p151--p200

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{151}

Then Apollyon, espying his opportunity, began to gather up close

to Christian, and wrestling with him, gave him a dreadful fall;

and with that Christian's sword flew out of his hand.

Then said Apollyon, I am sure of thee now. And with that

he had almost pressed him to death, so that Christian began

to despair of life; but as God would have it, while Apollyon

was fetching of his last blow, thereby to make a full end

of this good man, Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword,

and caught it, saying, "Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy;

when I fall I shall arise" [Micah 7:8]; <Christian's victory

over Apollyon> and with that gave him a deadly thrust,

which made him give back, as one that had received his mortal wound.

Christian perceiving that, made at him again, saying, "Nay,

in all these things we are more than conquerors through him

that loved us". [Rom. 8:37] And with that Apollyon spread forth

his dragon's wings, and sped him away, that Christian for a season

saw him no more. [James 4:7]

{152}

In this combat no man can imagine, unless he had seen and heard

as I did, what yelling and hideous roaring Apollyon made all the time

of the fight--he spake like a dragon; and, on the other side,

what sighs and groans burst from Christian's heart. I never saw him

all the while give so much as one pleasant look, till he perceived

he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged sword; then, indeed,

he did smile, and look upward; but it was the dreadfullest sight

that ever I saw.

A more unequal match can hardly be,--

CHRISTIAN must fight an Angel; but you see,

The valiant man by handling Sword and Shield,

Doth make him, tho' a Dragon, quit the field.

{153}

So when the battle was over, Christian said, "I will here give thanks

to him that delivered me out of the mouth of the lion,

to him that did help me against Apollyon." And so he did, saying--

Great Beelzebub, the captain of this fiend,

Design'd my ruin; therefore to this end

He sent him harness'd out: and he with rage

That hellish was, did fiercely me engage.

But blessed Michael helped me, and I,

By dint of sword, did quickly make him fly.

Therefore to him let me give lasting praise,

And thank and bless his holy name always.

{154}

Then there came to him a hand, with some of the leaves

of the tree of life, the which Christian took, and applied to the wounds

that he had received in the battle, and was healed immediately.

He also sat down in that place to eat bread, and to drink of the bottle

that was given him a little before; so, being refreshed,

he addressed himself to his journey, with his sword drawn in his hand;

for he said, I know not but some other enemy may be at hand. But he met

with no other affront from Apollyon quite through this valley.

{155}

Now, at the end of this valley was another, called the Valley of

the Shadow of Death, and Christian must needs go through it,

because the way to the Celestial City lay through the midst of it.

Now, this valley is a very solitary place. The prophet Jeremiah

thus describes it: "A wilderness, a land of deserts and of pits,

a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, a land that no man"

(but a Christian) "passed through, and where no man dwelt." [Jer. 2:6]

Now here Christian was worse put to it than in his fight with Apollyon,

as by the sequel you shall see.

{156}

I saw then in my dream, that when Christian was got to the borders of

the Shadow of Death, there met him two men, children of them

that brought up an evil report of the good land [Num. 13],

making haste to go back; to whom Christian spake as follows:--

{157}

CHR. Whither are you going?

MEN. They said, Back! back! and we would have you to do so too,

if either life or peace is prized by you.

CHR. Why, what's the matter? said Christian.

MEN. Matter! said they; we were going that way as you are going,

and went as far as we durst; and indeed we were almost past coming back;

for had we gone a little further, we had not been here to bring the news

to thee.

CHR. But what have you met with? said Christian.

MEN. Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death;

but that, by good hap, we looked before us, and saw the danger

before we came to it. [Ps. 44:19; 107:10]

CHR. But what have you seen? said Christian.

{158}

MEN. Seen! Why, the Valley itself, which is as dark as pitch;

we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit;

we heard also in that Valley a continual howling and yelling,

as of a people under unutterable misery, who there sat bound

in affliction and irons; and over that Valley hangs

the discouraging clouds of confusion. Death also doth always

spread his wings over it. In a word, it is every whit dreadful,

being utterly without order. [Job 3:5; 10:22]

CHR. Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have said,

but that this is my way to the desired haven. [Jer. 2:6]

MEN. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours. So, they parted,

and Christian went on his way, but still with his sword

drawn in his hand, for fear lest he should be assaulted.

{159}

I saw then in my dream, so far as this valley reached,

there was on the right hand a very deep ditch; that ditch is it

into which the blind have led the blind in all ages, and have both

there miserably perished. [Ps. 69:14,15] Again, behold,

on the left hand, there was a very dangerous quag, into which,

if even a good man falls, he can find no bottom for his foot

to stand on. Into that quag King David once did fall, and had no doubt

therein been smothered, had not HE that is able plucked him out.

{160}

The pathway was here also exceeding narrow, and therefore good Christian

was the more put to it; for when he sought, in the dark,

to shun the ditch on the one hand, he was ready to tip over

into the mire on the other; also when he sought to escape the mire,

without great carefulness he would be ready to fall into the ditch.

Thus he went on, and I heard him here sigh bitterly; for,

besides the dangers mentioned above, the pathway was here so dark,

and ofttimes, when he lift up his foot to set forward,

he knew not where or upon what he should set it next.

Poor man! where art thou now? thy day is night.

Good man, be not cast down, thou yet art right,

Thy way to heaven lies by the gates of Hell;

Cheer up, hold out, with thee it shall go well.

{161}

About the midst of this valley, I perceived the mouth of hell to be,

and it stood also hard by the wayside. Now, thought Christian,

what shall I do? And ever and anon the flame and smoke

would come out in such abundance, with sparks and hideous noises,

(things that cared not for Christian's sword, as did Apollyon before),

that he was forced to put up his sword, and betake himself

to another weapon called All-prayer. [Eph. 6:18] So he cried

in my hearing, "O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul!" [Ps. 116:4]

Thus he went on a great while, yet still the flames would be

reaching towards him. Also he heard doleful voices, and rushings

to and fro, so that sometimes he thought he should be torn in pieces,

or trodden down like mire in the streets. <Christian put to a stand,

but for a while> This frightful sight was seen, and these

dreadful noises were heard by him for several miles together;

and, coming to a place where he thought he heard a company of fiends

coming forward to meet him, he stopped, and began to muse

what he had best to do. Sometimes he had half a thought to go back;

then again he thought he might be half way through the valley;

he remembered also how he had already vanquished many a danger,

and that the danger of going back might be much more than for

to go forward; so he resolved to go on. Yet the fiends seemed to come

nearer and nearer; but when they were come even almost at him,

he cried out with a most vehement voice, "I will walk in the strength

of the Lord God!" so they gave back, and came no further.

{162}

<Christian made believe that he spake blasphemies,

when it was Satan that suggested them into his mind>

One thing I would not let slip. I took notice that now poor Christian

was so confounded, that he did not know his own voice;

and thus I perceived it. Just when he was come over against

the mouth of the burning pit, one of the wicked ones got behind him,

and stepped up softly to him, and whisperingly suggested

many grievous blasphemies to him, which he verily thought

had proceeded from his own mind. This put Christian more to it

than anything that he met with before, even to think that he should now

blaspheme him that he loved so much before; yet, if he could

have helped it, he would not have done it; but he had not the discretion

either to stop his ears, or to know from whence these blasphemies came.

{163}

When Christian had travelled in this disconsolate condition

some considerable time, he thought he heard the voice of a man,

as going before him, saying, "Though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."

[Ps. 23:4]

{164}

Then he was glad, and that for these reasons:

First, Because he gathered from thence, that some who feared God

were in this valley as well as himself.

Secondly, For that he perceived God was with them, though in that

dark and dismal state; and why not, thought he, with me? though,

by reason of the impediment that attends this place,

I cannot perceive it. [Job 9:11]

Thirdly, For that he hoped, could he overtake them, to have company

by and by. So he went on, and called to him that was before;

but he knew not what to answer; for that he also thought to be alone.

And by and by the day broke; then said Christian,

He hath turned "the shadow of death into the morning". [Amos 5:8]

{165}

Now morning being come, he looked back, not out of desire to return,

but to see, by the light of the day, what hazards he had gone through

in the dark. So he saw more perfectly the ditch that was on

the one hand, and the mire that was on the other; also how narrow

the way was which led betwixt them both; also now he saw the hobgoblins,

and satyrs, and dragons of the pit, but all afar off,

(for after break of day, they came not nigh;) yet they were discovered

to him, according to that which is written, "He discovereth deep things

out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death."

[Job 12:22]

{166}

Now was Christian much affected with his deliverance from

all the dangers of his solitary way; which dangers,

though he feared them more before, yet he saw them more clearly now,

because the light of the day made them conspicuous to him.

And about this time the sun was rising, and this was another mercy

to Christian; for you must note, that though the first part

of the Valley of the Shadow of Death was dangerous,

yet this second part which he was yet to go, was, if possible,

far more dangerous; for from the place where he now stood,

even to the end of the valley, the way was all along set so full

of snares, traps, gins, and nets here, and so full of pits, pitfalls,

deep holes, and shelvings down there, that, had it now been dark,

as it was when he came the first part of the way,

had he had a thousand souls, they had in reason been cast away;

but, as I said just now, the sun was rising. Then said he,

"His candle shineth upon my head, and by his light I walk

through darkness." [Job 29:3]

{167}

In this light, therefore, he came to the end of the valley.

Now I saw in my dream, that at the end of this valley lay blood,

bones, ashes, and mangled bodies of men, even of pilgrims

that had gone this way formerly; and while I was musing

what should be the reason, I espied a little before me a cave,

where two giants, POPE and PAGAN, dwelt in old time;

by whose power and tyranny the men whose bones, blood, and ashes, &c.,

lay there, were cruelly put to death. But by this place

Christian went without much danger, whereat I somewhat wondered;

but I have learnt since, that PAGAN has been dead many a day;

and as for the other, though he be yet alive, he is, by reason of age,

and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with

in his younger days, grown so crazy and stiff in his joints,

that he can now do little more than sit in his cave's mouth,

grinning at pilgrims as they go by, and biting his nails

because he cannot come at them.

{168}

So I saw that Christian went on his way; yet, at the sight

of the Old Man that sat in the mouth of the cave, he could not tell

what to think, especially because he spake to him, though he could not

go after him, saying, "You will never mend till more of you be burned."

But he held his peace, and set a good face on it, and so went by

and catched no hurt. Then sang Christian:

O world of wonders! (I can say no less),

That I should be preserved in that distress

That I have met with here! O blessed be

That hand that from it hath deliver'd me!

Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin

Did compass me, while I this vale was in:

Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets, did lie

My path about, that worthless, silly I

Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;

But since I live, let JESUS wear the crown.

{169}

Now, as Christian went on his way, he came to a little ascent,

which was cast up on purpose that pilgrims might see before them.

Up there, therefore, Christian went, and looking forward, he saw

Faithful before him, upon his journey. Then said Christian aloud,

"Ho! ho! So-ho! stay, and I will be your companion!" At that,

Faithful looked behind him; to whom Christian cried again, "Stay, stay,

till I come up to you!" But Faithful answered, "No, I am upon my life,

and the avenger of blood is behind me."

{170}

At this, Christian was somewhat moved, and putting to all his strength,

he quickly got up with Faithful, and did also overrun him;

so the last was first. Then did Christian vain-gloriously smile,

because he had gotten the start of his brother; but not taking

good heed to his feet, he suddenly stumbled and fell,

and could not rise again until Faithful came up to help him.

<Christian's fall makes Faithful and he go lovingly together>

Then I saw in my dream they went very lovingly on together,

and had sweet discourse of all things that had happened to them

in their pilgrimage; and thus Christian began:

{171}

CHR. My honoured and well-beloved brother, Faithful, I am glad

that I have overtaken you; and that God has so tempered our spirits,

that we can walk as companions in this so pleasant a path.

FAITH. I had thought, dear friend, to have had your company

quite from our town; but you did get the start of me,

wherefore I was forced to come thus much of the way alone.

CHR. How long did you stay in the City of Destruction before

you set out after me on your pilgrimage?

FAITH. Till I could stay no longer; for there was great talk

presently after you were gone out that our city would, in short time,

with fire from heaven, be burned down to the ground.

CHR. What! did your neighbours talk so?

FAITH. Yes, it was for a while in everybody's mouth.

CHR. What! and did no more of them but you come out

to escape the danger?

FAITH. Though there was, as I said, a great talk thereabout,

yet I do not think they did firmly believe it. For in the heat

of the discourse, I heard some of them deridingly speak of you and of

your desperate journey, (for so they called this your pilgrimage),

but I did believe, and do still, that the end of our city

will be with fire and and brimstone from above; and therefore

I have made my escape.

{172}

CHR. Did you hear no talk of neighbour Pliable?

FAITH. Yes, Christian, I heard that he followed you till he came

at the Slough of Despond, where, as some said, he fell in;

but he would not be known to have so done; but I am sure

he was soundly bedabbled with that kind of dirt.

CHR. And what said the neighbours to him?

FAITH. He hath, since his going back, been had greatly in derision,

and that among all sorts of people; some do mock and despise him;

and scarce will any set him on work. He is now seven times worse

than if he had never gone out of the city.

CHR. But why should they be so set against him, since they also despise

the way that he forsook?

FAITH. Oh, they say, hang him, he is a turncoat! he was not true

to his profession. I think God has stirred up even his enemies to

hiss at him, and make him a proverb, because he hath forsaken the way.

[Jer. 29:18,19]

CHR. Had you no talk with him before you came out?

FAITH. I met him once in the streets, but he leered away on

the other side, as one ashamed of what he had done;

so I spake not to him.

{173}

CHR. Well, at my first setting out, I had hopes of that man;

but now I fear he will perish in the overthrow of the city;

for it is happened to him according to the true proverb,

"The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed,

to her wallowing in the mire." [2 Pet. 2:22]

FAITH. These are my fears of him too; but who can hinder

that which will be?

CHR. Well, neighbour Faithful, said Christian, let us leave him,

and talk of things that more immediately concern ourselves.

Tell me now, what you have met with in the way as you came;

for I know you have met with some things, or else it may be writ

for a wonder.

{174}

FAITH. I escaped the Slough that I perceived you fell into,

and got up to the gate without that danger; only I met with one

whose name was Wanton, who had like to have done me a mischief.

CHR. It was well you escaped her net; Joseph was hard put to it by her,

and he escaped her as you did; but it had like to have cost him

his life. [Gen. 39:11-13] But what did she do to you?

FAITH. You cannot think, but that you know something,

what a flattering tongue she had; she lay at me hard to turn aside

with her, promising me all manner of content.

CHR. Nay, she did not promise you the content of a good conscience.

FAITH. You know what I mean; all carnal and fleshly content.

CHR. Thank God you have escaped her: "The abhorred of the Lord

shall fall into her ditch." [Ps. 22:14]

FAITH. Nay, I know not whether I did wholly escape her or no.

CHR. Why, I trow, you did not consent to her desires?

FAITH. No, not to defile myself; for I remembered an old writing

that I had seen, which said, "Her steps take hold on hell." [Prov. 5:5]

So I shut mine eyes, because I would not be bewitched with her looks.

[Job 31:1] Then she railed on me, and I went my way.

CHR. Did you meet with no other assault as you came?

{175}

FAITH. When I came to the foot of the hill called Difficulty,

I met with a very aged man, who asked me what I was, and whither bound.

I told him that I am a pilgrim, going to the Celestial City.

Then said the old man, Thou lookest like an honest fellow;

wilt thou be content to dwell with me for the wages that I shall

give thee? Then I asked him his name, and where he dwelt.

He said his name was Adam the First, and that he dwelt in the town

of Deceit. [Eph. 4:22] I asked him then what was his work,

and what the wages he would give. He told me that his work

was many delights; and his wages that I should be his heir at last.

I further asked him what house he kept, and what other servants he had.

So he told me that his house was maintained with all the dainties

in the world; and that his servants were those of his own begetting.

Then I asked if he had any children. He said that he had

but three daughters: The Lust of the Flesh, The Lust of the Eyes,

and The Pride of Life, and that I should marry them all if I would.

[1 John 2:16] Then I asked how long time he would have me

live with him? And he told me, As long as he lived himself.

CHR. Well, and what conclusion came the old man and you to at last?

FAITH. Why, at first, I found myself somewhat inclinable

to go with the man, for I thought he spake very fair;

but looking in his forehead, as I talked with him, I saw there written,

"Put off the old man with his deeds."

CHR. And how then?

{176}

FAITH. Then it came burning hot into my mind, whatever he said,

and however he flattered, when he got me home to his house,

he would sell me for a slave. So I bid him forbear to talk,

for I would not come near the door of his house. Then he reviled me,

and told me that he would send such a one after me, that should make

my way bitter to my soul. So I turned to go away from him;

but just as I turned myself to go thence, I felt him take hold

of my flesh, and give me such a deadly twitch back, that I thought

he had pulled part of me after himself. This made me cry,

"O wretched man!" [Rom. 7:24] So I went on my way up the hill.

Now when I had got about half-way up, I looked behind,

and saw one coming after me, swift as the wind; so he overtook me

just about the place where the settle stands.

CHR. Just there, said Christian, did I sit down to rest me;

but being overcome with sleep, I there lost this roll out of my bosom.

{177}

FAITH. But, good brother, hear me out. So soon as the man overtook me,

he was but a word and a blow, for down he knocked me,

and laid me for dead. But when I was a little come to myself again,

I asked him wherefore he served me so. He said, because of

my secret inclining to Adam the First; and with that he struck me

another deadly blow on the breast, and beat me down backward; so I lay

at his foot as dead as before. So, when I came to myself again,

I cried him mercy; but he said, I know not how to show mercy;

and with that he knocked me down again. He had doubtless made

an end of me, but that one came by, and bid him forbear.

CHR. Who was that that bid him forbear?

FAITH. I did not know him at first, but as he went by,

I perceived the holes in his hands and in his side;

then I concluded that he was our Lord. So I went up the hill.

{178}

CHR. That man that overtook you was Moses. He spareth none,

neither knoweth he how to show mercy to those that transgress his law.

FAITH. I know it very well; it was not the first time that he has met

with me. It was he that came to me when I dwelt securely at home,

and that told me he would burn my house over my head if I stayed there.

CHR. But did you not see the house that stood there on the top

of the hill, on the side of which Moses met you?

FAITH. Yes, and the lions too, before I came at it:

but for the lions, I think they were asleep, for it was about noon;

and because I had so much of the day before me, I passed by the porter,

and came down the hill.

CHR. He told me, indeed, that he saw you go by, but I wish

you had called at the house, for they would have showed you

so many rarities, that you would scarce have forgot them

to the day of your death. But pray tell me, Did you meet nobody

in the Valley of Humility?

{179}

FAITH. Yes, I met with one Discontent, who would willingly

have persuaded me to go back again with him; his reason was,

for that the valley was altogether without honour. He told me,

moreover, that there to go was the way to disobey all my friends,

as Pride, Arrogancy, Self-conceit, Worldly-glory, with others,

who he knew, as he said, would be very much offended,

if I made such a fool of myself as to wade through this valley.

CHR. Well, and how did you answer him?

{180}

<Faithful's answer to Discontent>

FAITH. I told him, that although all these that he named might claim

kindred of me, and that rightly, for indeed they were my relations

according to the flesh; yet since I became a pilgrim,

they have disowned me, as I also have rejected them; and therefore

they were to me now no more than if they had never been of my lineage.

I told him, moreover, that as to this valley, he had quite

misrepresented the thing; for before honour is humility,

and a haughty spirit before a fall. Therefore, said I,

I had rather go through this valley to the honour that was so accounted

by the wisest, than choose that which he esteemed most worthy

our affections.

CHR. Met you with nothing else in that valley?

{181}

FAITH. Yes, I met with Shame; but of all the men that I met with

in my pilgrimage, he, I think, bears the wrong name.

The others would be said nay, after a little argumentation,

and somewhat else; but this bold-faced Shame would never have done.

CHR. Why, what did he say to you?

FAITH. What! why, he objected against religion itself;

he said it was a pitiful, low, sneaking business for a man

to mind religion; he said that a tender conscience was an unmanly thing;

and that for a man to watch over his words and ways, so as to

tie up himself from that hectoring liberty that the brave spirits

of the times accustom themselves unto, would make him the ridicule

of the times. He objected also, that but few of the mighty, rich,

or wise, were ever of my opinion [1 Cor. 1:26; 3:18; Phil. 3:7,8];

nor any of them neither [John 7:48], before they were persuaded

to be fools, and to be of a voluntary fondness, to venture

the loss of all, for nobody knows what. He, moreover,

objected the base and low estate and condition of those

that were chiefly the pilgrims of the times in which they lived:

also their ignorance and want of understanding in all natural science.

Yea, he did hold me to it at that rate also, about a great many

more things than here I relate; as, that it was a shame to sit

whining and mourning under a sermon, and a shame to come

sighing and groaning home: that it was a shame to ask my neighbour

forgiveness for petty faults, or to make restitution

where I have taken from any. He said, also, that religion made a man

grow strange to the great, because of a few vices, which he called

by finer names; and made him own and respect the base,

because of the same religious fraternity. And is not this, said he,

a shame?

{182}

CHR. And what did you say to him?

FAITH. Say! I could not tell what to say at the first.

Yea, he put me so to it, that my blood came up in my face;

even this Shame fetched it up, and had almost beat me quite off.

But at last I began to consider, that "that which is highly esteemed

among men, is had in abomination with God." [Luke 16:15]

And I thought again, this Shame tells me what men are;

but it tells me nothing what God or the Word of God is.

And I thought, moreover, that at the day of doom, we shall not be doomed

to death or life according to the hectoring spirits of the world,

but according to the wisdom and law of the Highest. Therefore,

thought I, what God says is best, indeed is best, though all the men

in the world are against it. Seeing, then, that God prefers

his religion; seeing God prefers a tender conscience;

seeing they that make themselves fools for the kingdom of heaven

are wisest; and that the poor man that loveth Christ is richer

than the greatest man in the world that hates him; Shame, depart,

thou art an enemy to my salvation! Shall I entertain thee

against my sovereign Lord? How then shall I look him in the face

at his coming? Should I now be ashamed of his ways and servants,

how can I expect the blessing? [Mark 8:38] But, indeed,

this Shame was a bold villain; I could scarce shake him

out of my company; yea, he would be haunting of me, and continually

whispering me in the ear, with some one or other of the infirmities

that attend religion; but at last I told him it was but in vain

to attempt further in this business; for those things that he disdained,

in those did I see most glory; and so at last I got past

this importunate one. And when I had shaken him off,

then I began to sing--

The trials that those men do meet withal,

That are obedient to the heavenly call,

Are manifold, and suited to the flesh,

And come, and come, and come again afresh;

That now, or sometime else, we by them may

Be taken, overcome, and cast away.

Oh, let the pilgrims, let the pilgrims, then

Be vigilant, and quit themselves like men.

{183}

CHR. I am glad, my brother, that thou didst withstand this villain

so bravely; for of all, as thou sayest, I think he has the wrong name;

for he is so bold as to follow us in the streets, and to attempt

to put us to shame before all men: that is, to make us ashamed

of that which is good; but if he was not himself audacious,

he would never attempt to do as he does. But let us still resist him;

for notwithstanding all his bravadoes, he promoteth the fool

and none else. "The wise shall inherit glory, said Solomon,

but shame shall be the promotion of fools." [Prov. 3:35]

FAITH. I think we must cry to Him for help against Shame,

who would have us to be valiant for the truth upon the earth.

CHR. You say true; but did you meet nobody else in that valley?

FAITH. No, not I; for I had sunshine all the rest of the way

through that, and also through the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

{184}

CHR. It was well for you. I am sure it fared far otherwise with me;

I had for a long season, as soon almost as I entered into that valley,

a dreadful combat with that foul fiend Apollyon; yea, I thought verily

he would have killed me, especially when he got me down

and crushed me under him, as if he would have crushed me to pieces;

for as he threw me, my sword flew out of my hand; nay, he told me

he was sure of me: but I cried to God, and he heard me,

and delivered me out of all my troubles. Then I entered into

the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and had no light for almost

half the way through it. I thought I should have been killed there,

over and over; but at last day broke, and the sun rose,

and I went through that which was behind with far more ease and quiet.

{185}

Moreover, I saw in my dream, that as they went on, Faithful,

as he chanced to look on one side, saw a man whose name is Talkative,

walking at a distance beside them; for in this place

there was room enough for them all to walk. He was a tall man,

and something more comely at a distance than at hand.

To this man Faithful addressed himself in this manner:

FAITH. Friend, whither away? Are you going to the heavenly country?

TALK. I am going to the same place.

FAITH. That is well; then I hope we may have your good company.

TALK. With a very good will will I be your companion.

{186}

FAITH. Come on, then, and let us go together, and let us spend our time

in discoursing of things that are profitable.

<Talkative's dislike of bad discourse>

TALK. To talk of things that are good, to me is very acceptable,

with you or with any other; and I am glad that I have met with

those that incline to so good a work; for, to speak the truth,

there are but few that care thus to spend their time,

(as they are in their travels), but choose much rather to be

speaking of things to no profit; and this hath been a trouble for me.

FAITH. That is indeed a thing to be lamented; for what things

so worthy of the use of the tongue and mouth of men on earth

as are the things of the God of heaven?

TALK. I like you wonderful well, for your sayings are full

of conviction; and I will add, what thing is so pleasant,

and what so profitable, as to talk of the things of God?

What things so pleasant (that is, if a man hath any delight in things

that are wonderful)? For instance, if a man doth delight to talk

of the history or the mystery of things; or if a man doth love to talk

of miracles, wonders, or signs, where shall he find things recorded

so delightful, and so sweetly penned, as in the Holy Scripture?

{187}

FAITH. That is true; but to be profited by such things in our talk

should be that which we design.

<Talkative's fine discourse>

TALK. That is it that I said; for to talk of such things

is most profitable; for by so doing, a man may get knowledge

of many things; as of the vanity of earthly things, and the benefit

of things above. Thus, in general, but more particularly by this,

a man may learn the necessity of the new birth, the insufficiency

of our works, the need of Christ's righteousness, &c. Besides,

by this a man may learn, by talk, what it is to repent, to believe,

to pray, to suffer, or the like; by this also a man may learn

what are the great promises and consolations of the gospel,

to his own comfort. Further, by this a man may learn

to refute false opinions, to vindicate the truth, and also

to instruct the ignorant.

FAITH. All this is true, and glad am I to hear these things from you.

TALK. Alas! the want of this is the cause why so few understand

the need of faith, and the necessity of a work of grace in their soul,

in order to eternal life; but ignorantly live in the works of the law,

by which a man can by no means obtain the kingdom of heaven.

{188}

FAITH. But, by your leave, heavenly knowledge of these

is the gift of God; no man attaineth to them by human industry,

or only by the talk of them.

TALK. All this I know very well; for a man can receive nothing,

except it be given him from Heaven; all is of grace, not of works.

I could give you a hundred scriptures for the confirmation of this.

FAITH. Well, then, said Faithful, what is that one thing that

we shall at this time found our discourse upon?

TALK. What you will. I will talk of things heavenly,

or things earthly; things moral, or things evangelical; things sacred,

or things profane; things past, or things to come; things foreign,

or things at home; things more essential, or things circumstantial;

provided that all be done to our profit.

{189}

FAITH. Now did Faithful begin to wonder; and stepping to Christian,

(for he walked all this while by himself), he said to him, (but softly),

What a brave companion have we got! Surely this man will make

a very excellent pilgrim.

CHR. At this Christian modestly smiled, and said, This man,

with whom you are so taken, will beguile, with that tongue of his,

twenty of them that know him not.

FAITH. Do you know him, then?

{190}

CHR. Know him! Yes, better than he knows himself.

FAITH. Pray, what is he?

CHR. His name is Talkative; he dwelleth in our town.

I wonder that you should be a stranger to him, only I consider

that our town is large.

FAITH. Whose son is he? And whereabout does he dwell?

CHR. He is the son of one Say-well; he dwelt in Prating Row;

and is known of all that are acquainted with him, by the name of

Talkative in Prating Row; and notwithstanding his fine tongue,

he is but a sorry fellow.

{191}

FAITH. Well, he seems to be a very pretty man.

CHR. That is, to them who have not thorough acquaintance with him;

for he is best abroad; near home, he is ugly enough.

Your saying that he is a pretty man, brings to my mind

what I have observed in the work of the painter, whose pictures

show best at a distance, but, very near, more unpleasing.

{192}

FAITH. But I am ready to think you do but jest, because you smiled.

CHR. God forbid that I should jest (although I smiled) in this matter,

or that I should accuse any falsely! I will give you

a further discovery of him. This man is for any company,

and for any talk; as he talketh now with you, so will he talk

when he is on the ale-bench; and the more drink he hath in his crown,

the more of these things he hath in his mouth; religion hath no place

in his heart, or house, or conversation; all he hath

lieth in his tongue, and his religion is, to make a noise therewith.

{193}

FAITH. Say you so! then am I in this man greatly deceived.

CHR. Deceived! you may be sure of it; remember the proverb,

"They say and do not." [Matt. 23:3] But the kingdom of God

is not in word, but in Power. [1 Cor 4:20] He talketh of prayer,

of repentance, of faith, and of the new birth; but he knows but only

to talk of them. I have been in his family, and have observed him

both at home and abroad; and I know what I say of him is the truth.

<His house is empty of religion> His house is as empty of religion

as the white of an egg is of savour. There is there neither prayer

nor sign of repentance for sin; yea, the brute in his kind serves God

far better than he. <He is a stain to religion> He is the very stain,

reproach, and shame of religion, to all that know him; it can hardly

have a good word in all that end of the town where he dwells,

through him. [Rom. 2:24,25] <The Proverb that goes of him>

Thus say the common people that know him, A saint abroad,

and a devil at home. His poor family finds it so; he is such a churl,

such a railer at and so unreasonable with his servants,

that they neither know how to do for or speak to him.

<Men shun to deal with him> Men that have any dealings with him say

it is better to deal with a Turk than with him; for fairer dealing

they shall have at their hands. This Talkative (if it be possible)

will go beyond them, defraud, beguile, and overreach them. Besides,

he brings up his sons to follow his steps; and if he findeth

in any of them a foolish 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 commendations before others. For my part,

I am of opinion, that he has, by his wicked life, caused many

to stumble and fall; and will be, if God prevent not,

the ruin of many more.

{194}

FAITH. Well, my brother, I am bound to believe you; not only because

you say you know him, but also because, like a Christian,

you make your reports of men. For I cannot think that you

speak these things 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 thought of him, as, at the first, you did; yea, had he received

this report at their hands only that are enemies to religion,

I should have thought it had been a slander,--a lot that often falls

from bad men's mouths upon good men's names and professions;

but all these things, yea, and a great many more as bad,

of my own knowledge, I can prove him guilty of. Besides,

good men are ashamed of him; they can neither call him brother,

nor friend; the very naming of him among them makes them blush,

if they know him.

{195}

FAITH. Well, I see that saying and doing are two things,

and hereafter 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 soul is but

a dead carcass, so saying, if it be alone, is but a dead carcass also.

The soul of religion is the practical part: "Pure religion

and undefiled, before God and the Father, is this, To visit

the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself

unspotted from the world." [James 1:27; see vv. 22-26]

This Talkative is not aware of; he thinks that hearing and saying

will make 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 is indeed in the heart and life; and let us

assure ourselves, that at the day of doom men shall be judged

according to their fruits. [Matt. 13, 25] 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 anything 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.

{196}

FAITH. This brings to my mind that of Moses, by which he describeth

the beast that is clean. [Lev. 11:3-7; Deut. 14:6-8] 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 cheweth the cud,

but yet is unclean, because he parteth not the hoof.

And this truly resembleth Talkative; he cheweth the cud,

he seeketh knowledge, he cheweth upon the word; 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 therefore he is unclean.

CHR. You have spoken, for aught I know, the true gospel sense

of those texts. And I will add another thing: Paul calleth some men,

yea, and those great talkers, too, sounding brass and tinkling cymbals;

that is, as he expounds them in another place, things without life,

giving sound. [1 Cor. 13:1-3; 14:7] Things without life, that is,

without the true 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 if 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 to do?

CHR. Why, go to him, and enter into some serious discourse

about the power 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.

{197}

FAITH. 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.

{198}

FAITH. Well, if you will, we will fall to it now; and since

you left it with me to state the question, let it be this:

How doth the saving grace of God discover itself when it is in

the heart of man?

<Talkative's false discovery of a work of grace>

TALK. I perceive, then, that our talk must be about the power

of things. Well, it is a very good question, and I shall be willing

to answer you. And take my answer in brief, thus: First,

Where the grace of God is in the heart, it causeth there

a great outcry against sin. Secondly ----

FAITH. Nay, hold, let us consider of one at once. I think you should

rather say, It shows itself by inclining the soul to abhor its sin.

TALK. Why, what difference is there between crying out against,

and abhorring of sin?

{199}

FAITH. Oh, a great deal. A man may cry out against sin of policy,

but he cannot abhor it, but by virtue of a godly antipathy against it.

I have heard many cry out against sin in the pulpit,

who yet can abide it well enough in the heart, house, and conversation.

Joseph's mistress cried out with a loud voice, as if she had been

very holy; but she would willingly, notwithstanding that,

have committed uncleanness with him. Some cry out against sin

even as the mother cries out against her child in her lap,

when she calleth it slut and naughty girl, and then falls

to hugging and kissing it.

TALK. You lie at the catch, I perceive.

{200}

FAITH. No, not I; I am only for setting things right.

But what is the second thing whereby you would prove a discovery

of a work of grace in the heart?

TALK. Great knowledge of gospel mysteries.

FAITH. This sign should have been first; but first or last,

it is also false; for knowledge, great knowledge, may be obtained

in the mysteries of the gospel, and yet no work of grace in the soul.

[1 Cor. 13] Yea, if a man have all knowledge, he may yet be nothing,

and so consequently be no child of God. When Christ said,

"Do you know all these things?" and the disciples had answered, Yes;

he addeth, "Blessed are ye if ye do them." He doth not lay the blessing

in the knowing of them, but in the doing of them. For there is

a knowledge that is not attended with doing: He that knoweth

his masters will, and doeth it not. A man may know like an angel,

and yet be no Christian, therefore your sign of it is not true.

Indeed, to know 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.

<Knowledge and knowledge> There is, therefore, knowledge and knowledge.

Knowledge that resteth in the bare speculation of things;

and knowledge that is accompanied with the grace of faith and love;

which puts a man upon doing even the will of God from the heart:

the first of these will serve the talker; but without the other

the true Christian is not content. <True knowledge attended

with endeavors> "Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law;

yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." [Ps. 119:34]

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.