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    Pilgrim's Progress (Part One)
    Pilgrim's Progress (Part One)
    Pilgrim's Progress (Part One)
    Ebook193 pages4 hours

    Pilgrim's Progress (Part One)

    By John Bunyan

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    Begun while John Bunyan was in Bedfordshire county jail serving time for holding religious services outside the auspices of the Church of England, "Pilgrim's Progress" is considered one of the greatest works of the English language. "Pilgrim's Progress" is a Christian allegory that concerns the path of one's soul to Heaven. John Bunyan published the first part of the "Pilgrim's Progress" in 1678 with a second part to follow in 1679. Contained here in this volume is the first part of "Pilgrim's Progress".
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateJan 1, 2010
    ISBN9781420935868
    Pilgrim's Progress (Part One)
    Author

    John Bunyan

    John Bunyan (1628–1688) was a Reformed Baptist preacher in the Church of England. He is most famous for his celebrated Pilgrim's Progress, which he penned in prison. Bunyan was author of nearly sixty other books and tracts, including The Holy War and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. 

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    Reviews for Pilgrim's Progress (Part One)

    4/5

    1,540 ratings45 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Insufferable. Period
    • 2/5
      In 2015 The Guardian published a list of the 100 best novels published in English, listed in chronological order of publication. Under Covid inspired lockdown, I have taken up the challenge.The Pilgrim's Progress, published in 1678, is the first in the list.I was underwhelmed. It is a Christian allegory, and has remained popular and recommended (although possible less read) ever since publication. I found the prose turgid and the content nonsensical.The 17th century had Shakespeare and poetry, and I expected more of the prose fiction of the era, but the genre had not really been established. Five hundred years after the Tale of Genji, English literaure was waiting for its first novel.The 17th century was also the dawn of the Enlightenment. Newton published Principia Mathematica 10 years after Pilgrim's Progress. In that context, Pilgim's Progress seems a last echoing cry of the non-rational world.
    • 3/5
      A lucid story that weaves and flows its way through inception to conclusion.Recommended for everyone
    • 3/5
      Summary: In this allegorical novel, a pilgrim named Christian travels a journey in which he loses the heavy weight of his sins, is tempted to sin again, and eventually reaches paradise.My thoughts: I’m not sure why this is the most printed book in English, other than the Bible. I love allegory generally, but this allegory beat you over the head with obviousness. Everyone and everything was given a name (like Christian) that said explicitly what the character or impediment represented. The story itself was interesting enough, I suppose, as a concept, I just wish it were more subtle. This is also not a book for non-Christians, unless they are reading for the sake of learning about classic literature.
    • 1/5
      I don't know if this is the worst book that I've ever read or if the audiobook was so atrocious that it made it into the worst thing ever. This book was a nightmare. I get it, I get it, I know it's supposed to be a Christian allegory, but listening to six hours of this (fully fucking dramatized) was hell. HELL. I wanted to bleach my ears. I couldn't handle it anymore, did Satan narrate this? This book made the Lord of the Rings trilogy look like a cake walk!! The Pilgrim's Progress was a long ass journey to heaven made by "Christian" and other people he runs into. They face all sorts of dumb shit and get into dumb trouble and make lots of dumb decisions but SOME FUCKING HOW still make it to heaven (spoiler alert). Christian loses lots of companions, walks into dumb scenarios every other page, but luckily for him, he had some faith so he made it. UGH. I hate everything. I'm glad this nightmare book is over.
    • 3/5
      This is an abbreviated version with fantastic illustrations. Probably very good to read to children but a bit too simplistic for adults. Enjoyable none the less.
    • 1/5
      This book wasn't bad or awful, per se, it was simply painfully dull and boring with absolutely no vested interest in what occurs with the characters. Which brings us to the characters! Look, I get that this is a biblically-woven highly religious allegory of personal salvation, that much is clear, but does the reader have to be blunted over the head with it? The lead player is named Christian? Really? Couldn't call him Bob? And his wife is Christina? You're joking, right? Pamela would've been better. The biggest surprise - and there are none - is that his children aren't named Christine, Christopher, and Jiminy Christmas. Also, did Bunyan HAVE to name everyone else exactly what they are in metaphor? I found that aggravating, and the slog-through was mighty difficult, and the sudden bursts of rhyme were ridiculous and often non-rhyming, but I'm all the richer for having read it, right? Wrong. Guess I'm going to hell.
    • 5/5
      Great. Wonderful. Terrific! I cannot express how wonderful this book was. I loved it. My kids loved it. And now they want to read the "grown-up" version of Pilgrim's Progress.

      Also, the curriculum to go with it is AMAZING! Looking forward to going through the book again!
    • 3/5
      This book is ancient! As an allegory of the Christian life, it still makes (almost?) perfect sense today. The second part with Christian's wife and children was kind of boring, probably because it's the retelling of the same story.
    • 5/5
      This is a Christian book. But its principles of not getting tricked or waylaid off your chosen path as a baseball player or President. We get off our goals just as easily as a Christian apparently gets away from his or her goals in life.
    • 4/5
      I started it once and put it down. Too boring. I picked it up a few years later and found it interesting - the tedious journey no longer seemed so. A puritanical pursuit of the good.
    • 1/5
      I can appreciate why John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress," an allegory of the Christian faith, was beloved by Puritans. For me, it was incredibly tedious and a 1,001 book just to try and get through.I failed in that... after it became clear the second half was going to be pretty much a retelling of the first half, I finally gave up.
    • 4/5
      This is a very shortened version designed for children, originally done in the 19th century but republished in 1939 with illustrations by Robert Lawson, the author/illustrator of Rabbit Hill, Smeller Wilson etc. which I enjoyed when young. I enjoyed his illustrations for this too, but always felt I should read the original. When I did, I decided that (at least as an adult), I really admired the dialogue more than the symbolic adventures which this version emphasized.
    • 1/5
      The book is composed of two stories. The story of the pilgrimage of Christian is followed by a story of his wife Christiana's pilgrimage with her children. The story has similarities to that of paradise lost. Bunyan's story is tedious and boring. I cannot recommend the book to anyone but the fanatic.
    • 1/5
      This has to be one of the most tedious books ever written. The imagery used such as the Slough of Despondency is great but that's about it. It's the second time I've read it and don't think I'll manage a third.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved reading this! It has to be the best allegory of man's search for life and salvation. This book promises love, hope, light, healing, joy and peace. The only thing the reader must do, is find his path and then stay on it.
    • 4/5
      Read the children's version half a dozen times as a child. I believe this is the first time I have read the original... I'm sure it isn't the last.
    • 3/5
      The classic 17th century Christian allegory.I thought this was worth reading for its literary significance and classic status. I'm glad that I read it, but I'm not sure I'll read it again.A couple of things I didn't like were:1. Christian seems to have no great connection with his family, friends or companions. He seems too quick to abandon people, and this made it difficult for me to connect with the character.2. The allegory is too direct. Yes, we all know it's an allegorical work, but it just seems too specific and everything has a one-to-one relationship with Christian theology.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to be a good Little Woman and love this book, but I didn't even get halfway through. How Louisa May Alcott, who suffered extensively from her father's neglect of his family while he pursued his own spiritual goals, could recommend this book, where the main character deserts his family in the first chapter, is beyond me.
    • 2/5
      869 The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan (read 28 Sep 1966) Every literate person has to read this book so I did. I kind of looked on it as a duty, and when I was finished I felt "now, I've read it."
    • 5/5
      A Must Read...sure to entertain and enlighten, read slowly, savor every word. A true life study guide...the perfect heirloom gift for parents to give to their children...as they graduate in life. *Plus in the back there is included, a fold out Color Historical Time-line and a chapter on The Life of John Bunyan...what an insightful. timeless dream!I want this book with me everywhere and always...wish it was hardcover. ... thank you so much Mr Hazelbaker!
    • 1/5
      Early chrisitan brain washing and gobbledy-gook.
    • 5/5
      There is a reason why this is the most widely published Christian book outside of the Bible. Bunyan, with seriousness and at times with humor, dissects the human condition. I recommend this both to Christians and non-Christians, as it reveals the subtle deceit of many paradigms that we encounter in our lifetime.
    • 2/5
      Honestly, I love Christian Allegory, but I felt this was a diluted rip off of the Everyman moral play. I was looking forward to a provocative tale but this came up short with blatant imagery pulled together with the smallest bit of finesse. Sorry to be so scathing Mr. Bunyan. I get that it was to be accessible to the common man, but this is more a pamphlet than a serious piece of literature.The only reason I think I'll keep reading it is so that I know the references and allusions people take from it. It's an easy enough read.
    • 5/5
      I have heard horror stories about this book my whole life from people who were required to read this in school and subsequently forced to write tedious and life-draining essays about it. However, out of sheer tenacity I decided to read this book of my own free will. And then I couldn't put it down. It took me about five pages to acclimate to Bunyan's voice, but once I got used to the book's style I was intrigued. Following Christian through his battles, and meeting his various acquaintances was interesting enough. Plus, I found myself comparing different characters to different people in my life. I challenge anyone to be unable to relate to at least one of the characters in the book. A lot of atheists will berate this book simply because it is Christian and they are not, but they are too clouded by their own convictions to see the beauty of the book by itself. The book's similarities to mythological works should make it interesting to people of all beliefs or lack thereof.
    • 5/5
      If there is any one theological fiction that Christians should read today, this book would be it! Classic, powerful, imaginative, and provocative. Well worth reading, and not full of theological blunders like books that currently line many peoples shelves.
    • 1/5
      I've hated this book for as long as I can remember, even though I'd never read it. For five years, every school day, my Headmaster would take his reading for assembly from this one book. Bored rigid by the smug tedious Christian, wishing just once that Apollyon or Giant Despair would win, I swore eternal enmity to John Bunyan, his book and the plodding hymns it inspired.Well I've now read it (I have a very nice Folio Edition) and I'm pleased to say I haven't changed my mind. What a priggish, self-satisfied, pile of tosh it really is. I see now that is as much a political treatise as a religious work, but that simply makes it cynical as well as dull, in my view
    • 3/5
      The first was a whole heap of fun, but the second was a little tedious. I'm sure it's a perfectly good book if you are a puritan Christian, but as I am neither of the two, I found it quite mediocre.
    • 4/5
      Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most influential Christian allegories. Long before Narnia, Bunyan put pen to parchment to record his dream while being held in prison. The end result was Pilgrim's Progress.PP takes us on a journey through the life of a Christian, that is, the allegorical life of a Christian. The trials faced by a Christian are all anthropomorphisms here. The main character must navigate away from the City of Destruction, and eventually arrive at his final destination, The Celestial City.Definitely an enjoyable read for those who appreciate renowned and well-written religious allegories.
    • 4/5
      Hard to actually read but the audio dramatizations are WONDERFUL! We tried it as a "read aloud" with one person reading but always had to say who is speaking. Maybe good for a family to read like a play (have multiple copies) and discuss as you go along. Wonderful alleghory! For younger readers, there are children's versions available to help with understanding.

    Book preview

    Pilgrim's Progress (Part One) - John Bunyan

    PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

    (PART ONE)

    BY JOHN BUNYAN

    A Digireads.com Book

    Digireads.com Publishing

    Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-2953-9

    Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-3586-8

    This edition copyright © 2011

    Please visit www.digireads.com

    CONTENTS

    INTRODUCTORY NOTE

    THE AUTHOR'S APOLOGY FOR HIS BOOK

    THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

    THE FIRST PART

    THE CONCLUSION

    INTRODUCTORY NOTE

    JOHN BUNYAN was born at Elstow, Bedfordshire, England, in November, 1628. His father was a maker and mender of pots and kettles, and the son followed the same trade. Though he is usually called a tinker, Bunyan had a settled home and place of business. He had little schooling, and he describes his early surroundings as poor and mean. When he was not yet sixteen his mother died; in two months his father married again; and the son enlisted as a soldier in the Civil War in November, 1644, though whether on the Parliamentary or Royalist side is not certain. The armies were disbanded in 1646, and about two years later Bunyan married a wife whose piety redeemed him from his delight in rural sport and the habit of profane swearing. He became much interested in religions, but it was only after a tremendous spiritual conflict, lasting three or four years, that he found peace. His struggles are related with extraordinary vividness and intensity in his Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. In 1655, the year in which he lost his wife, he began to exhort, and two years later he became a regular Non-conformist preacher, continuing, however, to practise his trade. His success as a preacher roused opposition among the regular clergy, and in 1658 he was indicted at the assizes. His writing began with a controversy against the Quakers, and shows from the first the command of a homely but vigorous style.

    With the reenactment of the laws against non-conformity at the Restoration, Bunyan became subject to more severe persecution, and with a short intermission he was confined to prison from 1660 till 1672. Again and again he might have been released, but he refused to promise to desist from preaching, and there was no alternative for the justices but to keep him in confinement. Sometimes lax jailers permitted him to preach at church meetings; he frequently ministered to his fellow-prisoners; and he supported his family, now looked after by a second wife, by making laces. He had apparently abundant leisure, for he wrote in prison a large number of books, the first one of importance being that already mentioned, Grace Abounding (1666). The Pilgrim's Progress was also written in jail, but probably during a later confinement of six months in 1675.

    In 1672 Charles II suspended the laws against Non-conformists and Roman Catholics, and Bunyan was released. He was called to be minister to a Non-conformist congregation in Bedford, and preached in the barn which served them as a church. But his ministrations were not confined to Bedford. He made preaching tours over a wide district, and even to London, and attracted great crowds of listeners. Meanwhile he continued to write. The first edition of The Pilgrim's Progress in 1678 was followed by others with additions, and in 1684 by the second part. The Life and Death of Mr. Badman appeared in 1680; The Holy War made by Shaddai upon Diabolus in 1682. If the works left in manuscript at his death be included, the total of his books amounts to nearly sixty. He died in 1688, leaving a widow and six children, and a personal estate of less than £100. The Pilgrim's Progress became at once popular, and has continued to be by far the most widely read of all his works, and one of the most universally known of English books. Though in the form of an allegory, the narrative interest is so powerful, the drawing of permanent types of human character is so vigorous, and the style is so simple and direct that it takes rank as a great work of fiction. The best sides of English Puritanism have here their most adequate and characteristic expression, while the intensity of Bunyan's religious fervor and the universality of the spiritual problems with which he deals, raise the work to a place among the great religious classics of the world.

    THE AUTHOR'S APOLOGY FOR HIS BOOK

    When at the first I took my pen in hand

    Thus for to write, I did not understand

    That I at all should make a little book

    In such a mode; nay, I had undertook

    To make another; which, when almost done,

    Before I was aware, I this begun.

    And thus it was: I, writing of the way

    And race of saints, in this our gospel day,

    Fell suddenly into an allegory

    About their journey, and the way to glory,

    In more than twenty things which I set down.

    This done, I twenty more had in my crown;

    And they again began to multiply,

    Like sparks that from the coals of fire do fly.

    Nay, then, thought I, if that you breed so fast,

    I'll put you by yourselves, lest you at last

    Should prove ad infinitum, and eat out

    The book that I already am about.

    Well, so I did; but yet I did not think

    To shew to all the world my pen and ink

    In such a mode; I only thought to make

    I knew not what; nor did I undertake

    Thereby to please my neighbour: no, not I;

    I did it my own self to gratify.

    Neither did I but vacant seasons spend

    In this my scribble; nor did I intend

    But to divert myself in doing this

    From worser thoughts which make me do amiss.

    Thus, I set pen to paper with delight,

    And quickly had my thoughts in black and white.

    For, having now my method by the end,

    Still as I pulled, it came; and so I penned

    It down: until it came at last to be,

    For length and breadth, the bigness which you see.

    Well, when I had thus put mine ends together,

    I shew'd them others, that I might see whether

    They would condemn them, or them justify:

    And some said, Let them live; some, Let them die;

    Some said, John, print it; others said, Not so;

    Some said, It might do good; others said, No.

    Now was I in a strait, and did not see

    Which was the best thing to be done by me:

    At last I thought, Since you are thus divided,

    I print it will, and so the case decided.

    For, thought I, some, I see, would have it done,

    Though others in that channel do not run:

    To prove, then, who advised for the best,

    Thus I thought fit to put it to the test.

    I further thought, if now I did deny

    Those that would have it, thus to gratify.

    I did not know but hinder them I might

    Of that which would to them be great delight.

    For those which were not for its coming forth,

    I said to them, Offend you I am loth,

    Yet, since your brethren pleased with it be,

    Forbear to judge till you do further see.

    If that thou wilt not read, let it alone;

    Some love the meat, some love to pick the bone.

    Yea, that I might them better palliate,

    I did too with them thus expostulate:

    May I not write in such a style as this?

    In such a method, too, and yet not miss

    My end—thy good? Why may it not be done?

    Dark clouds bring waters, when the bright bring none.

    Yea, dark or bright, if they their silver drops

    Cause to descend, the earth, by yielding crops,

    Gives praise to both, and carpeth not at either,

    But treasures up the fruit they yield together;

    Yea, so commixes both, that in her fruit

    None can distinguish this from that: they suit

    Her well when hungry; but, if she be full,

    She spews out both, and makes their blessings null.

    You see the ways the fisherman doth take

    To catch the fish; what engines doth he make?

    Behold how he engageth all his wits;

    Also his snares, lines, angles, hooks, and nets;

    Yet fish there be, that neither hook, nor line,

    Nor snare, nor net, nor engine can make thine:

    They must be groped for, and be tickled too,

    Or they will not be catch'd, whate'er you do.

    How does the fowler seek to catch his game

    By divers means! all which one cannot name:

    His guns, his nets, his lime-twigs, light, and bell:

    He creeps, he goes, he stands; yea, who can tell

    Of all his postures? Yet there's none of these

    Will make him master of what fowls he please.

    Yea, he must pipe and whistle to catch this,

    Yet, if he does so, that bird he will miss.

    If that a pearl may in a toad's head dwell,

    And may be found too in an oyster-shell;

    If things that promise nothing do contain

    What better is than gold; who will disdain,

    That have an inkling of it, there to look,

    That they may find it? Now, my little book,

    (Though void of all these paintings that may make

    It with this or the other man to take)

    Is not without those things that do excel

    What do in brave but empty notions dwell.

    Well, yet I am not fully satisfied,

    That this your book will stand, when soundly tried.

    Why, what's the matter? It is dark. What though?

    But it is feigned. What of that? I tro?

    Some men, by feigned words, as dark as mine,

    Make truth to spangle and its rays to shine.

    But they want solidness. Speak, man, thy mind.

    They drown the weak; metaphors make us blind.'

    Solidity, indeed, becomes the pen

    Of him that writeth things divine to men;

    But must I needs want solidness, because

    By metaphors I speak? Were not God's laws,

    His gospel laws, in olden times held forth

    By types, shadows, and metaphors? Yet loth

    Will any sober man be to find fault

    With them, lest he be found for to assault

    The highest wisdom. No, he rather stoops,

    And seeks to find out what by pins and loops,

    By calves and sheep, by heifers and by rams,

    By birds and herbs, and by the blood of lambs,

    God speaketh to him; and happy is he

    That finds the light and grace that in them be.

    Be not too forward, therefore, to conclude

    That I want solidness—that I am rude;

    All things solid in show not solid be;

    All things in parables despise not we;

    Lest things most hurtful lightly we receive,

    And things that good are, of our souls bereave.

    My dark and cloudy words, they do but hold

    The truth, as cabinets enclose the gold.

    The prophets used much by metaphors

    To set forth truth; yea, who so considers Christ,

    his apostles too, shall plainly see,

    That truths to this day in such mantles be.

    Am I afraid to say, that holy writ,

    Which for its style and phrase puts down all wit,

    Is everywhere so full of all these things—

    Dark figures, allegories? Yet there springs

    From that same book that lustre, and those rays

    Of light, that turn our darkest nights to days.

    Come, let my carper to his life now look,

    And find there darker lines than in my book

    He findeth any; yea, and let him know,

    That in his best things there are worse lines too.

    May we but stand before impartial men,

    To his poor one I dare adventure ten,

    That they will take my meaning in these lines

    Far better than his lies in silver shrines.

    Come, truth, although in swaddling clouts, I find,

    Informs the judgement, rectifies the mind;

    Pleases the understanding, makes the will

    Submit; the memory too it doth fill

    With what doth our imaginations please;

    Likewise it tends our troubles to appease.

    Sound words, I know, Timothy is to use,

    And old wives' fables he is to refuse;

    But yet grave Paul him nowhere did forbid

    The use of parables; in which lay hid

    That gold, those pearls, and precious stones that were

    Worth digging for, and that with greatest care.

    Let me add one word more. O man of God,

    Art thou offended? Dost thou wish I had

    Put forth my matter in another dress?

    Or, that I had in things been more express?

    Three things let me propound; then I submit

    To those that are my betters, as is fit.

    1. I find not that I am denied the use

    Of this my method, so I no abuse

    Put on the words, things, readers; or be rude

    In handling figure or similitude,

    In application; but, all that I may,

    Seek the advance of truth this or that way

    Denied, did I say? Nay, I have leave

    (Example too, and that from them that have

    God better pleased, by their words or ways,

    Than any man that breatheth now-a-days)

    Thus to express my mind, thus to declare

    Things unto thee that excellentest are.

    2. I find that men (as high as trees) will write

    Dialogue-wise; yet no man doth them slight

    For writing so: indeed, if they abuse

    Truth, cursed be they, and the craft they use

    To that intent; but yet let truth be free

    To make her sallies upon thee and me,

    Which way it pleases God; for who knows how,

    Better than he that taught us first to plough,

    To guide our mind and pens for his design?

    And he makes base things usher in divine.

    3. I find that holy writ in many places

    Hath semblance with this method, where the cases

    Do call for one thing, to set forth another;

    Use it I may, then, and yet nothing smother

    Truth's golden beams: nay, by this method may

    Make it cast forth its rays as light as day.

    And now before I do put up my pen,

    I'll shew the profit of my book, and then

    Commit both thee and it unto that Hand

    That pulls the strong down, and makes weak ones stand.

    This book it chalketh out before thine eyes

    The man that seeks the everlasting prize;

    It shews you whence he comes, whither he goes;

    What he leaves undone, also what he does;

    It also shows you how he runs and runs,

    Till he unto the gate of glory comes.

    It shows, too, who set out for life amain,

    As if the lasting crown they would obtain;

    Here also you may see the reason why

    They lose their labour, and like fools do die.

    This book will make a traveller of thee,

    If by its counsel thou wilt ruled be;

    It will direct thee to the Holy Land,

    If thou wilt its directions understand:

    Yea, it will make the slothful active be;

    The blind also delightful things to see.

    Art thou for something rare and profitable?

    Wouldest thou see a truth within a fable?

    Art thou forgetful? Wouldest thou remember

    From New-Year's day to the last of December?

    Then read my fancies; they will stick like burs,

    And may be, to the helpless, comforters.

    This book is writ in such a dialect

    As may the minds of listless men affect:

    It seems a novelty, and yet contains

    Nothing but sound and honest gospel strains.

    Wouldst thou divert thyself from melancholy?

    Wouldst thou be pleasant, yet be far from folly?

    Wouldst thou read riddles, and their explanation?

    Or else be drowned in thy contemplation?

    Dost thou love picking meat? Or wouldst thou see

    A man in the clouds, and hear him speak to thee?

    Wouldst thou be in a dream, and yet not sleep?

    Or wouldst thou in a moment laugh and weep?

    Wouldest thou lose thyself and catch no harm,

    And find thyself again without a charm?

    Wouldst read thyself, and read thou know'st not what,

    And yet know whether thou art blest or not,

    By reading the same lines? Oh, then come hither,

    And lay my book, thy head, and heart together.

    JOHN BUNYAN.

    THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

    IN THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM

    THE FIRST PART

    As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. [Isa. 64:6; Luke 14:33; Ps. 38:4; Hab. 2:2; Acts 16:30,31] I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and, as he read, he wept, and trembled; and, not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, What shall I do? [Acts 2:37]

    In this plight, therefore, he went home and refrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased. Wherefore at length he brake his mind to his wife and children; and thus he began to talk to them: O my dear wife, said he, and you the children of my bowels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me; moreover, I am for certain informed that this our city will be burned with fire

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