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
And having got some little smattering of Emmanuel’s things by the end,
being bold, he ventures himself into the company of the townsmen, any
attempts also to chat among them. Now he knew that the power and
strength of the town of Mansoul was great, and that it could not but be
pleasing to the people, if he cried up their might and their glory.
Wherefore he beginneth his tale with the power and strength of Mansoul,
and affirmed that it was impregnable; now magnifying their captains and
their slings, and their rams; then crying up their fortifications and
strongholds; and, lastly, the assurances that they had from their Prince,
that Mansoul should be happy for ever. But when he saw that some of the
men of the town were tickled and taken with his discourse, he makes it
his business, and walking from street to street, house to house, and man
to man, he at last brought Mansoul to dance after his pipe, and to grow
almost as carnally secure as himself; so from talking they went to
feasting, and from feasting to sporting; and so to some other matters.
Now Emmanuel was yet in the town of Mansoul, and he wisely observed their
doings. My Lord Mayor, my Lord Willbewill, and Mr. Recorder were also
all taken with the words of this tattling Diabolonian gentleman,
forgetting that their Prince had given them warning before to take heed
that they were not beguiled with any Diabolonian sleight; he had further
told them that the security of the now flourishing town of Mansoul did
not so much lie in her present fortifications and force, as in her so
using of what she had, as might oblige her Emmanuel to abide within her
castle. For the right doctrine of Emmanuel was, that the town of Mansoul
should take heed that they forgot not his Father’s love and his; also,
that they should so demean themselves as to continue to keep themselves
therein. Now this was not the way to do it, namely, to fall in love with
one of the Diabolonians, and with such an one too as Mr. Carnal-Security
was, and to be led up and down by the nose by him; they should have heard
their Prince, feared their Prince, loved their Prince, and have stoned
this naughty pack to death, and took care to have walked in the ways of
their Prince’s prescribing: for then should their peace have been as a
river, when their righteousness had been like the waves of the sea.
Now when Emmanuel perceived that through the policy of Mr.
Carnal-Security the hearts of the men of Mansoul were chilled and abated
in their practical love to him,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account