lord had here, in former days, his country-house, and that he loved here to walk ? I will add, in this place, and to the people that love and trace these grounds, he has left a yearly revenue, to be faithfully paid them at certain season , for their maintenance by the way, and for their further encoui igement to go on in their pilgrimage,:!: Now, as they went on, Samuel said to Mr. Great-heart, Sir, I perceive that in this Valley my father and Apollyon had their battle ; but whereabout was the fight ? for I perceive this Valley is large. Great-heart. Your father had the battle with Apollyon at a place yonder before us, in a narrow passage, iust i IT-, ^^7 A J • J 1 1 1 Forgetful-green. beyond For getjul- green. And mdeed that place is the most dangerous place in all these parts. For if at any time Pilgrims meet with any brunt, it is when they forget what favours they have received, and how unworthy they are of them. This is the place, also, where others have been hard put to it. But more of the place when we are come to it ; for I persuade myself, that to this day there remains either some sign of the battle, or some mon- ument to testify that such a battle was fough ^here. • Heb. xiii. 5. Phil. iv. 12, 13 t Hos. xii. 4. '^ t Yatfh. x. 29, 286 pilgrim's progress. Then said Mercy, I think I am as well in this Valley as I have been any where else in all our journey. The' frri"^^ * ''^^'' place, methinks, suits with my spirit. I love to be in such places, where there is no rattling with coaches, nor rumbling with wheels. Methinks here one may, Avith- out much molestation, be thinking what he is, whence he came, what he has done, and to what the King has called him. Here one may think, and break at heart, and melt in one's spirit, until one's eyes become as the " fish pools of Heshbon."* They that go rightly through this valley of Baca make it a well ; the rain that God sends down from heaven upon them that are here, " also filleth the pools. "t This Valley is that from whence also the King will give to his their vineyards ',X and they that go through it shall sing, as Christian did, for all he met with Apollyon. 'Tis true, said their guide, I have gone throus^h An experiment of It. , . _^ „ ' . " , ° , ,^ this Valley many a time, and never was better than when here. I have also been a conductor to several Pilgrims, and they have confessed the same. " To this man will I look, (saith the King,) even to him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that tremhleth at my word?"* Now they were come to the place where the aforementioned The place where t)attle was fought. Then said the guide to Chris- Christian and the tiana, her children, and Mercy, This is the place ; fiend did fight. q^ ^j^js ground Christian stood, and up there came Apollyon against him. And look, did I not tell you ? here is some of your husband's blood upon these stones to this day. Behold, Some signs of the ^Iso, how here and there are yet to be seen, upon battle remain. the place, some of the shivers of Apollyon's broken darts ! See also how they did beat the ground with their feet as they fought, to make good their places against each other ! how also, with their by-blows, they did split the very stones in pieces ! Verily Christian did here play the man, and showed himself as stout as Hercules could, had he been here, even he himself. When Apollyon was beat, he made his retreat to the next valley, that is called the Valley of the Shadow of Death, unto which we shall come anon. A monument of ^° ' yo^i^er also Stands a monument, on which Christian's vie- is engraven this battle, and Christian's victory, to ^°^y- his fame throughout all ages. So, because it stood just on the way-side before them, they stepped to it, and reaii the writing, which, word for word, was this : — pilgrim's progress. 2S7 Hard by here was a battle fought, Most strange, and yet most true ; Christian and Apollyon sought Each other to subdue. The Man so bravely play'd the Man, He made the fiend to fly ; Of which a monument I stand, The same to testily. When they had passed by this place, they came upon the borders of the Shadow of Death ; and this Valley was longer than the other ; a place also most strangely haunted with evil things, as many are able to testify ; but these women and children went the better through it, because they had day-light, and because Mr Great-heart was their conductor. When they were entered upon this Valley, they q • h -d thought that they heard a groaning as of dying men; a very great groaning. They thought also they did hear words of lamentation spoken, as of some in extreme torment. These things made the boys to quake; the women also looked pale and wan ; but their guide bid them be of good comfort. So they went on a little farther, and they thought The ground that they felt the ground begin to shake under them, shakes. as if some hollow place was there : they heard also a kind of a hissing as of serpents; but nothing as yet appeared. Then said the boys, Are we not yet at the end of this doleful place ? But the guide also bid them be of good courage, and look well to their feet, lest haply, said he, you be taken in some snare. Now James began to be sick; but I think the James sick with cause thereof was fear; so his mother gave him ^^^^'• some of that glass of spirits that had been given her at the Inter- preter's house, and three of the pills that Mr. Skill had prepared, and the boy began to revive. Thus they went on, till they came to about the middle of the valley; and then Chris- • iT./ri-iT 1 • 1 The fiend appears, tiana said, Methinks I see somethmg yonder upon the road before us, a thing of a shape such as I have not seen. Then said Joseph, Mother, what is it ? An ugly The Pilgrims are thing, child, an ugly thing, said she. But, mother, afraid, what is it like? said he. It is like I cannot tell what, said she; and now it is but a little way off. Then said she, it is nigh ! Well, well, said Mr. Great-heart, let them that Great-heart en- are most afraid keep close to me. So the Fiend courages them. came on, and the conductor met it ; but when it was just come to him, it vanished to all their sights. Then remembered they what g«8 pilgrim's PROGREfsS. nad been said some time ago, " Resist the devil, and he will Jlee from you.^^* They went therefore on, as being a little refreshed ; but they had not gone far before Mercy, looking behmd her, saw, as she thought, something most like a Lion ; and It came a great padding pace after ; and it had a hollow voice of roaring; and, at every roar that it gave, it made all the Valley echo, and all their hearts to ache, save the heart of him that was their guide. So it came up, and Mr. Great-heart went behind, and put the Pilgrims all before him. The Lion also came on apace, and Mr. Great-heart addressed himself to give him battle ; t but when he saw that it was determined that resistance should be made, he also drew back, and came no farther. Then they went on agem, and their conductor did go before them, A pit and dark- till they came at a place where was cast up a pit the nsss. whole breadth of the way ; and before they could be prepared to go over that, a great mist and a darkness fell upon them, so that they could not see. Then said the Pilgrims, Alas! what now shall we do ? But their Guide made answer, Fear not ; stand still, and see what an end will be put to this also. So they stayed there, because their path was marred. They then also thought that they did hear more apparently the noise and rushing of the enemies ; the fire also, and smoke of the pit, was much easier to be discerned. Then said Christiana to Mercy, Christiana now Now I see what my poor husband went through ! 1 knows what her have heard much of this place, but I never was husband felt. h.eTe afore now. Poor man ! he went here all alone in the night ', he had night almost quite through the way ; also these Fiends were busy about him, as if they would have torn him in pieces. Many have spoken of it j but none can tell what the Valley of the Shadow of Death should mean, until they come in it themselves. " The heart knows its own bitterness ; and a stranger inter meddleth not with its joy." To be here is a fearful thing. Great-heart. This is like doing business in great waters, or like going down into the deep ; this is like being in the heart of the sea, and like going down to the bottoms of the mountains. Now it seems as if the earth, with its bars, were about us for ever. But " let them that walk in darkness, and have no light, trust in the nam?, of the Lord, and stay upon their God."X For my part, as I have told you already, I have gone often through this valley, and have been much harder put to it than now I am ; and yet you see * James iv. 7. 1 1 Pet. v. 8. t Isaiah 1. 10. PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 289 I am alive. I would not boast, for that I am not my own Saviour ; but I trust we shall have a good deliverance. Come, let us pray for light to him that can lighten our darkness, and that can rebuke not only these, but all the Satans in Hell. So they cried and prayed ; and God sent light and deliverance, for there was now no let in their ^^^ ^^' way ; no, not there, where but now they were stopped with a Pit. Yet they were not got through the valley ; so they went on still, and behold, great stinks and loathsome smells, to the great annoy- ance of them. Then said Mercy to Christiana, There is not such pleasant being here, as at the Gate, or the Interpreter's, or at the House where we lay last. Oh I but, said one of the boys, it is not so bad to One of the boys go through here, as it is to abide here always ! and, ^^^P'y- ' for aught I know, one reason why we mufsl go this way to the House prepared for us, is, that our home might be made the sweeter to us. Well said, Samuel, quoth the guide j thou hast now spoke like a man. Why, if ever I get out here again, said the boy, I think I shall prize light and good way better than ever I did in all my life. Then said the guide, we shall be out by-and-by. So on they went, and Joseph said, Cannot we see to the end of this valley as yet? Then said the guide, Look to your feet, for we shall presently be among the snares ! so they looked to their feet and went on ; but they were troubled inuch with the snares. Now, when they were come among the snares, they espied a man cast mto the ditch on the left hand, with his flesh all rent and torn. Then said the guide. That is one Heedless, that Heedless is slain, was going this way; he has lain there a great and Take-heed while. There was one Take-heed with him, when preserved. he was taken and slain ; but he escaped their hands. You cannot imagine how many are killed hereabouts ; and yet men are so fool- ishly venturous as to set out lightly on pilgrimage, and to come without a guide. Poor Christian! it was a wonder that he here escaped ; but he was beloved of his God: also he had a good heart of his own, or else he could never have done it. Now they drew towards the end of this way ; and just there where Christian had seen the Cave when he went by, out thence came forth Maul, a Giant. This Maul did use to spoil young Pilgrims with sophistry ; and he called Great-heart by his name, and said Maul, a giant, quar- unto him. How many times have you been forbid- reis with Great den to do these things? Then said Mr. Great- '^^^'^^• heart, Vfhat things ? — What things ? quoth the Giant; you ^now 25 290 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. what things ; but I will put an end to your trade ! But pray, said Mr. Great-heart, before we fall to it, let us understand wherefore we must fight ? (Now the women and children stood trembling, and knew not what to do.) €luoth the Giant, you rob the country, and rob it with the worst of thefts. These are but generals, said Mr. Great- heart ; come to particulars, man ! ^ ,, ... Then said the Giant, Thou practisest the craft God's ministers ' ^ counted as kidnap- of a kidnapper ; thou gatherest up women and chil- pe^^s. dren, and carriest them into a strange country, to the weakening of my Master's Kingdom. But now Great-heart replied, I am a servant of the God of heaven ; my business is to persuade sinners to repentance. I am commanded to do my en- deavour to turn men, women, and children, from darkness to light, The Giant and Mr, ^^^ ^^°"^ ^^^ power of Satan unto God ; and if Great-heart must this be indeed the ground of thy quarrel, let us fall *'S^*- to it as soon as thou wilt. Then the Giant came up, and Mr. Great-heart went to meet him; and, as he went, he drew his sword; but the Giant had a club. So, without more ado, they fell to it; and, at the first blow, the Giant struck Mr. Great-heart down upon one of his knees ; Weak folks prayers "^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^'^°^^"- ^^^ children Cried out. So at sometimes help Mr. Great-heart recovering himself, laid about him strong folks cries. [^ f^n lugty manner, and gave the Giant a wound in his arm. Thus he fought for the space of an hour, to that height of heat, that the breath carne out of the Giant's nostrils as the heat doth out of a boiling caldron. - Then they sat down to rest them, but Mr. Great heart betook himself to prayer ; also the women and children did nothing but sigh and cry all the time that the battle did last. When they had rested them, and taken breath, they both fell to it again ; and Mr. Great-heart, with a blow, fetched down. ^^" ^ ^^^ ^^^ Giant down to the ground. Nay, hold, let me recover, quoth he. So Mr. Great-heart fairly let him get up: so to it they went again, and the Giant missed but little of all-to-breaking Mr. Great-heart's scull with his club. Mr. Great-heart seeing that, runs to him in the full heat of his spirit, and pierceth him under the fifth rib; with that the Giant began to faint, and could hold up his club no longer. Qead disposed of. Then Mr. Great-heart seconded his blow, and smit the head of the Giant from his shoulders. Then the women and children rejoiced ; and Mr. Great-heart also praised God for the deliverance he had wrought. When this was done, they amongst them erected a pillar, and pilgrim's progress. 291 fastened the Giant's head thereon, and wrote under it, in letters that passengers might read : — He that did wear this head was one That Pilgrims did misuse ; He stopped their way, he cjpared none, But did them all abuse : •Until that I, Great-heart, arose. The Pilgrim's guide to be : Until that I did him oppose, That was their enemy. Now I saw that they went on to the ascent that was a little way off, cast up to be a prospect for Pilgrims ; (that was the place from whence Christian had the first sight of Faithful his brother.) Wherefore here they sat down and rested; they also here did eat, and drink and make merry, for that they had gotten deliverance from this so dangerous an enemy. As they sat thus, and did eat, Christiana asked the guide if he had caught no hurt in the battle ? Then said Mr. Great-heart, No, save a little on my flesh ; yet that also shall be so far from being to my detriment, that it is at present a proof of my love to my Master and you ; and shall be a means, by grace, to increase my reward at last. Chr. But was you not afraid, good sir, when you saw him come with his club ? It is my duty, said he, to mistrust my own abil- ity, that I may have reliance on him that is stronger g '^-^'J^^^^^ °^ *^^ than all. Chr. But what did you think when he fetched you down to the ground at the first blow ? Why, I thought, quoth he, that so my Master himself was served ; and yet He it was that conquered at last. Matth. When you all have thought what you Matthew here ad- please, I think God has been wonderful good unto mires God's good- as, both in bringing us out of this Valley, and in '^®^^' delivering us out of the hand of this enemy. For my part, I see no reason why we should distrust our God any more, since he has now, and in such a place as this, given us such testimony of his love. Then they got up, and went forward. Now, a little before them stood an oak, and under it, when they came to it, old Honest asleep they found an old Pilgrim fast asleep. They knew ""der an oak. that he was a Pilgrim by his clothes and his staff*, and his girdle. So the guide, Mr. Great-heart, awaked him; and the old gentle- man, as he lifted up his eyes, cried out. What is the matter ? Who are you ? and what is your business here ? [The Pilgrims overtaking Honest.] Great-heart. Come, man, be not so hot, here are none bui friends. One saint some- Yet the old man gets up, and stands upon his times takes anoth- guard, and will know of them what they are. Then er for his enemy, g^^^j ^-^^ gmd.e, My name is Great-heart ; I am the ^.'guide of these Pilgrims that are going to the Celestial Country. Then said Mr. Honesty I cry you mercy ; I feared Gr^a^heart'lJ^diTe. ^^^t you had been of the company of those that some time ago did rob Little-faith of his money ; but, now I look better about me, I perceive you are honester people. Great-heart. Why, what would or could you have done, to have helped yourself, if indeed we had been of that company ? Hon. Done ! why I would have fought as long as breath had been in me ; and, had I so done, I am sure you could never have given me the worst on 't , for a Christian can never be overcome^ unless he shall yield of himself. Well said, father Honest, quoth the guide ; for by this I know that thou art a cock of the right kind, for thou hast said the truth. Hon. And by this also I know, that thou knowest what true pilgrimage is; for all others do think that we are the soonest over come of any. pilgrim's progress. 293 Great-heart. Well, now we are so happily met, pray let me crave your name, and the name of the place you came from. Hon. My name I cannot, but I came from the town of Stupidity; it lieth about four degrees be- Z^l^Z^'' ^°''' ,-'«'' _ " est came. yond the- City of Destruction. Great-heart. Oh ! are you that countryman ? Then I deem 1 have half a guess of you ; your name is Old Honesty, is it not ? So the old gentleman blushed, and said, not Honesty in the ah- stract, but Honest is my name ; and I wish that my nature may agree to what I am called. But, sir, said the old gentleman, how could you guess that I am such a man, since I came from such a place ? Great-heart. I had heard of you before by my gt^pified ones are Master ; for he knows all things that are done on worse than those the earth. But I have often wondered that any "^^^^^^ <^^™^i- should come from your place, for your town is worse than is the City of Destruction itself. Hon. Yes, we lie more off from the sun, and so are more cold and senseless ; but was a man in a mountain of ice, yet, if the Sun of Righteousness will arise upon him, his frozen heart shall feel a thaw ; and thus it hath been with me. Great-heart. I believe it, father Honest, I believe it j for I know the thing is true. Then the old gentleman saluted all the Pilgrims with a holy kiss of charity, and asked them of their names, and how they had fared since they had set out on their pilgrimage. Then said Christiana, My name, I suppose, you have heard of; good Christian was my husband, ^?^. ^°"'f , ^"'^ ' ^ ■' 1 . , Christiana talk. and these four are his children. But can you thmk how the old gentleman was taken, when she told him who she was ! He skipped, he smiled, he blessed them with a thousand good wishes, saying : — I have heard much of your husband, and of his travels and wars which he underwent in his days. Be it spoken to your comfort, the name of your husband rings all over these parts of the world ; his faith, his courage, his enduring, and his sincerity under all. have made his name famous. Then he turned him to the boys, and asked them of their names, which they told him; and then said he unto them, Matthew, be bi^fgsiJg (S°them! thou like Matthew the publican, not in vice, but in virtue.'*' Samuel, said he, be thou like Samuel the prophet, a man of faith and prayer.f Joseph, said he, be thou like Joseph in Poti- ' Matth. X. 3. t Psalm xcix. 6. 25* 294 PlLGRIM^S PROGRESS. phar's house, chaste, and one 'that flies from temptation* And James, be thou like James the Just, and like James the brother of our Lord.f Then they told him of Mercy, and how she had left her town and her kindred to come along with Christiana, and with her sons. At that the old Honest man said, Mercy is thy name? „ , , ^,, by mercy shalt thou be sustained, and carried through all those difficulties that shall assault thee in thy way, till thou shalt come thither, where thou shalt look the Fountain of mercy in the face with comfort. All this while the guide, Mr. Great-heart, was very well pleased, and smiled upon his companions. Talk of one Mr. Now, as they Walked along together, the guide Fearing. asked the old gentleman, if he did not know one Mr. Fearing^ that came on pilgrimage out of his parts ? Yes, very well, said he. He was a man that had the root of the matter in him; but he was one of the most troublesome Pilgrims - that ever I met with in all my days. Great-heart. I perceive you knew him ; for you have given a very right character of him. Hon. Knew him ! I was a great companion of his ; I was with him most an end ; when he first began to think upon what would come upon us hereafter, I was with him. Great-heart. I was his guide from my Master's house to the gates of the Celestial City. Hon. Then you knew him to be a troublesome one. Great-heart. I did so, but I could very well bear it ; for men of my calling are oftentimes intrusted with the conduct of such as he was. Hon. Why, then, pray let us hear a little of him, and how he managed himself under your conduct. Mr.Feanng'strou- Great-heart. Why, he was afraid that he should biesome pilgrim- come short of whither he had a desire to go. Ev- ^^- ery thing frightened him that he heard any body speak of, if it had but the least appearance of opposition in it. I His behaviour at ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^Y roaring at the slough of Despond the slough of Des- for above a month together ; nor durst he, for all he P°"^- saw several go over before him, venture, though they, many of them, offered to lend him their hands. He would not go hack again neither. The Celestial City, he said, he should die if he came not to it ; and yet he was dejected at every difficulty, and stumbled at every straw that any body cast in his way. Well, ifter he had lain at the slough of Despond a great while, as I have • ^en. xxxix. t Acts i. 13j 14. pilgrim's progress. 296 told you, one sunshine morning, I don't know how, he ventured, and so got overj but when he was over, he would scarce believe it. He had, I think, a slough of despond in his mind ; a slough that he carried every v-^here with him, or else he could never have been as he was. So he came up to the Gate, (you know what I mean,) that stands at the head of this Way, and there also he stood a great Avhile before he would venture to knock. When the Gate was opened, he would give back ^^ GaS^""'""'' ^* and give place to others, and say that he was not worthy : for, for all he got before some to the Gate, yet many of them went in before him. There the poor man would stand sha- king and shrinking ; I dare say it would have pitied one's heart to have seen him ; nor would he go hack again. At last he took the hammer that hanged on the Gate in his hand, and gave a small rap or two ; then one opened to him, but he shrunk back as before. He that opened stepped out after him, and said, Thou trembling one, what wantest thou ? With that he fell down to the ground. He that spoke to him wondered to see him so faint. So he said to him, " Peace he to thee ; up, for I have set open the door to thee ; come in, for thou art blessed." With that he got up, and went in trembling ; and when that he was in, he was ashamed to show his face. Well, after he had been entertained there a while, as you know how the manner is, he was bid go on his way, and also told the way he should take. So he went on till he came to our house; but as he behaved himself at tha Gate, so he did at my Master, the Interpreter's door. He lay thereabout in the cold jjj^ behaviour at a good while, before he would adventure to call ; the interpreter's yet he would not go hack ; and the nights were ^°°^- long and cold then. Nay, he had a note of necessity in his bosom to my Master to receive him, and grant him the comfort of" his house, and also to allow him a stout and valiant conductor, because he was himself so chicken-hearted a man; and yet, for all that, he was afraid to call at the door. So he lay up and down thereabouts, till, poor man, he was almost starved; yea, so great was his dejec- tion, that though he saw several others, for knocking, get in, yet he was afraid to venture. At last, I think, I looked out of the window ; and, perceiving a man to be up and down about the door, I went out to him, and asked what he was? But, poor man, the water stood in his eyes ; so I perceived what he wanted. I went therefore in, and told it in the house, and we showed the thing to our Lord ; so he sent me out again to entreat him to come in, but I dare say I had hard work to do it. J^- J^^ th'Ire ^"^^"^ At last he came in, and I vv^ill say that for my 596 _ PILGRIM S PROGRESS. Lord, he carried it wonderful lovingly to him. There were but a few good bits at the table, but some of it was laid upon his trencher. Then he presented the note^ and my Lord, looked thereon, and said his desire should be granted. So, when he had been there a good He is a little en- while, he seemed to get some heart, and to be a couragedatthein- little more comfortable ; for my Master, you must terpreter's house, ^now, is One of very tender bowels, especially to them that are afraid ; wherefore he carried it so towards him as might tend most to his encouragement. Well, when he had had a sight of the things of the place, and was ready to take his journey to go to the city, my Lord, as he did to Christian before, gave him a bottle of spirits, and some comfortable things to eat. Thus we set forward, and I went before him, but the man was but of few words, only he would sigh aloud. When we were come to where the three fellows fraidwhfn^he saw "^^^^ hanged, he said, That he doubted that that the gibbet, but would be his end also. Only he seemed glad when cheery when he j^g saw the Cross and the Sepulchre. There, I confess, he desired to stay a little to look ; and he seemed, for a while after, to be a little cheery. When he came to the hill Difficulty, he made no stick at that, nor did he much fear the Lions ; for you must know that Ms trouble was not about such things as these ; his fear was about his acceptance at last. I got him in at the house Beautiful, I think, before he was wil- ling ; also, when he was in, I brought him acquainted with the damsels of the place ; but he was ashamed to make himself much in company. He desired much to be alone ; yet Dumpish at the j^^ always loved good talk, and often would get be- house Beautiful. . hind the screen to hear it ; .he also loved much to see ancient things, and to be pondering them in his mind. He told me afterward that he loved to be in those two houses from which he came last, to wit, at the Gate and that of the Interpreter, but that he durst not be so bold as to ask. When we went also from the house Beautiful reyrHummatln: ^^"^^ ^hc hill into the Valley of Humiliation, he went down as well as ever I saw a man in my life j for he cared not how mean he was, so he might be happy at last ; yea, I thmk there was a kind of sympathy betwixt that Valley and him, for I never saw him better in all his pilgrimage than he was in that Valley. Here he would lie down, embrace the ground, and kiss the very [lowers that gxe.w in this Valley.* He would now be up every * Lam. iii. 27-^ PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 297 morning by break of day, tracing and walking to and fro in the Valley. But when he was come to the entrance of the Much perplexed in Valley of the Shadow of Death, I thought I should the Vaiiey of the have lost my man ; not for that he had any inclina- Shadow of Death. tion to go back, that he always abhorred : but he was ready to die for fear. Oh ! the hobgoblins will have me, the hobgoblins will have me, cried he j and I could not beat him out on't. He made such a noise, and such an outcry here, that, had they but heard him, it was enough to encourage them to come and fall upon us. But this I took very great notice of, that this Valley was as quiet, when we went through it, as ever I knew it before or since. I suppose those enemies here had now a special check from our Lord, and a command not to meddle, until Mr. Fearing had passed over it. It would be too tedious to tell you of all ; we will therefore only mention a passage or two more. When he was come to Vanity-fair, I thought he would have fought vanity^fatr '^"^ with all the men in the Fair ; I feared there we should have been both knocked on the head, so hot was he againsi their fooleries. Upon the Enchanted Ground he was very wakeful. But when he was come at the river, where was no bridge, there again he was in a heavy case. Now, now, he said, he should be drowned for ever, and so never see that face with comfort that he had come so many miles to behold. And here also I took notice of what was very remarkable : the water of that river was lower at this time than ever I saw it in all my life ; so he went over at last, not much above wet-shod. When he was going up to the Gate, Mr. Great-heart be- „. , , , ,, , gan to take his leave oi him, and to wish him a good reception above ; so he said, / shall, I shall. Then parted we asunder, and I saw him no more. Hon. Then it seems he was well at last. Great-heart. Yes, yes, I never had doubt about him. He was a man of a choice spirit, only he was always kept very low, and that made his life so burdensome to himself, and so troublesome to others.* He was, above many, tender of sinj he was so afraid of doing injuries to others, that he often would deny himself of that which was lawful, because he would not oflend.t Hon. But what should be the reason that such a good man should be all his days so much in the dark? • Psahr. Ixxxviik t Rom. xiv. 21. 1 Cor. viii. 13. 298 PILGRIM'3 PROGRESS. Reasons why good Great-heart. There are two sorts of reasons for men are so much it : One IS, the wise God will have it so ; some must in the dark. pipe, and some must weep.* Now, Mr. Fearing was one tnat played upon the base; he and his fellows sound the sackbut, whose notes are more doleful than the notes of other music are; though, indeed, some say the base is the ground of music; and, for my part, I care not at all for that profession that begins not in heaviness of mind. The first string that the musician usually touches is the base, when he intends to put all in tune : God also plays upon this string first, when he sets the soul in tune for himself. Only there was the imperfection of Mr. Fearing, he could play upon no other music but this, till towards his latter end. (I make bold to talk thus metaphorically, for the ripening of the wits of young readers, and because, in the book of the Revelation, the saved are compared to a company of musicians, that play upon their trumpets and harps, and sing their songs before the throne. )t Hon. He was a very zealous man, as one may see by what rela- tion you have given of him. Difficulties, Lions, or Vanity- fair, he feared not at all ; 'twas only Sin, Death, and Hell, that were to him a terror, because he had some doubts about his interest in that Celestial Country. , _. Great-heart. You say right; those were the A. close about him. , . , , . -, -, ^ ^ i thmgs that were his troubles ; and they, as you have well observed, arose from the weakness of his mind thereabout, not from weakness of spirit as to the practical part of a Pilgrim's life. I dare believe, that, as the proverb is, " He could have bit a firebrand, had it stood in his way." But the things with which ne was oppressed, no man ever yet could shake off with ease. Christiana's sen- Then said Christiana, This relation of Mr. Fear- tence. jng has done me good: I thought nobody had been like me; but I see there was some semblance betwixt this good Man and me ; only we differed in two things. His troubles were so great that they broke out, but mine I kept within. His also lay so hard upon him, they made him that he could not knock at the Houses provided for entertainment ; but my trouble was always such as made me knock the louder. , Mercy. If I might also speak my heart, I must say that something of him has also dwelt in me. For I have ever been more afraid of the Lake, and the loss of a place in Paradise, than I have been of the loss of other things. Oh ! thought I, may I have the happiness to have a habitation there, 'tis enough though I part with all the world to win it ! * Matth. xi. 16, 18. t Rev. viii. 1.— xiv. 2, 3. pilgrim's progress. 299 Then said Matthew, fear was one thing that made Matthew's sex^^ me think that I was far from having that within me tence. that accompanies salvation ; but, if it was so with such a good Man as he, why may it not also go well with me ? No fears, no grace, said James. Though there , is not always grace where there is the fear of hell, yet to be sure, there is no grace where there is no fear of God. Great-heart. Well said, James, thou hast hit the mark ; for the fear of God is the begmning of wisdom ; and, to be sure, they that want the beginning, have neither middle nor end. But we will here conclude our discourse of Mr. Fearing, after we have sent afte' him this farewell: — Well Master Fearing, thou didst fear Thy God, and wast afraid Of doing any thing, while here, That would have thee betrayed. Their farewell And didst thou fear the Lake and Pit 1 about him. Would others do so too ! For as for them that want thy wit, They do themselves undo. Now I saw that they still went on in their talk. For, after Mr. Great-heart had made an end with Mr. Fearing, Mr. Honest began to tell them of another, but his name was Mr. Self- ^. ., „ , . .„ •77 TT Til- 1^ 1 -r.-! • ■ 1 Of Mr. Self-will. will. He pretended himself to be a Pilgrim, said Mr. Honest ; but I persuade myself he never came in at the Gate that stands at the head of the way. Great-heart. Had you ever any talk with him about it? Hon. Yes, more than once or twice ; but he old Honest had would always be like himself, self-willed. He talked with him. neither cared for man, nor argument, nor yet example ; what his mind prompted him to, that he would do, and nothing else could he be got to do. Great-heart. Pray what principles did he hold 7 for T suppose you can tell. Hon. He held that a man might follow the vices „ ,^ .„, . , -,,„.,. ,1 .p Self- will's opmion. as well as the virtues oi the Pilgrims ; and that, if fee did both, he should be certainly saved. Great-heart. Plow ! If he had said. It is possible for the best to be guilty of the vices, as well as partake of the virtues of Pilgrims, he could not much have been blamed ; for indeed we are exempted from no vice absolutely, but on condition that we watch and strive. But this, I perceive, is not the thing ; but, if I understand you right, your meaning is, that he was of opinion that it was allowable so to be? 300 pilgrim's progress. Hon. Ay, ay, so I mean ; and so he believed and practised. Great-heart. But what grounds had he for his so saying 7 Hon. Why, he said he had the Scripture for his warrant. Great-heart. Prithee, Mr. Honest, present us with a few par- ticulars. Hon. So I will. He said, to have to do Avith other men's wives had been practised by David, God's beloved ; and therefore he could do it. He said, to have more women than one was a thing that Solomon practised, and therefore he could do it. He said that Sarah and the godly midwives of Egypt lied, and so did saved Rahab 5 and therefore he could do it. He said, that the disciples went, at the bidding of their Master, and took away the owner's ass ; and therefore he could do so too. He said, that Jacob got the inheritance of his father in a way of guile and dissimulation ; and therefore he could do so too. Great-heart. High base, indeed ! And you are sure he was of this opinion ? Hon. I have heard him plead for it, bring Scripture for it, bring arguments for it, &c. Great-heart. An opinion that is not fit to be, with any allowance, in the world ! Hon. You must understand me rightly : he did not say that any man might do this ; but that those who had the virtues of those that did such things, might also do the same. Great-heart. But what more false than such a conclusion ? for this as much as to say, that because good men heretofore have sinned of infirmity, therefore he had allowance to do it of a pre- sumptuous mind ; or if, because a child, by the blast of the wind, or for that it stumbleth at a stone, fell down and defiled itself in the mire, therefore he might wilfully lie down, and wallow like a boar therein. Who could have thought that any one could so far have been blinded by the power of lust ? But what is written must be true: ^'•They stumble at the word, being disobedient, where- unto they also were appointed.^^* His supposing that such may have the godly men's virtues, who addict themselves to their vices, is also a delusion as strong as the other. 'T is just as if the dog should say, I have or may have the qualities of the child, because I lick up its stinking excrements. To eat up the sin of God's people,t is no sign of one that is pos- sessed with their virtues. Nor can I believe that one that is of this ODinion can at present have faith or love in him. But I know PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. ' 301 you have made some strong objections against him ; pr'ythee, what can he say for himself? Hon. Why, he says, to do this by way of opinion seems abun- dantly more honest than to do it, and yet hold contrary to it in opinion. Great-heart. A very wicked answer ; for though to let loose the bridle of lusts, while our opinions are against such things, is bad ; yet to sin, and plead a toleration so to do, is worse ; the one stum- bles beholders accidentally, the other leads them into the snare. Hon. There are many of this man's mind, that have not this man's mouth; and that makes going on pilgrimage of so little esteem as it is. Grsat-Ueart. You have said the truth, and it is to be lamented ; but he that feareth the King of Paradise shall come out of them all. Chr. There are strange opinions in the world. I know one that said, it was time enough to repent when we come to die. Great-heart. Such are not over-wise ! That man would have been loath, might he have had a week to run twenty miles in his life, to have deferred that journey till the last hour of that week. Hon. You say right ; and yet the generality of them that count themselves Pilgrims, do indeed do thus. I am, as you see, an old man, and have been a traveller in this road many a day, and I have taken notice of many things. I have seen some that have set out as if they would drive all the world afore them, who yet have, in few days, died as they in the wilderness, and so never got sight of the Promised Land. I have seen some that have promised nothing at first setting out to be Pilgrims, and that one would have thought could not have lived a day, that have yet proved very good Pilgrims. I have seen some who have run hastily forward, that again have, after a little time, run as fast just back again, I have seen some who have spoken very well of a Pilgrim's life at first, that after awhile have spoken as much against it. I have heard some, when tney first set out for Paradise, say positively there is such a place, who, when they had been almost there, have come back again, and said there is none. I have heard some vaunt what they would do in case they should be opposed, that have, even at a false alarm, fled Faith, the Pil- grim's Way, and all. Now, as they were thus on their way, there came , ^-L J ' 2 r^ ^^ Fresh news of one running to meet them, and said. Gentlemen, trouble. and you of the weaker sort, if you love life, shift for yourselves, for the robbers are before you. Then said Mr. Great-heart, thev be the three that set upon Little- 26 302 pilgrim's progress. faith heretofore. Well, said he, we are ready toi oimfon^^^'^'^ '■^^" them; so they went on their way. Now, they looked at every turning when they should have met with the villains ; but whether they heard of Mr. Great-heart, or whether they had some other game, they came not up to the Pil- grims. Christiana then wished for an inn to refresh for^n'hm ^^ ^^ herself and her children, because they were weary. Then said Mr. Honest, There is one a little before us, where a very honourable disciple, one Gaius, dwells.* So they all concluded to turn on thither, and the rather because the old gentleman gave him so good a report. So when they came to the door, they went in, not knocking; for folks use not to knock at the door of an inn. Then they called for the Master of the House, and he came to them; so they asked if they might lie there that night? Gains. Yes, gentlemen, if you be true men ; for ttm%nd"how."' m^onse is for none but Pilgrims. Then was Christiana and Mercy, and the boys, the more glad, for that the innkeeper was a lover of Pilgrims. So they called for rooms ; and he showed them one for Christiana, and her children, and Mercy ; and another for Mr. Great-heart and the old gentleman. Then said Mr. Great-heart, Good Gains, what hast thou for supper ? for these Pilgrims have come far to-day, and are weary. It is late, said Gaius, so we cannot conveniently go out to seek food ; but sucii as we have you shall be welcome to, if that will content. Great-heart. We will be content with what thou hast in the house ; forasmuch as I have proved thee, thou art never destitute of that which is convenient. „ , , , Then he went down, and spake to the cook, Gams' cook, , m ^ .t ^ ^- ■, . , whose name was J aste-that-which-is-good, to get ready supper for so many Pilgrims. This done, he comes up again. Baying, Come, my good friends, you are welcome to me, and I am glad that I have a house to entertain you; and, while supper is making ready, if you please, let us entertain one another with some good discom'se ; so they all said. Content. Talk between Gaius Then said Gaius, Whose wife is this aged ma- andhis guests. ^j-on, whose daughter is this young damsel ? Great-heart. This woman is the wife of one Christian, a Pil- grim of former times ; and these are his four children. The maid pilgrim's progress. 303 is one of her acquaintance, one that she hath persuaded to come with her on pilgrimage. The boys take all after their father, and covet to tread in his steps ; yea, if they do hut see any place where the old Pilgrim hath lain, or any print of his foot, it ministereth joy to theii- hearts, and they covet to lie or tread in the same. Then said Gaius, Is this Christian's wife, and are these Chris- tian's children ? I knew your husband's father ; yea, also his father's father. Many have been good eistofs"'^'^'' ^"" of this stock : their ancestors dwelt first at Antioch.* Christian's progenitors (I suppose you have heard your husband talk of them) were very worthy men. They have, above any that I know, showed themselves men of great virtue and courage for the Lord of the Pilgrims, his ways, and them that loved him. I have heard of many of your husband's relations that have stood all trials for the sake of the truth. Stephen, that was one of the first of the family from whence your husband sprang, was knocked on the head with stones.f James, another of this generation, was slain with the edge of the sword. To say nothing of Paul and Peter, men anciently of the family from whence your husband came, there was Ignatius, who was cast to the lions ; Romanus, whose flesh was cut by pieces from his bones ; and Polycarp, that played the man in the fire ; there was he that was hanged up in a basket in the sun for the wasps to eat ; and he whom they put into a sack, and cast into the sea to be drowned. 'T would be impos- sible utterly to count up all of that family that have suffered inju- ries and death for the love of a Pilgrim's life. Nor can I but be glad to see that thy husband has left behind him four such boys as these. I hope they will bear up their father's name, and tread in their father's steps, and come to their father's end. Great-heart. Indeed, sir, they are likely lads; they seem to choose heartily their father's ways. Gaius. That is it that I said ; wherefore Christian's family is like still to spread abroad upon the face of the ground, and yet to be numerous upon the face of the earth. Where- fore let Christiana look out some damsels for her ana about her boys.' sons, to whom they may be betrothed, &c., that the name of their father, and the house of his progenitors, may never be forgotten in the world. Hon. 'Tis pity this family should fall and be extinct. Gaius. Fall it cannot, but be diminished it may ; but let Chris- tiana take my advice, and that's the way to uphold it. * Acts xi. 26. t Acts vii. 59, 60.— xii. 2. 304 pilgrim's progress. And, Christiana, said this Innkeeper, I am glad to see thee and thy friend Mercy together here, a lovely couple ; and, may I advise, take Mercy into a nearer relation to thee. If she will, let her be A match between g^^^n to Matthew, thy eldest son; 'tis the way to ' Mercy and Mat- preserve ye a posterity on the earth. So this match thew, ^as concluded, and in process of time they were married ; but more of that hereafter. Gains also proceeded, and said, I will now speak on the behalf of women, to take away their reproach ; for as death and the curse came into the world by a woman,* so also did life and health. „„ , ,, "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman."! Why women 01 old ' ' so much desired Yea, to show how much those that came after did children. abhor the act of their mother, this sex, in the Old Testament, coveted children, if happily this or that woman might be the mother of the Saviour of the world. I will say again, that when the Saviour was come, women rejoiced in him before either man or angel.:]: I read not, that ever any man did give unto Christ so much as one groat ; but the women followed him, and ministered to him of their substance. 'T was a woman that washed his feet with tears, and a woman that anointed his body to the burial. They were women that wept when he was going to the Cross, and women that followed him from the Cross, and that sat by his sepulchre when he was buried ; they were women that were first with him at his resurrection-morn, and wo- men that brought tidings first to his disciples that he was risen from the dead. Women, therefore, are highly favoured, and show, by these things, that they are sharers with us in the grace of life. Now the cook sent up to signify that supper was Supper ready. , ^ ^ , , , -, -, , almost ready, and sent one to lay the cloth and the trenchers, and to set the salt and bread in order. Then said Matthew, The sight of this cloth, and of this fore- runner of the supper, begetteth in me a greater appetite to my food than I had before. Gains. So let all ministering doctrines to thee in this life beget in thee a greater desire to sit at the supper of the Great King in his Kingdom : for all preaching, books, and ordi- Whatto be gather- f ■, , .x, ^ • p .1 ' ■. 3d from laying of i^^nces here, are but as the laymg of the trenchers. the bread with the and as settmg of salt upon the board, when com- cioth and trench- pared with the feast that our Lord will make for us when we come to his house. So supper came up ; and first a heave-shoulder and a wave- * Gen. iii. t Gal. iv. 4. J Luke ii.— vii. 37, 50.— viii, 2. 3. John xi. 2.— ii. 3. Luke xxiii. 27. Matth. xxvii. 55, 56. 60. Luke xxiv. 22, 23 pilgrim's progress. 305 breast were set on the table before them, to show that they must begin their meal with prayer and praise to God. The heave-shoul- der David lifted up his heart to God with ; and with the wave- breast, where his heart lay, Avith that he used to lean upon his heart when he played. These two dishes were very fresh and good, and they all ate heartily thereof.* The next they brought up was a bottle of wine as red as blood ;t so Gaius said to them. Drink freely ; this is the tme juice of the vine, that makes glad the heart of God and man. So they drank and were merry. The next was a dish of milk well crumbed ; but Gaius said, Let the hoys have that, that they may grow thereby.X Then they brought up in course a dish of butter and honey. Then said Gaius, Eat freely of this, Of l^^^ey and but- for this is good to cheer up and strengthen your judgments and understandings. This was our Lord's dish when he was a child : " Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know hoiD to refuse the evil, and choose the good.^^ Then they brought them up a dish of apples, and .-,.. ^ they Avere very good tasted fruit. Then said Mat- thew, May we eat apples, since they were such, by and with which, the serpent beguiled our first mother ? Then said Gaius : — Apples were they with which we were beguiled; Yet Sin, not apples, hath our souls defiled. Apples forbid, if eat, corrupt the blood: To eat such, when commanded, does us good. Drink of his flagons then, thou Church! his dove ; And eat his apples, who art sick of love. Then said Matthew, I made the scruple, because I, a while smce, was sick with eating of fruit. Gaius. Forbidden fruit will make you sick, but, not what our Lord has tolerated. While they were thus talking, they were pre- . ^. ,, . , • 1 1 T 1 1- T 1 n ir A dish of nuts, sented with another dish, and it was a dish of nuts.]! Then said some at the table. Nuts spoil tender teeth, specially the teeth of children : which when Gaius heard, he said : — Hard texts are nuts, (I will not call them cheaters,) Wliose shells do keep their kernels from the eaters. Open then the sheUs, and you shall have the meat ; They here are brought for yoa to crack and eat. * Lev. vii. 32-34.— x. 14, 15. Psalm. xxv. 1. Heb. xiii. 15. t John xv. 5. 1 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2. § Isaiah vii 15. I Song vi. 11. 26*^ 306 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. Then they were very merry, and sat at the table a long time, talking of many things. Then said the old gentleman, My good landlord, while we are cracking your nuts, if you please, do you open this riddle : — A riddle put forth A man there was, though some did count him mad, by old Honest. The more he cast away, the more he had. Then they all gave' good heed, wondering what good Gains would say : so he sat still a while, and then thus replied : — Gaius opens it. He who thus bestows his goods upon the poor, Shall have as much again, and ten times more. Then said Joseph, I dare say, sir, I did not think Joseph wonders. ,, , c \ • ^ you could have lound it out. O I said Gaius, I have been trained up in this way a great while. Nothing teaches like experience. I have learned of my Lord to be kind, and have found by experience that I have gained thereby. " There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet^ hut it tendeth to 'poverty. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing : there is that maketh himself poor^ yet hath great riches."* Then Samuel whispered to Christiana his mother, and said, Mother, this is a very good man's house ; let us stay here a good while, and let my brother Matthew be married here to Mercy, be- fore we go any further. The which, Gaius, the host, overhearing, said, With a very good will, my child. Matthew and Mer- ^o they stayed there more than a month, and cy are married. Mercy was given to Matthew to wife. While they stayed here, Mercy, as her custom was, would be making coats and garments to give to the poor, by which she brought a very good report upon Pilgrims. But to return again to our story. After supper, Se^est si^up. ^^' ^^^ ^^^^ desired a bed for they were weary with travelling. Then Gaius called to show them lo their chamber ; but, said Mercy, I will have them to bed. So she had them to bed, and they slept well ; but the rest sat up all night ; for Gaius and they were such suitable company, that they could not tell how to part. Then after much talk of their Lordj them- ^,,„ ^ selves, and their journey, old Mr. Honest, he that Old Honest nods. n i ■, -Tm ^ • i ■. m, put forth the riddle to Gams, began to nod. Then said Great-heart, Why, sir, you begin to be drowsy : come rub up • Prov. xi. 24.— xiii. 7. pilgrim's progress. 307 now ; here is a riddle for you. Tlien said Mr. Honest, Let us hear it. Then said Mr. Great-heart : — He that would kill, must first be overcome A ridrflp Who live abroad wouldj first must die at home. Ha ! said Mr. Honest, it is a hard one ; hard to expound, and harder to practice. But come, landlord, said he, I will, if you please, leave my part to- you ; do you expound it, and I will hear what you say. No, said Gains ; 't was put to you, and 't is expected you should answer it. Then said the old gentleman : — He first by grace must conquered be, That sin would mortify : Who, that he lives, would convince me, ^^^ "^^^^ «P^"^^ Unto himself must die, It is right, said Gains ; good doctrine and experience teach this : For, Jirstj until grace displays itself, and overcomes the soul with its glory, it is altogether without heart to oppose sin. Besides, if sin is Satan's cords, by which the soul lies bound, how should it make resistance, before it is loosed from that infirmity ? Secondly. Nor will any that knows either reason or grace believe that such a man can be a living monument of grace, that is a slave to his own corruptions. And now it comes to my mind, I will tell you a story worth the hearing: There were two men that went on Pil- grimage ; the one began when he was young, the tte"mindhi^ ^°^'^ other when he was old. The young man had strong corruptions to grapple with, the old man's were weak with the decays of nature : the young man trod his steps as even as did the old one, and was every way as light as he. Who, now, or which of them, had their graces shining clearest, since both seemed to be alike ? Hon, The voung man's doubtless; for that which , _ . : 1 .... A comparison heads it against the greatest opposition gives best demonstration that it is strongest ; specially when it also holdeth pace with that which meets not with half so much ; as, to be sure, old age does not. Besides, I have observed that old men have blessed themselves with this mistake; namely, taking the decays of nature for a gracious conquest over corrup- tions, and so have been apt to beguile themselves. Indeed, old 308 pilgrim's progresjs. men that are gracious are best able to give advice to them that are young, because they have seen most of the emptiness of things j but yet, for an old man and a young to set out both together, the young one has the advantage of the fairest discovery of a work of grace within him, though the old man's corruptions are naturally the weakest. Thus they sat talking till break of day. Now, when the family was up, Christiana bid her son James that he should read a chap- ter ; so he read the 53d of Isaiah. When he had Another question. .'____ , , _,^, . • i i i done, Mr. Honest asked, Why it was said that the Saviour is said to " come out of a dry ground .^" and also, that " he had no form nor comeliness in him?^^ Then said Mr. Great-heart, To the frst I answer, Because the church of the Jews, of which Christ came, had then almost lost all the sap and spirit of religion. To the second I say, The words are spoken in the person of Unbelievers, who, because they want the eye that can see into our Prince's heart, therefore they judge of him by the meanness of his outside. Just like those that know not that precious stones are covered over with a homely crust: who, when they have found one, because they know not what they have found, cast it away again, as men do a common stone. Well, said Gains, now you are here, and since, as I know, Mr. Great-heart is good at his weapons, if you please, after we have refreshed ourselves, we will walk into the fields to see if we can do any good. About a mile from hence, there is one Slay-good^ a giant, that doth much annoy the King's highway in these parts ; and I know whereabout his haunt is ; he is master of a number of thieves. 'T Avould be well if we could clear these parts of him. So they consented and went 5 Mr. Great-heart with his sword, helmet, and shield, and the rest with spears and staves. _. , ^, ^ When they came to the place where he was, Oiant Slay-good , „ ^ , y . , n i -, . 7 • i • i , found with one they found him with one / eeoLe-mind m bis hand. Feeble-mind in his whom his servants had brought unto him, having ^^^^' taken him in the way. Now the Giant was rifling him, with a purpose, after that, to pick his bones j for he was of the nature of flesh-eaters. Well, so soon as he saw Mr. Great-heart and his friends at the mouth of his cave with their weapons, he demanded what they wanted ? Great-heart. We want thee ; for we are come to revenge the quarrels of the many that thou hast slain of the Pilgrims, when thou hast dragged them out of the King's highway; wherefore come out of thy cave ! So he armed himself, and came out \ and to a [Great heart daring Giant Sla} good to conitaet ] battle they Avent, and fought for above an hour, and then stood still 'to take wind. Then said the Giant, Why are you here on my ground? Great-heart. To revenge the blood of Pilgrims, as I told thee before. So they went to it agam, and the Giant made Mr. Great-heart give back ; but he came up again, and, in the greatness of his mind, he let fly with such stoutness at the Giant's The Giant assault- head and sides, that he made him let his weapon ed and slain. fall out of his hand ; so he smote him, and slew him, and cut off his head, and brought it away to the inn. He also took Feeble- mind, the Pilgrim, and brought him with him to his lodgings. When they were come home, they showed his head to the family, and set it up, as they had done others before, for a terror to those that shall attempt to do as he, hereafter. Then they asked Mr. Feeble-mind, how he fell into his hands 1 Then said the poor man, I am a sickly man, as you see ; and because Death did usually once a day knock at my door, I thought I should never be well at home ; so I betook myself to a Pilgrim's life, and have travelled hither from the town of jj^^ Feeble-mind Uncertain, where I and my father were born. I came to be a Pii- am a man of no strength at all of body, nor yet of s^'^™- mind ; but would, if I could, though I can but crawl, spend ,my 309 310 pilgrim's progress. life in the Pilgrim's Avay. When I came at the Gate that is at the head of the way, the Lord of that place did entertain me freely, neither objected he against my weakly looks, nor against Tciy feeble mind, but gave me such things as were necessary for my journey, and bid me hope to the end. When I came to the house of the Interpreter, I received much kindness there ; and because the hill of Difficulty was judged too hard for me, I was carried up that by one of his servants. Indeed, I have found much relief from Pil- grims, though none was willing to go so softly as I am forced to do ; yet still, as they came on, they bid me be of good cheer, and said, that it was the will of their Lord that comfort should be given to the feeble-minded ; and so went on their own pace.* When I was come to Assault-lane, then this Giant met with me, and bid me prepare for an encounter ; but, alas ! feeble one that I was, I had more need of a cordial ; so he came up, and took me. I con- ceited he should not kill me ; also, when he got me into his den, since I went not with him willingly, I believed I should come out alive again ; for I have heard, that not any Pilgrim that is taken captive by violent hands, if he keeps heart-whole towards his Master, is, by the laws of Providence, to die by the hand of the enemy. Robbed I looked to be, and robbed to be sure I am ; but I am, as you see, escaped with life ; for the whidi I thank my King as author, and you as the means. Other brunts I also look for ; but this I have resolved on, to wit, to run Ma k th" when I can, to go when I cannot run, and to creep when I cannot go. As to the main, I thank him that loves me, I am fixed ; my way is before me, my mind is be- yond the river that has no bridge, though I am, as you see, but of 2i feeble mind. Then said old Mr. Honest, Have not you, some time ago, been acquainted with one Mr. Fearing, a Pilgrim ? Feeble-mind. Acquainted with him! yes, he came from the town of Stupidity, which lieth four degrees to the northward of the city of Destruction, and as many off, of where I was born; yet Mr. Fearinff Mr. ^^ Were Well acquainted, for indeed he was mine Feeble-mind's un- uncle, my father's brother. He and I have been ^^^- much of a temper ; he was a little shorter than I, but yet we were much of a complexion. Hon. I perceive you knew him, and I am apt to believe also that Feeble-mind has 1^^^ were related one to another ; for you have his some of Mr. Fear- whitely look, a cast like his with your eye, and ing's features. your speech is much alike. * 1 Thess. V. 14. pilgrim's progress. 31 J Feeble-mind. Most have said so that have knewn us both ; and, besides, what I have read in him, I have for the most part found in myself. Come, sir, said good Gaius, be of good cheer ; Gains comforts you are welcome to me and to my house ; and Wm. what thou hast a mind to, call for freely ; and what thou wouldst have my servants do for thee, they will do it with a ready mind. Then said Mr. Feeble-mind, This is unexpected favour, and as the sun shining out of a very dark cloud. Did Notice to be taken Giant Slay-good intend me this favour when he of Providence. stopped me, and resolved to let me go no further ? Did he intend, that, after he had rifled my pockets, I should go to Gaius, mine host ? Yet so it is. Now, just as Mr. Feeble-mind and Gaius were Ti^in but for good company, that will appear in the trial. Well, said Mr. Great-heart, will you have the Pilgrims up into their lodging ? I will, said Mr. Mnason. So he had them to their respective places, and also showed them a very fair dining-room, where they might be and sup together, until the time was come to go to rest. Now, when they were set iii their places, and were a little cheery after their journey, Mr. Honest asked his landlord, if there were any store of good people in the town ? Mnason. We have a few, for indeed they are but a few, when compared with them on the other side. Hon. But how shall we do to see some of them ? rpj^ desire to see for the sight of good men to them, that are going some of the good on pilgrimage, is like to the appearing of the moon People of the town. and stars to them that are sailing upon the seas. Then Mr. Mnason stamped with his foot, and his daughter Grace oame up ; so he said unto her, Grace, go you tell my friends, Mr. Contrite^ Mr. Holy-man^ Mr. Love-saints^ Mr. Dare-not-lie^ and Mr. Penitent^ that I have a friend or two at my house that have a mind this evening to see them. So Grace went to call them, and they came ; and, after saluta tion made, they sat down together at the table. Then said Mr. Mnason, their landlord, My neighbours, I have as you see, a company of strangers come to my house ; they are Pilgrims, they come from afar, and are going to mount Zion. But who, quoth he, do you think this is ? pointing his finger to Chris- tiana ; it is Christiana, the wife of Christian, the famous Pilgrim, who, with Faithful his brother, was so shamefully handled in our town. At that they stood amazed, saying, We little thought to see Christiana, when Grace came to call us ; wherefore this is a very comfortable surprise ! They then asked her of her welfare, and if these young men were her husband's sons ? And when she had told them they were, they said, The King, whom you love and serve, make you as your father, and bring you where he is in peace ' 3JG pilgrim's PROGfRESS. Some talk betwixt Then Mr. Honest (when they were all set down) Mr.HonestandMr. asked Mr. Contrite, and the rest, in what posture Contrite. ^j^g^j. town was at present ? Contrite. You may be sure we are full of hurry in fair-time 'T is hard keeping our hearts and spirits in good watchfulness*^ ° order, when we are in a cumbered condition. He that lives in such a place as this is, and that has to do With such as we have, has need of an item^ to caution him to take heed every moment of the day. Hon. But how are your neighbours now for quietness ? Contrite. They are much more moderate now than formerly. Persecution not so ^ou know how Christian and Faithful were used not at Vanity-fair at our town J but of late, I say, they have been far as formerly. ;^oj.e moderate. I think the blood of Faithful lieth with a load upon them till now ; for since they burned him, they have been ashamed to burn any more. In those days we were afraid to walk the- streets, but now we can show our heads. Then the name of a Professor was odious j now, especially in some parts of our town, (for you know our town is large,) religion is counted honourable. Then said Mr. Contrite to them. Pray how fared it with you in your pilgrimage ? How stands the country affected towards you 1 Hon. It happens to us as it happeneth to wayfaring men ; some- times our way is clean, sometimes foul ; sometimes up-hill, some- times down-hill ; we are seldom at a certainty ; the wind is not always on our backs, nor is every one a friend that we meet with in the way. We have met with some notable rubs already ; and what are yet behind we know not ; but, for the most part, we find it true that has been talked of, of old, " A good man must suffer trouble." Contrite. You talk of rubs ; what rubs have you met withal'.' Ho7i. Nay, ask Mr. Great-heart, our guide, for he can give the best account of that. Great-heart. We have been beset three or four times already. First, Christiana and her children were beset with two ruffians, that they feared would have taken away their lives. We were beset with Giant Bloody-man, Giant Maul, and Giant Slay-good. Indeed, we did rather beset the last than were beset of him. And thus it was : After we had been some time at the house of Gaius, mine host, and of the whole church, we were minded, upon a time, to take our weapons with us, and go see if we could light upon any of those that are enemies to Pilgrims ; (for we heard that there was a notable one thereabouts.) Now Gaius knew his haunt bet- pilgrim's progress. 317 ter than I, because he dwelt thereabout ; so we looked and looked, till at last we discerned the mouth of his cave ; then we were glad, and plucked up our spirits. So we approached up to his den, and lo, when we came there, he had dragged by mere force, into his net, this poor man Mr. Feeble-mind, and was about to bring him to his end. But when he saw us, supposing, as we thought, he had had another prey, he left the poor man in his hole, and came out. So we fell to it full sore, and he lustily laid about him; but in conclusion, he was brought down to the ground, and his head cut off, and set up by the wayside for a terror to such as should after practice such ungodliness. That I tell you the truth, here is the man himself to affirm it, who was as a lamb taken out of the mouth of the lion. Then said Mr. Feeble-mind, I found this true to my cost and comfort ; to my cost, when he threatened to pick my bones every moment ; and to my comfort, when I saw Mr. Great-heart and his friends, with their weapons, approach so near for my deliverance. Then said Mr. Holy-man, There are two things Mr. Holy-man's that they have need to be possessed with that go speech, on pilgrimage, courage and an unspotted life. If they have not courage, they can never hold on their way; and if their lives be loose, they will make the very name of a Pilgrim stink. Then said Mr. Love-saints, I hope this caution Mr. Love-saint's is not needful amongst you. But truly there are speech. many that go upon the road that rather declare themselves strangers to pilgrimage, than strangers and Pilgrims on the earth. Then said Mr. Dare-not-lie, 'Tis true, they nei- Mr. Dare-not-iie, ther have the Pilgrim's weed, nor the Pilgrim's his speech, courage; they go not uprightly, but all awry with their feet; one shoe goes inward, another outward, and their hosen out behind ; here a rag, and there a rent, to the disparagement of their Lord. These things, said Mr. Penitent, they ought to Mr. Penitent, his be troubled for ; nor are the Pilgrims like to have speech. that grace put upon them, and their Pilgrim'' s Progress as they (desire, until the way is cleared of such spots and blemishes. Thus they sat talking and spending the lime, until supper was set upon the table ; unto which they went, and refreshed their weary bodies ; so they went to rest. Now they stayed in the Fair a great while, at the house of this Mr. Mnason, who, in process of time, gave his daughter Grace unto Samuel, Christiana's son, to wife, and his daughter Martha to Joseph. The time, as I said, that they lay here, was long, (for it was not .low as in former times ;) wherefore the Pilgrims grew acquainted 27* 318 pilgrim's progress. With many of tne good people of the town, and did tnem wnat ser- vice they could. Mercy, as she was wont, laboured much for the poor ; wherefore their bellies and backs blessed her, and she was there an ornament to her profession. And, to say the truth, for Grace, Phebe, and Martha, they were all of a very good nature, and did much good in their places. They were also all of them very fruitful ; so that Christian's name, as was said before, was like to live in the world. While they lay here, there came a Monster out of the woods, and slew many of the people of the town. It would also carry away their children, and teach them to suck its whelps. Now, no man in the town durst so much as face this Monster ; but all fled when they heard the noise of his coming. The Monster was like unto no one beast on the earth.* Its body was like a dragon, and it had seven heads and ten horns. It made great havoc of children, and yet it was governed by a woman. This Monster His nature. ^ , , . . '^ , , propounded conditions to men ; and such men as loved their lives more than their souls accepted of those conditions. So they came under. Now Mr. Great-heart, together with those who came to visit the Pilgrims at Mr. Mnason's house, entered into a covenant to go and engage this beast, if perhaps they might deliver the people of this town from the paws and mouths of this so devouring a serpent. Then did Mr. Great-heart, Mr. Contrite, Mr. Holy-man, Mr. Dare-not-lie, and Mr. Penitent, with their weapons, go forth to meet him. Now the Monster at first was very rampant, and looked Howh "s n pany, if you go, as I suppose you do, to the Celestial City, So the man stopped, and they came up to him. But as soon as Mr. Honest saw him, he said, I know this Man. Then said Mr. Valiant-for-truth. The story of stand- Prithee, who is it? It is one, said he, that corner fast. from whereabout I dwelt ; his name is Stand-fast ; he IS certainly a right good Pilgrim. So they came up to one another; and presently Stand-fast said Talk betwixt him to old Honest, Ho ! father Honest, are you there ? and Mr. Honest. Ay, said he, that I am, as sure as you are there. Right glad I am, said Mr. Standfast, that I have found you on this road. And as glad am I, said the other, that I espied you on youi knees. Then Mr. Standfast blushed, and said, But why, did you see me? Yes, that I did, quoth the other; and, with my heart, was glad at the sight. Why, what did you think ? said Stand- fast. Think! said old Honest; what should I think? I thought we had an honest man upon the road ; and therefore should have his company by-and-by. If you thought not amiss, said Stand-fast, how happy am I ! but, if I be not as I should, 't is I alone must bear it. That is true, said the other ; but your fear doth farther con firm me that things are right betwixt the Prmce of Pilgrims and your soul; for, he saith ^^ Blessed is the man that feareth They found him at Val. Well, but, brother, I pray thee tell us, what prayer. was it that was the cause of thy being u^on thy knees even now ? Was it for that some special mercy laid obli- gations upon thee, or how ? What it was that Stand-fast. Why, we are, as you see, upon the fetched him upon Enchanted Ground, and, as I was coming along, I his knees. ^^^ musing with myself of what a dangerous na- ture the road in this place was, and how many that had come even thus far on pilgrimage had there been stopped, and been de- stroyed. I thought also of the manner of the death with which this place destroyeth men. Those that die here die of no violent dis- temper : the death which such die is not grievous to them ; for he that goeth away in a sleep begins that journey with desire and pleasure ; yea, such acquiesce in the will of that disease. Then Mr. Honest, interrupting him, said, Did you see the two men asleep in the arbour ? Stand-fast. Ay, ay ; I saw Heedless and Too-bold there ; and PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. 339 for auglit I know, there they will lie till they rot.* But let me go on with my tale : As I was thus musing, as I said, there was one in very pleasant attire, but old, who presented herself to me, and offered me three things, to wit, her body, her purse, and her bed. Now, the truth is, I was both aweary and sleepy : I am also as poor as a howlet, and that perhaps the witch knew. Well, I re- pulsed her once and again; but she put by my repulses, and smiled. Then I began to be angry ; but she mattered that nothing at all. Then she made offers again, and said, if I would be ruled by her, she would make me great and happy ; for, said she, I am the Mistress of the World, and men are made happy by me. Then I asked her name, and she told me it was Madam Madam Bubble ; or Bubble. This set me farther from her : but she this vain world. still followed me with enticements. Then I betook me, as you saw, to my knees ; and with hands lifted up, and cries, I prayed to him that had said he would help. So, just as you came up, the gentlewoman went her way. Then I continued to give thanks for this my great deliverance ; for I verily believe she intended no good, but rather sought to make stop of me in my journey. Hon. Without doubt, her designs were bad. But stay, now you talk of her, methinks I either have seen her, or have read some story of her. Stand-fast. Perhaps you have done both. Hon. Madam Bubble ! is she not a tall, comely dame, some- thing of a swarthy complexion ? Stand-fast. Right ; you hit it. She is just such a one. Hon. Doth she not speak very smoothly, and give you a smile at the end of every sentence ? Standfast. You fall right upon it again ; for these are her very actions. Hon. Doth she not wear a great purse by her side ? and is not her hand often in it, fingering her money, as if that was her heart's delight 1 Standfast. 'Tis just so. Had she stood by all this while, you could not more amply have set her forth before me, and have better described her features. Hon. Then he that drew her picture was a good limner, and he that wrote of her said true. Great-heart. This women is a witch ; and it is _, , . . , , . , . The world. by virtue of her sorceries that this ground is en- chanted. Whoever doth lay his head down in her lap, had as good lay it down on that block over which the axe doth hang; and * Prov. X. ?. 340 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. whoever lay their eyes upon her beauty, are counted the enemies ©f God. This is she that maintaineth in their splendour all those that are the enemies of Pilgrims.* Yea, this is she that hath bought off many a man from a Pilgrim's life. She is a great gos- siper: she is always, both she and her daughters, at one Pilgrim's heels or another, now commending and then preferring the excel- lences of this life. She is a bold and impudent slut; she will talk with any man. She always laugheth poor Pilgrims to scorn, but highly commends the rich. If there be one cunning to get money in a place, she will speak well of him from house to house. She loveth banqueting and feasting mainly well : she is always at one full table or another. She has given it out in some places that she is a goddess ; and therefore some do worship her. She has her time and open places of cheating ; and she will say, and avow it, that none can show a good comparable to hers. She promiseth to dwell with children's children, if they will but love her, and make much of her. She will cast out of her purse gold like dust in some places, and to some persons. She loves to be sought after, spoken well of, and to lie in the bosoms of men. She is never weary of commending her commodities, and she loves them most that think best of her. She will promise to some crowns and kingdoms, if they will but take her advice ; yet many hath she brought to the halter, and ten thousand times more to hell. Oh! said Stand-fast, what a mercy is it that I did resist her! for whither might she have drawn me I Great-heart. Whither ! nay, none but God knows whither ; but, in general, to be sure, she would have drawn thee into " many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.^^1[ 'T was she that set Absalom agamst his father, and Jeroboam against his master. 'T was she that persuaded' Judas to sell his Lord, and that prevailed with Demas to forsake the godly Pil- grim's life. None can tell of the mischief that she doth : she makes variance betwixt rulers and subjects, betwixt parents and children, betwixt neighbour and neighbour, betwixt a man and (lis wife, betwixt a man and himself, betwixt the flesh and the .jpirit. , Wherefore, good Mr. Standfast, be as your name is ; and, "when you have done all, stand." At this discourse there was, among the Pilgrims, a mixture of joy and trembling; but at length they broke out and sung : — * James iv. 4. 1 John ii, 15. 1 1 Tim. vi. 9. pilgrim's .progress. 34J What danger is the Pilgrim in. How many are his foes 1 How many ways there are to sin. No living mortal knows. Some in the ditch are spoil'd : yea can Lie tumbhng in tlie mire ; Some, though they shan the frying-pan, Do leap into the fire. After this, I beheld until they were come into the land of Beu- lahj where the sun shineth night and day. Here, because they were weary, they betook themselyes a Avhile to rest ; and because this country was common for Pilgrims, and because the orchards and vineyards that were here belonged to the King of the Celestial Country, therefore they were licensed to make bold with any of his things. But a little while soon refreshed them here j for Jhe bells did so ring, and the trumpets continually sound so melodi- ously, that they could not sleep, and yet they received as much refreshing as if they slept their sleep never so soundly. Here also all the noise of them that walked the streets was, " More Pilgrims are come to town." And another would answer, saying, " And so many went over the water, and were let in at the golden gates to-day." They would cry again, " There is now a legion of Shining Ones just come to town, by which we know that there are more Pilgrims upon the road ; for here they come to wait for them, and to comfort them after all their sorrow." Then the Pilgrims got up, and walked to and fro: but how were their ears now filled with heavenly noises, and their eyes delighted with celestial vis- ions ! In this land they heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing, smelt nothing, tasted nothing, that was offensive to their stomach or mind ; only, when they tasted of the water of the p^^^j^ ^-^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ river over which they were to go, they thought that flesh, but sweet to tasted a little bitterish to the palate j but it proved ^^^ ^°"^ sweeter when it was down. In this place there was a record kept of the names of them that had been Pilgrims of old, and a history of all the famous acts that they had done. It was here also much discoursed, J)Q^^Y^ j,as its eb- how the river to some had had its Sowings, and bings and fiowings what ebbmgs it has had while others have gone ^^® ^^^ t^<^®- over: it has been in a manner dry for some, while it has over- flowed its banks for others. In this place, the children of the toAvn would go into the King's Gardens, and gather nosegays for the Pilgrims, and bring them to them with much affection. Here also grew camphire with spike- nard and saifron ; calamus, and cinnamon, with all the trees of 29* 342 PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all chief spices. With these the Pilgiims' chambers were perfumed while they stayed herej and with these were their bodies anomted, to prepare them to go over the river, when the time appointed was come. Now, Avhile they lay here, and waited for the good hour, there . f was a noise in the town, that there was a Post A messenger oi ' death sent to come from the Celestial City, with matter of great ChrisUana. importance to one Christiana, the wife of Chris- tian the Pilgrm). So inquiry was made for her, and the house was found out where she was. So the Post presented her with a letter ; the contents were, " Hail, good woman ! I bring i!> message. ^^^^ tidings that the Master ealleth for thee, and expecteth that thou shouldst stand in his presence, in clothes of immortality, within these ten days." When he had read this letter to her, he gave her therewith a sure token that he was a true messenger, and was come to bid her make haste to be gone. The token was, " An ar- How welcome .=' t-t, ■, ^ ., Deaiii is to them ^010 toiili a point sharpened with love, let easily that have nothing into her heart, which by degrees wrought so effect- .0 utto le, iially with her, that, at the time appointed, she must be goneP When Christiana saw that her time was come, and that she was the first of this company that was to go over, she called for Mr. Great-heart her guide, and told him how matters were. So he told her he was heartily glad of the news, and could "uTde^'''^ ^"^ ^^'^ l^ave been glad had the Post come for him. Then she bid him that he should give advice how all things should be prepared for her journey. So he told her saying, Thus and thus it must be; and we that survive will accompany „ , , ., , you to the river-side. Then she called for her To her children. •', ., ^ , , •> ^ -, • -, ^ ^ children, and gave tnem her blessing, and told them, that she had read with comfort the mark that was set in their foreheads, and was glad to see them with her there, and that they had kept their garments so Avhite. Lastly, she bequeathed to the poor that little she had, and commanded her sons and daughters to be ready against the messenger should come for them. When she had spoken these words to her guide, and to her chil- dren, she called for Mr. Valiant-for-tmth, and said t^-uth'' ^^^'^''^'^''^' unto him. Sir, you have in all places showed your- self true-hearted ; be faithful unto death, and my King will give you a crown of life. I would also entreat you to have an eye to my children ; and, if at any time you see them faint, speak comfortably to them. For my daughters, my sons* wives, pilgrim's progress. 343 they have been faithful, and a fulfilling of the ^ „ ^ • .-1, -m .1 • 1 -r> -L To Mr. Stand-fasl. promise upon them, will be their end. But she gave Mr. Standfast a ring. Then she called for old Mr. Honest, and said of him, " Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile !" Then said he, I wish you a fair day when you set out for mount Zion, and shall be glad to see that you go over the river dry-shod. But she answered, Come iDet, come dry, I long to be gone ; for, however the weather is in my journey, I shall have time enough, when I come there, to sit down, and rest me, and dry me Then came in that good man, Mr. Ready-to-halt, to see her. So she said to him. Thy travel hitherto ^°^^^''- ^^eady-to has been with "difficulty, but that will make thy rest the sweeter. But, " watch and be ready 3 for, at an hour when ye think not, the messenger may come." After him came Mr. Despondency, and his daughter Much-afraid; to ^o Mr. Despon- whom she said, " You ought with thankfulness for dency and his ever to remember your deliverance from the hands daughter, of Giant Despair, and out of Doubting Castle. The effect of that mercy is, that you are brought with safety hither. Be ye watchful, and cast away fear; be sober, and hope to the end." Then she said to Mr. Feeble-mind, Thou wast to Mr. Feeble- delivered from the mouth of Giant Slay-good, that mind. thou mightest live in the light of the living, and see thy King with comfort ; only I advise thee to repent of thine aptness to fear and doubt of his goodness before he sends for thee ; lest thou shouldest, when he comes, be forced to stand before him for that fault, with blushing. Now the day drew on that Christiana must be gone. So the road was full of people to see her take her journey, jj^j. jg^g^ ^^^ ^^^ But, behold, all the banks beyond the river were manner of depart- ful of horses and chariots, which were come down "^®' from above to accompany her to the City-Gate. So she came forth, and entered the river with a beckon of farewell to those that followed her. The last words that she was heard to say were, " I come. Lord, to be with thee, and bless thee." So her children and friends returned to their place, for those that waited for Christiana had carried her out of their sight. So she went and called and entered in at the Gate, with all the ceremo- nies of joy that her husband Christian had entered with before her. At her departure her children wept ; but Mr. Great-heart and Mr. Valiant played upon the well-tuned cymbal and harp for joy. So" all departed to their respective places. Christiana passin;: tlie liver.J In process of time there came a Post to the town agam, and hi3 business was with Mr. Ready-to-halt. So he in- summonsed "^ s quired liim out, and said, 1 am come from Him Avhom thou hast loved and followed, though upon crutches ; and my message is to tell thee that he expects thee at his table, to sup with him in his kingdom, the next day after Easter ; wherefore prepare thyself for this journey. Then he also gave him a token that he was a true messenger, saying, " / have broken thy golden bowl, and loosed thy silver cord?^ After thi^, Mr. Ready-to-halt called for his fellow Pilgrims, and told them, saying, I am sent for, and, God shall surely visit you also. So he desired Mr. Valiant to make his will. And because he had nothing to bequeath to them that should survive him, but 344 pilgrim's progress. 345 his crutches and his good wishes, therefore thus he 1 mi ITT i' T Promises. said: These crutches I bequeath to my son that shall tread in my steps, with a hundred warm wishes that he may prove better than I have been. Then he thanked Mr. Great heart for his conduct and kindness, and so addressed himself to his journey. When he came to the brink of the river, he said. Now, I shall have no more need of thes.e crutches, since yonder are chariots and horses for me to ride on. The last works he was heard to say were, " Wei- „. , ,.^ ,„ ™ , . , . ■' ' His last words. covie life !" So he went his Avay. After this, Mr. Feeble-mind had tidings brought Feeble-mind sum- him, that the Post sounded his horn at his chamber moned. door. Then he came in, and told him, saying, I am come to tell thee that thy Master hath need of thee ; and that, in a very little time, thou must behold his face in brightness. And take this as a token of the truth of my message: " Those that look out at the vnndows shall he darkened?' Then Mr. Feeble-miiid called for his friends, and told them what errand had been brought unto him, and what token he had received of the truth of the message. Then he said, since I have nothing to bequeath to any, to what purpose should I make a will ? As for my feeble-mind, that I will leave behind me, „ , , . ^ , X 1 n 1 1 f ■ 1 1 1-1 He makes his will. for that I shall have no need oi m the place whither I go ; nor is it Avorth bestowmg upon the poorest Pilgrims ; where- fore when I am gone, I desire that you, Mr. Valiant, would bury it in a dunghill. This done, and the day being come on which he was to depart, he entered the river as the rest. His last words were, ^^ Hold out, faith a7id patience P'' So he „. , ■' ^ ■' ^ . ^ ^ His last words. went over to the other side. When days had many of them passed away, Mr. Despondency was sent for ; for a Post was come, and brought this message to him : " Trembling man, these are to summon thee Mr. Despondency's to be ready with the King by the next Lord's day, summons. to shout for joy for thy deliverance from all thy doubtings." And, said the messenger, that my message is true, take this for a proof; so he gave him "a grasshopper to he a hurden unto him.''''^ Now, Mr. Despondency's daughter, whose His daughter goes name was Much-afraid, said, when she heard what too. was done, that she would go with her father. Then Mr. Despon- dency said to his friends. Myself and my daughter, you know what we have been, and how troublesomely we have behaved ourselves 84b PILGRIM S PROGRESS. in every company ; my will and my daughter's is that our desponds and slavish fears be by no man ever received from the day of our departure for ever ; for I know that after my death, they will offer themselves to others. For, to be plain with you, they are ghosts w^hich we entertained when we €rst began to be Pilgrims, and could never shake them off after ; and they will walk about, and seek entertainment of the Pilgrims; but, for our sakes, shut the doors upon them. When the time was come for them to depart, they went up to „. , , - the brink of the river. The last words of Mr. De- His last words. spondency were, " Farewell nighty welcome day .'" His daughter went through the river singing, but none could un- derstand what she said. Then it came to pass a while after, that there was a Post in the town that inquired for Mr. Honest. So he came to the house where Mr. Honest sum- he was, and delivered to his hand these lines: '"^"^'^- " Thou art commanded to be ready against this day seven-night, to present thyself before the Lord at his Father's house." And for a token that my message is true, " All the daughters of music shall he brought low.'^^* Then Mr. Honest called for his friends, and said mito them, I die, but shall make no „ , .,, will. As for my honesty, it shall go with me j let He makes no will. n ■, i ■, f ■, • him that comes after be told oi this. When the day that he was to be gone was come, he addressed himself to go over the river. Now the river at that time overflowed its banks in some places; but Mr. Honest, in his lifetime, had Good-conscience spoken to one Good-conscience to meet him there; helps Mr. Honest the which he also did, and lent him his hand, and over the river. g^ helped him over. The last words of Mr. Hon- est were, " Grace reigns ;" so he left the world. After this, it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant-for-truth was Mr. Vaiiant-for- taken with a summons by the same Post as the truth summoned. other, and had this for a token that the summons was true, " That his pitcher was broken atthefou7itain.^^\ When he understood it, he called for his friends, and told them of it. Then said he, I am going to my Father's ; and though with great difficulty I have got hither, yet now I do not repent me of all the „. .„ trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My His will. ,-r- 1- 1 111 -I . sword I give to him that shall succeed me m my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles, who now will be my reward er. When • Eccl. xii 4, tEccl. xii, 6. - PILGRLM'S PROGRESS 347 the day tnat he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the river-side ; into which as he went, he said, '■^ Death where is thy sting?'''' And as he went down deeper, he said, " Grave^ where is thy victory ?" So he passed oyer, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side. Then there came forth a summons for Mr. Stand- Mr. standfast ia fast. This Mr. Standfast was he that the rest of summoned the Pilgrims found upon his knees in the Enchanted Ground And the Post brought it him open in his hands. The contents thereof were, " That he must prepare for a change of life, for his Master was not Avilling that he should be so far from him any longer." At this Mr. Standfast was put into a muse. Nay, said the mes- senger, you need not doubt of the truth of my message, for here is a token of the truth thereof, " Thy wheel is broken at the cistern.''^* Then he called to him Mr. Great-heart, who was He calls for Mr. their guide, and said unto him, Sir, although it Great-heart. was not my hap to be much in your good company during the days of my pilgrimage, yet, since the time I kncAv you. His speech to him. you have been profitable to me. When I came from home, I left behind me a wife and five small children ; let me entreat you, at your reUu-n, (for I know that you will go and return to your Master's house, in hopes that you may yet be a conductor to more of the holy Pilgrims,) that you send to my family, and let them be acquainted with all that hath and shall happen unto me. Tell them, moreover, of my happy arrival at this His errand to his place, and of the present and late blessed condition family. 1 am in. Tell them also of Christian and Christiana his wife, and how she and her children came after her husband. Tell them also of what a happy end she made, and whither she is gone. I have little or nothing to send to my family, unless it be prayers and tears for them ; of which it will suffice that you acquaint them, if perad- venture they may prevail. When Mr. Standfast had thus set things in order, and the time being come for him to haste him away, he also went down to the river. Now there was a great calm at that time in the river; wherefore Mr. Standfast, when he was about half-way in, stood a while and talked with his companions that had wait- „. , , 1 . 1 -. 1 • 1 rrn • • 1 ^1^ last words. ed upon him thither ; and he sa.id, ihis river, has been a terror to many; yea, the thoughts of it also have often frighted me ; but now methinks I stand easy, my foot is fixed upon that on which the feet of the priests that bare the Ark of the Cov- aant stood, while Israel went over this Jordan.f The waters in- * Eccl. xii. f5. t Josh. iii. 17 348 PILGRIM''S PROGRESS. deed are to the palate bitter, and to the stomach cold ; yet the thoughts of what I am going to, and of the conduct that waits for me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing coal at my heart. I see myself now at the end of my journey ; my toilsome days are ended. I am ^oing to see that Head that was crowned with thorns, and that face that was spit upon, for me. I have formerly lived by hearsay and faith ; but now I go where I shall live by sight, and shall be with Him in whose company I delight myself. I have loved to hear my Lord spoken of; and wherever I have seen the print of his shoe in the earth, there I have coveted to set my foot too. His name has been to me as a civet-box ; yea, sweeter than all perfumes. His voice to me has been most sweet, and his coun- tenance I have more desired than they that have most desired the light of the sun. His words I did use to gather for my food, and for antidotes against my fain tings. He has held me, and hath kept me from mine iniquities ; yea, my steps hath he strengthened in his way. Now, while he was thus in discourse, his countenance changed ; his strong man bowed under him j and after he had said, " Take me, for I come unto thee," he ceased to be seen of them. But glorious it was to see how the open region was filled with horses and chariots, with trumpeters and pipers, with singers and players upon stringed instruments, to welcome the Pilgrims as they went up, and followed one another in at the Beautiful Gate of the City ! As for Christiana's children, the four boys that Christiana brought with her, with their wives and children, I did not stay where I was till they were gone over. Also, since I came away, I heard one say that they were yet alive, and so would be, for the increase of the church in that place where they were, for a time. Should it be my lot to go that way again, I may give those that desire it an account of what I here am silent about. Meantime 1 bid my reader Adieu. 689 i i %-j «5 -^c^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 157 715 3 4