reproaches, till the Lord shall wipe them off at his coming." They reproached him for declining a public conference with them in London upon the matter in dispute. To this he answered thus: "The reason why I came not amongst you was partly because I consulted mine own weakness, and counted not myself, being a dull-headed man, able to engage so many of the chief of you as I was then informed intended to meet me. I also feared in personal disputes, heats and bitter contentions might arise, a thing my spirit hath not pleasure in. I feared also that both myself and words would be misrepresented ;-for if they that answer a book will alter and screw arguments out of their places, and make my sentences stand in their own words, not mine, when, I say, my words are in a book to be seen; what would you have done had I in the least, either in matter or manner, though but seemingly, miscarried among you?"

Throughout this controversy Bunyan appears to great advantage as a meek, good man, beyond the general spirit of his age in toleration, and far beyond that of his fellow sectarians. His was indeed so catholic a spirit, that though circumstances had made him a sectarian, he liked not to be called by the denomination of his sect. "I know none," says he, "to whom that title is so proper as to the disciples of John. And since you would know by what name I would be distinguished from others, I tell you, I would be, and hope I am, a Christian; and choose, if God should count me worthy, to be called a Christian, a Believer, or other such name which is approved by the Holy Ghost. And as for those factious titles of Anabaptists, Independents, Presbyterians, or the like, I conclude that they come neither from Jerusalem nor from Antioch, but rather from Hell and Babylon; for they naturally tend to divisions. You may know them by their fruits."

In another of his treatises he says, "jars and divisions, wranglings and prejudices, eat out the growth, if not the life of religion. These are those waters of Marah that imbitter our spirits, and quench the Spirit of God. Unity and peace is said to be like the dew of Hermon,* and as a dew that descended upon Sion, when the Lord promised his blessing. Divisions run religion into briers and thorns, contentions and parties. Divi

* Psalm cxxxiii. 3.

because so to do would be ploughing with an ox and an ass together; and because God has threatened to plague the “mingled people" with dreadful punishments. It is all one," he says, "to communicate with the profane, and to sacrifice to the devil." But he held that difference of opinion concerning bap tism should be no bar to communion; and for this he was at tacked by Kiffin and Jessey, two of the most eminent among the Baptists. The more particular Particulars had long been dist pleased with his tolerance upon this point, and had drawn away some of his congregation; and Bunyan complained of this "Church-rending" spirit. "Yourself," he says to Kiffin," could you but get the opportunity, under pretence of this innocent ordinance, as your term it, of water-baptism, would not stick to make inroads, and outroads too, in all the churches that suit not your fancy in the land. For you have already been bold to affirm, that all those that have baptized infants ought to be ashamed and repent, before they be showed the pattern of the house for what is this but to threaten that, could you have your will of them, you would quickly take from them their present church privileges?" He complains of " brethren of the baptized way, who would not pray with men as good as them. selves, because they were not baptized (that is, rebaptized)but would either, like Quakers, stand with their hats on their heads, or else withdraw till they had done." i

One of his opponents had said upon this subject, that if it be preposterous and wicked for a man and woman to cohabit toge ther, and to enjoy the privileges of a married estate" without the solemnity of public marriage, "so it is no less disorderly, upon a spiritual account, for any one to claim the privileges of a church, or to be admitted to the same, till they had been under the solemnity of rebaptism." "These words," said Bunyan "are very black ;-I wot that through ignorance and a prepo terous zeal he said it. God give him repentance!" They neither judged nor spoke so charitably of him; they called him a Machiavelian, a man devilish, proud, insolent, and presump tuous; some compared him to the devil, others to a Bedlamite, others to a sot; and they sneered at his low origin, and the bas occupation from which he had risen: "Such insults," said he, "I freely bind unto me, as an ornament among the rest of my

reproaches, till the Lord shall wipe them off at his coming." They reproached him for declining a public conference with them in London upon the matter in dispute. To this he answered thus: "The reason why I came not amongst you was partly because I consulted mine own weakness, and counted not myself, being a dull-headed man, able to engage so many of the chief of you as I was then informed intended to meet me. I also feared in personal disputes, heats and bitter contentions might arise, a thing my spirit hath not pleasure in. I feared also that both myself and words would be misrepresented ;-for if they that answer a book will alter and screw arguments out of their places, and make my sentences stand in their own words, not mine, when, I say, my words are in a book too be seen; what would you have done had I in the least, either in matter or manner, though but seemingly, miscarried among you?"

Throughout this controversy Bunyan appears to great advantage as a meek, good man, beyond the general spirit of his age in toleration, and far beyond that of his fellow sectarians. His was indeed so catholic a spirit, that though circumstances had made him a sectarian, he liked not to be called by the denomination of his sect. "I know none," says he, "to whom that title is so proper as to the disciples of John. And since you would know by what name I would be distinguished from others, I tell you, I would be, and hope I am, a Christian; and choose, if God should count me worthy, to be called a Christian, a Believer, or other such name which is approved by the Holy Ghost. And as for those factious titles of Anabaptists, Independents, Presbyterians, or the like, I conclude that they come neither from Jerusalem nor from Antioch, but rather from Hell and Babylon; for they naturally tend to divisions. You may know them by their fruits."

In another of his treatises he says, "jars and divisions, wranglings and prejudices, eat out the growth, if not the life of religion. These are those waters of Marah that imbitter our spirits, and quench the Spirit of God. Unity and peace is said to be like the dew of Hermon,* and as a dew that descended upon Sion, when the Lord promised his blessing. Divisions run religion into briers and thorns, contentions and parties. Divi

Psalm cxxxiii. 3.

sions are to churches like wars in countries; where war is, the ground lieth waste and untilled; none takes care of it. It is love that edifieth, but division pulleth down. Divisions are as the north-east wind to the fruits, which causeth them to dwindle away to nothing; but when the storms are over, everything begins to grow. When men are divided, they seldom speak the truth in love; and then no marvel they grow not up to Him in all things which is the Head. It is a sad presage of an approaching famine (as one well observes)-not of bread, nor water, but of hearing the word of God, when the thin ears of corn devour the plump full ones; when our controversies about doubtful things, and things of less moment, eat up our zeal for the more indisputable and practical things in religion; which may give us cause to fear, that this will be the character by which our age will be known to posterity, that it was the age which talked of religion most, and loved it least." It is of the divisions among those who could as little conform with one another as with the Church of England, that he is here speaking. And when his Mr. Badman says, "that no sin reigneth more in the world than pride among professors," and asks "who is prouder than your professors? scarcely the devil himself;" Bunyan assents to this condemnation in the character of Mr. Wiseman, saying, "Who can contradict him? the thing is too apparent for any man to deny." In his last sermon he complains of the many prayerless professors in London: "Coffeehouses," he says, "will not let you pray; trades will not let you pray; looking-glasses will not let you pray: but if you was born of God, you would." In another place his censure is directed against the prayerful ones. "The Pharisee, saith the text, stood and prayed with himself. It is at this day," says Bunyan, "wonderful common for men to pray extempore also: to pray by a book, by a premeditated set form, is now out of fashion: he is counted nobody now, that cannot at any time, at a minute's warning, make a prayer of half an hour long. I am not against extempore prayer, for I believe it to be the best kind of praying; but yet I am jealous that there are a great many such prayers made, especially in pulpits and public meetings, without the breathing of the Holy Ghost in them: for if a Pharisee of old could do so, why may not a Pharisee now do the same? Great

is the formality of religion this day, and little the power thereof! -How proud, how covetous, how like the world in garb and guise, in words and actions, are most of the great professors of this our day! But when they come to divine worship, especially to pray, by their words and carriage there, one would almost judge them to be angels in Heaven." Thus it appears Bunyan, like Wesley, lived to perceive "that often where there is most profession there is least piety."

This is manifest also in another passage, which is moreover worthy of notice, because it is in Bishop Latimer's vein. It is in his ' Heavenly Footman, or Description of the Man that gets to Heaven, together with the Way he runs in, the Marks he goes by; also some Directions how to run so as to obtain.' No doubt it contains the substance of some of his sermons; and to sermons in such a strain, however hearers might differ in taste and in opinions, there are none who would not listen." They that will have Heaven, they must run for it, because the Devil, the Law, Sin, Death, and Hell follow them. There is never a poor Soul that is going to Heaven, but the Devil, the Law, Sin, Death, and Hell make after that soul. The Devil, your adversary, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour.' And I will assure you, the devil is nimble; he can run apace; he is light of foot; he hath overtaken many; he hath turned up their heels, and hath given them an everlasting fall. Also the Law! that can shoot a great way: have a care thou keep out of the reach of those great guns the Ten Commandments! Hell also hath a wide mouth; and can stretch itself farther than you are aware of! And as the angel said to Lot, 'Take heed, look not behind thee, neither tarry thou in all the plain (that is, any where between this and Heaven), lest thou be consumed,' so say I to thee, Take heed, tarry not, lest either the Devil, Hell, Death, or the fearful curses of the Law of God do overtake thee, and throw thee down in the midst of thy sins, so as never to rise and recover again. If this were well considered, then thou, as well as I, wouldst say, they that will have Heaven must run for it."

"But, if thou wouldst so run as to obtain the kingdom of Heaven, then be sure that thou get into the way that leadeth thither; for it is a vain thing to think that ever thou shalt have