The Battle of Darkness and Light - Джон Мильтон

Скачать книгу

against sin, even as the mother cries out against her child in her lap, when she calleth it naughty girl, and then falls to hugging and kissing it.

      Standeth your religion in word or tongue, and not in deed and truth? Pray, if you incline to answer me 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 neighbors, tell me I lie, is great wickedness.

      Then Talkative at first began to blush; but recovering himself, he thus replied: You come now to experience, to conscience, and to 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?

      Faith. Because I saw you forward to talk, and because I knew not that you were really in earnest. Besides, to tell you 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 will stand together.

      Talk. Since you are so ready to take up reports, and to judge as rashly as you do, I cannot but conclude you are some peevish or melancholy man, not fit to talk to; and so farewell.

      Then up came 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, 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.

      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 a stench in the nostrils of so many as it doth; for they are these talkative fools, whose religion is only in word, and who are debauched and vain in their conversation, that (being so much admitted into the fellowship of the

       TALKATIVE

       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.

      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.

      The Sixth Stage

       Table of Contents

      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 lie knew him. Oh! said Faithful to his brother, who comes yonder? Then Christian looked and said, It is my good friend Evangelist. Aye, and my good friend too, said Faithful, for ’twas he that set me on the way to the gate. Now was Evangelist come up unto them, and thus saluted them.

      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 labors for my eternal good.

      Faith. And a thousand times welcome, said good Faithful, thy company, O sweet Evangelist; how desirable is it 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?

      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 to that place.

      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.

      Chr. Then Christian thanked him for his exhortations; 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 word 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 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.” 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 arrive 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 God in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”

      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 ago 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 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, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures; and delights of all sorts, as harlots, 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 jugglings, 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 color.

      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 sold; so here, likewise, you have the proper places, rows, streets (namely, countries and kingdoms),

Скачать книгу