BY JOHN BUNYAN, LATE MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT BEDFORD, AUTOW OF TOGETHER WITH THE MOST CORRECT, CONDENSED LIFE OF THE IMMORTAL ALSO, A LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT AND AUTOGRAPH, EXECUTED BY D'AVIGNON IN HIS BEST STYLE. NEW YORK: DERBY & JACKSON, 498, BROADWAY, 1860. PREFACE. THE Author of the present work (connected with which is a short but interesting sketch of his biography) was an extraordinary man. Called by Divine grace out of a state of vice, ignorance, and obscurity, without even the limited advantages of those days, he became a useful minister of the Gospel, and a very eminent writer-a writer so eminent, that though he has been dead more than a century and a half, his works still live. Few books have so often been printed as his Pilgrim's Progress, in which the Christian life is represented allegorically and figuratively as a journey, and the traveller is conducted through many remarkable incidents from his native city to the city of God. In the Holy War the same subject is treated in a military manner. The fall and recovery of man are represented by two remarkable revolutions in the town of Mansoul. » The human soul is figuratively considered as a beautiful and prosperous town, seduced from its obedience to Shaddai, its builder and governor, by the stratagems of Diabolus, his inveterate enemy; but the town, after a tedious war, is again recovered by the victorious arms of the King's son. This military view of the subject is strictly consonant with the sacred Scriptures, which represent the Christian life as a warfare, Christ as a captain, the believer as a soldier of Jesus Christ, the preaching of the Gospel as the weapons of the holy war, and the graces of the Spirit as so many parts of the heavenly armor. Mr. Bunyan was better qualified than most ministers to treat thi subject with propriety, having himself been a soldier; and knowing by experience the arts and the hardships of war. Indeed, he has conducted the whole work with singular ingenuity and skill. He displays throughout his accurate knowledge of the Bible, and its distinguishing doctrines ; his deep acquaintance with the heart and its desperate wickedness; his knowledge of the devices of Satan, and of the prejudices of the mind against the Gospel. He proves to have had an extensive knowledge of Christian experience, of the power of conscience, of the excellency of faith, of the misery arising from doubts and fears, and of the necessity of crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts. The grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ are sweetly delineated in the character of his Immanuel, while in the character of Diabolus may be traced the infernal workings, guile, hypocrisy, and deceit of the evil one. A vast fund of experimental religion is treasured up in this book, while the instruction is conveyed in the form of entertainment and amusement; and occasionally, a smile excited by the singular propriety of the unusual names assigned to the numerous characters introduced. To render this edition more agreeable than former ones, many marginal references have been omitted, which were a great detriment, both to the reader and the appearance of the work. There has also been prefixed a lithographic portrait and autograph of the Author, executed by D'Avignon. |
