The Pilgrim's Progress in Words of One Syllable Part 4

Christian.--With a right good will, and I am glad that you should ask it of me.

Prudence.--And, first, say what is it that makes you wish so much to go to Mount Zion?

Christian.--Why there I hope to see Him that did die on the Cross; and there I hope to be rid of all those thing that to this day grieve and vex me. There, they say, is no death; and there I shall dwell with such as love the Lord.

Charity.--Have you a wife and babes?

Christian.--Yes, I have.

Charity.--And why did you not bring them with you?

Christian then wept, and said: Oh, how glad should I have been to do so!

but they would not come with me, nor have me leave them.

Charity.--And did you pray to G.o.d to put it in their hearts to go with you?

Christian.--Yes, and that with much warmth, for you may think how dear they were to me.

Thus did Christian talk with these friends till it grew dark, and then he took his rest in a large room, the name of which was Peace; there he slept till break of day, and then he sang a hymn.

They told him that he should not leave till they had shown him all the rare things that were in that place. There were to be seen the rod of Moses, the nail with which Jail slew Sisera, the lamps with which Gideon put to flight the host of Midian, and the ox goad with which Shamgar slew his foes. And they brought out the jaw bone of an a.s.s with which Samson did such great feats, and the sling and stone with which David slew Goliath of Gath.

Then I saw in my dream that Christian rose to take his leave of Discretion, and of Prudence, Piety, and Charity, but they said that he must stay till the next day, that they might show him The Delectable Mountains; so they took him to the top of the house, and bade him look to the South, which he did, and lo, a great way off, he saw a rich land, full of hills, woods, vines, shrubs, and streams.

What is the name of this land? said Christian.

Then they told him it was Immanuel's Land. And, said they, It is as much meant for you, and the like of you, as this hill is; and when you reach the place, there you may see the gate of The Celestial City. Then they gave him a sword, and put on him a coat of mail, which was proof from head to foot, lest he should meet some foe in the way; and they went with him down the hill.

Of a truth, said Christian, it is as great a toil to come down the hill as it was to go up.

Prudence.--So it is, for it is a hard thing for a man to go down to The Vale of Humiliation, as thou dost now, and for this cause have we come with you to the foot of the hill. So, though he went with great care, yet he caught a slip or two.

Then in my dream I saw that when they had got to the foot of the hill, these good friends of Christian's gave him a loaf of bread, a flask of wine, and a bunch of dry grapes; and then they left him to go on his way.

But now in this Vale of Humiliation poor Christian was hard put to it, for he had not gone far, ere he saw a foe come in the field to meet him, whose name was Apollyon. Then did Christian fear, and he cast in his mind if he would go back or stand his ground. But Christian thought that as he had no coat of mail on his back, to turn round might give Apollyon a chance to pierce it with his darts. So he stood his ground, For, thought he, if but to save my life were all I had in view, still the best way would be to stand.

So he went on, and Apollyon met him with looks of scorn.

Apollyon.--Whence come you, and to what place are you bound?

Christian.--I am come from The City of Destruction, which is a place of all sin, and I am on my way to Zion.

Apollyon.--By this I see you are mine, for of all that land I am the Prince. How is it, then, that you have left your king? Were it not that I have a hope that you may do me more good, I would strike you to the ground with one blow.

Christian.--I was born in your realm, it is true, but you drove us too hard, and your wage was such as no man could live on.

Apollyon.--No prince likes to lose his men, nor will I as yet lose you; so if you will come back, what my realm yields I will give you.

Christian.--But I am bound by vows to the King of Kings; and how can I, to be true, go back with you?

Apollyon.--You have made a change, it seems, from bad to worse; but why not give Him the slip, and come back with me?

Christian.--I gave Him my faith, and swore to be true to Him: how can I go back from this?

Apollyon.--You did the same to me, and yet I will pa.s.s by all, if you will but turn and go back.

Then, when Apollyon saw that Christian was stanch to his Prince, he broke out in a great rage, and said, I hate that Prince, and I hate his laws, and I am come out to stop you.

Christian.--Take heed what you do. I am on the King's high way to Zion.

Apollyon.--I am void of fear, and to prove that I mean what I say, here on this spot I will put thee to death. With that he threw a dart of fire at his breast, but Christian had a s.h.i.+eld on his arm, with which he caught it. Then did Christian draw his sword, for he saw it was time to stir; and Apollyon as fast made at him, and threw darts as thick as hail; with which, in spite of all that Christian could do, Apollyon gave him wounds in his head, hand, and foot.

This made Christian pause in the fight for a time, but Apollyon still came on, and Christian once more took heart. They fought for half a day, till Christian, weak from his wounds, was well nigh spent in strength.

When Apollyon saw this, he threw him down with a great force; on which Christian's sword fell out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am sure of thee now.

But while he strove to make an end of Christian, that good man put out his hand in haste to feel for his sword, and caught it. Boast not, oh Apollyon! said he, and with that he struck him a blow which made his foe reel back as one that had had his last wound. Then he spread out his wings and fled, so that Christian for a time saw him no more.

Then there came to him a hand which held some of the leaves of the tree of life; some of them Christian took, and as soon as he had put them to his wounds, he saw them heal up.

Now near this place was the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and Christian must needs go through it to get to The Celestial City. It was a land of drought and full of pits, a land that none but such as Christian could pa.s.s through, and where no man dwelt. So that here he was worst put to it than in his fight with Apollyon, which by and by we shall see.

As he drew near the Shadow of Death he met with two men, to whom Christian thus spoke: To what place do you go?

Men.--Back! Back! and we would have you do the same if you prize life and peace.

Christian.--But why?

Men.--We went on as far as we durst.

Christian.--What then have you seen?

Men.--Seen! Why the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but by dint of good luck we caught sight of what lay in front of it, ere we came up. Death doth spread out his wings there. In a word it is a place full of bad men, where no law dwells.

Christian.--I see not yet, by what you have told me, but that this is my way to Zion.

Men.--Be it thy way then; we will not choose it for ours.

So they took their leave, and Christian went on, but still with his drawn sword in his hand, for fear lest he should meet once more with a foe.

I saw then in my dream that so far as this vale went, there was on the right hand a deep ditch; that ditch to which the blind have led the blind as long as the world has been made. And, lo, on the left hand there was a quag. in which if a man fall, he will find no firm ground for his foot to stand on. The path way was not broad, and so good Christian was the more put to it. This went on for miles, and in the midst of that vale was a deep pit. One thing which I saw in my dream I must not leave out; it was this:--Just as Christian had come to the mouth of the pit, one of those who dwelt in it swept up to him, and in a soft tone spoke bad things to him, and took G.o.d's name in vain, which Christian thought must have come from his own mind. This put him out more than all the rest had done; to think that he should take that name in vain for which he felt so deep a love, was a great grief to him. Yet there was no help for it. Then he thought he heard a voice which said: Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no harm for thou art with me.

Now as Christian went on, he found there was a rise in the road, which had been thrown up that that path might be clear to those who were bound for Zion. Up this road Christian went, and saw his old friend Faithful a short way off.

Then said Christian: Ha, my friend, are you here? Stay, and I will join you.

This ere long he did, and they spoke of all that had come to pa.s.s since they had last met.

In course of time the road they took brought them to a town, the name of which is Vanity, where there is a fair kept through the whole year, and all that is bought or sold there is vain and void of worth. There, too, are to be seen at all times games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues. Yet he that will go to The Celestial City must needs pa.s.s through this fair.