Turn to John Bunyan. There is a wonderful passage in the early part of
John Bunyan's "Holy War," in which he describes the preparations which
the beast has made for his attack upon the soul. He tells how beast held
counsel with beast, and how it was agreed that they should assume forms
with which the soul was quite familiar; such as were accounted harmless,
lest the soul should be alarmed when they made their deadly approach.
"Therefore let us assault the soul in all pretended fairness, covering
our intentions with all manner of lies, flatteries, and illusive words;
feigning things that will never be, and promising that to them which
they shall never find." And so they marched toward the soul, "all in a
manner invisible," save only one, and he took on a shape as harmless and
familiar as a bird, and when he spoke he spake with such gentleness "as
if he had been a lamb." And I for one put myself side by side with John
Bunyan, for I too have known the beast when he has come disguised, and
has addressed me with all the harmlessness and innocence of a lamb.
I will add one further word in our consideration of the beast. When I
look around on the world to-day, upon the appalling scenes of passion
and hatred and slaughter,--it is to me very significant that so many of
the national emblems, which represent the corporate life of peoples, are
different types of beasts. It is the beast which still provides the
symbols of our national life. There is the lion; there is the bear;
there is the wolf, and I know not what besides! We talk of rousing the
bear and of twisting the lion's tail! Our national emblems are beasts.
The American nation has happily discarded the beast, but it has chosen
one of the fiercest among the birds--the bird whose talons are more
obtrusive than its song. I am suggesting the significance of the fact
that we have found nothing above the beast to symbolize the
individuality of national life. Perhaps some day we may "move upward,"
and we may erase the beasts from our emblems, but it will only be when
we have driven the beasts from our souls!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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