By calves and sheep, by heifers and by rams, Be not too forward, therefore, to conclude The prophets used much by metaphors To his poor one I dare adventure ten, Come, Truth, although in swaddling-clouts I find, Sound words, I know, Timothy is to use, And old wives' fables he is to refuse; That gold, those pearls and precious stones, that were Let me add one word more : O man of God! Art thou offended? Dost thou wish I had Put on the words, things, readers, or be rude In application; but all that I may Seek the advance of truth, this or that way. 2. I find that men, as high as trees, will write 3. I find that Holy Writ, in many places, And now, before I do put up my pen, That pulls the strong down, and makes weak ones stand. This book, it chalketh out before thine eyes The man that seeks the everlasting prize : It shows you whence he comes, whither he goes, It also shows you how he runs and runs, It shows, too, who set out for life amain, Art thou for something rare and profitable? This book is writ in such a dialect Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains. Wouldst read thyself, and read thou know'st not what, By reading the same lines? Oh then come hither, JOHN BUNYAN. S I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, The Gaol. and laid me down in that place to sleep; and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back.* I looked, and saw him open the book, and read Isa. lxiv. 6; Luke xiv. 33; Psalm xxxviii. 4; Heb. ii. 2; Acts xvi. 31. therein, and as he read he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a His outcry. lamentable cry, saying, 'What shall I do !'* This world. In this plight, therefore, he went home, and refrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased; wherefore, at length, he brake his mind to his wife and children, and thus he began to talk to them: 'O! my dear wife (said he), and you the children of my bowels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone, by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me: Moreover, I am for certain informed, that this our city will be burnt with fire from heaven; in which fearful overthrow both myself, with thee my wife, and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which He knows yet I see not) some way of escape may be no way of found, whereby we may be delivered. At this escape as yet. his relations were sore amazed; not for that they believed that what he had said to them was true, but because they thought that some frenzy distemper had got into his head; therefore, it drawing towards night, and they hoping that sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed; but the night was as troublesome to him as the day: wherefore instead of sleeping, he spent it in sighs and tears. So, when the morning was come, they would know how he did; he told them, Worse and worse. He also set to talking to them again; but they began to be hardened. They physic for a also thought to drive away his distemper by harsh sick soul. and surly carriage to him: Sometimes they would deride, sometimes they would chide, and sometimes they would quite neglect him; wherefore he began to retire himself to his chamber to pray for and pity them, and also to condole his own misery: he would also walk solitarily in the fields, sometimes reading, and sometimes praying; and thus for some days he spent his time. Carnal Now I saw, upon a time, when he was walking in the fields, that he was (as he was wont) reading in his book, and greatly distressed in his mind; and, as he read, he burst Acts ii. 37. |