(Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress. part 7)
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 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 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]
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 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?
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.
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. "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.
{201}
FAITH. A work of grace in the soul discovereth itself,
either to him that hath it, or to standers by.
To him that hath it thus: It gives him conviction of sin,
especially of 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 [John 16:8, Rom. 7:24,
John 16:9, Mark 16:16]). 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 absolute 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. [Ps. 38:18, Jer. 31:19,
Gal. 2:16, Acts 4:12, Matt. 5:6, Rev. 21:6] Now, according to
the strength or 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 to serve him in this world.
But though I say it discovereth itself thus unto him,
yet it is but seldom that he is able to conclude that this
is a work 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 judgement
before he can, with steadiness, conclude that this is a work of grace.
{202}
To others, it is thus discovered:
1. By an experimental confession of his faith in Christ.
[Rom. 10:10, Phil. 1:27, Matt. 5:19]
2. By a life answerable to that confession; to wit, a life of holiness,
heart-holiness, family-holiness, (if he hath a family),
and by conversation-holiness in the world which, in the general,
teacheth him, inwardly, 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. [John 14:15, Ps. 50:23, Job 42:5-6,
Eze. 20:43] 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 propound to you a second question.
{203}
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 this description of it? and doth your life and conversation
testify the same? or standeth your religion in word or in 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.
{204}
TALK. Then Talkative at first began to blush; but, recovering himself,
thus he replied: You come now to experience, to conscience, and God;
and to appeal to him for justification of what is spoken.
This kind of discourse I did not expect; nor am I disposed
to give an answer to such questions, because I count not 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?
{205}
FAITH. Because I saw you forward to talk, and because I knew not
that you had aught else but notion. Besides, to tell you all 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 say, you are a spot
among Christians; and that religion fareth the worse
for your ungodly conversation; that some have already stumbled at your
wicked ways, and that more are in danger of being destroyed thereby;
your religion, and an ale-house, and covetousness, and uncleanness,
and swearing, and lying, and vain-company keeping, &c.,
will stand together. The proverb is true of you which is said
of a whore, to wit, that she is a shame to all women;
so are you a shame to all professors.
TALK. Since you are ready to take up reports and to judge
so rashly as you do, I cannot but conclude you are some
peevish or melancholy man, not fit to be discoursed with; and so adieu.
{206}
CHR. 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.
But he is gone, as I said; let him go, the loss is no man's but his own;
he has saved us the trouble of going from 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 glad 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.
{207}
CHR. You did well to talk so plainly to him as you did;
there is but little of this faithful dealing with men now-a-days,
and that makes religion to stink so in the nostrils of many, as it doth;
for they are these talkative fools whose religion is only in word,
and are debauched and vain in their conversation, that
(being so much 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 bravely doth he speak! How he presumes
To drive down all before him! But so soon
As Faithful talks of heart-work, like the moon
That's past the full, into the wane he goes.
And so will all, but he that HEART-WORK knows.
{208}
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.
{209}
Now, when they were got almost quite out of this wilderness,
Faithful 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 Evangelist.
Ay, and my good friend too, said Faithful, for it was he that set me
in the way to the gate. Now was Evangelist come up to them,
and thus saluted them:
{210}
EVAN. Peace be with you, dearly beloved; and peace be to your helpers.
CHR. Welcome, welcome, my good Evangelist, the sight of thy countenance
brings to my remembrance thy ancient kindness and unwearied labouring
for my eternal good.
FAITH. And a thousand times welcome, said good Faithful. Thy company,
O sweet Evangelist, how desirable it is to us poor pilgrims!
EVAN. Then said Evangelist, How hath it fared with you, my friends,
since the time of our last parting? What have you met with,
and how have you behaved yourselves?
{211}
Then Christian and Faithful told him of all things that had happened
to them in the way; and how, and with what difficulty,
they had arrived at that place.
{212}
EVAN. Right glad am I, said Evangelist, not that you have met
with trials, but that you have been victors; 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 season ye shall reap,
if ye faint not." [John 4:36, Gal. 6:9] The crown is before you,
and it is an incorruptible one; so run, that you may obtain it.
[1 Cor. 9:24-27] 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;
let no man take your crown. [Rev. 3:11] You are not yet out
of the gun-shot of the devil; you have not resisted unto blood,
striving against sin; let the kingdom be always before you,
and believe steadfastly 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.
{213}
CHR. Then Christian thanked him for his exhortation; but told him,
withal, that they would have him speak further to them for their help
the rest of the way, and the rather, for that they well knew
that he was a prophet, 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:--
EVAN. My sons, you have heard, in the words of the truth of the gospel,
that you must, through many tribulations, enter into
the kingdom of heaven. And, again, that in every city
bonds and afflictions abide in you; and therefore you cannot expect
that you should go long on your pilgrimage without them,
in some sort or other. You have found something of the truth
of these testimonies upon you already, and more will immediately follow;
for now, as you see, you are almost out of this wilderness,
and therefore you will soon come into a town that you will by and by
see before you; and in that town you will be hardly beset with enemies,
who will strain hard but they will kill you; and be you sure
that one or both of you must seal the testimony which you hold,
with blood; but be you faithful unto death, and the King will give you
a crown of life.
{214}
He that shall die there, although his death will be unnatural,
and his pain perhaps great, he will yet have the better of his fellow;
not only because he will be arrived at the Celestial City soonest,
but because he will escape many miseries that the other will meet with
in the rest of his journey. But when you are come to the town,
and shall find fulfilled what I have here related,
then remember your friend, and quit yourselves like men,
and commit the keeping of your souls to your God in well-doing,
as unto a faithful Creator.
{215}
Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness,
they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town
is Vanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair:
it is kept all the year long. It beareth the name of Vanity Fair
because the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity;
and, also because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither,
is vanity. As is the saying of the wise, "all that cometh is vanity."
[Eccl. 1; 2:11,17; 11:8; Isa. 11:17]
{216}
This fair is no new-erected business, but a thing of ancient standing;
I will show you the original of it.
Almost five thousand years agone, there were pilgrims walking
to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are:
and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions,
perceiving by the path that the pilgrims made, that their way
to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived here
to set up a fair; a fair wherein, should be sold all sorts of vanity,
and that it should last all the year long: therefore at this fair
are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places,
honours, 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
juggling 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.
{217}
And as in other fairs of less moment, there are the 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 commodity
(continued in part 8...)
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