John Bunyan

“ He doth so; and sayes moreover, That anger rests in the bosom of fools. [138b] And truly, if it be a sign of a Fool to have anger rest in his bosom, then was Mr. Badman, notwithstanding the conceit that he had of his own abilities, a Fool of no small size.
Atten. Fools are mostly most wise in their own eyes.
Wise. True. But I was a saying, that if it be a sign that a man is a Fool, when Anger rests in his bosom; Then what is it a sign of, think you, when Malice and Envy rests there? For to my knowledge Mr. Badman was as malicious and as envious a man as commonly you can hear of. ”

“ Pride makes a man so odious in the sight of God, that he shall not, must not come nigh his Majesty. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect to the lowly, but the proud he knows afar off. Pride sets God and the Soul at a distrance; pride will not let a man come nigh God, nor God will not let a proud man come nigh unto him: Now this is a dreadful thing. ”

“ It is the duty of those that can, to cry out against this deadly plague, yea, to lift up their voice as with a Trumpet against it; that men may he awakened about it, flye from it, as from that which is the greatest of evils. Sin pull’d Angels out of Heaven, pulls men down to Hell, and overthroweth Kingdoms. ”

“ Fourthly, At Funerals there does use to be Mourning and lamentation, but here also Mr. Badman differs from others; his Familiars cannot lament his departure, for they have not sence of his damnable state; they rather ring him, and sing him to Hell in the sleep of death, in which he goes thither. Good men count him no loss to the world, his place can well be without him, his loss is only his own, and ’tis too late for him to recover that dammage or loss by a Sea of bloody tears, could he shed them. ”

“ Who, that sees the Devils, as roaring Lyons, continually devouring souls, will not make an Out-cry? But above all, when we see sin, sinful sin, a swallowing up a Nation, sinking of a Nation, and bringing its Inhabitants to temporal, spiritual, and eternal ruine, shall we not cry out, and cry, They are drunk, but not with Wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink; they are intoxicated with the deadly poyson of sin, which will, if its malignity be not by wholsom means allayed, bring Soul and Body, and Estate and Countrey, and all, to ruin and destruction? ”

“ O! but when they see that that is their home, and that they must go in thither, then their peace and quietness flies away for ever: Then they roar like Lions, yell like Dragons, howl like Dogs, and tremble at their Judgment, as do the Devils themselves. Oh! when they see they must shoot the Gulf and Throat of Hell! when they shall see that Hell hath shut her ghastly Jaws upon them! when they shall open their eyes, and find themselves within the belly and bowels of Hell! ”

“ How can we help it, if men should ascribe to themselves the title of Holy ones, Godly ones, Zealous ones, Self-denying ones, or any other such glorious title? and while they thus call themselves, they should be the veryest Rogues for all evil, sin, and villany imaginable, who could help it? True, they are a scandal to Religion, a grief to the honest hearted, an offence to the world, and a stumbling stone to the weak, and these offences have come, do come, and will come, do what all the world can ”

“ For a lie has only one Father and Mother, the Devil and the Heart. No marvel therefore if the hearts that hatch and bring forth Lies, be so much of complexion with the Devil. Yea, no marvel though God and Christ have so bent their Word against lyers: a lyer is weded to the Devil himself. ”

“ I say, suppose there be an Hell, and that too, such an one as the Scripture speaks of, one at the remotest distance from God and Life eternall, one where the Worm of a guilty Conscience never dyes, and where the fire of the Wrath of God is not quenched. ”

“ Judgment therefore that we make of the eternall condition of a man must be gathered from another consideration: To wit, Did the man die in his sins? did he die in unbelief? did he die before he was born again? then he is gone to the Devil and hell, though he died never so quietly. Again, Was the man a good man? had he faith and holiness? was he a lover and a Worshipper of God by Christ, according to his Word? Then he is gone to God and Heaven, how suddenly, or in what consternation of mind soever he died: But Mr. Badman was naught, his life was evil, his wayes were evil ”

“ Badman must needs be a bad Tree. But pray, for my further satisfaction, shew me now by the Word of God, evil of this his practice: and first of his using false Weights and Measures.
Wise. The evil of that! why the evil of that appears to every eye: the Heathens, that live like Beasts and Bruits in many things, do abominate and abhorr such wickedness as this. Let a man but look upon these things as he goes by, and he shall see enough in them from the light of nature to make him loath so base a practice; although Mr. Badman loved it. ”

“ There is Uncleanness and Pride, I know not of any two gross sins that stick closer to men then they. They have, as I may call it, an interest in Nature; it likes them because they most suit its lusts and fancies: and therefore no marvel though Mr. Badman was tainted with pride, since he had so wickedly given up himself to work all iniquity with greediness.
Wise. You say right; Pride, is a sin that sticks close to Nature, [126d] and is one of the first follies wherein it shews it self to be polluted. For even in Childhood, even in little children, Pride will first of all shew it self ”

“ Suppose that a man should say with his mouth, I wish that the Kings Picture was burned; would not this mans so saying, render him as an Enemy to the Person of the King? Even so it is with them that, by cursing, wish evil to their neighbour, or to themselves, they contemn the Image, even the Image of God himself. ”

“ I have an Husband, but also a God; my God has commanded me, and that upon pain of damnation, to be a continual Worshipper of him, and that in the way of his own Appointments: I have an Husband, but also a Soul, and my Soul ought to be more unto me, than all the world besides. ”

“ Yet the Captain of all these men of death that came against him to take him away, was the Consumption, for ’twas that that brought him down to the grave.
Atten. Although I will not say, but the best men may die of a consumption, a dropsie, or a surfeit; yea, that these may meet upon a man to end him: yet I will say again, that many times these diseases come through mans inordinate use of things. Much drinking brings dropsies, consumptions, surfeits, and many other diseases; and I doubt, that Mr. Badman’s death did come by his abuse of himself in the use of lawfull and unlawfull things. ”

“ For no sin reigneth more in the world, quoth he, than pride among professors. And who can contradict him? let us give the Devil his due, the thing is too apparent for any man to deny.
And I doubt not but the same answer is ready in the mouths of Mr. Badmans friends; for they may and do see pride display it self in the Apparel and carriages of professors; one may say, almost as much, as among any people in the Land, the more is the pity. Ay, and I fear that even their Extravagancies in this, hath hardened the heart of many a one, as I perceive it did somewhat the heart of Mr. Badman himself. ”

“ These two sins of lying and stealing were a bad sign of an evil end.
Wise. So they were, and yet Mr. Badman came not to his end like old Tod; Though I fear, to as bad, nay, worse than was that death of the Gallows, though less discerned by spectators; but more of that by and by. But you talk of these two sins as if these were all that Mr. Badman was addicted to in his Youth: Alas, alas, he swarmed with sins, even as a Begger does with Vermin, and that when he was but a Boy. ”

“ I perceive what you mean by two deaths at once; and to speak truth, ’tis a fearfull thing thus to have ground to think of any: for although the death of the ungodly and sinners is laid to heart but of few, yet to die in such a state, is more dreadful and fearful than any man can imagine. ”

“ For mine own part, I have seen many my self, and those Church-members too, so deckt and bedaubed with their Fangles and Toyes, and that when they have been at the solemn Appointments of God, in the way of his Worship, that I have wondred with what face such painted persons could sit in the place where they were without swounding. But certainly the holiness of God, and also the pollution of themselves by sin, must needs be very far out of the minds of such people, what profession soever they make. ”

“ O how true is that saying of Solomon, The heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead, Eccles. 9. 3. To the dead! that is, to the dead in Hell, to the damned dead; the place to which those that have dyed Bad men are gone, and that those that live Bad men are like to go to, when a little more sin, like stollen waters, hath been imbibed by their sinful souls. ”

“ For to speak my mind freely, I do confess, that it is mine opinion, that Children come polluted with sin into the World, and that oft-times the sins of their youth, especially while they are very young, are rather by vertue of Indwelling sin, than by examples that are set before them by others. Not but that they learn to sin by example too, but Example is not the root, but rather the Temptation unto wickedness. The root is sin within; for from within, out of the heart of man proceedeth sin. ”

“ Besides, that they do break, all the world very well knowes, and that they have the art to plead for a composition, is very well known to men; and that it is usual with them, to hide their Linnen, their Plate, their Jewels, and (’tis to be thought, sometimes Money and Goods besides,) is as common as four eggs a penny. And thus they beguile men, debauch their consciences, sin against their Profession, and make, ’tis to be feared, their lusts in all this, and the fulfilling of them, their end. I say, if Mr. Badman was here to object thus unto you, what would be your reply? ”

“ Goe professors, Goe; leave off profession, unless you will lead your lives according to your profession. Better never profess, than to make profession a stalking-horse to sin, Deceit, to the Devil, and Hell.
The ground and rules of Religion allow not any such thing: Receive us, says the Apostle, we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. [104b] Intimating, that those that are guilty of wronging, corrupting or defrauding of any, should not be admitted to the fellowship of Saints, no nor into the common catalogue of Brethren with them. ”

“ Things that we swear, are, or shall be done. Thou swearest thou hast done such a thing, that such a thing is so, or shall be so; for it is no matter which of these it is that men swear about, if it be done lightly and wickedly, and groundlesly, it is vain, because it is a sin against the Third Commandement, which says, Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. ”

“ For as none can teach Goodness like to God himself, so concerning Sin and Knavery, none can teach a man it like the Devil, to whom, as I perceive, Mr. Badman went to School from his Childhood to the end of his life. But pray Sir, make a beginning. ”

“ Sometimes the honest Chapman would appeal to his servants for proof of the payment of money, but they were trained up by him to say after his mind, right or wrong: so that, relief that way, he could get none.
Atten. It is a bad, yea an abominable thing for a man to have such servants. For by such means a poor customer may be undone and not know how to help himself. Alas! if the master be so unconscionable, as I perceive Mr. Badman was, to call for his money twice, and if his servant will swear that it is a due debt, where is any help for such a man? he must sink, there is no remedy. ”

“ Another reason why professors are so proud, (for those we are talking of now) is because they are more apt to take example of those that are of the World, than they are to take example of those that are Saints indeed. Pride is of the world. For all that is of the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, are not of the Father but of the world. [132e] Of the world therefore Professors learn to be proud. ”

“ The good would not trust them because they were bad in their Lives, and the bad would not trust them because they were good in their Words: So they were forced with Esau to joyn in affinity with Ishmael; to wit, to look out a people that were Hypocrites like themselves, and with them they matcht, and lived and died.
Atten. Poor woman, she could not but have much perplexity.
Wise. Yea, and poor Children, that ever they were sent into the world as the fruit of the loyns, and under the government of such a father as Mr. Badman. ”

“ Badman has his, but such as vary from all men of worth, but so much the more agreeing with the merit of his doings: They all have descended in state, he only as an abominable branch. His deserts are the deserts of sin, and therefore the Scutcheons of honour that he has, are only that he died without Honour, and at his end became a fool. Thou shalt not be joyned with them in burial.—The seed of evil doers shall never be renowned. ”