The Holy War, Made by King Shaddai Upon Diabolus, for the Regaining of the Metropolis of the World; Or, The Losing and Taking Again of the Town of MansoulBunyan, John
ReligionChristian
The Holy War, Made by King Shaddai Upon Diabolus, for the Regaining of the Metropolis of the World; Or, The Losing and Taking Again of the Town of Mansoul
Bunyan, John
Christian fiction; Soul; Spiritual warfare -- Fiction
But now to see how it happened, one of the prisoners, Incredulity by
name, in the interim betwixt the sentence and the time of execution,
brake prison and made his escape, and gets him away quite out of the town
of Mansoul, and lay lurking in such places and holes as he might, until
he should again have opportunity to do the town of Mansoul a mischief for
their thus handling of him as they did.
Now when Mr. Trueman, the gaoler, perceived that he had lost his
prisoner, he was in a heavy taking, because that prisoner was, to speak
on, the very worst of all the gang: wherefore first he goes and acquaints
my Lord Mayor, Mr. Recorder, and my Lord Willbewill, with the matter, and
to get of them an order to make search for him throughout the town of
Mansoul. So an order he got, and search was made, but no such man could
now be found in all the town of Mansoul.
All that could be gathered was, that he had lurked a while about the
outside of the town, and that here and there one or other had a glimpse
of him as he did make his escape out of Mansoul; one or two also did
affirm that they saw him without the town, going apace quite over the
plain. Now when he was quite gone, it was affirmed by one Mr. Did-see,
that he ranged all over dry places, till he met with Diabolus, his
friend, and where should they meet one another but just upon Hell-gate
hill.
But oh! what a lamentable story did the old gentleman tell to Diabolus
concerning what sad alteration Emmanuel had made in Mansoul!
As, first, how Mansoul had, after some delays, received a general pardon
at the hands of Emmanuel, and that they had invited him into the town,
and that they had given him the castle for his possession. He said,
moreover, that they had called his soldiers into the town, coveted who
should quarter the most of them; they also entertained him with the
timbrel, song, and dance. ‘But that,’ said Incredulity, ‘which is the
sorest vexation to me is, that he hath pulled down, O father, thy image,
and set up his own; pulled down thy officers and set up his own. Yea,
and Willbewill, that rebel, who, one would have thought, should never
have turned from us, he is now in as great favour with Emmanuel as ever
he was with thee. But, besides all this, this Willbewill has received a
special commission from his master to search for, to apprehend, and to
put to death all, and all manner of Diabolonians that he shall find in
Mansoul: yea, and this Willbewill has taken and committed to prison
already eight of my Lord’s most trusty friends in Mansoul. Nay, further,
my Lord, with grief I speak it, they have been all arraigned, condemned,
and, I doubt, before this executed in Mansoul. I told my Lord of eight,
and myself was the ninth, who should assuredly have drunk of the same
cup, but that through craft, I, as thou seest, have made mine escape from
them.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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