Pilgrim's Progress

by John Bunyan

Pliable asked, “Ah, neighbor Christian, where are you now?” “Truthfully, I don’t know.” Pliable felt offended and his face grew red. “Is this the happiness you told me about? If we are stuck in the likes of this dirty goo right at the start, what can we expect between this” – he sai...

With this he struggled desperately and finally climbed out of the mire on the side of the bog nearest to his house.

Once out, he didn’t even turn to help Christian.

In fact, he didn’t even say good-bye. Instead, he walked away covered in filth and headed...

Christian never saw him again, so he was left to tumble in the Slough of Despond alone. But Christian struggled through the muck little by little toward the side of the bog farthest from his house, the side next to the wicket gate. He finally reached that side,...

But in my dream, a man came to him whose ...

“What are you doing here?” Help ask...

“But why didn’t you look for the steps?” Help asked.

Christian reached out and grabbed his hand and Help pulled him out of the mucky mire (He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. – Psalm 40:2) and set him upon solid ground. “Now go on your way.”

“This miry slough is a place that can’t be repaired. It is a low-lying place where the scum and filth that come with the conviction of sin drain and collect as the traveling sinner becomes aware of his lost condition. It is the fears, doubts, and discouraging apprehensions about oneself that arise in his soul.

“The King is not happy that this place remains so bad. (Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you. – Isa. 35:3-4)

Based on the direction offered by His Majesty’s surveyors, His workers have also tended to this patch of ground for more than two thousand years, to see if it could possibly be fixed.” Sadness filled Help’s eyes. “To my knowledge, at least twenty thousand cartloads have been swallowed up by this mire. Cartloads of millions of wholeso...

And often when men find the steps, they grow dizzy from their own guilt and their feet miss the steps and they become covered and stained with

Now in my dream, by this time Pliable had arrived home to his house and his neighbors came to visit him. Some of them called him a wise man for coming back, and some called him a fool for endangering his life by going with Christian in the first place. Others just made fun of him and mocked him for his cowardliness. They said, “If I had started this adventure like you did, I wouldn’t have been so timid as to quit after just a few difficulties.” Pliable sat cringing among them at these words, but after a little time passed he gained some confidence. When his neighbors saw his regained confidence, they turned against poor Christian instead and ridiculed him behind his back. However, even though they were no longer talking about him, their words against Christian concerned Pliable.

Eventually their paths met and the gentleman introduced himself as Mr. Worldly Wiseman. He lived in the town of Carnal Policy, which was a large town close to Christian’s hometown.

Worldly Wiseman acted as if he had foreknowledge of Christian’s leaving the City of Destruction, as if the leaving of Destruction was a topic of much gossip, not only in the town where he lived but also in other places where the news seemed to have spread.

When Worldly Wiseman observed Christian’s sighs and groans and the like, he engaged him in sympathetic conversation.

“Burdened manner, indeed! I think it’s as large a burden as any poor creature ever had to carry!” Christian said. “And where am I going, you ask? Let me tell you, sir. I’m on my way to that distant wicket gate.” Christian nodded in the direction of his goal. “For there, I’ve been told, I will gain entrance to the place that will rid me of my heavy burden.”

Christian nodded. “Yes, yes, I do. But I am so weighed down by this cumbersome burden that I can no longer enjoy their company like I used to. In fact, it makes me feel more like I don’t even have a family.” (But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none. – 1 Cor. 7:29)

Worldly Wiseman studied Christian for a moment. “Will you listen to me if I give you advice?” Christian considered his answer. “If it’s good advice, I will, because truthfully I’m in need of some wise advice.”

Worldly Wiseman’s face puckered into a sour expression. “I most certainly condemn this man for his advice. There isn’t a more dangerous and troublesome way in the world to travel than the way he has told you to go. You’ll certainly learn this the hard way if you listen to his advice. In fact, by the looks of things, I’d say you’ve already experienced some of this difficulty. Isn’t that the dirt and grime of the Slough of Despond I see on you? What you don’t realize is that the slough is just the beginning of the sorrows you’ll experience if you listen to that man.

“Listen to me. I am older and more experienced than you. If you continue in this direction you are likely to experience wearisomeness, painfulness, hunger, perils, nakedness, swords, lions, dragons, darkness, and, in a word, death, and who knows what else.”

Worldly Wiseman looked Christian directly in the eye and said, “These things are certainly true and have been confirmed by the testimonies of many pilgrims just like yourself. So why should a man so carelessly place himself in danger by listening to a stranger like this man Evangelist?”

“You don’t understand, sir,” Christian replied. “This burden on my back is more terrible to me than are all the things you have mentioned.” He shook his head. “No, I’ve given this thought, and I don’t care what perils I meet along the...

The older man asked, “How did you come by your burden in the first place?” Christian raised the book in hi...

Worldly Wiseman’s lips thinned with disgust. “I thought so. The same thing has happened to you as to other weak men who meddled with things too high for them. They are suddenly distracted and confused just like you, and it’s humiliating. I can see the same thing has happened to you. And the problem is they turn to desperate measures to obtain what they know very little about.”...

in the village named Morality. There ask after a gentleman by the name of Legality. He’s a very judicious man, and a man of a very good name. He has skill to help men off with such burdens as yours from their shoulders. In fact, according to what I know, he has helped many pilgrims a great deal in this way.

And if he isn’t home himself, he has a son who is friendly and easy to get along with, whose name is Civility. He can assist you in the same way

Mr. Worldly Wiseman pointed toward a steep nearby hill. “Do you see that high hill over there?” Christian nodded. “Yes, clearly.”

He began to be sorry that he had taken Worldly Wiseman’s advice, and just then he spotted Evangelist coming to meet him. While he was relieved to see the man, at the same time the blush of embarrassment heated his face, for he had ignored the man’s advice.

As Evangelist drew near, Christian could see the man was annoyed and ready for a serious talk. “What are you doing here, Christian?” he asked. Christian didn’t know what to say, so he just stood there without saying a word.

Christian shuffled his feet. “Soon after I left the Slough of Despond, I met a gentleman. He seemed like he cared about me and persuaded me I could find a man in the village who could remove my burden.”

So I came here, but as I drew close to this hill, and saw how it hangs over the way, I stopped. I was afraid it could fall on my head.”

Now, the women and children had little physical strength but pressed on the best they could.

they came to the place where Faithful had been put to death. They stood there and gave thanks to Him who enabled him to bear his cross so well,

As they walked along they talked about Christian and Faithful, and how Hopeful joined himself to Christian after that Faithful was dead.

But as they thought more about it, they understood that nature is often not influenced by the harm others experience, especially when the thing they are looking at is alluring to one with a foolish eye.

They went on until they reached the river that rests on this side of the Delectable Mountains.

Fine trees lined the banks of this river, and when the leaves of these trees were eaten they helped prevent gluttony. Here the meadows remained green all year l...

Now, Christiana advised her four daughters to place their little ones in the care of this man, so they might be housed, refreshed, assisted, and nourished by these waters and so none of them would lack in the future.

If any of them went astray or were lost, this man would bring them back again.

and this man would die before he allowed one of those in his trust to be lost.

Also here, they enjoyed clear waters, pleasant meadows, dainty flowers, and a variety of trees bearing healthy fruit, not fruit like Matthew ate which fell over the wall from Beelzebub’s garden.

In fact, it was an encouragement to do so, for all of this was under the charge of the King and there would be no place more hospitable to young children and orphans.

Now they went on and came to By-path Meadow.

They arrived at the stile which Christian crossed over with his fellow traveler Hopeful. It was here those two pilgrims were taken by Gian...

if perhaps it would be best to make an attempt on the giant and to demolish his castle. They also thought that if there were any pilgrims being held in the castle this could be an opportunity to set them free before they journeyed further.

As they talked, one said one thing and another said the opposite. One questioned if it was lawful to step upon unconsecrated ground; another said it might be permitted as long as the end result was good. But Great Heart said, “Though that last claim cannot be true in every case, I do have a commandment to resist sin, to overcome evil, and to fight the good fight of faith. I have to ask, with whom should I fight this good fight, if not with Giant Despair?

I will therefore attempt to take his life and to demolish Doubting Castle.” Then he ask...

Old Honest said, “I will.” “And so will we,” Christiana’s four sons, Matthew, Samuel, Joseph, and James said, for th...