Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: In Words of One Syllable

  CHAPTER XIII.

  VANITY FAIR.

  NOW when they were got all but quite out of this wild, Faithful bychance cast his eye back, and saw one come in his wake, and he knewhim. "Oh!" said Faithful to his friend, "who comes yon?"

  Then Christian did look, and said, "It is my good friend Evangelist.""Ay, and my good friend, too," said Faithful, "for it was he that setme the way to the gate."

  Then said Evangelist, "How did it fare with you, my friends, since thetime we last did part? what have you met with, and what has been yourlife?"

  Then Christian and Faithful told him of all things that did hap to themin the way; and how, and with what toil, they had got to that place.

  "Right glad am I," said Evangelist, "not that you met with straits, butthat you have come safe through them, and for that you have, in spiteof some faults, kept in the way to this day. The crown is in sight ofyou, and it is one that will not rust; 'so run that you may gain it.'You are not yet out of the range of the foul fiend: let the joy of theLord be not lost sight of, and have a firm faith in things not seen."

  CHRISTIAN AND FAITHFUL ENTER THE TOWN OF VANITY]

  Then did Christian thank him for his sage words, but told him at thesame time, that they would have him speak more to them for their helpthe rest of the way. So Evangelist spoke thus:

  "My sons, you have heard in the truth of God's Word, that you must passthrough sharp straits to reach the realm of bliss; for now as you seeyou are just out of this wild, and hence you will ere long come to atown that you will by and by see in front of you; and in that town youwill be set round with foes, who will strain hard but they will killyou: and be you sure that one or both of you must seal the faith, whichyou hold, with blood. But when you are come to the town, and shall findwhat I have said come to pass, then think of your friend, and quit youboth like men."

  Then I saw in my dream that, when they were got out of the wild, theysoon saw a town in front of them; the name of that town is Vanity; andat the town there is a fair kept, known as Vanity Fair; at this fairare all such goods sold as lands, trades, realms, lusts, and gay thingsof all sorts, as lives, blood, souls, gold, pearls, stones of greatworth, and what not.

  Now, as I said, the way to the Celestial City lies just through thistown where this huge fair is kept: and he that will go there, and yetnot go through this town, "must needs go out of the world." The Lordof Lords, when here, went through this town to his own realm, andthat, too, on a day when a fair was held: yea, and as I think, it wasBeelzebub, the chief lord of this fair, that sought of him to buy ofhis vain wares. But he had no mind to the goods, and hence left thetown, nor did he lay out so much as a mite on these wares.

  Now these folk, as I said, must needs go through this fair. Well, sothey did; but lo, just as they got to the fair, all the crowd in thefair rose up, and the town, too, as it were, and made much noise andstir for that they came there; they, of course, spoke the tongue ofCanaan; but they that kept the fair were the men of this world; sothat, from end to end of the fair, they did seem strange each to each.But that which made the crowd most laugh was, that these men set quitelight by all their wares: they did not care so much as to look on them;and, if they sought for them to buy, they would stop their ears, andcry, "Turn off mine eyes, lest they see vain things," and look up, toshow that their trade and wares were in the skies.

  At last things came to a sad pass, which led to great stir in the fair,so that all was noise and din, and law was set at naught. Now was wordsoon brought to the great one of the fair, who at once came down, andsent some of his best friends to sift those men by whom the fair wasput in such a state. So the men were brought in their sight. But theythat were sent to sift them did not think them to be aught than foolsand mad, or else such as came to put all things out of gear in thefair. Hence they took them and beat them, and made them grime withdirt, and then put them in the cage, that they might be made a foulsight to all the men of the fair. But as the men bore up well, and gavegood words for bad, some men in the fair, that were more just than therest, sought to check and chide the base sort for the vile acts doneby them to the men. One said, "That for aught they could see, the menwere mild, and of sound mind, and sought to do harm to no one: and thatthere were some, that did trade in their fair, that ought far more tobe put in the cage, than the men to whom they had done such ill."Thus, as soon as hot words did pass on both sides, they fell to someblows, and did harm each to each. Then were these two poor men broughtup once more, when a charge was made that it was they who had got upthe row that had been made at the fair. But Christian and Faithful borethe shame and the slur that was cast on them in so calm and meek a waythat it won to their side some of the men of the fair. This put onepart of the crowd in a still more fierce rage, so that they were benton the death of these two men.

  Then were they sent back to the cage once more, till it was told whatshould be done with them. So they put them in, and made their feet fastin the stocks.

  Here, then, they once more brought to mind what they had heard fromtheir true friend Evangelist, and were the more strong in their way andwoes by what he told them would fall out to them. They, too, now soughtto cheer the heart of each, that whose lot it was to die that he shouldhave the best of it: hence each man did wish in the depth of his soulthat he might have the crown.

  Then in due time they brought them forth to court, so that they mightmeet their doom. The name of the judge was Lord Hate-good; their plaintwas "that they had made broils and feuds in the town, and had won someto their own most vile views, in scorn of the law of their prince."

  Then Faithful said "that he did but spurn that which had set up in faceof Him that is the Most High. And," said he, "as for broils, I makenone, as I am a man of peace; those that were won to us were won bytheir view of our truth and pure lives and they are but gone from theworst to the best."

  Then Superstition said: "My lord, I know not muchof this man; but he is a most vile knave."--Page 61. _Pilgrim'sProgress._]

  Then was it made known that they that had aught to say for their lordthe king, to prove the guilt of him at the bar, should at once comeforth and give in their proof. So there came in three men, to wit,Envy, Superstition, and Pickthank. Then stood forth Envy and said inthis strain: "My lord, this man, in spite of his fair name, is one ofthe most vile men in our land. He does all that he can to fill all menwith some of his wild views, which tend to the bane of our realm, andwhich he for the most part calls 'grounds of faith and a pure life.'And in chief I heard him once say that the faith of Christ and the lawsof our town of Vanity could not be at one, as they were foes each toeach."

  Then did they call Superstition, and sware him: so he said: "My lord,I know not much of this man, nor do I care to know more of him; but heis a most vile knave; I heard him say that our faith was naught, andsuch by which no man could please God. Which words of his, my lord, youquite well know what they mean, to wit, that we still work in vain, areyet in our sins, and at last shall be lost. And this is that which Ihave to say."

  Then was Pickthank sworn, and bid say what he knew in the cause oftheir lord the king to the hurt of the rogue at the bar.

  _Pick._--"My lord, and you great folk all, this wight I have known of along time, and have heard him speak things that ought not to be said;for he did rail on our great prince, Beelzebub, and spoke ill of hisfirm friends; and he hath said, too, that if all men were of his mind,if so be there is not one of these great men should from that timeforth stay in this town. More than this, he hath not felt dread to railon you, my lord, who are now sent to be his judge."

  When this Pickthank had told his tale, the judge spoke to the man atthe bar, and said, "Thou vile, base wretch, hast thou heard what thosejust and true men have sworn to thy bane?"

  _Fai._--"I say then, as a set off to what Mr. Envy hath said, I spokenot a word but this, 'That what rule, or laws, or rights, or men, areflat down on the Word of God, are foes to the faith of Christ.'

  "As to the next, to wit, Mr. Superstiti
on, and his charge to my hurt, Isaid but this, 'That to serve God one needs a faith from on high; butthere can be no faith from on high void of the will of God made knownfrom the same source. Hence, all that is thrust on us that does notsquare with this will of God, is but of man's faith; which faith willnot serve the life that is to come.'

  "As to what Mr. Pickthank hath said, 'That the prince of this town,with all the roughs, his slaves, are more fit for one in hell than inthis town and land'; and so the Lord be good to me."

  Then the judge said to those who were to bind or loose him from thecharge: "Ye who serve here to weigh this case, you see this man of whomso great a din hath been made in this town. It doth lie now on yoursouls to hang him, or save his life; but yet I think meet to teach youa few points of our law.

  Then stood forth Envy and said: "My lord, this man inspite of his fair name, is one of the most vile men in our land."--Page61.

  _Pilgrim's Progress._]

  "There was an act made in the days of Pharaoh the great, friend to ourprince, that, lest those of a wrong faith should spread and grow toostrong for him, their males should be thrown in the stream. There was,in like way, an act made in the days of Nebuchadnezzar the great, who,too, did serve him, that such as would not fall down and laud the formhe had set up, should be flung in a pit of fire. Now the pith ofthese laws this rogue has set at naught, not in mere thought but inword and deed as well. Twice, nay thrice, he speaks of our creed as athing of naught; and for this, on his own words, he needs must die thedeath."

  Then went out those who had to weigh the case, whose names were Mr.Blind-man, Mr. No-good, Mr. Malice, Mr. Love-lust, Mr. Live-loose,Mr. Heady, Mr. High-mind, Mr. Enmity, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr.Hate-light, and Mr. Implacable; who each one gave in his voice toFaithful's hurt, in his own mind; and then meant to make known his doomin face of the judge. And Mr. Blind-man, the chief, said, "I see, mostplain, that this man is a foe; let us at once doom him to death." Andso they did. The judge then put on the black cap, and said, "That heshould be led from the place where he was to the place from whence hecame, and there to be put to the worst death that could be thought off."

  They then brought him out to do with him as the law set forth: andfirst they whipt him; then they did pelt him with stones; and, last ofall, they burnt him to dust at the stake. Thus came Faithful to his end.

  Now I saw that there stood in the rear of the crowd a state car, withtwo steeds, that did wait for Faithful; who, as soon as his foes hadgot rid of him, was caught up in it and straight sent off through theclouds, with sound of trump, the most near way to the Celestial Gate.But as for Christian, he was put back to jail; so there he lay for aspace: but He that rules all things, in whose hand was the might oftheir rage, so wrought it that Christian, for that time got free fromthem and went his way.