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THE FOURTH STAGE
Then he began to go forward; but Discretion, Piety, Charity, and Prudence
would accompany him down to the foot of the hill. So they went on together,
reiterating their former discourses, till they came to go down the hill.
Then said Christian, As it was difficult coming up, so, so far as I can see,
it is dangerous going down. Yes, said Prudence, so it is; for it is a hard
matter for a man to go down into the valley of Humiliation, as thou art now,
and to catch no slip by the way; therefore, said they, we are come out to
accompany thee down the hill. So he began to go down, but very warily; yet
he caught a slip or two.
Then I saw in my dream, that these good companions, when Christian was got
down to the bottom of the hill, gave him a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine,
and a cluster of raisins; and then he went on his way,
œWhilst Christian is among his godly friends,
Their golden mouths make him sufficient mends
For all his griefs; and when they let him go,
He's clad with northern steel from top to toe.
But now, in this valley of Humiliation, poor Christian was hard put to it;
for he had gone but a little way before he espied a foul fiend coming over
the field to meet him: his name is Apollyon. Then did Christian begin to be
afraid, and to cast in his mind whether to go back, or to stand his ground.
But he considered again, that he had no armor for his back, and therefore
thought that to turn the back to him might give him greater advantage with
ease to pierce him with his darts; therefore he resolved to venture and
stand his ground: for, thought he, had I no more in mine eye than the saving
of my life, it would be the best way to stand.
So he went on, and Apollyon met him. Now the monster was hideous to behold:
he was clothed with scales like a fish, and they are his pride; he had wings
like a dragon, and feet like a bear, and out of his belly came fire and
smoke; and his mouth was as the mouth of a lion. When he was come up to
Christian, he beheld him with a disdainful countenance, and thus began to
question him.
APOLLYON: Whence came you, and whither are you bound?
CHRISTIAN: I am come from the city of Destruction, which is the place of all
evil, and I am going to the city of Zion.
APOLLYON: By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects; for all that
country is mine, and I am the prince and god of it. How is it, then, that
thou hast run away from thy king? Were it not that I hope thou mayest do me
more service, I would strike thee now at one blow to the ground.
CHRISTIAN: I was, indeed, born in your dominions, but your service was hard,
and your wages such as a man could not live on; for the wages of sin is
death, Rom. 6:23; therefore, when I was come to years, I did, as other
considerate persons do, look out if perhaps I might mend myself.
APOLLYON: There is no prince that will thus lightly lose his subjects,
neither will I as yet lose thee; but since thou complainest of thy service
and wages, be content to go back, and what our country will afford I do here
promise to give thee.
CHRISTIAN: But I have let myself to another, even to the King of princes;
and how can I with fairness go back with thee?
APOLLYON: Thou hast done in this according to the proverb, œchanged a bad
for a worse; but it is ordinary for those that have professed themselves
his servants, after a while to give him the slip, and return again to me. Do
thou so to, and all shall be well.
CHRISTIAN: I have given him my faith, and sworn my allegiance to him; how
then can I go back from this, and not be hanged as a traitor.
APOLLYON: Thou didst the same by me, and yet I am willing to pass by all, if
now thou wilt yet turn again and go back.
CHRISTIAN: What I promised thee was in my non-age: and besides, I count that
the Prince, under whose banner I now stand, is able to absolve me, yea, and
to pardon also what I did as to my compliance with thee. And besides, O thou
destroying Apollyon, to speak truth, I like his service, his wages, his
servants, his government, his company, and country, better than thine;
therefore leave off to persuade me farther: I am his servant, and I will
follow him.
APOLLYON: Consider again, when thou art in cool blood, what thou art like to
meet with in the way that thou goest. Thou knowest that for the most part
his servants come to an ill end, because they are transgressors against me
and my ways. How many of them have been put to shameful deaths! And besides,
thou countest his service better than mine; whereas he never yet came from
the place where he is, to deliver any that served him out of their
enemies' hands: but as for me, how many times, as all the world very well
knows, have I delivered, either by power or fraud, those that have
faithfully served me, from him and his, though taken by them! And so will I
deliver thee.
CHRISTIAN: His forbearing at present to deliver them, is on purpose to try
their love, whether they will cleave to him to the end: and as for the ill
end thou sayest they come to, that is most glorious in their account. For,
for present deliverance, they do not much expect it; for they stay for their
glory; and then they shall have it, when their Prince comes in his and the
glory of the angels.
APOLLYON: Thou hast already been unfaithful in thy service to him; and how
dost thou think to receive wages of him?
CHRISTIAN: Wherein, O Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to him?
APOLLYON: Thou didst faint at first setting out, when thou wast almost
choked in the gulf of Despond. Thou didst attempt wrong ways to be rid of
thy burden, whereas thou shouldst have stayed till thy Prince had taken it
off. Thou didst sinfully sleep, and lose thy choice things. Thou wast almost
persuaded also to go back at the sight of the lions. And when thou talkest
of thy journey, and of what thou hast seen and heard, thou art inwardly
desirous of vainglory in all that thou sayest or doest.
CHRISTIAN: All this is true, and much more which thou hast left out; but the
Prince whom I serve and honor is merciful, and ready to forgive. But
besides, these infirmities possessed me in thy country, for there I sucked
them in, and I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and have
obtained pardon of my Prince.
APOLLYON: Then Apollyon broke out into a grievous rage, saying, I am an
enemy to this Prince; I hate his person, his laws, and people: I am come out
on purpose to withstand thee.
CHRISTIAN: Apollyon, beware what you do, for I am in the King's highway, the
way of holiness; therefore take heed to yourself.
APOLLYON: Then Apollyon straddled quite over the whole breadth of the way,
and said, I am void of fear in this matter. Prepare thyself to die; for I
swear by my infernal den, that thou shalt go no farther: here will I spill
thy soul. And with that he threw a flaming dart at his breast; but Christian
had a shield in his hand, with which he caught it, and so prevented the
danger of that.
Then did Christian draw, for he saw it was time to bestir him; and Apollyon
as fast made at him, throwing darts as thick as hail; by the which,
notwithstanding all that Christian could do to avoid it, Apollyon wounded
him in his head, his hand, and foot. This made Christian give a little back:
Apollyon, therefore, followed his work amain, and Christian again took
courage, and resisted as manfully as he could. This sore combat lasted for
above half a day, even till Christian was almost quite spent: for you must
know, that Christian, by reason of his wounds, must needs grow weaker and
weaker.
Then Apollyon, espying his opportunity, began to gather up close to
Christian, and wrestling with him, gave him a dreadful fall; and with that
Christian's sword flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am sure of
thee now: and with that he had almost pressed him to death, so that
Christian began to despair of life. But, as God would have it, while
Apollyon was fetching his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good
man, Christian nimbly reached out his hand for his sword, and caught it,
saying, Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise,
Mic. 7:8; and with that gave him a deadly thrust, which made him give back,
as one that had received his mortal wound. Christian perceiving that, made
at him again, saying, Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors,
through Him that loved us. Rom. 8:37. And with that Apollyon spread forth
his dragon wings, and sped him away, that Christian saw him no more. James
4:7.
In this combat no man can imagine, unless he had seen and heard, as I did,
what yelling and hideous roaring Apollyon made all the time of the fight; he
spake like a dragon: and on the other side, what sighs and groans burst from
Christian's heart. I never saw him all the while give so much as one
pleasant look, till he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged
sword; then, indeed, he did smile, and look upward! But it was the
dreadfullest sight that ever I saw.
So when the battle was over, Christian said, I will here give thanks to him
that hath delivered me out of the mouth of the lion, to him that did help me
against Apollyon. And so he did, saying,
œGreat Beelzebub, the captain of this fiend,
Designed my ruin; therefore to this end
He sent him harness'd out; and he, with rage
That hellish was, did fiercely me engage:
But blessed Michael helped me, and I,
By dint of sword, did quickly make him fly:
Therefore to Him let me give lasting praise,
And thank and bless his holy name always.
Then there came to him a hand with some of the leaves of the tree of life,
the which Christian took and applied to the wounds that he had received in
the battle, and was healed immediately. He also sat down in that place to
eat bread, and to drink of the bottle that was given him a little before:
so, being refreshed, he addressed himself to his journey with his sword
drawn in his hand; for he said, I know not but some other enemy may be at
hand. But he met with no other affront from Apollyon quite through this
valley.
Now at the end of this valley was another, called the Valley of the Shadow
of Death; and Christian must needs go through it, because the way to the
Celestial City lay through the midst of it. Now, this valley is a very
solitary place. The prophet Jeremiah thus describes it: œA wilderness, a
land of deserts and pits, a land of drought, and of the Shadow of Death, a
land that no man (but a Christian) œpasseth through, and where no man
dwelt. Jer. 2:6.
Now here Christian was worse put to it than in his fight with Apollyon, as
by the sequel you shall see.
I saw then in my dream, that when Christian was got to the borders of the
Shadow of Death, there met him two men, children of them that brought up an
evil report of the good land Num.13:32, making haste to go back; to whom
Christian spake as follows.
CHRISTIAN: Whither are you going?
THE TWO MEN: They said, Back, back; and we would have you do so too, if
either life or peace is prized by you.
CHRISTIAN: Why, what's the matter? said Christian.
THE TWO MEN: Matter! said they; we were going that way as you are going, and
went as far as we durst: and indeed we were almost past coming back; for had
we gone a little further, we had not been here to bring the news to thee.
CHRISTIAN: But what have you met with? said Christian.
THE TWO MEN: Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, but
that by good hap we looked before us, and saw the danger before we came to
it. Psa. 44:19; 107:19.
CHRISTIAN: But what have you seen? said Christian.
THE TWO MEN: Seen! why the valley itself, which is as dark as pitch: we also
saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit: we heard also in
that valley a continual howling and yelling, as of a people under
unutterable misery, who there sat bound in affliction and irons: and over
that valley hang the discouraging clouds of confusion: Death also doth
always spread his wings over it. In a word, it is every whit dreadful, being
utterly without order. Job 3:5; 10:22.
CHRISTIAN: Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have said,
but that this is my way to the desired haven. Psalm 44:18,19; Jer. 2:6.
THE TWO MEN: Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours.
So they parted, and Christian went on his way, but still with his sword
drawn in his hand, for fear lest he should be assaulted.
I saw then in my dream, so far as this valley reached, there was on the
right hand a very deep ditch; that ditch is it into which the blind have led
the blind in all ages, and have both there miserably perished. Again,
behold, on the left hand there was a very dangerous quag, into which, if
even a good man falls, he finds no bottom for his foot to stand on: into
that quag king David once did fall, and had no doubt therein been smothered,
had not He that is able plucked him out. Psa. 69:14.
The pathway was here also exceeding narrow, and therefore good Christian was
the more put to it; for when he sought, in the dark, to shun the ditch on
the one hand, he was ready to tip over into the mire on the other; also,
when he sought to escape the mire, without great carefulness he would be
ready to fall into the ditch. Thus he went on, and I heard him here sigh
bitterly; for besides the danger mentioned above, the pathway was here so
dark, that ofttimes when he lifted up his foot to go forward, he knew not
where, or upon what he should set it next.
About the midst of this valley I perceived the mouth of hell to be, and it
stood also hard by the wayside. Now, thought Christian, what shall I do? And
ever and anon the flame and smoke would come out in such abundance, with
sparks and hideous noises, (things that cared not for Christian's sword, as
did Apollyon before,) that he was forced to put up his sword, and betake
himself to another weapon, called All-prayer, Eph. 6:18; so he cried, in my
hearing, O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Psa. 116:4. Thus he went
on a great while, yet still the flames would be reaching towards him; also
he heard doleful voices, and rushings to and fro, so that sometimes he
thought he should be torn in pieces, or trodden down like mire in the
streets. This frightful sight was seen, and these dreadful noises were heard
by him for several miles together; and coming to a place where he thought he
heard a company of fiends coming forward to meet him, he stopped, and began
to muse what he had best to do. Sometimes he had half a thought to go back;
then again he thought he might be half-way through the valley. He remembered
also, how he had already vanquished many a danger; and that the danger of
going back might be much more than for to go forward. So he resolved to go
on; yet the fiends seemed to come nearer and nearer. But when they were come
even almost at him, he cried out with a most vehement voice, I will walk in
the strength of the Lord God. So they gave back, and came no farther.
One thing I would not let slip. I took notice that now poor Christian was so
confounded that he did not know his own voice; and thus I perceived it. Just
when he was come over against the mouth of the burning pit, one of the
wicked ones got behind him, and stepped up softly to him, and whisperingly
suggested many grievous blasphemies to him, which he verily thought had
proceeded from his own mind. This put Christian more to it than any thing
that he met with before, even to think that he should now blaspheme Him that
he loved so much before. Yet if he could have helped it, he would not have
done it; but he had not the discretion either to stop his ears, or to know
from whence these blasphemies came.
When Christian had travelled in this disconsolate condition some
considerable time, he thought he heard the voice of a man, as going before
him, saying, Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will
fear no evil, for thou art with me. Psa. 23:4.
Then was he glad, and that for these reasons:
First, Because he gathered from thence, that some who feared God were in
this valley as well as himself.
Secondly, For that he perceived God was with them, though in that dark and
dismal state. And why not, thought he, with me? though by reason of the
impediment that attends this place, I cannot perceive it. Job 9:11.
Thirdly, For that he hoped (could he overtake them) to have company by and
by.
So he went on, and called to him that was before; but he knew not what to
answer, for that he also thought himself to be alone. And by and by the day
broke: then said Christian, œHe hath turned the shadow of death into the
morning. Amos 5:8.
Now morning being come, he looked back, not out of desire to return, but to
see, by the light of the day, what hazards he had gone through in the dark.
So he saw more perfectly the ditch that was on the one hand, and the quag
that was on the other; also how narrow the way was which led betwixt them
both. Also now he saw the hobgoblins, and satyrs, and dragons of the pit,
but all afar off; for after break of day they came not nigh; yet they were
discovered to him, according to that which is written, œHe discovereth deep
things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. Job
12:22.
Now was Christian much affected with this deliverance from all the dangers
of his solitary way; which dangers, though he feared them much before, yet
he saw them more clearly now, because the light of the day made them
conspicuous to him. And about this time the sun was rising, and this was
another mercy to Christian; for you must note, that though the first part of
the Valley of the Shadow of Death was dangerous, yet this second part, which
he was yet to go, was, if possible, far more dangerous; for, from the place
where he now stood, even to the end of the valley, the way was all along set
so full of snares, traps, gins, and nets here, and so full of pits,
pitfalls, deep holes, and shelvings-down there, that had it now been dark,
as it was when he came the first part of the way, had he had a thousand
souls, they had in reason been cast away; but, as I said, just now the sun
was rising. Then said he, œHis Candle shineth on my head, and by his light I
go through darkness. Job 29:3.
In this light, therefore, he came to the end of the valley. Now I saw in my
dream, that at the end of the valley lay blood, bones, ashes, and mangled
bodies of men, even of pilgrims that had gone this way formerly; and while I
was musing what should be the reason, I espied a little before me a cave,
where two giants, Pope and Pagan, dwelt in old times; by whose power and
tyranny the men whose bones, blood, ashes, etc., lay there, were cruelly put
to death. But by this place Christian went without much danger, whereat I
somewhat wondered; but I have learnt since, that Pagan has been dead many a
day; and as for the other, though he be yet alive, he is, by reason of age,
and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger days,
grown so crazy and stiff in his joints that he can now do little more than
sit in his cave's mouth, grinning at pilgrims as they go by, and biting his
nails because he cannot come at them.
So I saw that Christian went on his way; yet, at the sight of the old man
that sat at the mouth of the cave, he could not tell what to think,
especially because he spoke to him, though he could not go after him,
saying, You will never mend, till more of you be burned. But he held his
peace, and set a good face on it; and so went by, and catched no hurt. Then
sang Christian,
œO world of wonders, (I can say no less,)
That I should be preserved in that distress
That I have met with here! O blessed be
That hand that from it hath delivered me!
Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin,
Did compass me, while I this vale was in;
Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets did lie
My path about, that worthless, silly I
Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;
But since I live, let Jesus wear the crown.
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