appearances." "Yes," said he, "but come away, and I will show you
something more." Whereupon he transported me up to where stood the
churches of the city of Perdition, for every body in it had an appearance
of faith, even in the age of Disbelief. First we went to the temple of
Heathenism, where I could see some adoring the form of a man, others that
of the sun, others that of the moon, and an innumerable quantity of
similar other gods, even down to leek and garlick, and a great goddess
termed _Delusion_, obtaining general adoration, although you might see
something of the remnants of the Christian faith amongst some of these
people. Thence we went to a meeting of Dummies, where there was nothing
but groaning, and shivering, and beating the breast. "Though there is
here," said the angel, "an appearance of repentance and great submission,
there is nothing in reality, but opinionativeness and obstinacy, and
pride, and thick, thick darkness. Notwithstanding they talk so much
about their _internal light_, they have not even the spectacle-glasses of
nature which the heathens have, whom you lately saw." From these dumb
dogs we chanced to turn to a large church open at the top, with a
prodigious number of sandals {23} at the gate, by which I knew that it
was the temple of the Turks; these people had only a dim and motley
colored spectacle glass, which they called the Koran, yet through this
they were always gazing up to the top of the church for their prophet,
who, according to the promise which he gave them, ought to have returned
to them long ago, but has not yet made his appearance. From there we
went to the church of the Jews, people who had failed to find the way of
escape from the city of Perdition, although they possessed a pure, clear
spectacle glass, on account of a film having come over their eyes from
long gazing, for want of having anointed them with the precious ointment,
_faith_. We next went to that of the Papists. "Behold," said the angel,
"the church which _deceiveth the nations_! Hypocrisy has built this
church at her own expense; for the Papists permit, yea enjoin the
breaking of any oath made to a heretic, although it were taken upon the
sacrament." From the chancel we passed through key-holes to the upper
end of a cell which stood apart, full of burning candles at mid-day,
where we perceived a priest with his crown shaven, walking about as if he
were in expectation of visitors; presently there came a rotund figure of
a woman, and a very pretty girl behind her, and they went upon their
knees before him to confess their sins. "My spiritual father," said the
good woman, "I labour under a burden too heavy to be borne, unless you in
your mercy will lighten it; I married a member of the church of England,
and"--"What," said the shaven crown, "married a heretic! married an
enemy! there is no pardon for you, now or ever." At this word she
fainted, and he vociferated curses at her. "Oh, and what is worse," said
she when she revived. "I have killed him!" "O, ho! you have killed him,
well that is something towards obtaining reconciliation with the church;
but I assure you, that unless you had killed him, you would never have
got absolution, nor purgatory, but would have gone plump to the devil.
But where is your offering to the cloister?" said he, snarling. "Here,"
she replied, and handed him a pretty big purse of money. "Well," said
he, "I will now make your peace, and your penance is to remain a widow as
long as you live, lest you should make another bad bargain." As soon as
she had departed, the damsel came forward to make her confession. "Your
pardon, my father confessor," said she, "I have borne a child and
murdered it." "Very fair, in troth," said the confessor, "and who was
the father?" "Verily," said she, "it was one of your monastery"--"Hush,
hush," said he, "no scandal against the men of the church: but where is
your atonement to the church?" "There," said she, handing him a gold
coin. "You must repent, and your penance is to watch to night by my
bedside," said he, smiling archly upon her.
At this moment appeared four other bald-pates, hauling in a lad to the
confessor, the poor fellow looking as pleased as if he were going to the
gallows. "We have brought you a cub," said one of the four, "that you
may award him a proper punishment for revealing the secrets of the
catholic church." "What secrets?" said the confessor, looking towards a
murky cell which was nigh at hand. "But confess villain, what did you
say?" "In truth," said the wretch, "one of my acquaintances asked me, if
I had seen the _souls_ shrieking beneath the altar, _on the day of the
festival of the dead_? And I said, that I had heard the voice, but that
I had seen nothing." "Ah, sir, say the whole," said one of the others.
"But I added," said he, "that I had heard that you were only deceiving us
ignorant people, and that instead of souls shrieking, there were only sea-
crabs crackling beneath the carpet,"--"O son of the fiend! blasphemous
monster!" said the confessor; "but proceed caitiff."--"and that it was a
wire which turned the image of saint Peter," said the fellow, "and that
it was by the wire that the Holy Ghost descended from the gallery of the
cross upon the priest." "O heritage of hell!" said the confessor. "So
ho here! take him torturers, and cast him into the smoky chimney yonder
for telling tales." "Here you see," said the angel, "the church which
Hypocrisy desires should be called the Catholic Church, and the members
of which she would fain have the world consider, as the only people
destined to be saved; it must be owned, indeed, that they had the true
spectacle-glass, but they spoiled it by cutting upon the glass numerous
images; and they had true faith, but they mingled that precious ointment
with their own novel inventions, so that at present they see no more than
the heathen." Thence we went to a barn, where stood a pert, conceited
fellow preaching with great glibness, frequently repeating the same thing
three times. "This man and his hearers," said the angel, "possess the
true spectacle-glass, to see the things which pertain to their peace, but
they lack now in their old age, a very essential matter which is called
perfect love. Various are the causes which drive folks hither; some come
out of respect to their forefathers, some out of ignorance, and many for
worldly advantage. They will make you believe with their faces that they
are being strangled, but they can swallow a toad if necessary; and thus
the princess Hypocrisy does not disdain to teach some in barns." "Pray,"
said I, "where now is the _Church of England_?" "O," said he, "in the
city high above, it constitutes a great part of the _Catholic Church_,
and in the city here below, there are some probationary churches
belonging to it, where the English and Welsh are under probation for a
time, in order to become qualified to have their names written in the
book of the Catholic Church, and they who become so, _blessed are they
for ever_. But alas, there are but very few who are adapting themselves
to obtain honour above; because, instead of looking thitherward, too many
suffer themselves to be blinded by the three princesses below, and
Hypocrisy keeps many with one eye upon the city above, and the other on
that below; yea, Hypocrisy has succeeded in enticing many from their
path, after they have overcome the three other deceivers. Come in here,"
said he, "and you will see something more;" whereupon he carried me to
the gallery of one of the churches in Wales, the people being in the
midst of the service. And lo! some were whispering, talking and
laughing; some looking upon the pretty women; others were examining the
dress of their neighbours from top to toe; some were pushing themselves
forward and snarling at one another about rank; some were dozing; others
were busily engaged in their devotions, but many of these were playing a
hypocritical part. "You have not seen yet," said the angel, "no, not
amongst the infidels, shamelessness as open and barefaced as this: but
thus, alas, we see _that the corruption of the best thing is the
corruption worst of all_." The congregation then proceeded to take the
sacrament, and every one displayed reverential feelings at the altar.
However, (through the glass of my companion,) I could see one receiving
the bread into his belly, under the figure of a _mastiff_, another under
that of a _swine_, another like a _mole_, another like a _winged
serpent_, and a few, O how very few, receiving a ray of celestial light
with the bread and the wine. "Yonder," said he, "is a roundhead who is
about to become sheriff, and because the law enjoins, that every one
shall receive the communion in the church before he obtains the office,
he has come hither rather than lose it; but though there are many here
who rejoice at seeing him, there has been no joy amongst us for his
conversion, for he has only turned for the time; and thus you see how
bold Hypocrisy must be to present herself at the altar before Emmanuel,
who is not to be deceived. But however great she be in the city of
Perdition, she can effect nothing in the city of Emmanuel, above the wall
yonder."
Thereupon we turned our faces from the great city of Perdition, and went
up to the other little city. In going along I could see at the upper end
of the streets, many turning half-way from the temptations of the _gates
of Perdition_, and seeking for the _gate of Life_; but whether it was
that they failed to find it, or grew tired upon the way, I could not see
that any went through, except one sorrowful faced man, who ran forward
resolutely, while thousands on each side of him were calling him fool,
some scoffing him, others threatening, him and his friends laying hold
upon him, and entreating him not to take a step by which he would lose
the whole world at once. "I only lose," said he, "a very small portion
of it, and if I should lose the whole, pray what loss is it? For what is
there in the world so desirable, unless a man should desire deceit, and
violence, and misery, and wretchedness, giddiness and distraction.
_Contentment and tranquillity_," said he, "constitute the happiness of
man; but in your city there are no such things to be found. Because who
is there here content with his station? _Higher_, _higher_, is what
every one endeavours to be in the street of _Pride_; give, give us a
little more, says every one in the street of _Lucre_; sweet, sweet, pray
give me some more of it, is the cry of every one in the street of
_Pleasure_. And as for tranquillity, where is it? and who obtains it? If
you be a great man, flattery and envy are killing you; if you be poor,
every one is trampling upon and despising you; after having become an
inventor, if you exalt your head and seek for praise, you will be called
a boaster and a coxcomb; if you lead a godly life and resort to the
church and the altar, you will be called a hypocrite; if you do not, then
you are an infidel or a heretic; if you be merry, you will be called a
buffoon; if you are silent, you will be called a morose wretch; if you
follow honesty, you are nothing but a simple fool; if you go neat, you
are proud, if not, a swine; if you are smooth speaking, then you are
false, or a trifler without meaning; if you are rough, you are an
arrogant, disagreeable devil. Behold the world that you magnify," said
he, "pray take my share of it." Whereupon he shook himself loose from
them all, and away he went undauntedly to the narrow gate, and in spite
of every obstacle he pushed his way through, we following him; while many
men dressed in black upon the walls, on both sides of the gate, kept
inviting the man and praising him. "Who," said I, "are the men above
dressed in black?" "The watchmen of the king Emmanuel," replied the
angel, "who, in the name of their master, are inviting people and
assisting them through this gate."
By this time we were by the gate; it was very low and narrow, and mean in
comparison with the lower gates. On the two sides of the door were the
_ten commandments_; upon the first slab on the right side was written,
"_love the Lord with thy whole heart_, _&c._," and upon the second slab
on the other side, "love thy neighbour as thyself;" and above the whole,
"_love not the world nor the things which are therein_." I had not
looked long before the watchmen began to cry out to the men of Perdition,
"Flee! flee, for your lives!" Only a very few turned towards them once,
some of whom asked, "flee from what?" "From the prince of this world,
who reigns in the children of disobedience," said the watchman; "flee
from the pollutions which are in the world through the lusts of the
flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the vanities of life; flee from the
wrath which is coming to overwhelm you!" "What," exclaimed the other
watchman, "is your beloved city but a vast glowing roof cast over Hell,
and if you were here, you might see the fire on the farther side of your
walls kindling, to burn you down into Hell." Some mocked them, others
threatened to stone them unless they ceased their unmannerly prate; but
some few asked, "whither shall we fly?" "Hither," said the watchman,
"fly hither to your lawful king, who yet offers you pardon through us, if
you return to your obedience, and abandon the rebel Belial and his
deceitful daughters. Though their appearance is so splendid, it is only
deception; Belial at home is but a very poor prince, he has only you for
fuel, and only you as roast and boiled to gnaw, and you are never
sufficient, and there will never be an end to his hunger and your
torments. And who would serve such a malicious butcher, in a temporary
delirium here, and in eternal torments hereafter, who could obtain a life
of happiness under a king merciful and charitable to his subjects, who is
ever doing towards them the good offices of a shepherd, and endeavouring
to keep them from Belial, in order finally to give to each of them the
kingdom in the country of Light? O fools! will ye take the horrible
enemy whose throat is burning with thirst for your blood, instead of the
compassionate prince who has given his own blood to assist you?" But it
did not appear that these reasonings, which were sufficient to soften a
rock, proved of much advantage to them, and the principal cause of their
being so unsuccessful was, that not many had leisure to hear, the greater
part being employed in looking at the gates; and of those who did hear,
there were not many who heeded, and of those there were not many who long
remembered; some would not believe that it was Belial whom they were
serving, others could not conceive that yonder little, untrodden passage
was the gate of Life, and would not believe that the three other
glittering gates were delusion, the castle preventing them from seeing
their destruction till they rushed upon it.
At this moment there came a troop of people from the street of Pride, and
knocked at the gate with great confidence but they were all so
stiffnecked, that they could never go into a place so low, without
soiling their perriwigs and their plumes, so they walked back in great
ill humour. At the tail of these came a party from the street of Lucre.
Said one, "is this the gate of Life?" "Yea," replied the watchmen who
were above. "What is to be done," said he, "in order to pass through?"
"Read on each side of the door, and you will learn." The miser read the
ten commandments. "Who," he cried, "will say, that I have broken one of
these?" But on looking aloft and seeing, "_love not the world_, _nor the
things that are therein_," he started, and could not swallow that
difficult sentence. There was among them an envious pig-tail who turned
back on reading, "_love thy neighbour as thyself_;" and a perjurer, and a
slanderer turned abruptly back on reading, "_bear not false witness_;"
some physicians on reading, "_thou shalt commit no murder_," exclaimed
"this is no place for us." To be brief, every one saw there something
which troubled him, so they all went back to chew the cud. I may add,
that there was not one of these people, but had so many bags and writings
stuck about him, that he could never have gone through a place so narrow,
even if he had made the attempt.
Presently there came a drove from the street of Pleasure walking towards
the gate. "Please to inform us," said one to the watchman, "to what
place this road is leading?" "This is the road," said the watchman,
"which leads to eternal joy and happiness;" whereupon they all strove to
get through, but they failed, for some had too much belly for a place so
narrow; others were too weak to push, having been enfeebled by women, who
impeded them moreover with their foolish whims. "O," said the watchman
who was looking upon them, "it is of no use for you to attempt to go
through with your vain toys; you must leave your pots, and your dishes,
and your harlots, and all your other ware behind you, and then make
haste." "How should we live then?" said the fiddler, who would have been
through long ago, but for fear of breaking his instrument. "O," said the
watchman, "you must take the word of the king, for sending you whatsover
things may be for your advantage." "Hey, hey," said one, "_a bird in the
hand is worth two in the bush_;" and thereupon they all unanimously
turned back.
"Come through now," said the angel, and he drew me in, and the first
thing I saw in the porch was a large baptismal font, and by the side of
it a spring of saline water. "Why is this here at the entrance of the
road?" said I. "It is here," said the angel, "because every one must
wash himself therein, previous to obtaining honour in the palace of
Emmanuel; it is termed the _fountain of repentance_." Above I could see
written, "_this is the gate of the Lord_, &c." The porch and also the
street expanded, and became less difficult as one went forward. When we
had gone a little way up the street I could hear a soft voice behind me
saying, "_this is the road_, _walk in it_." The street was up-hill but
was very clean and straight, and though the houses were lower here than
in the city of _Perdition_, yet they were more pleasant. If there is
here less wealth, there is also less strife and care; if there are fewer
dishes, there are fewer diseases; if there is less noise, there is also
less sadness, and more pure joy. I was surprised at the calmness and the
delightful tranquillity that reigned here, so little resembling what I
had found below. Instead of swearing and cursing, buffoonery,
debauchery, and drunkenness; instead of pride and vanity, torpor in the
one corner, and riot in the other; instead of all the loud broiling, and
the boasting and bustling, and chattering, which were incessantly
stupifying a man yonder; and instead of the numberless constant evils to
be found below, you here saw sobriety, affability and cheerfulness, peace
and thankfulness, clemency, innocence, and content upon the face of every
body. No weeping here, except for the pollutions pervading the city of
the enemy; no hatred or anger, except against sin; and that same hatred
and anger against sin, always accompanied with a certainty of being able
to subdue it; no fear but of incensing the King, who was ever more ready
to forgive than be angry with his subjects; and here there was no sound
but of psalms of praise to the heavenly guardian.
By this time we had come in sight of a building superlatively beautiful.
O, how glorious it was! No one in the city of Perdition--neither the
Turk nor the Mogul, nor any of the others, possessed any thing equal to
it. "Behold the _Catholic Church_!" said the angel. "Is it here that
Emmanuel keeps his court?" said I. "Yes," he replied, "this is his only
terrestrial palace." "Has he any crowned heads under him?" said I. "A
few," was the answer. "There are your good queen Anne, and some princes
of Denmark and Germany, and a few of the other small princes." "What are
they," said I, "compared with those who are under Belial the Great? He
has emperors and kings without number." "Notwithstanding all this;" said
the angel, "not one of them can move a finger without the permission of
Emmanuel, nor Belial himself either, because Emmanuel is his lawful king;
Belial rebelled, and for his rebellion was made a captive, with
permission however to visit for a little time the city of Perdition, and
delude any one he could into his own rebellion and a share of his
punishment. So great is his malice, that he is continually using this
permission, though aware that by so doing he will only add to his own
misery; and so great is his love of wickedness, that he takes advantage
of his half liberty, to seek to destroy this city and this edifice,
though he has long known that their guardian is invincible."
"Pray, my lord," said I, "may we approach and take a more minute view of
this magnificent palace?" for my heart had warmed towards the place at
the first sight. "Certainly you may," said the angel, "because there I
have my place, charge, and employment." The nearer we went to it, the
more I wondered, seeing how lofty, strong, beautiful, pure, and lovely
every part of it was; how accurate was the workmanship, and how fair were
its materials. A rock wrought with immense labour, and of prodigious
strength was the foundation stone; living stones were placed upon this
rock, and were cemented in so admirable a manner, that it was impossible
for one stone to be so beautiful in another place, as it was in its own.
I could see one part of the _church_ which cast out a very fair and
remarkable cross, and the angel perceiving me gazing upon it asked me "if
I knew that part." I did not know what to answer. "That is the _Church
of England_," said he. These words made me observe it with more
attention than before, and on looking up I could perceive queen Anne, on
the pinnacle of the building, with a sword in each hand. With the one in
her left, which is called Justice, she preserves her subjects from the
men of the city of Perdition; and with the other in her right, which is
the sword of the Spirit, or the word of God, she preserves them from
Belial and his spiritual evils. Under the left sword were the _Laws of
England_; under the other was a large _Bible_. The sword of the Spirit
was fiery and of prodigious length, it would kill at a distance to which
the other sword could not reach. I observed the other princes with the
same arms, defending their portions of the church; but I could see that
the portion of my queen was the fairest, and that her arms were the most
bright. By her right hand, I could see a multitude of people in
black--archbishops, bishops, and teachers, assisting her in sustaining
the sword of the Spirit; and some of the soldiers and civil officers, and
a few, very few of the lawyers, supporting, along with her, the other
sword. I obtained permission to rest a little by one of the magnificent
doors, whither people were coming to obtain the dignity of the _universal
church_; a tall angel was keeping the door, and the church within side
was so vividly light, that it was useless for _Hypocrisy_ to show her
visage there--she sometimes appeared at the door, but never went in.
After I had been gazing about a quarter of an hour, there came a
_papist_, who imagined that the Pope possessed the catholic church, and
he claimed his share of dignity. "What proof of your dignity have you?"
said the porter. "I have plenty," said he, "of _traditions of the
fathers_, and _acts of the congresses of the church_; but what further
assurance do I need, than the word of the Pope, who sits upon the
infallible chair?" Then the porter proceeded to open an exceedingly
large Bible. "Behold," said he, "the only Statute Book which we use
here, prove your claim out of that, or depart;" whereupon he departed.