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
Now, those that went out against the doubters drew up into a body before
the plain, and marched on to bid them battle. But the doubters,
remembering their last success, made a retreat, not daring to stand the
shock, but fled from the Prince’s men; wherefore they pursued them, and
in their pursuit slew many, but they could not catch them all. Now those
that escaped went some of them home; and the rest by fives, nines, and
seventeens, like wanderers, went straggling up and down the country,
where they upon the barbarous people showed and exercised many of their
Diabolonian actions: nor did these people rise up in arms against them,
but suffered themselves to be enslaved by them. They would also after
this show themselves in companies before the town of Mansoul, but never
to abide in it; for if Captain Credence, Captain Good-Hope, or Captain
Experience did but show themselves, they fled.
Those that went out against the blood-men did as they were commanded:
they forbore to slay any, but sought to compass them about. But the
blood-men, when they saw that no Emmanuel was in the field, concluded
also that no Emmanuel was in Mansoul; wherefore they, looking upon what
the captains did to be, as they called it, a fruit of the extravagancy of
their wild and foolish fancies, rather despised them than feared them.
But the captains, minding their business, at last did compass them round;
they also that had routed the doubters came in amain to their aid: so, in
fine, after some little struggling, (for the blood-men also would have
run for it, only now it was too late; for though they are mischievous and
cruel, where they can overcome, yet all blood-men are chicken-hearted
men, when they once come to see themselves matched and equalled,)—so the
captains took them, and brought them to the Prince.
Now when they were taken, had before the Prince, and examined, he found
them to be of three several counties, though they all came out of one
land.
1. One sort of them came out of Blind-man-shire, and they were such as
did ignorantly what they did.
2. Another sort of them came out of Blind-zeal-shire, and they did
superstitiously what they did.
3. The third sort of them came out of the town of Malice, in the county
of Envy, and they did what they did out of spite and implacableness.
For the first of these, namely, they that came out of Blind-man-shire,
when they saw where they were, and against whom they had fought, they
trembled and cried, as they stood before him; and as many of these as
asked him mercy, he touched their lips with his golden sceptre.
They that came out of Blind-zeal-shire, they did not as their fellows
did; for they pleaded that they had a right to do what they did, because
Mansoul was a town whose laws and customs were diverse from all that
dwelt thereabouts. Very few of these could be brought to see their evil;
but those that did, and asked mercy, they also obtained favour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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