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

  CHAPTER VI.

  THE CROSS AND THE CONTRAST.

  NOW I saw in my dream that the high road had on each side a wall for afence, and that wall went by the name of Salvation. Up this way, then,did Christian run with his load, till he came to a place where was ahigh slope, and on that place stood a cross, and a short way from itin the vale, a tomb. So I saw in my dream that just as Christian cameup with the cross, his load got loose from his neck, and fell from offhis back, and did roll till it came to the mouth of the grave, where itfell in, and I saw it no more.

  Then was Christian full glad, and said, with a gay heart, "He hathbrought me rest by his grief, and life by his death." Then he stoodstill for a short time to look with awe, for it was a strange thing tohim that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his load.

  I saw then in my dream that he went on thus till he came to a vale,where he saw three men in deep sleep, with gyves on their heels. Thename of the one was Simple; the next, Sloth; and the third, Presumption.

  Christian went to them, if so be he might rouse them; so he said in aloud voice, "You are like them that sleep on the top of a mast, for theDead Sea is low down at your feet, a gulf that no plumb line can sound;get up, hence and come on."

  With this they gave a glum look at him, and spoke in this sort: Simplesaid, "I see no cause for fear"; Sloth said, "Yet some more sleep"; andPresumption said, "Each tub must stand on its own end." And so theylay down to sleep once more, and Christian went on his way.

  FORMALIST AND HYPOCRISY COMING INTO THE WAY OVER THEWALL.]

  Yet felt he grief to think that men in that sad plight should so spurnthe kind act of him that of his own free will sought to help them. Andas he did grieve from this cause, he saw two men roll off a wall, onthe left hand of the strait way. The name of the one was Formalist, andthe name of the next Hypocrisy. So they drew up nigh him, who thus heldspeech with them:

  _Chr._--"Sirs, whence came you, and where do you go?"

  _Form. and Hyp._--"We were born in the land of Vainglory, and are bentfor praise to Mount Zion."

  _Chr._--"Why came you not in at the gate which stands at the head ofthe way?"

  They said, "That to go to the gate to get in was by all their hordethought too far round."

  _Chr._--"But will it not be thought a wrong done to the Lord of thetown where we are bound, thus to break his law which he hath made knownto us?"

  They told him, "That this act of theirs, as it stood for so long atime, would no doubt be thought good in law by a just judge; and morethan this," said they, "if we get in the way, what boots it which waywe get in? If we are in, we are in. Thou art but in the way, who, as wesee, came in at the gate; and we too are in the way, that fell from thetop of the wall. In what, now, is thy state a whit more good than ours?"

  _Chr._--"I walk by the rule of my Lord; you walk by the rude quirks ofyour vague whims. At this time you count but as thieves in the sightof the Lord of the way hence I doubt you will not be found true men atthe end of the way. By laws and rules you will not get safe, since youcame not in by the door. I have, too, a mark on my brow, which you maynot have seen, which one of my Lord's most stanch friends put there, inthe day that my load fell from off my back. More than this, I will tellyou that I then got a roll with a seal on it, to cheer me while I readit, as I go on the way: I was told to give it in at the Celestial Gate,as a sure sign that I, too, should go in at the right time: all whichthings I doubt you want, and want them for that you came not in at thegate."