The Holy War by John Bunyan (page 5)

the town shall be against the town, and shall serve to be a defence to the enemies of her strength and life: I say, when they shall make use of the forts and town-holds to secure themselves in, even till they shall take, spoil, and demolish the castle,–this was terrible! and yet this was now the state of the town of Mansoul.

After the town of Mansoul had been in this sad and lamentable condition, for so long a time as I have told you, and no petitions that they presented their Prince with, all this while, could prevail, the inhabitants of the town, namely, the elders and chief of Mansoul, gathered together, and, after some time spent in condoling their miserable state and this miserable judgment coming upon them, they agreed together to draw up yet another petition, and to send it away to Emmanuel for relief. But Mr. Godly-Fear stood up and answered, that he knew that his Lord the Prince never did nor ever would receive a petition for these matters, from the hand of any whoever, unless the Lord Secretary’s hand was to it; ‘and this,’ quoth he, ‘is the reason that you prevailed not all this while.’ Then they said they would draw up one, and get the Lord Secretary’s hand unto it. But Mr. Godly-Fear answered again, that he knew also that the Lord Secretary would not set his hand to any petition that himself had not an hand in composing and drawing up. ‘And besides,’ said he, ‘the Prince doth know my Lord Secretary’s hand from all the hands in the world; wherefore he cannot be deceived by any pretence whatever. Wherefore my advice is that you go to my Lord, and implore him to lend you his aid.’ (Now he did yet abide in the castle, where all the captains and men-at-arms were.)

So they heartily thanked Mr. Godly-Fear, took his counsel, and did as he had bidden them. So they went and came to my Lord, and made known the cause of their coming to him; namely, that since Mansoul was in so deplorable a condition, his Highness would be pleased to undertake to draw up a petition for them to Emmanuel, the Son of the mighty Shaddai, and to their King and his Father by him.

Then said the Secretary to them, ‘What petition is it that you would have me draw up for you?’ But they said, ‘Our Lord knows best the state and condition of the town of Mansoul; and how we are backslidden and degenerated from the Prince: thou also knowest who is come up to war against us, and how Mansoul is now the seat of war. My Lord knows, moreover, what barbarous usages our men, women, and children have suffered at their hands; and how our homebred Diabolonians do walk now with more boldness than dare the townsmen in the streets of Mansoul. Let our Lord therefore, according to the wisdom of God that is in him, draw up a petition for his poor servants to our Prince Emmanuel.’ ‘Well,’ said the Lord Secretary, ‘I will draw up a petition for you, and will also set my hand thereto.’ Then said they, ‘But when shall we call for it at the hands of our Lord?’ But he answered, ‘Yourselves must be present at the doing of it; yea, you must put your desires to it. True, the hand and pen shall be mine, but the ink and paper must be yours; else how can you say it is your petition? Nor have I need to petition for myself, because I have not offended.’ He also added as followeth: ‘No petition goes from me in my name to the Prince, and so to his Father by him, but when the people that are chiefly concerned therein do join in heart and soul in the matter, for that must be inserted therein.’

So they did heartily agree with the sentence of the Lord, and a petition was forthwith drawn up for them. But now, who should carry it? that was next. But the Secretary advised that Captain Credence should carry it; for he was a well-spoken man. They therefore called for him, and propounded to him the business. ‘Well,’ said the captain, ‘I gladly accept of the motion; and though I am lame, I will do this business for you with as much speed, and as well as I can.’

The contents of the petition were to this purpose

‘O our Lord, and Sovereign Prince Emmanuel, the potent, the long- suffering Prince! grace is poured into thy lips, and to thee belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against thee. We, who are no more worthy to be called thy Mansoul, nor yet fit to partake of common benefits, do beseech thee, and thy Father by thee, to do away our transgressions. We confess that thou mightest cast us away for them; but do it not for thy name’s sake: let the Lord rather take an opportunity, at our miserable condition, to let out his bowels and compassions to us. We are compassed on every side, Lord; our own backslidings reprove us; our Diabolonians within our town fright us; and the army of the angel of the bottomless pit distresses us. Thy grace can be our salvation, and whither to go but to thee we know not.

‘Furthermore, O gracious Prince, we have weakened our captains, and they are discouraged, sick, and, of late, some of them grievously worsted and beaten out of the field by the power and force of the tyrant. Yea, even those of our captains, in whose valour we did formerly use to put most of our confidence, they are as wounded men. Besides, Lord, our enemies are lively, and they are strong; they vaunt and boast themselves, and do threaten to part us among themselves for a booty. They are fallen also upon us, Lord, with many thousand doubters, such as with whom we cannot tell what to do; they are all grim-looked and unmerciful ones, and they bid defiance to us and thee.

‘Our wisdom is gone, our power is gone, because thou art departed from us; nor have we what we may call ours but sin, shame, and confusion of face for sin. Take pity upon us, O Lord, take pity upon us, thy miserable town of Mansoul, and save us out of the hands of our enemies. Amen.’

This petition, as was touched afore, was handed by the Lord Secretary, and carried to the court by the brave and most stout Captain Credence. Now he carried it out at Mouth-gate, (for that, as I said, was the sally-port of the town,) and he went and came to Emmanuel with it. Now how it came out, I do not know; but for certain it did, and that so far as to reach the ears of Diabolus. Thus I conclude, because that the tyrant had it presently by the end, and charged the town of Mansoul with it, saying, ‘Thou rebellious and stubborn-hearted Mansoul, I will make thee to leave off petitioning. Art thou yet for petitioning? I will make thee to leave.’ Yea, he also knew who the messenger was that carried the petition to the Prince, and it made him both to fear and rage.

Wherefore he commanded that his drum should be beat again, a thing that Mansoul could not abide to hear: but when Diabolus will have his drum beat, Mansoul must abide the noise. Well, the drum was beat, and the Diabolonians were gathered together.

Then said Diabolus, ‘O ye stout Diabolonians, be it known unto you, that there is treachery hatched against us in the rebellious town of Mansoul; for albeit the town is in our possession, as you see, yet these miserable Mansoulians have attempted to dare, and have been so hardy as yet to send to the court to Emmanuel for help. This I give you to understand, that ye may yet know how to carry it to the wretched town of Mansoul. Wherefore, O my trusty Diabolonians, I command that yet more and more ye distress this town of Mansoul, and vex it with your wiles, ravish their women, deflower their virgins, slay their children, brain their ancients, fire their town, and what other mischief you can; and let this be the reward of the Mansoulians from me, for their desperate rebellions against me.’

This, you see, was the charge; but something stepped in betwixt that and execution, for as yet there was but little more done than to rage.

Moreover, when Diabolus had done thus, he went the next way up to the castle gates, and demanded that, upon pain of death, the gates should be opened to him, and that entrance should be given him and his men that followed after. To whom Mr. Godly-Fear replied, (for he it was that had the charge of that gate,) that the gate should not be opened unto him, nor to the men that followed after him. He said, moreover, that Mansoul, when she had suffered awhile, should be made perfect, strengthened, settled.

Then said Diabolus, ‘Deliver me, then, the men that have petitioned against me, especially Captain Credence, that carried it to your Prince; deliver that varlet into my hands, and I will depart from the town.’

Then up starts a Diabolonian, whose name was Mr. Fooling, and said, ‘My lord offereth you fair: it is better for you that one man perish, than that your whole Mansoul should be undone.’

But Mr. Godly-Fear made him this replication, ‘How long will Mansoul be kept out of the dungeon, when she hath given up her faith to Diabolus! As good lose the town, as lose Captain Credence; for if one be gone the other must follow.’ But to that Mr. Fooling said nothing.

Then did my Lord Mayor reply, and said, ‘O thou devouring tyrant, be it known unto thee, we shall hearken to none of thy words; we are resolved to resist thee as long as a captain, a man, a sling, and a stone to throw at thee shall be found in the town of Mansoul.’ But Diabolus answered, ‘Do you hope, do you wait, do you look for help and deliverance? You have sent to Emmanuel, but your wickedness sticks too close in your skirts, to let innocent prayers come out of your lips. Think you that you shall be prevailers and prosper in this design? You will fail in your wish, you will fail in your attempts; for it is not only I, but your Emmanuel is against you: yea, it is he that hath sent me against you to subdue you. For what, then, do you hope? or by what means will you escape?’

Then said the Lord Mayor, ‘We have sinned indeed; but that shall be no help to thee, for our Emmanuel hath said it, and that in great faithfulness, “and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” He hath also told us, O our enemy, that “all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven” to the sons of men. Therefore we dare not despair, but will look for, wait for, and hope for deliverance still.’

Now, by this time, Captain Credence was returned and come from the court from Emmanuel to the castle of Mansoul, and he returned to them with a packet. So my Lord Mayor, hearing that Captain Credence was come, withdrew himself from the noise of the roaring of the tyrant, and left him to yell at the wall of the town, or against the gates of the castle. So he came up to the captain’s lodgings, and saluting him, he asked him of his welfare, and what was the best news at court. But when he asked Captain Credence that, the water stood in his eyes. Then said the captain, ‘Cheer up, my lord, for all will be well in time.’ And with that he first produced his packet, and laid it by; but that the Lord Mayor, and the rest of the captains, took for sign of good tidings. Now a season of grace being come, he sent for all the captains and elders of the town, that were here and there in their lodgings in the castle and upon their guard, to let them know that Captain Credence was returned from the court, and that he had something in general, and something in special, to communicate to them. So they all came up to him, and saluted him, and asked him concerning his journey, and what was the best news at the court. And he answered them as he had done the Lord Mayor before, that all would be well at last. Now, when the captain had thus saluted them, he opened his packet, and thence did draw out his several notes for those that he had sent for.

And the first note was for my Lord Mayor, wherein was signified:- That the Prince Emmanuel had taken it well that my Lord Mayor had been so true and trusty in his office, and the great concerns that lay upon him for the town and people of Mansoul. Also, he bid him to know, that he took it well that he had been so bold for his Prince Emmanuel, and had engaged so faithfully in his cause against Diabolus. He also signified, at the close of his letter, that he should shortly receive his reward.

The second note that came out, was for the noble Lord Willbewill, wherein there was signified:- That his Prince Emmanuel did well understand how valiant and courageous he had been for the honour of his Lord, now in his absence, and when his name was under contempt by Diabolus. There was signified also, that his Prince had taken it well that he had been so faithful to the town of Mansoul, in his keeping of so strict a hand and eye over and so strict a rein upon the neck of the Diabolonians, that did still lie lurking in their several holes in the famous town of Mansoul. He signified, moreover, how that he understood that my Lord had, with his own hand, done great execution upon some of the chief of the rebels there, to the great discouragement of the adverse party and to the good example of the whole town of Mansoul; and that shortly his lordship should have his reward.

The third note came out for the subordinate preacher, wherein was signified:- That his Prince took it well from him, that he had so honestly and so faithfully performed his office, and executed the trust committed to him by his Lord, while he exhorted, rebuked, and forewarned Mansoul according to the laws of the town. He signified, moreover, that he took it well at his hand that he called to fasting, to sackcloth, and ashes, when Mansoul was under her revolt. Also, that he called for the aid of the Captain Boanerges to help in so weighty a work; and that shortly he also should receive his reward.

The fourth note came out for Mr. Godly-Fear, wherein his Lord thus signified:- That his Lordship observed, that he was the first of all the men in Mansoul that detected Mr. Carnal-Security as the only one that, through his subtlety and cunning, had obtained for Diabolus a defection and decay of goodness in the blessed town of Mansoul. Moreover, his Lord gave him to understand, that he still remembered his tears and mourning for the state of Mansoul. It was also observed, by the same note, that his Lord took notice of his detecting of this Mr. Carnal-Security, at his own table among his guests, in his own house, and that in the midst of his jolliness, even while he was seeking to perfect his villanies against the town of Mansoul. Emmanuel also took notice that this reverend person, Mr. Godly-Fear, stood stoutly to it, at the gates of the castle, against all the threats and attempts of the tyrant; and that he had put the townsmen in a way to make their petition to their Prince, so as that he might accept thereof, and as they might obtain an answer of peace; and that therefore shortly he should receive his reward.

After all this, there was yet produced a note which was written to the whole town of Mansoul, whereby they perceived–That their Lord took notice of their so often repeating of petitions to him; and that they should see more of the fruits of such their doings in time to come. Their Prince did also therein tell them, that he took it well, that their heart and mind, now at last, abode fixed upon him and his ways, though Diabolus had made such inroads upon them; and that neither flatteries on the one hand, nor hardships on the other, could make them yield to serve his cruel designs. There was also inserted at the bottom of this note–That his Lordship had left the town of Mansoul in the hands of the Lord Secretary, and under the conduct of Captain Credence, saying, ‘Beware that you yet yield yourselves unto their governance; and in due time you shall receive your reward.’

So, after the brave Captain Credence had delivered his notes to those to whom they belonged, he retired himself to my Lord Secretary’s lodgings, and there spends time in conversing with him; for they too were very great one with another, and did indeed know more how things would go with Mansoul than did all the townsmen besides. The Lord Secretary also loved the Captain Credence dearly; yea, many a good bit was sent him from my Lord’s table; also, he might have a show of countenance, when the rest of Mansoul lay under the clouds: so, after some time for converse was spent, the captain betook himself to his chambers to rest. But it was not long after when my Lord did send for the captain again; so the captain came to him, and they greeted one another with usual salutations. Then said the captain to the Lord Secretary, ‘What hath my Lord to say to his servant?’ So the Lord Secretary took him and had him aside, and after a sign or two of more favour, he said, ‘I have made thee the Lord’s lieutenant over all the forces in Mansoul; so that, from this day forward, all men in Mansoul shall be at thy word; and thou shalt be he that shall lead in, and that shall lead out Mansoul. Thou shalt therefore manage, according to thy place, the war for thy Prince, and for the town of Mansoul, against the force and power of Diabolus; and at thy command shall the rest of the captains be.’

Now the townsmen began to perceive what interest the captain had, both with the court, and also with the Lord Secretary in Mansoul; for no man before could speed when sent, nor bring such good news from Emmanuel as he. Wherefore what do they, after some lamentation that they made no more use of him in their distresses, but send by their subordinate preacher to the Lord Secretary, to desire him that all that ever they were and had might be put under the government, care, custody, and conduct of Captain Credence.

So their preacher went and did his errand, and received this answer from the mouth of his Lord: that Captain Credence should be the great doer in all the King’s army, against the King’s enemies, and also for the welfare of Mansoul. So he bowed to the ground, and thanked his Lordship, and returned and told his news to the townsfolk. But all this was done with all imaginable secrecy, because the foes had yet great strength in the town. But to return to our story again.

When Diabolus saw himself thus boldly confronted by the Lord Mayor, and perceived the stoutness of Mr. Godly-Fear, he fell into a rage, and forthwith called a council of war, that he might be revenged on Mansoul. So all the princes of the pit came together, and old Incredulity at the head of them, with all the captains of his army. So they consult what to do. Now the effect and conclusion of the council that day was how they might take the castle, because they could not conclude themselves masters of the town so long as that was in the possession of their enemies.

So one advised this way, and another advised that; but when they could not agree in their verdict, Apollyon, that president of the council, stood up, and thus he began: ‘My brotherhood,’ quoth he, ‘I have two things to propound unto you; and my first is this. Let us withdraw ourselves from the town into the plain again, for our presence here will do us no good, because the castle is yet in our enemies’ hands; nor is it possible that we should take that, so long as so many brave captains are in it, and that this bold fellow, Godly-Fear, is made the keeper of the gates of it. Now, when we have withdrawn ourselves into the plain, they, of their own accord, will be glad of some little ease; and it may be, of their own accord, they again may begin to be remiss, and even their so being will give them a bigger blow than we can possibly give them ourselves. But if that should fail, our going forth of the town may draw the captains out after us; and you know what it cost them when we fought them in the field before. Besides, can we but draw them out into the field, we may lay an ambush behind the town, which shall, when they are come forth abroad, rush in and take possession of the castle.’

But Beelzebub stood up, and replied, saying: ‘It is impossible to draw them all off from the castle; some, you may be sure, will lie there to keep that; wherefore it will be but in vain thus to attempt, unless we were sure that they will all come out.’ He therefore concluded that what was done must be done by some other means. And the most likely means that the greatest of their heads could invent, was that which Apollyon had advised to before, namely, to get the townsmen again to sin. ‘For,’ said he, ‘it is not our being in the town, nor in the field, nor our fighting, nor our killing of their men, that can make us the masters of Mansoul; for so long as one in the town is able to lift up his finger against us, Emmanuel will take their parts; and if he shall take their parts, we know what time of day it will be with us. Wherefore, for my part,’ quoth he, ‘there is, in my judgment, no way to bring them into bondage to us, like inventing a way to make them sin. Had we,’ said he, ‘left all our doubters at home, we had done as well as we have done now, unless we could have made them the masters and governors of the castle; for doubters at a distance are but like objections refelled with arguments. Indeed, can we but get them into the hold, and make them possessors of that, the day will be our own. Let us, therefore, withdraw ourselves into the plain, (not expecting that the captains in Mansoul should follow us,) but yet, I say, let us do this, and before we so do, let us advise again with our trusty Diabolonians that are yet in their holds of Mansoul, and set them to work to betray the town to us; for they indeed must do it, or it will be left undone for ever.’ By these sayings of Beelzebub, (for I think it was he that gave this counsel,) the whole conclave was forced to be of his opinion, namely, that the way to get the castle was to get the town to sin. Then they fell to inventing by what means they might do this thing.

Then Lucifer stood up, and said: ‘The counsel of Beelzebub is pertinent. Now, the way to bring this to pass, in mine opinion, is this: let us withdraw our force from the town of Mansoul; let us do this, and let us terrify them no more, either with summons, or threats, or with the noise of our drum, or any other awakening means. Only let us lie in the field at a distance, and be as if we regarded them not; for frights, I see, do but awaken them, and make them more stand to their arms. I have also another stratagem in my head: you know Mansoul is a market-town, and a town that delights in commerce; what, therefore, if some of our Diabolonians shall feign themselves far-country men, and shall go out and bring to the market of Mansoul some of our wares to sell; and what matter at what rates they sell their wares, though it be but for half the worth? Now, let those that thus shall trade in their market be those that are witty and true to us, and I will lay my crown to pawn it will do. There are two that are come to my thoughts already, that I think will be arch at this work, and they are Mr. Penny-wise-pound-foolish, and Mr. Get-i’the-hundred-and-lose-i’the- shire; nor is this man with the long name at all inferior to the other. What, also, if you join with them Mr. Sweet-world and Mr. Present-good; they are men that are civil and cunning, but our true friends and helpers. Let these, with as many more, engage in this business for us, and let Mansoul be taken up in much business, and let them grow full and rich, and this is the way to get ground of them. Remember ye not that thus we prevailed upon Laodicea, and how many at present do we hold in this snare? Now, when they begin to grow full, they will forget their misery; and if we shall not affright them, they may happen to fall asleep, and so be got to neglect their town watch, their castle watch, as well as their watch at the gates.

‘Yea, may we not, by this means, so cumber Mansoul with abundance, that they shall be forced to make of their castle a warehouse, instead of a garrison fortified against us, and a receptacle for men of war. Thus, if we get our goods and commodities thither, I reckon that the castle is more than half ours. Besides, could we so order it that it shall be filled with such kind of wares, then if we made a sudden assault upon them, it would be hard for the captains to take shelter there. Do you not know that of the parable, “The deceitfulness of riches choke the word”? and again, “When the heart is over-charged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life,” all mischief comes upon them at unawares?

‘Furthermore, my lords,’ quoth he, ‘you very well know that it is not easy for a people to be filled with our things, and not to have some of our Diabolonians as retainers to their houses and services. Where is a Mansoulian that is full of this world, that has not for his servants and waiting-men, Mr. Profuse, or Mr. Prodigality, or some other of our Diabolonian gang, as Mr. Voluptuous, Mr. Pragmatical, Mr. Ostentation, or the like? Now these can take the castle of Mansoul, or blow it up, or make it unfit for a garrison for Emmanuel, and any of these will do. Yea, these, for aught I know, may do it for us sooner than an army of twenty thousand men. Wherefore, to end as I began, my advice is, that we quietly withdraw ourselves, not offering any further force, or forcible attempts, upon the castle, at least at this time; and let us set on foot our new project, and let us see if that will not make them destroy themselves.’

This advice was highly applauded by them all, and was accounted the very masterpiece of hell, namely, to choke Mansoul with a fulness of this world, and to surfeit her heart with the good things thereof. But see how things meet together! Just as this Diabolonian council was broken up, Captain Credence received a letter from Emmanuel, the contents of which were these: That upon the third day he would meet him in the field in the plains about Mansoul. ‘Meet me in the field!’ quoth the Captain; ‘what meaneth my lord by this? I know not what he meaneth by meeting me in the field.’ So he took the note in his hand, and did carry it to my Lord Secretary, to ask his thoughts thereupon; for my Lord was a seer in all matters concerning the King, and also for the good and comfort of the town of Mansoul. So he showed my Lord the note, and desired his opinion thereof. ‘For my part,’ quoth Captain Credence, ‘I know not the meaning thereof.’ So my lord did take and read it and, after a little pause, he said, ‘The Diabolonians have had against Mansoul a great consultation to-day; they have, I say, this day been contriving the utter ruin of the town; and the result of their council is, to set Mansoul into such a way which, if taken, will surely make her destroy herself. And, to this end, they are making ready for their own departure out of the town, intending to betake themselves to the field again,’ and there to lie till they shall see whether this their project will take or no. But be thou ready with the men of thy Lord, (for on the third day they will be in the plain,) there to fall upon the Diabolonians; for the Prince will by that time be in the field; yea, by that it is break of day, sun-rising, or before, and that with a mighty force against them. So he shall be before them, and thou shalt be behind them, and betwixt you both their army shall be destroyed.’

When Captain Credence heard this, away goes he to the rest of the captains, and tells them what a note he had a while since received from the hand of Emmanuel. ‘And,’ said he, ‘that which was dark therein hath my lord the Lord Secretary expounded unto me.’ He told them, moreover, what by himself and by them must be done to answer the mind of their Lord. Then were the captains glad; and Captain Credence commanded that all the King’s trumpeters should ascend to the battlements of the castle, and there, in the audience of Diabolus and of the whole town of Mansoul, make the best music that heart could invent. The trumpeters then did as they were commanded. They got themselves up to the top of the castle, and thus they began to sound. Then did Diabolus start, and said, ‘What can be the meaning of this? they neither sound Boot-and-saddle, nor Horse-and-away, nor a charge. What do these madmen mean that yet they should be so merry and glad?’ Then answered one of themselves and said, ‘This is for joy that their Prince Emmanuel is coming to relieve the town of Mansoul; and to this end he is at the head of an army, and that this relief is near.’

The men of Mansoul also were greatly concerned at this melodious charm of the trumpets; they said, yea, they answered one another, saying, ‘This can be no harm to us; surely this can be no harm to us.’ Then said the Diabolonians, ‘What had we best to do?’ and it was answered, ‘It was best to quit the town;’ and ‘that,’ said one, ‘ye may do in pursuance of your last counsel, and by so doing also be better able to give the enemy battle, should an army from without come upon us. So, on the second day, they withdrew themselves from Mansoul, and abode in the plains without; but they encamped themselves before Eye-gate, in what terrene and terrible manner they could. The reason why they would not abide in the town (besides the reasons that were debated in their late conclave) was, for that they were not possessed of the stronghold, and ‘because,’ said they, ‘we shall have more convenience to fight, and also to fly, if need be, when we are encamped in the open plains.’ Besides, the town would have been a pit for them rather than a place of defence, had the Prince come up and inclosed them fast therein. Therefore they betook themselves to the field, that they might also be out of the reach of the slings, by which they were much annoyed all the while that they were in the town.

Well, the time that the captains were to fall upon the Diabolonians being come, they eagerly prepared themselves for action; for Captain Credence had told the captains over night, that they should meet their Prince in the field to-morrow. This, therefore, made them yet far more desirous to be engaging the enemy; for ‘You shall see the Prince in the field to-morrow’ was like oil to a flaming fire, for of a long time they had been at a distance: they therefore were for this the more earnest and desirous of the work. So, as I said, the hour being come, Captain Credence, with the rest of the men of war, drew out their forces before it was day by the sally-port of the town. And, being all ready, Captain Credence went up to the head of the army, and gave to the rest of the captains the word, and so they to their under-officers and soldiers: the word was ‘The sword of the Prince Emmanuel, and the shield of Captain Credence;’ which is, in the Mansoulian tongue, ‘The word of God and faith.’ Then the captains fell on, and began roundly to front, and flank, and rear Diabolus’s camp.

Now, they left Captain Experience in the town, because he was yet ill of his wounds, which the Diabolonians had given him in the last fight. But when he perceived that the captains were at it, what does he but, calling for his crutches with haste, gets up, and away he goes to the battle, saying, ‘Shall I lie here, when my brethren are in the fight, and when Emmanuel, the Prince, will show himself in the field to his servants?’ But when the enemy saw the man come with his crutches, they were daunted yet the more; ‘for,’ thought they, ‘what spirit has possessed these Mansoulians, that they fight us upon their crutches?’ Well, the captains, as I said, fell on, and did bravely handle their weapons, still crying out and shouting, as they laid on blows, ‘The sword of the Prince Emmanuel, and the shield of Captain Credence!’

Now, when Diabolus saw that the captains were come out, and that so valiantly they surrounded his men, he concluded that, for the present, nothing from them was to be looked for but blows, and the dints of their ‘two-edged sword.’

Wherefore he also falls on upon the Prince’s army with all his deadly force: so the battle was joined. Now who was it that at first Diabolus met with in the fight, but Captain Credence on the one hand, and the Lord Willbewill on the other: now Willbewill’s blows were like the blows of a giant, for that man had a strong arm, and he fell in upon the election doubters, for they were the life-guard of Diabolus, and he kept them in play a good while, cutting and battering shrewdly. Now when Captain Credence saw my lord engaged, he did stoutly fall on, on the other hand, upon the same company also; so they put them to great disorder. Now Captain Good-Hope had engaged the vocation doubters, and they were sturdy men; but the captain was a valiant man: Captain Experience did also send him some aid; so he made the vocation doubters to retreat. The rest of the armies were hotly engaged, and that on every side, and the Diabolonians did fight stoutly. Then did my Lord Secretary command that the slings from the castle should be played; and his men could throw stones at an hair’s breadth. But, after a while, those that were made to fly before the captains of the Prince, did begin to rally again, and they came up stoutly upon the rear of the Prince’s army: wherefore the Prince’s army began to faint; but, remembering that they should see the face of their Prince by-and-by, they took courage, and a very fierce battle was fought. Then shouted the captains, saying, ‘The sword of the Prince Emmanuel, and the shield of Captain Credence!’ and with that Diabolus gave back, thinking that more aid had been come. But no Emmanuel as yet appeared. Moreover, the battle did hang in doubt; and they made a little retreat on both sides. Now, in the time of respite, Captain Credence bravely encouraged his men to stand to it; and Diabolus did the like, as well as he could. But Captain Credence made a brave speech to his soldiers, the contents whereof here follow:-

‘Gentlemen soldiers, and my brethren in this design, it rejoiceth me much to see in the field for our Prince, this day, so stout and so valiant an army, and such faithful lovers of Mansoul. You have hitherto, as hath become you, shown yourselves men of truth and courage against the Diabolonian forces; so that, for all their boast, they have not yet much cause to boast of their gettings. Now take to yourselves your wonted courage, and show yourselves men even this once only; for in a few minutes after the next engagement, this time, you shall see your Prince show himself in the field; for we must make this second assault upon this tyrant Diabolus, and then Emmanuel comes.’

No sooner had the captain made this speech to his soldiers, but one Mr. Speedy came post to the captain from the Prince, to tell him that Emmanuel was at hand. This news when the captain had received, he communicated to the other field-officers, and they again to their soldiers and men of war. Wherefore, like men raised from the dead, so the captains and their men arose, made up to the enemy, and cried as before, ‘The sword of the Prince Emmanuel, and the shield of Captain Credence!’

The Diabolonians also bestirred themselves, and made resistance as well as they could; but in this last engagement the Diabolonians lost their courage, and many of the doubters fell down dead to the ground. Now, when they had been in heat of battle about an hour or more, Captain Credence lift up his eyes and saw, and, behold, Emmanuel came; and he came with colours flying, trumpets sounding, and the feet of his men scarce touched the ground, they hasted with that celerity towards the captains that were engaged. Then did Credence wind with his men to the townward, and gave to Diabolus the field: so Emmanuel came upon him on the one side, and the enemies’ place was betwixt them both. Then again they fell to it afresh; and now it was but a little while more but Emmanuel and Captain Credence met, still trampling down the slain as they came.

But when the captains saw that the Prince was come, and that he fell upon the Diabolonians on the other side, and that Captain Credence and his Highness had got them up betwixt them, they shouted, (they so shouted that the ground rent again,) saying, ‘The sword of Emmanuel, and the shield of Captain Credence!’ Now, when Diabolus saw that he and his forces were so hard beset by the Prince and his princely army, what does he, and the lords of the pit that were with him, but make their escape, and forsake their army, and leave them to fall by the hand of Emmanuel, and of his noble Captain Credence: so they fell all down slain before them, before the Prince, and before his royal army; there was not left so much as one doubter alive; they lay spread upon the ground dead men, as one would spread dung upon the land.

When the battle was over, all things came into order in the camp. Then the captains and elders of Mansoul came together to salute Emmanuel, while without the corporation: so they saluted him, and welcomed him, and that with a thousand welcomes, for that he was come to the borders of Mansoul again. So he smiled upon them, and said, ‘Peace be to you.’ Then they addressed themselves to go to the town; they went then to go up to Mansoul, they, the Prince, with all the new forces that now he had brought with him to the war. Also all the gates of the town were set open for his reception, so glad were they of his blessed return. And this was the manner and order of this going of his into Mansoul:

First. As I said, all the gates of the town were set open, yea, the gates of the castle also; the elders, too, of the town of Mansoul placed themselves at the gates of the town, to salute him at his entrance thither: and so they did; for, as he drew near, and approached towards the gates, they said, ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.’ And they answered again, ‘Who is the King of glory?’ and they made return to themselves, ‘The Lord, strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors,’ etc.

Secondly. It was ordered also, by those of Mansoul, that all the way from the town gates to those of the castle, his blessed Majesty should be entertained with the song, by them that had the best skill in music in all the town of Mansoul: then did the elders, and the rest of the men of Mansoul, answer one another as Emmanuel entered the town, till he came at the castle gates, with songs and sound of trumpets, saying, ‘They have seen thy goings, O God; even the goings of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. So the singers went before, the players on instruments followed after, and among them were the damsels playing on timbrels.’

Thirdly. Then the captains, (for I would speak a word of them,) they in their order waited on the Prince, as he entered into the gates of Mansoul. Captain Credence went before, and Captain Good- Hope with him; Captain Charity came behind with other of his companions, and Captain Patience followed after all; and the rest of the captains, some on the right hand, and some on the left, accompanied Emmanuel into Mansoul. And all the while the colours were displayed, the trumpets sounded, and continual shoutings were among the soldiers. The Prince himself rode into the town in his armour, which was all of beaten gold, and in his chariot–the pillars of it were of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it was of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love for the daughters of the town of Mansoul.

Fourthly. When the Prince was come to the entrance of Mansoul, he found all the streets strewed with lilies and flowers, curiously decked with boughs and branches from the green trees that stood round about the town. Every door also was filled with persons, who had adorned every one their fore-part against their house with something of variety and singular excellency, to entertain him withal as he passed in the streets: they also themselves, as Emmanuel passed by, did welcome him with shouts and acclamations of joy, saying, ‘Blessed be the Prince that cometh in the name of his Father Shaddai.’

Fifthly. At the castle gates the elders of Mansoul, namely, the Lord Mayor, the Lord Willbewill, the subordinate preacher, Mr. Knowledge, and Mr. Mind, with other of the gentry of the place, saluted Emmanuel again. They bowed before him, they kissed the dust of his feet, they thanked, they blessed, and praised his Highness for not taking advantage against them for their sins, but rather had pity upon them in their misery, and returned to them with mercies, and to build up their Mansoul for ever. Thus was he had up straightway to the castle; for that was the royal palace, and the place where his honour was to dwell; the which was ready prepared for his Highness by the presence of the Lord Secretary, and the work of Captain Credence. So he entered in.

Sixthly. Then the people and commonalty of the town of Mansoul came to him into the castle to mourn, and to weep, and to lament for their wickedness, by which they had forced him out of the town. So when they were come, bowed themselves to the ground seven times; they also wept, they wept aloud, and asked forgiveness of the Prince, and prayed that he would again, as of old, confirm his love to Mansoul.

To the which the great Prince replied, ‘Weep not, but go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nought is prepared; for the joy of your Lord is your strength. I am returned to Mansoul with mercies, and my name shall be set up, exalted, and magnified by it.’ He also took these inhabitants, and kissed them, and laid them in his bosom.

Moreover, he gave to the elders of Mansoul, and to each town officer, a chain of gold and a signet. He also sent to their wives earrings and jewels, and bracelets, and other things. He also bestowed upon the true-born children of Mansoul many precious things.

When Emmanuel, the Prince, had done all these things for the famous town of Mansoul, then he said unto them, first, ‘Wash your garments, then put on your ornaments, and then come to me into the castle of Mansoul.’ So they went to the fountain that was set open for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in; and there they washed, and there they made their ‘garments white,’ and came again to the Prince into the castle, and thus they stood before him.

And now there was music and dancing throughout the whole town of Mansoul, and that because their Prince had again granted to them his presence and the light of his countenance; the bells also did ring, and the sun shone comfortably upon them for a great while together.

The town of Mansoul did also now more thoroughly seek the destruction and ruin of all remaining Diabolonians that abode in the walls, and the dens that they had in the town of Mansoul; for there was of them that had, to this day, escaped with life and limb from the hand of their suppressors in the famous town of Mansoul.

But my Lord Willbewill was a greater terror to them now than ever he had been before; forasmuch as his heart was yet more fully bent to seek, contrive, and pursue them to the death; he pursued them night and day, and did put them now to sore distress, as will afterwards appear.

After things were thus far put into order in the famous town of Mansoul, care was taken, and order given by the blessed Prince Emmanuel, that the townsmen should, without further delay, appoint some to go forth into the plain to bury the dead that were there,– the dead that fell by the sword of Emmanuel, and by the shield of the Captain Credence,–lest the fumes and ill savours that would arise from them might infect the air, and so annoy the famous town of Mansoul. This also was a reason of this order, namely, that, as much as in Mansoul lay, they might cut off the name, and being, and remembrance of those enemies from the thought of the famous town of Mansoul and its inhabitants.

So order was given out by the Lord Mayor, that wise and trusty friend of the town of Mansoul, that persons should be employed about this necessary business; and Mr. Godly-Fear, and one Mr. Upright, were to be overseers about this matter: so persons were put under them to work in the fields, and to bury the slain that lay dead in the plains. And these were their places of employment: some were to make the graves, some to bury the dead, and some were to go to and fro in the plains, and also round about the borders of Mansoul, to see if a skull, or a bone, or a piece of a bone of a doubter, was yet to be found above ground anywhere near the corporation; and if any were found, it was ordered, that the searchers that searched should set up a mark thereby, and a sign, that those that were appointed to bury them might find it, and bury it out of sight, that the name and remembrance of a Diabolonian doubter might be blotted out from under heaven; and that the children, and they that were to be born in Mansoul, might not know, if possible, what a skull, what a bone, or a piece of a bone of a doubter was. So the buriers, and those that were appointed for that purpose, did as they were commanded: they buried the doubters, and all the skulls and bones, and pieces of bones of doubters, wherever they found them; and so they cleansed the plains. Now also Mr. God’s-Peace took up his commission, and acted again as in former days.

Thus they buried in the plains about Mansoul the election doubters, the vocation doubters, the grace doubters, the perseverance doubters, the resurrection doubters, the salvation doubters, and the glory doubters; whose captains were Captain Rage, Captain Cruel, Captain Damnation, Captain Insatiable, Captain Brimstone, Captain Torment, Captain No-Ease, Captain Sepulchre, and Captain Past-Hope; and old Incredulity was, under Diabolus, their general. There were also the seven heads of their army; and they were the Lord Beelzebub, the Lord Lucifer, the Lord Legion, the Lord Apollyon, the Lord Python, the Lord Cerberus, and the Lord Belial. But the princes and the captains, with old Incredulity, their general, did all of them make their escape: so their men fell down slain by the power of the Prince’s forces, and by the hands of the men of the town of Mansoul. They also were buried as is afore related, to the exceeding great joy of the now famous town of Mansoul. They that buried them buried also with them their arms, which were cruel instruments of death: (their weapons were arrows, darts, mauls, firebrands, and the like). They buried also their armour, their colours, banners, with the standard of Diabolus, and what else soever they could find that did but smell of a Diabolonian doubter.

Now when the tyrant had arrived at Hell-Gate Hill, with his old friend Incredulity, they immediately descended the den, and having there with their fellows for a while condoled their misfortune and great loss that they sustained against the town of Mansoul, they fell at length into a passion, and revenged they would be for the loss that they sustained before the town of Mansoul. Wherefore they presently call a council to contrive yet further what was to be done against the famous town of Mansoul; for their yawning paunches could not wait to see the result of their Lord Lucifer’s and their Lord Apollyon’s counsel that they had given before; for their raging gorge thought every day, even as long as a short for ever, until they were filled with the body and soul, with the flesh and bones, and with all the delicates of Mansoul. They therefore resolve to make another attempt upon the town of Mansoul, and that by an army mixed and made up partly of doubters, and partly of blood-men. A more particular account now take of both.

The doubters are such as have their name from their nature, as well as from the land and kingdom where they are born: their nature is to put a question upon every one of the truths of Emmanuel; and their country is called the land of Doubting, and that land lieth off, and farthest remote to the north, between the land of Darkness and that called the ‘valley of the shadow of death.’ For though the land of Darkness, and that called ‘the valley of the shadow of death,’ be sometimes called as if they were one and the self-same place, yet indeed they are two, lying but a little way asunder, and the land of Doubting points in, and lieth between them. This is the land of Doubting; and these that came with Diabolus to ruin the town of Mansoul are the natives of that country.

The blood-men are a people that have their name derived from the malignity of their nature, and from the fury that is in them to execute it upon the town of Mansoul: their land lieth under the dog-star, and by that they are governed as to their intellectuals. The name of their country is the province of Loath-good: the remote parts of it are far distant from the land of Doubting, yet they do both butt and bound upon the hill called Hell-Gate Hill. These people are always in league with the doubters, for they jointly do make question of the faith and fidelity of the men of the town of Mansoul, and so are both alike qualified for the service of their prince.

Now of these two countries did Diabolus, by the beating of his drum, raise another army against the town of Mansoul, of five-and- twenty thousand strong. There were ten thousand doubters, and fifteen thousand blood-men, and they were put under several captains for the war; and old Incredulity was again made general of the army.

As for the doubters, their captains were five of the seven that were heads of the last Diabolonian army, and these are their names: Captain Beelzebub, Captain Lucifer, Captain Apollyon, Captain Legion, and Captain Cerberus; and the captains that they had before were some of them made lieutenants, and some ensigns of the army.

But Diabolus did not count that, in this expedition of his, these doubters would prove his principal men, for their manhood had been tried before; also the Mansoulians had put them to the worst: only he did bring them to multiply a number, and to help, if need was, at a pinch. But his trust he put in his blood-men, for that they were all rugged villains, and he knew that they had done feats heretofore.

As for the blood-men, they also were under command and the names of their captains were, Captain Cain, Captain Nimrod, Captain Ishmael, Captain Esau, Captain Saul, Captain Absalom, Captain Judas, and Captain Pope.

1. Captain Cain was over two bands, namely, the zealous and the angry blood-men: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was the murdering club.

2. Captain Nimrod was captain over two bands, namely, the tyrannical and encroaching blood-men: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was the great bloodhound.

3. Captain Ishmael was captain over two bands, namely, the mocking and scorning blood-men: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was one mocking at Abraham’s Isaac.

4. Captain Esau was captain over two bands, namely, the blood-men that grudged that another should have the blessing; also over the blood-men that are for executing their private revenge upon others: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was one privately lurking to murder Jacob.

5. Captain Saul was captain over two bands, namely, the groundlessly jealous and the devilishly furious blood-men: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was three bloody darts cast at harmless David.

6. Captain Absalom was captain over two bands, namely, over the blood-men that will kill a father or a friend for the glory of this world; also over those blood-men that will hold one fair in hand with words, till they shall have pierced him with their swords: his standard-bearer did bear the red colours, and his scutcheon was the son pursuing the father’s blood.

7. Captain Judas was over two bands, namely, the blood-men that will sell a man’s life for money, and those also that will betray their friend with a kiss: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was thirty pieces of silver and the halter.

8. Captain Pope was captain over one band, for all these spirits are joined in one under him: his standard-bearer bare the red colours, and his scutcheon was the stake, the flame, and the good man in it.

Now, the reason why Diabolus did so soon rally another force, after he had been beaten out of the field, was, for that he put mighty confidence in this army of blood-men; for he put a great deal of more trust in them than he did before in his army of doubters; though they had also often done great service for him in the strengthening of him in his kingdom. But these blood-men, he had proved them often, and their sword did seldom return empty. Besides, he knew that these, like mastiffs, would fasten upon any; upon father, mother, brother, sister, prince, or governor, yea upon the Prince of princes. And that which encouraged him the more was, for that they once did force Emmanuel out of the kingdom of Universe; ‘And why,’ thought he, ‘may they not also drive him from the town of Mansoul?’

So this army of five-and-twenty thousand strong was, by their general, the great Lord Incredulity, led up against the town of Mansoul. Now Mr. Prywell, the scoutmaster-general, did himself go out to spy, and he did bring Mansoul tidings of their coming. Wherefore they shut up their gates, and put themselves in a posture of defence against these new Diabolonians that came up against the town.

So Diabolus brought up his army, and beleaguered the town of Mansoul; the doubters were placed about Feel-gate, and the blood- men set down before Eye-gate and Ear-gate.

Now when this army had thus encamped themselves, Incredulity did, in the name of Diabolus, his own name, and in the name of the blood-men and the rest that were with him, send a summons as hot as a red-hot iron to Mansoul, to yield to their demands; threatening, that if they still stood it out against them, they would presently burn down Mansoul with fire. For you must know that, as for the blood-men, they were not so much that Mansoul should be surrendered, as that Mansoul should be destroyed, and cut off out of the land of the living. True, they send to them to surrender; but should they so do, that would not stench or quench the thirsts of these men. They must have blood, the blood of Mansoul, else they die; and it is from hence that they have their name. Wherefore these blood-men he reserved while now that they might, when all his engines proved ineffectual, as his last and sure card be played against the town of Mansoul.

Now, when the townsmen had received this red-hot summons, it begat in them at present some changing and interchanging thoughts; but they jointly agreed, in less than half an hour, to carry the summons to the Prince, the which they did when they had writ at the bottom of it, ‘Lord, save Mansoul from bloody men!’

So he took it, and looked upon it, and considered it, and took notice also of that short petition that the men of Mansoul had written at the bottom of it, and called to him the noble Captain Credence, and bid him go and take Captain Patience with him, and go and take care of that side of Mansoul that was beleaguered by the blood-men. So they went and did as they were commanded: the Captain Credence went and took Captain Patience, and they both secured that side of Mansoul that was besieged by the blood-men.

Then he commanded that Captain Good-hope and Captain Charity, and my Lord Willbewill, should take charge of the other side of the town. ‘And I,’ said the Prince, ‘will set my standard upon the battlements of your castle, and do you three watch against the doubters.’ This done, he again commanded that the brave captain, the Captain Experience, should draw up his men in the market-place, and that there he should exercise them day by day before the people of the town of Mansoul. Now this siege was long, and many a fierce attempt did the enemy, especially those called the blood-men, make upon the town of Mansoul; and many a shrewd brush did some of the townsmen meet with from them, especially Captain Self-Denial, who, I should have told you before, was commanded to take the care of Ear-gate and Eye-gate now against the blood-men. This Captain Self-Denial was a young man, but stout, and a townsman in Mansoul, as Captain Experience also was. And Emmanuel, at his second return to Mansoul, made him a captain over a thousand of the Mansoulians, for the good of the corporation. This captain, therefore, being an hardy man, and a man of great courage, and willing to venture himself for the good of the town of Mansoul, would now and then sally out upon the blood-men, and give them many notable alarms, and entered several brisk skirmishes with them, and also did some execution upon them; but you must think that this could not easily be done, but he must meet with brushes himself, for he carried several of their marks in his face; yea, and some in some other parts of his body.

So, after some time spent for the trial of the faith, and hope, and love of the town of Mansoul, the Prince Emmanuel upon a day calls his captains and men of war together, and divides them into two companies; this done, he commands them at a time appointed, and that in the morning very early, to sally out upon the enemy, saying: ‘Let half of you fall upon the doubters, and half of you fall upon the blood-men. Those of you that go out against the doubters, kill and slay, and cause to perish so many of them as by any means you can lay hands on; but for you that go out against the blood-men, slay them not, but take them alive.’

So, at the time appointed, betimes in the morning, the captains went out as they were commanded, against the enemies. Captain Good-Hope, Captain Charity, and those that were joined with them, as Captain Innocent and Captain Experience, went out against the doubters; and Captain Credence, and Captain Patience, with Captain Self-Denial, and the rest that were to join with them, went out against the blood-men.

Now, those that went out against the doubters drew up into a body before the plain, and marched on to bid them battle. But the doubters, remembering their last success, made a retreat, not daring to stand the shock, but fled from the Prince’s men; wherefore they pursued them, and in their pursuit slew many, but they could not catch them all. Now those that escaped went some of them home; and the rest by fives, nines, and seventeens, like wanderers, went straggling up and down the country, where they upon the barbarous people showed and exercised many of their Diabolonian actions: nor did these people rise up in arms against them, but suffered themselves to be enslaved by them. They would also after this show themselves in companies before the town of Mansoul, but never to abide in it; for if Captain Credence, Captain Good-Hope, or Captain Experience did but show themselves, they fled.

Those that went out against the blood-men did as they were commanded: they forbore to slay any, but sought to compass them about. But the blood-men, when they saw that no Emmanuel was in the field, concluded also that no Emmanuel was in Mansoul; wherefore they, looking upon what the captains did to be, as they called it, a fruit of the extravagancy of their wild and foolish fancies, rather despised them than feared them. But the captains, minding their business, at last did compass them round; they also that had routed the doubters came in amain to their aid: so, in fine, after some little struggling, (for the blood-men also would have run for it, only now it was too late; for though they are mischievous and cruel, where they can overcome, yet all blood-men are chicken-hearted men, when they once come to see themselves matched and equalled,)–so the captains took them, and brought them to the Prince.

Now when they were taken, had before the Prince, and examined, he found them to be of three several counties, though they all came out of one land.

1. One sort of them came out of Blind-man-shire, and they were such as did ignorantly what they did.

2. Another sort of them came out of Blind-zeal-shire, and they did superstitiously what they did.

3. The third sort of them came out of the town of Malice, in the county of Envy, and they did what they did out of spite and implacableness.

For the first of these, namely, they that came out of Blind-man- shire, when they saw where they were, and against whom they had fought, they trembled and cried, as they stood before him; and as many of these as asked him mercy, he touched their lips with his golden sceptre.

They that came out of Blind-zeal-shire, they did not as their fellows did; for they pleaded that they had a right to do what they did, because Mansoul was a town whose laws and customs were diverse from all that dwelt thereabouts. Very few of these could be brought to see their evil; but those that did, and asked mercy, they also obtained favour.

Now, they that came out of the town of Malice, that is in the county of Envy, they neither wept, nor disputed, nor repented, but stood gnawing their tongues before him for anguish and madness, because they could not have their will upon Mansoul. Now these last, with all those of the other two sorts that did not unfeignedly ask pardon for their faults,–those he made to enter into sufficient bond to answer for what they had done against Mansoul, and against her King, at the great and general assizes to be holden for our Lord the King, where he himself should appoint for the country and kingdom of Universe. So they became bound each man for himself, to come in, when called upon, to answer before our Lord the King for what they had done as before.

And thus much concerning this second army that was sent by Diabolus to overthrow Mansoul.

But there were three of those that came from the land of Doubting, who, after they had wandered and ranged the country a while, and perceived that they had escaped, were so hardy as to thrust themselves, knowing that yet there were in the town Diabolonians,– I say, they were so hardy as to thrust themselves into Mansoul among them. (Three, did I say? I think there were four.) Now, to whose house should these Diabolonian doubters go, but to the house of an old Diabolonian in Mansoul, whose name was Evil-Questioning, a very great enemy he was to Mansoul, and a great doer among the Diabolonians there. Well, to this Evil-Questioning’s house, as was said, did these Diabolonians come (you may be sure that they had directions how to find the way thither), so he made them welcome, pitied their misfortune, and succoured them with the best that he had in his house. Now, after a little acquaintance (and it was not long before they had that), this old Evil-Questioning asked the doubters if they were all of a town (he knew that they were all of one kingdom), and they answered: ‘No, nor not of one shire neither; for I,’ said one, ‘am an election doubter:’ ‘I,’ said another, ‘am a vocation doubter:’ then said the third, ‘I am a salvation doubter:’ and the fourth said he was a grace doubter. ‘Well,’ quoth the old gentleman, ‘be of what shire you will, I am persuaded that you are down, boys: you have the very length of my foot, are one with my heart, and shall be welcome to me.’ So they thanked him, and were glad that they had found themselves an harbour in Mansoul.

Then said Evil-Questioning to them: ‘How many of your company might there be that came with you to the siege of Mansoul?’ and they answered: ‘There were but ten thousand doubters in all, for the rest of the army consisted of fifteen thousand blood-men. These blood-men,’ quoth they, ‘border upon our country; but, poor men! as we hear, they were every one taken by Emmanuel’s forces.’ ‘Ten thousand!’ quoth the old gentleman; ‘I will promise you, that is a round company. But how came it to pass, since you were so mighty a number, that you fainted, and durst not fight your foes?’ ‘Our general,’ said they, ‘was the first man that did run for it.’ ‘Pray,’ quoth their landlord, ‘who was that, your cowardly general?’ ‘He was once the Lord Mayor of Mansoul,’ said they: ‘but pray call him not a cowardly general; for whether any from the east to the west has done more service for our prince Diabolus, than has my Lord Incredulity, will be a hard question for you to answer. But had they catched him, they would for certain have hanged him; and we promise you, hanging is but a bad business.’ Then said the old gentleman, ‘I would that all the ten thousand doubters were now well armed in Mansoul, and myself at the head of them; I would see what I could do.’ ‘Ay,’ said they, ‘that would be well if we could see that; but wishes, alas! what are they?’ and these words were spoken aloud. ‘Well,’ said old Evil-Questioning, ‘take heed that you talk not too loud; you must be quat and close, and must take care of yourselves while you are here, or, I will assure you, you will be snapped.’ ‘Why?’ quoth the doubters. ‘Why!’ quoth the old gentleman; ‘why! because both the Prince and Lord Secretary, and their captains and soldiers, are all at present in town; yea, the town is as full of them as ever it can hold. And besides, there is one whose name is Willbewill, a most cruel enemy of ours, and him the Prince has made keeper of the gates, and has commanded him that, with all the diligence he can, he should look for, search out, and destroy all, and all manner of Diabolonians. And if he lighteth upon you, down you go, though your heads were made of gold.’

And now, to see how it happened, one of the Lord Willbewill’s faithful soldiers, whose name was Mr. Diligence, stood all this while listening under old Evil-Questioning’s eaves, and heard all the talk that had been betwixt him and the doubters that he entertained under his roof.

The soldier was a man that my lord had much confidence in, and that he loved dearly; and that both because he was a man of courage, and also a man that was unwearied in seeking after Diabolonians to apprehend them.

Now this man, as I told you, heard all the talk that was between old Evil-Questioning and these Diabolonians; wherefore what does he but goes to his lord, and tells him what he had heard. ‘And sayest thou so, my trusty?’ quoth my lord. ‘Ay,’ quoth Diligence, ‘that I do; and if your lordship will be pleased to go with me, you shall find it as I have said.’ ‘And are they there?’ quoth my lord. ‘I know Evil-Questioning well, for he and I were great in the time of our apostasy: but I know not now where he dwells.’ ‘But I do,’ said his man, ‘and if your lordship will go, I will lead you the way to his den.’ ‘Go!’ quoth my lord, ‘that I will. Come, my Diligence, let us go find them out.’

So my lord and his man went together the direct way to his house. Now his man went before to show him his way, and they went till they came even under old Mr. Evil-Questioning’s wall. Then said Diligence, ‘Hark! my lord, do you know the old gentleman’s tongue when you hear it?’ ‘Yes,’ said my lord, ‘I know it well, but I have not seen him many a day. This I know, he is cunning; I wish he doth not give us the slip.’ ‘Let me alone for that,’ said his servant Diligence. ‘But how shall we find the door?’ quoth my lord. ‘Let me alone for that, too,’ said his man. So he had my Lord Willbewill about, and showed him the way to the door. Then my lord, without more ado, broke open the door, rushed into the house, and caught them all five together, even as Diligence his man had told him. So my lord apprehended them, and led them away, and committed them to the hand of Mr. Trueman, the gaoler, and commanded, and he did put them in ward. This done, my Lord Mayor was acquainted in the morning with what my Lord Willbewill had done over night, and his lordship rejoiced much at the news, not only because there were doubters apprehended, but because that old Evil- Questioning was taken; for he had been a very great trouble to Mansoul, and much affliction to my Lord Mayor himself. He had also been sought for often, but no hand could ever be laid upon him till now.

Well, the next thing was to make preparation to try these five that by my lord had been apprehended, and that were in the hands of Mr. Trueman, the gaoler. So the day was set, and the court called and come together, and the prisoners brought to the bar. My Lord Willbewill had power to have slain them when at first he took them, and that without any more ado; but he thought it at this time more for the honour of the Prince, the comfort of Mansoul, and the discouragement of the enemy, to bring them forth to public judgment.

But, I say, Mr. Trueman brought them in chains to the bar; to the town-hall, for that was the place of judgment. So, to be short, the jury was panelled, the witnesses sworn, and the prisoners tried for their lives: the jury was the same that tried Mr. No-Truth, Pitiless, Haughty, and the rest of their companions.

And, first, old Questioning himself was set to the bar for he was the receiver, the entertainer, and comforter of these doubters, that by nation were outlandish men: then he was bid to hearken to his charge, and was told that he had liberty to object, if he had ought to say for himself. So his indictment was read: the manner and form here follows.

‘Mr. Questioning, Thou art here indicted by the name of Evil- Questioning, an intruder upon the town of Mansoul, for that thou art a Diabolonian by nature, and also a hater of the Prince Emmanuel, and one that hast studied the ruin of the town of Mansoul. Thou art also here indicted for countenancing the King’s enemies, after wholesome laws made to the contrary: for, 1. Thou hast questioned the truth of her doctrine and state: 2. In wishing that ten thousand doubters were in her: 3. In receiving, in entertaining, and encouraging of her enemies, that came from their army unto thee. What sayest thou to this indictment? art thou guilty or not guilty?’

‘My lord,’ quoth he, ‘I know not the meaning of this indictment, forasmuch as I am not the man concerned in it; the man that standeth by this charge accused before this bench is called by the name of Evil-Questioning, which name I deny to be mine, mine being Honest-Inquiry. The one indeed sounds like the other; but, I trow, your lordships know that between these two there is a wide difference; for I hope that a man, even in the worst of times, and that, too, amongst the worst of men, may make an honest inquiry after things, without running the danger of death.’

Then spake my Lord Willbewill, for he was one of the witnesses: ‘My lord, and you the honourable bench and magistrates of the town of Mansoul, you all have heard with your ears that the prisoner at the bar has denied his name, and so thinks to shift from the charge of the indictment. But I know him to be the man concerned, and that his proper name is Evil-Questioning. I have known him, my lord, above these thirty years, for he and I (a shame it is for me to speak it) were great acquaintance, when Diabolus, that tyrant, had the government of Mansoul; and I testify that he is a Diabolonian by nature, an enemy to our Prince, and a hater of the blessed town of Mansoul. He has, in times of rebellion, been at and lain in my house, my lord, not so little as twenty nights together, and we did use to talk then, for the substance of talk, as he and his doubters have talked of late: true, I have not seen him many a day. I suppose that the coming of Emmanuel to Mansoul has made him change his lodgings, as this indictment has driven him to change his name; but this is the man, my lord.’

Then said the court unto him, ‘Hast thou any more to say?’

‘Yes,’ quoth the old gentleman, ‘that I have; for all that as yet has been said against me, is but by the mouth of one witness; and it is not lawful for the famous town of Mansoul, at the mouth of one witness, to put any man to death.’

Then stood forth Mr. Diligence, and said, ‘My lord, as I was upon my watch such a night at the head of Bad Street, in this town, I chanced to hear a muttering within this gentleman’s house. Then, thought I, what is to do here? So I went up close, but very softly, to the side of the house to listen, thinking, as indeed it fell out, that there I might light upon some Diabolonian conventicle. So, as I said, I drew nearer and nearer; and when I was got up close to the wall, it was but a while before I perceived that there were outlandish men in the house; but I did well understand their speech, for I have been a traveller myself. Now, hearing such language in such a tottering cottage as this old gentleman dwelt in, I clapped mine ear to a hole in the window, and there heard them talk as followeth. This old Mr. Questioning asked these doubters what they were, whence they came, and what was their business in these parts; and they told him to all these questions, yet he did entertain them. He also asked what numbers there were of them; and they told him ten thousand men. He then asked them, why they made no more manly assault upon Mansoul; and they told him: so he called their general coward, for marching off when he should have fought for his prince. Further, this old Evil- Questioning wished, and I heard him wish, would all the ten thousand doubters were now in Mansoul, and himself at the head of them. He bid them also to take heed and lie quat; for if they were taken they must die, although they had heads of gold.’ Then said the court: ‘Mr. Evil-Questioning, here is now another witness against you, and his testimony is full: 1. He swears that you did receive these men into your house, and that you did nourish them there, though you knew that they were Diabolonians, and the King’s enemies. 2. He swears that you did wish ten thousand of them in Mansoul. 3. He swears that you did give them advice to be quat and close, lest they were taken by the King’s servants. All which manifesteth that thou art a Diabolonian; but hadst thou been a friend to the King, thou wouldst have apprehended them.’

Then said Evil-Questioning: ‘To the first of these I answer, The men that came into mine house were strangers, and I took them in; and is it now become a crime in Mansoul for a man to entertain strangers? That I did also nourish them is true; and why should my charity be blamed? As for the reason why I wished ten thousand of them in Mansoul, I never told it to the witnesses, nor to themselves. I might wish them to be taken, and so my wish might mean well to Mansoul, for aught that any yet knows. I did also bid them take heed that they fell not into the captains’ hands; but that might be because I am unwilling that any man should be slain, and not because I would have the King’s enemies as such escape.’

My Lord Mayor then replied: ‘That though it was a virtue to entertain strangers, yet it was treason to entertain the King’s enemies. And for what else thou hast said, thou dost by words but labour to evade and defer the execution of judgment. But could there be no more proved against thee but that thou art a Diabolonian, thou must for that die the death by the law; but to be a receiver, a nourisher, a countenancer, and a harbourer of others of them, yea, of outlandish Diabolonians, yea, of them that came from far on purpose to cut off and destroy our Mansoul–this must not be borne.’

Then said Evil-Questioning: ‘I see how the game will go: I must die for my name, and for my charity.’ And so he held his peace.

Then they called the outlandish doubters to the bar, and the first of them that was arraigned was the election doubter. So his indictment was read; and because he was an outlandish man, the substance of it was told him by an interpreter; namely, ‘That he was there charged with being an enemy of Emmanuel the Prince, a hater of the town of Mansoul, and an opposer of her most wholesome doctrine.’

Then the judge asked him if he would plead? but he said only this– That he confessed that he was an election doubter, and that that was the religion that he had ever been brought up in. And said, moreover, ‘If I must die for my religion, I trow, I shall die a martyr, and so I care the less.’

Judge. Then it was replied: ‘To question election, is to overthrow a great doctrine of the gospel, namely, the omnisciency, and power, and will of God; to take away the liberty of God with his creature, to stumble the faith of the town of Mansoul, and to make salvation to depend upon works, and not upon grace. It also belied the word, and disquieted the minds of the men of Mansoul; therefore by the best of laws he must die.’

Then was the vocation doubter called, and set to the bar; and his indictment for substance was the same with the other, only he was particularly charged with denying the calling of Mansoul.

The judge asked him also what he had to say for himself?

So he replied: ‘That he never believed that there was any such thing as a distinct and powerful call of God to Mansoul; otherwise than by the general voice of the word, nor by that neither, otherwise than as it exhorted them to forbear evil, and to do that which is good, and in so doing a promise of happiness is annexed.’

Then said the judge: ‘Thou art a Diabolonian, and hast denied a great part of one of the most experimental truths of the Prince of the town of Mansoul; for he has called, and she has heard a most distinct and powerful call of her Emmanuel, by which she has been quickened, awakened, and possessed with heavenly grace to desire to have communion with her Prince, to serve him, and to do his will, and to look for her happiness merely of his good pleasure. And for thine abhorrence of this good doctrine, thou must die the death.’

Then the grace doubter was called, and his indictment was read and he replied thereto: ‘That though he was of the land of doubting, his father was the offspring of a Pharisee, and lived in good fashion among his neighbours, and that he taught him to believe, and believe it I do, and will, that Mansoul shall never be saved freely by grace.’

Then said the judge: ‘Why, the law of the Prince is plain: 1. Negatively, “not of works:” 2. Positively, “by grace you are saved.” And thy religion settleth in and upon the works of the flesh; for the works of the law are the works of the flesh. Besides, in saying as thou hast done, thou hast robbed God of His glory, and given it to a sinful man; thou hast robbed Christ of the necessity of His undertaking, and the sufficiency thereof, and hast given both these to the works of the flesh. Thou hast despised the work of the Holy Ghost, and hast magnified the will of the flesh, and of the legal mind. Thou art a Diabolonian, the son of a Diabolonian; and for thy Diabolonian principles thou must die.’

The court then, having proceeded thus far with them, sent out the jury, who forthwith brought them in guilty of death. Then stood up the Recorder, and addressed himself to the prisoners: ‘You, the prisoners at the bar, you have been here indicted, and proved guilty of high crimes against Emmanuel our Prince, and against the welfare of the famous town of Mansoul, crimes for which you must be put to death, and die ye accordingly.’ So they were sentenced to the death of the cross. The place assigned them for execution, was that where Diabolus drew up his last army against Mansoul; save only that old Evil-Questioning was hanged at the top of Bad Street, just over against his own door.

When the town of Mansoul had thus far rid themselves of their enemies, and of the troublers of their peace, in the next place a strict commandment was given out, that yet my Lord Willbewill should, with Diligence his man, search for, and do his best to apprehend what town Diabolonians were yet left alive in Mansoul. The names of several of them were, Mr. Fooling, Mr. Let-Good-Slip, Mr. Slavish-Fear, Mr. No-Love, Mr. Mistrust, Mr. Flesh, and Mr. Sloth. It was also commanded, that he should apprehend Mr. Evil- Questioning’s children, that he left behind him, and that they should demolish his house. The children that he left behind him were these: Mr. Doubt, and he was his eldest son; the next to him was Legal-Life, Unbelief, Wrong-Thoughts-of-Christ, Clip-Promise, Carnal-Sense, Live-by-Feeling, Self-Love. All these he had by one wife, and her name was No-Hope; she was the kinswoman of old Incredulity, for he was her uncle; and when her father, old Dark, was dead, he took her and brought her up, and when she was marriageable, he gave her to this old Evil-Questioning to wife.

Now the Lord Willbewill did put into execution his commission, with great Diligence, his man. He took Fooling in the streets, and hanged him up in Want-wit-Alley, over against his own house. This Fooling was he that would have had the town of Mansoul deliver up Captain Credence into the hands of Diabolus, provided that then he would have withdrawn his force out of the town. He also took Mr. Let-Good-Slip one day as he was busy in the market, and executed him according to law. Now there was an honest poor man in Mansoul, and his name was Mr. Meditation, one of no great account in the days of apostasy, but now of repute with the best of the town. This man, therefore, they were willing to prefer. Now Mr. Let- Good-Slip had a great deal of wealth heretofore in Mansoul, and, at Emmanuel’s coming, it was sequestered to the use of the Prince: this, therefore, was now given to Mr. Meditation, to improve for the common good, and after him to his son, Mr. Think-Well; this Think-Well he had by Mrs. Piety his wife, and she was the daughter of Mr. Recorder.

After this, my lord apprehended Clip-Promise: now because he was a notorious villain, for by his doings much of the King’s coin was abused, therefore he was made a public example. He was arraigned and judged to be first set in the pillory, then to be whipped by all the children and servants in Mansoul, and then to be hanged till he was dead. Some may wonder at the severity of this man’s punishment; but those that are honest traders in Mansoul, are sensible of the great abuse that one clipper of promises in little time may do to the town of Mansoul. And truly my judgment is, that all those of his name and life should be served even as he.

He also apprehended Carnal-Sense, and put him in hold; but how it came about, I cannot tell, but he brake prison, and made his escape: yea, and the bold villain will not yet quit the town, but lurks in the Diabolonian dens a days, and haunts like a ghost honest men’s houses a nights. Wherefore, there was a proclamation set up in the market-place in Mansoul, signifying that whosoever could discover Carnal-Sense, and apprehend him and slay him, should be admitted daily to the Prince’s table, and should be made keeper of the treasure of Mansoul. Many, therefore, did bend themselves to do this thing, but take him and slay him they could not, though often he was discovered.

But my lord took Mr. Wrong-Thoughts-of-Christ, and put him in prison, and he died there; though it was long first, for he died of a lingering consumption.

Self-Love was also taken and committed to custody; but there were many that were allied to him in Mansoul, so his judgment was deferred. But at last Mr. Self-Denial stood up, and said: ‘If such villains as these may be winked at in Mansoul, I will lay down my commission.’ He also took him from the crowd, and had him among his soldiers, and there he was brained. But some in Mansoul muttered at it, though none durst speak plainly, because Emmanuel was in town. But this brave act of Captain Self-Denial came to the Prince’s ears; so he sent for him, and made him a lord in Mansoul. My Lord Willbewill also obtained great commendations of Emmanuel, for what he had done for the town of Mansoul.

Then my Lord Self-Denial took courage, and set to the pursuing of the Diabolonians, with my Lord Willbewill; and they took Live-by- Feeling, and they took Legal-Life, and put them in hold till they died. But Mr. Unbelief was a nimble Jack: him they could never lay hold of, though they attempted to do it often. He therefore, and some few more of the subtlest of the Diabolonian tribe, did yet remain in Mansoul, to the time that Mansoul left off to dwell any longer in the kingdom of Universe. But they kept them to their dens and holes: if one of them did appear, or happen to be seen in any of the streets of the town of Mansoul, the whole town would be up in arms after them; yea, the very children in Mansoul would cry out after them as after a thief, and would wish that they might stone them to death with stones. And now did Mansoul arrive to some good degree of peace and quiet; her Prince also did abide within her borders; her captains, also, and her soldiers did their duties; and Mansoul minded her trade that she had with the country that was afar off; also she was busy in her manufacture.

When the town of Mansoul had thus far rid themselves of so many of their enemies, and the troublers of their peace, the Prince sent to them, and appointed a day wherein he would, at the market-place, meet the whole people, and there give them in charge concerning some further matters, that, if observed, would tend to their further safety and comfort, and to the condemnation and destruction of their home-bred Diabolonians. So the day appointed was come, and the townsmen met together; Emmanuel also came down in his chariot, and all his captains in their state attending him, on the right hand and on the left. Then was an oyes made for silence, and, after some mutual carriages of love, the Prince began, and thus proceeded:-

‘You, my Mansoul, and the beloved of mine heart, many and great are the privileges that I have bestowed upon you; I have singled you out from others, and have chosen you to myself, not for your worthiness, but for mine own sake. I have also redeemed you, not only from the dread of my Father’s law, but from the hand of Diabolus. This I have done because I loved you, and because I have set my heart upon you to do you good. I have also, that all things, that might hinder thy way to the pleasures of paradise might be taken out of the way, laid down for thee for thy soul a plenary satisfaction, and have bought thee to myself; a price not of corruptible things, as of silver and gold, but a price of blood, mine own blood, which I have freely spilled upon the ground to make thee mine. So I have reconciled thee, O my Mansoul, to my Father, and entrusted thee in the mansion houses that are with my Father in the royal city, where things are, O my Mansoul, that eye hath not seen, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive.

‘Besides, O my Mansoul, thou seest what I have done, and how I have taken thee out of the hands of thine enemies: unto whom thou hadst deeply revolted from my Father, and by whom thou wast content to be possessed, and also to be destroyed. I came to thee first by my law, then by my gospel, to awaken thee, and show thee my glory. And thou knowest what thou wast, what thou saidst, what thou didst, and how many times thou rebelledst against my Father and me; yet I left thee not as thou seest this day, but came to thee, have borne thy manners, have waited upon thee, and, after all, accepted of thee, even of my mere grace and favour; and would not suffer thee to be lost, as thou most willingly wouldst have been. I also compassed thee about, and afflicted thee on every side, that I might make thee weary of thy ways, and bring down thy heart with molestation to a willingness to close with thy good and happiness. And when I had gotten a complete conquest over thee, I turned it to thy advantage.

‘Thou seest, also, what a company of my Father’s host I have lodged within thy borders: captains and rulers, soldiers and men of war, engines and excellent devices to subdue and bring down thy foes; thou knowest my meaning, O Mansoul. And they are my servants, and thine, too, Mansoul. Yea, my design of possessing of thee with them, and the natural tendency of each of them is to defend, purge, strengthen, and sweeten thee for myself, O Mansoul, and to make thee meet for my Father’s presence, blessing, and glory; for thou, my Mansoul, art created to be prepared unto these.

‘Thou seest, moreover, my Mansoul, how I have passed by thy backslidings, and have healed thee. Indeed I was angry with thee, but I have turned mine anger away from thee, because I loved thee still, and mine anger and mine indignation is ceased in the destruction of thine enemies, O Mansoul. Nor did thy goodness fetch me again unto thee, after that I for thy transgressions have hid my face, and withdrawn my presence from thee. The way of backsliding was thine, but the way and means of thy recovery was mine. I invented the means of thy return; it was I that made an hedge and a wall, when thou wast beginning to turn to things in which I delighted not. It was I that made thy sweet bitter, thy day night, thy smooth way thorny, and that also confounded all that sought thy destruction. It was I that set Mr. Godly-Fear to work in Mansoul. It was I that stirred up thy conscience and understanding, thy will and thy affections, after thy great and woful decay. It was I that put life into thee, O Mansoul, to seek me, that thou mightest find me, and in thy finding find thine own health, happiness, and salvation. It was I that fetched the second time the Diabolonians out of Mansoul; and it was I that overcame them, and that destroyed them before thy face.

‘And now, my Mansoul, I am returned to thee in peace, and thy transgressions against me are as if they had not been. Nor shall it be with thee as in former days, but I will do better for thee than at thy beginning.

For yet a little while, O my Mansoul, even after a few more times are gone over thy head, I will (but be not thou troubled at what I say) take down this famous town of Mansoul, stick and stone, to the ground. And I will carry the stones thereof, and the timber thereof, and the walls thereof, and the dust thereof, and the inhabitants thereof, into mine own country, even into a kingdom of my Father; and will there set it up in such strength and glory, as it never did see in the kingdom where now it is placed. I will even there set it up for my Father’s habitation; for for that purpose it was at first erected in the kingdom of Universe; and there will I make it a spectacle of wonder, a monument of mercy, and the admirer of its own mercy. There shall the natives of Mansoul see all that, of which they have seen nothing here: there shall they be equal to those unto whom they have been inferior here. And there shalt thou, O my Mansoul, have such communion with me, with my Father, and with your Lord Secretary, as it is not possible here to be enjoyed, nor ever could be, shouldest thou live in Universe the space of a thousand years.

‘And there, O my Mansoul, thou shalt be afraid of murderers no more; of Diabolonians, and their threats, no more. There, there shall be no more plots, nor contrivances, nor designs against thee, O my Mansoul. There thou shalt no more hear the evil-tidings, or the noise of the Diabolonian drum. There thou shalt not see the Diabolonian standard-bearers, nor yet behold Diabolus’s standard. No Diabolonian mount shall be cast up against thee there; nor shall there the Diabolonian standard be set up to make thee afraid. There thou shalt not need captains, engines, soldiers, and men of war. There thou shalt meet with no sorrow, nor grief, nor shall it be possible that any Diabolonian should again, for ever, be able to creep into thy skirts, burrow in thy walls, or be seen again within thy borders all the days of eternity. Life shall there last longer than here you are able to desire it should; and yet it shall always be sweet and new, nor shall any impediment attend it for ever.

‘There, O Mansoul, thou shalt meet with many of those that have been like thee, and that have been partakers of thy sorrows; even such as I have chosen, and redeemed, and set apart, as thou, for my Father’s court and city-royal. All they will be glad in thee, and thou, when thou seest them, shalt be glad in thine heart.

‘There are things, O Mansoul, even things of my Father’s providing, and mine, that never were seen since the beginning of the world; and they are laid up with my Father, and sealed up among his treasures for thee, till thou shalt come thither to enjoy them. I told you before, that I would remove my Mansoul, and set it up elsewhere; and where I will set it, there are those that love thee, and those that rejoice in thee now; but how much more, when they shall see thee exalted to honour! My Father will then send them for you to fetch you; and their bosoms are chariots to put you in. And you, O my Mansoul, shall ride upon the wings of the wind. They will come to convey, conduct, and bring you to that, when your eyes see more, that will be your desired haven.

‘And thus, O my Mansoul, I have showed unto thee what shall be done to thee hereafter, if thou canst hear, if thou canst understand; and now I will tell thee what at present must be thy duty and practice, until I come and fetch thee to myself, according as is related in the Scriptures of truth.

‘First, I charge thee that thou dost hereafter keep more white and clean the liveries which I gave thee before my last withdrawing from thee. Do it, I say, for this will be thy wisdom. They are in themselves fine linen, but thou must keep them white and clean. This will be your wisdom, your honour, and will be greatly for my glory. When your garments are white, the world will count you mine. Also, when your garments are white, then I am delighted in your ways; for then your goings to and fro will be like a flash of lightning, that those that are present must take notice of; also their eyes will be made to dazzle thereat. Deck thyself, therefore, according to my bidding, and make thyself by my law straight steps for thy feet; so shall thy King greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him.

‘Now, that thou mayest keep them as I bid thee, I have, as I before did tell thee, provided for thee an open fountain to wash thy garments in. Look, therefore, that thou wash often in my fountain, and go not in defiled garments; for as it is to my dishonour and my disgrace, so it will be to thy discomfort, when you shall walk in filthy garments. Let not, therefore, my garments, your garments, the garments that I gave thee, be defiled or spotted by the flesh. Keep thy garments always white, and let thy head lack no ointment.

‘My Mansoul, I have ofttimes delivered thee from the designs, plots, attempts, and conspiracies of Diabolus; and for all this I ask thee nothing, but that thou render not to me evil for my good; but that thou bear in mind my love, and the continuation of my kindness to my beloved Mansoul, so as to provoke thee to walk in thy measure according to the benefit bestowed on thee. Of old, the sacrifices were bound with coords to the horns of the altar. Consider what is said to thee, O my blessed Mansoul.

‘O my Mansoul, I have lived, I have died, I live, and will die no more for thee. I live, that thou mayest not die. Because I live, thou shalt live also. I reconciled thee to my Father by the blood of my cross; and being reconciled, thou shalt live through me. I will pray for thee; I will fight for thee; I will yet do thee good.

‘Nothing can hurt thee but sin; nothing can grieve me but sin; nothing can make thee base before thy foes but sin: take heed of sin, my Mansoul.

‘And dost thou know why I at first, and do still, suffer Diabolonians to dwell in thy walls, O Mansoul? It is to keep thee wakening, to try thy love, to make thee watchful, and to cause thee yet to prize my noble captains, their soldiers, and my mercy.

‘It is also, that yet thou mayest be made to remember what a deplorable condition thou once wast in. I mean when, not some, but all did dwell, not in thy walls, but in thy castle, and in thy stronghold, O Mansoul.

‘O my Mansoul, should I slay all them within, many there be without, that would bring thee into bondage; for were all these within cut off, those without would find thee sleeping; and then, as in a moment, they would swallow up my Mansoul. I therefore left them in thee, not to do thee hurt (the which they yet will, if thou hearken to them, and serve them,) but to do thee good, the which they must, if thou watch and fight against them. Know, therefore, that whatever they shall tempt thee to, my design is, that they should drive thee, not further off, but nearer to my father, to learn thee war, to make petitioning desirable to thee, and to make thee little in thine own eyes. Hearken diligently to this, my Mansoul.

‘Show me, then, thy love, my Mansoul, and let not those that are within thy walls, take thy affections off from him that hath redeemed thy soul. Yea, let the sight of a Diabolonian heighten thy love to me. I came once, and twice, and thrice, to save thee from the poison of those arrows that would have wrought thy death: stand for me, thy Friend, my Mansoul, against the Diabolonians, and I will stand for thee before my Father, and all his court. Love me against temptation, and I will love thee notwithstanding thine infirmities.

‘O my Mansoul, remember what my captains, my soldiers, and mine engines have done for thee. They have fought for thee, they have suffered by thee, they have borne much at thy hands to do thee good, O Mansoul. Hadst thou not had them to help thee, Diabolus had certainly made a hand of thee. Nourish them, therefore, my Mansoul. When thou dost well, they will be well; when thou dost ill, they will be ill, and sick, and weak. Make not my captains sick, O Mansoul; for if they be sick, thou canst not be well; if they be weak, thou canst not be strong; if they be faint, thou canst not be stout and valiant for thy King, O Mansoul. Nor must thou think always to live by sense: thou must live upon my word. Thou must believe, O my Mansoul, when I am from thee, that yet I love thee, and bear thee upon mine heart for ever.

‘Remember, therefore, O my Mansoul, that thou art beloved of me: as I have, therefore, taught thee to watch, to fight, to pray, and to make war against my foes; so now I command thee to believe that my love is constant to thee. O my Mansoul, how have I set my heart, my love upon thee! Watch. Behold, I lay none other burden upon thee, than what thou hast already. Hold fast, till I come.’