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THE EIGHTH STAGE
They went then till they came to the Delectable Mountains, which mountains
belong to the Lord of that hill of which we have spoken before. So they went
up to the mountains, to behold the gardens and orchards, the vineyards and
fountains of water; where also they drank and washed themselves, and did
freely eat of the vineyards. Now, there were on the tops of these mountains
shepherds feeding their flocks, and they stood by the highway-side. The
pilgrims, therefore, went to them, and leaning upon their staffs, (as is
common with weary pilgrims when they stand to talk with any by the way,)
they asked, Whose Delectable Mountains are these; and whose be the sheep
that feed upon them?
THE SHEPHERDS: These mountains are Emmanuel's land, and they are within
sight of his city; and the sheep also are his, and he laid down his life for
them. John 10:11,15.
CHRISTIAN: Is this the way to the Celestial City?
THE SHEPHERDS: You are just in your way.
CHRISTIAN: How far is it thither?
THE SHEPHERDS: Too far for any but those who shall get thither indeed.
CHRISTIAN: Is the way safe or dangerous?
THE SHEPHERDS: Safe for those for whom it is to be safe; but transgressors
shall fall therein. Hos. 14:9.
CHRISTIAN: Is there in this place any relief for pilgrims that are weary and
faint in the way?
THE SHEPHERDS: The Lord of these mountains hath given us a charge not to be
forgetful to entertain strangers, Heb. 13:2; therefore the good of the place
is before you .
I saw also in my dream, that when the shepherds perceived that they were
wayfaring men, they also put questions to them, (to which they made answer
as in other places,) as, Whence came you? and, How got you into the way?
and, By what means have you so persevered therein? for but few of them that
begin to come hither, do show their face on these mountains. But when the
shepherds heard their answers, being pleased therewith, they looked very
lovingly upon them, and said, Welcome to the Delectable Mountains.
The shepherds, I say, whose names were Knowledge, Experience, Watchful, and
Sincere, took them by the hand, and had them to their tents, and made them
partake of that which was ready at present. They said moreover, We would
that you should stay here a while, to be acquainted with us, and yet more to
solace yourselves with the good of these Delectable Mountains. Then they
told them that they were content to stay. So they went to their rest that
night, because it was very late.
Then I saw in my dream, that in the morning the shepherds called up
Christian and Hopeful to walk with them upon the mountains. So they went
forth with them, and walked a while, having a pleasant prospect on every
side. Then said the shepherds one to another, Shall we show these pilgrims
some wonders? So when they had concluded to do it, they had them first to
the top of a hill called Error, which was very steep on the farthest side,
and bid them look down to the bottom. So Christian and Hopeful looked down,
and saw at the bottom several men dashed all to pieces by a fall that they
had had from the top. Then said Christian, What meaneth this? The shepherds
answered, Have you not heard of them that were made to err, by hearkening to
Hymenius and Philetus, as concerning the faith of the resurrection of the
body? 2 Tim. 2:17,18. They answered, Yes. Then said the shepherds, Those
that you see lie dashed in pieces at the bottom of this mountain are they;
and they have continued to this day unburied, as you see, for an example to
others to take heed how they clamber too high, or how they come too near the
brink of this mountain.
Then I saw that they had them to the top of another mountain, and the name
of that is Caution, and bid them look afar off; which, when they did, they
perceived, as they thought, several men walking up and down among the tombs
that were there; and they perceived that the men were blind, because they
stumbled sometimes upon the tombs, and because they could not get out from
among them. Then said Christian, What means this?
The shepherds then answered, Did you not see, a little below these
mountains, a stile that led into a meadow, on the left hand of this way?
They answered, Yes. Then said the shepherds, From that stile there goes a
path that leads directly to Doubting Castle, which is kept by Giant Despair;
and these men (pointing to them among the tombs) came once on pilgrimage, as
you do now, even until they came to that same stile. And because the right
way was rough in that place, they chose to go out of it into that meadow,
and there were taken by Giant Despair, and cast into Doubting Castle; where
after they had a while been kept in the dungeon, he at last did put out
their eyes, and led them among those tombs, where he has left them to wander
to this very day, that the saying of the wise man might be fulfilled, œHe
that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the
congregation of the dead. Prov. 21:16. Then Christian and Hopeful looked
upon one another, with tears gushing out, but yet said nothing to the
shepherds.
Then I saw in my dream, that the shepherds had them to another place in a
bottom, where was a door on the side of a hill; and they opened the door,
and bid them look in. They looked in, therefore, and saw that within it was
very dark and smoky; they also thought that they heard there a rumbling
noise, as of fire, and a cry of some tormented, and that they smelt the
scent of brimstone. Then said Christian, What means this? The shepherds told
them, This is a by-way to hell, a way that hypocrites go in at; namely, such
as sell their birthright, with Esau; such as sell their Master, with Judas;
such as blaspheme the Gospel, with Alexander; and that lie and dissemble,
with Ananias and Sapphira his wife.
Then said Hopeful to the shepherds, I perceive that these had on them, even
every one, a show of pilgrimage, as we have now; had they not?
THE SHEPHERDS: Yes, and held it a long time, too.
HOPEFUL: How far might they go on in pilgrimage in their day, since they,
notwithstanding, were miserably cast away?
THE SHEPHERDS: Some farther, and some not so far as these mountains.
Then said the pilgrims one to the other, We had need to cry to the Strong
for strength.
THE SHEPHERDS: Aye, and you will have need to use it, when you have it, too.
By this time the pilgrims had a desire to go forward, and the shepherds a
desire they should; so they walked together towards the end of the
mountains. Then said the shepherds one to another, Let us here show the
pilgrims the gates of the Celestial City, if they have skill to look through
our perspective glass. The pilgrims lovingly accepted the motion: so they
had them to the top of a high hill, called Clear, and gave them the glass to
look.
Then they tried to look; but the remembrance of that last thing that the
shepherds had shown them made their hands shake, by means of which
impediment they could not look steadily through the glass; yet they thought
they saw something like the gate, and also some of the glory of the place.
Then they went away, and sang,
œThus by the shepherds secrets are reveal'd,
Which from all other men are kept concealed:
Come to the shepherds then, if you would see
Things deep, things hid, and that mysterious be.
When they were about to depart, one of the shepherds gave them a note of the
way. Another of them bid them beware of the Flatterer. The third bid them
take heed that they slept not upon Enchanted Ground. And the fourth bid them
God speed. So I awoke from my dream.
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