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
This petition, when drawn up, was designed to be sent to the Prince as
the first. But who should carry it?—that was the question. Some said,
‘Let him do it that went with the first,’ but others thought not good to
do that, and that because he sped no better. Now, there was an old man
in the town, and his name was Mr. Good-Deed; a man that bare only the
name, but had nothing of the nature of the thing. Now, some were for
sending him; but the Recorder was by no means for that. ‘For,’ said he,
‘we now stand in need of, and are pleading for mercy: wherefore, to send
our petition by a man of this name, will seem to cross the petition
itself. Should we make Mr. Good-Deed our messenger, when our petition
cries for mercy?
‘Besides,’ quoth the old gentleman, ‘should the Prince now, as he
receives the petition, ask him, and say, “What is thy name?” as nobody
knows but he will, and he should say, “Old Good-Deed,” what, think you,
would Emmanuel say but this? “Ay! is old Good-Deed yet alive in Mansoul?
then let old Good-Deed save you from your distresses.” And if he says
so, I am sure we are lost; nor can a thousand of old Good-Deeds save
Mansoul.’
After the Recorder had given in his reasons why old Good-Deed should not
go with this petition to Emmanuel, the rest of the prisoners and chief of
Mansoul opposed it also, and so old Good-Deed was laid aside, and they
agreed to send Mr. Desires-awake again. So they sent for him, and
desired him that he would a second time go with their petition to the
Prince, and he readily told them he would. But they bid him that in
anywise he should take heed that in no word or carriage he gave offence
to the Prince; ‘For by doing so, for ought we can tell, you may bring
Mansoul into utter destruction,’ said they.
Now Mr. Desires-awake, when he saw that he must go on this errand,
besought that they would grant that Mr. Wet-Eyes might go with him. Now
this Mr. Wet-Eyes was a near neighbour of Mr. Desires, a poor man, a man
of a broken spirit, yet one that could speak well to a petition; so they
granted that he should go with him. Wherefore, they address themselves
to their business: Mr. Desires put a rope upon his head, and Mr. Wet-Eyes
went with his hands wringing together. Thus they went to the Prince’s
pavilion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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