CHAPTER XIV.

BUNYAN'S CRISIS.

No one ever hit off, at a stroke, the profile of Bunyan's mind so truly as he himself did when he said, “I being very critical, did much desire to be resolved about (certain) questions for my smart had made me, that I knew not what ground was sure enough to bear me." He was very critical! We see at a glance now, that had he suspected and scrutinised his food, or watched his stomach after every meal, as he did the bearings and the effect of Divine Truth upon his case and spirits, he would have eaten in dread, and been afraid of lying down to sleep. This criticising temper has much to do with both the freaks of his imagination and the frenzies of his conscience. It will not account, however, for all the latter, and especially not for the crisis of his horrors, which we have now to review.

It happened to Bunyan, as to Abraham, that "a horror of great darkness fell upon him," just after he had seen his "Salvation with golden seals appendant.' The Patriarch was not only at the altar, when the "thick cloud" came over his spirit; but he had just been gazing upon the stars of heaven as the seals of his personal acceptance with God, and as emblems of his relative usefulness and countless posterity. Bunyan, indeed, had had no vision nor revelation of this kind, when a cloud fell upon his spirit: but he had had " joy unspeakable and full of glory," from believing and loving an unseen Saviour. "Now I found," he said, "that I loved Christ dearly! O, methought, my

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soul cleaved unto him-my affections cleaved unto him. I felt my love to Him as hot as fire. As Job said, now I thought I should die in my nest. But quickly after this, my love was tried to purpose. I did quickly find that my great love was but too little; and that I who had, as I thought, such burning love to Jesus Christ, could let him go again for a very trifle. For after the Lord had graciously delivered me from great and sore temptation, and had settled me down sweetly in the faith of his holy gospel, and had given me such strong consolation and evidence from heaven touching my interest in his love through Christ, the Tempter came upon me again, and that with a more grievous and dreadful temptation than before."

This Temptation was,-"To sell and part with this Most Blessed Christ, for the things of this life; for any thing." It lay upon him, he says, for the space of a year, and followed him so continually, that he was not rid of it for one day in a month, nor for an hour together on many days, except when he was asleep." It intermixt itself," says Dr. Southey, "with whatever he thought or did." This is not too strongly stated. Bunyan himself says, "I could neither eat my food-stoop for a pin-chop a stick-or cast my 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!' It would run in my thoughts not so little as a hundred times together,―sell Him, sell Him!"

Dr. Southey calls this, both "an almost unimaginable temptation," and "a strange and hateful suggestion." Conder says, "Bunyan does indeed describe the horrible but irrational thought that was ever running in his mind, as a temptation: but where, he asks, is the bait ?" He answers his own question thus; "Had the prospect of worldly advantage been held out to Bunyan on the condition of renouncing his creed, or violating his allegiance to

the Saviour; had he in the face of worldly scorn or fiery persecution been prompted to deny the faith; or had some dishonest gain been within his reach while struggling with penury,--here would have been a temptation. But in the case described, the assault-the suggestion-the seeming compliance with abhorred blasphemy, were all ideal, without motive, and contrary to reason. The suffering and distress only were real. We see no reason then to deny, that the darkness into which Bunyan was plunged, arose from that distempered action of the imagination which is the ordinary effect of over-excitement."

If Mr. Conder's object in this reasoning be, to exclude Satanic temptation from this crisis of Bunyan's horrors, I cannot agree with him. I am not sure, however, that this is his design and as I am quite sure that he would "make no concession to the Infidel," or to the Neologian, on the subject, I feel very jealous of myself lest I should mistake his meaning at all. Besides, there is great weight as well as point in his question, "Where was the bait," if this was a temptation? It is not easy to answer this question, even in the case of Bunyan; and it would be perhaps impossible to answer it in the case of an ordinary man, who was haunted with a similar suggestion. Bunyan, however, was not an ordinary man. He was extraordinary : and, therefore, some of his temptations were likely to be of an extraordinary kind. It will not do in his case to say, that "where there is no appeal to rational motives, there can be no temptation." There was temptation, as we have already seen, where "no sin would serve, but that" which was unpardonable; the sin against the Holy Ghost. was," he says, "so provoked to desire to sin that sin, that I was as if I could not-must not-should not be quiet, until I had committed it." This was temptation: but where is the appeal to rational motives? The fact is, irrational motives, if they had a strong dash of the dark or the daring about them, were the most tempting things

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to Bunyan, in certain moods of his wayward mind. be devil-like, was occasionally as accordant with his worst moods, as to be angel-like, or god-like, was with his best. Satan would have got but a slight and short hold upon the Leviathan of Bedford, by appealing to rational motives, or by baiting his hooks with worldly garbage. "All the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them," would have been no temptation to Bunyan, as a price for parting with Christ but a trifle could be so, just because it was a trifle. Its absurdity as a reason, threw him upon its source as a temptation, and compelled him to fear that Satan felt sure of his prey, seeing he could thus play with it by mockery, as well as scare it by fiery darts. But I forbear to explain. His record will speak for itself: for besides having no parallel in human experience, it is told with almost superhuman power.

"I have been forced to stand as continually leaning and forcing my spirit against the Temptation, 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 I should be as tortured upon a rack for whole days together.

"This temptation did put me to such fears, lest I should, at some times, I say, consent thereto, and be overcome therewith, that by the very force of my mind, in labouring to gainsay and resist this wickedness, my very body would be put into action or motion, by way of pushing or thrusting with my hands or elbows; still answering, as fast as the destroyer said, 'Sell him;' I will not, I will not, I will not; no not for thousands, thousands, thousands of worlds; thus reckoning, lest I should, in the midst of these assaults, set too low a value on him ;-even until I scarce well knew where I was, or how to be composed again.

"At these seasons he would not let me eat my food in quiet; but, forsooth, when I was set at the table at my

meat, I must go hence to pray; I must leave my food now, and just now;-so counterfeit holy also 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.' Wherefore I was much afflicted with these things; and if, because of the sinfulness of my nature (imagining that these were impulses from God) I should deny to do it, (I felt) as if I denied God; and then 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.

"But to be brief: One morning as I did lie in my bed, I was, as at other times, most fiercely assaulted with this temptation, To sell and part with Christ;' the wicked suggestion still running in my mind, sell him, sell him, sell him, sell him,' as fast as a man could speak against which also, in my mind, as at other times, I answered, 'No, no, not for thousands, thousands, thousands,' at least twenty times together but at last, after much striving, even until I was almost out of breath, I felt this thought pass through my heart, 'Let him go, if he will ;'—and I thought also, that I felt my heart freely consent thereto. Oh! 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.

"And withal, that scripture did seize upon my soul: 'Or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat, sold his birthright: for ye know, how that afterwards when he would have inherited the blessing, he was