[36]This may have suggested an idea to Bunyan in writing the second part of his Pilgrim. In the battle between Great Heart and Giant Maul the sophist, after an hour's hard fighting, "they sat down to rest them, but Mr. Great Heart betook him to prayer. When they had rested them, and taken breath, they both fell to it again."—Ed.
[37]Instead of progressing to the meridian sunshine of Christianity, they have retrograded to a darker gloom than the twilight of Judaism. Still, some vestiges of knowledge remain—some idea of a future state, and of sacrifice for sin. Christian, how blessed art thou! How ought your light to shine among men, to the glory of your heavenly Father!—Ed.
[38] "The beginning," the foundation; that which is essential to the existence, as, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Take away the fear of the Lord, and this heavenly wisdom ceaseth to exist.—Ed.
[39]That absurd jumble, called "The Koran," mentions a fourth son of Noah, named Kinan, who refused to enter the ark with his family, preferring to trust them on the top of a mountain, where they all perished. See the chapter entitled "Hod."—Ed.
[40]Faithful is the record of Holy Writ. No excuse is offered for the sin of this great patriarch. Grapes eaten from the vine, or after having been dried, are nutritious, like grain from the ear of corn; pressed out and fermented, they lose that nutriment—acquire a fiery force—mount to the brain—lead reason captive—and triumphs over decency: the most enlightened man becomes the savage.—Ed.
[41]To prick—to incite—to spur—to dress oneself for show; thus it was commonly used in Bunyan's time, but in this sense has become obsolete.—Ed.
[42]To resent—to consider as an injury or affront—to take ill.—Ed.
[43]How dreadfully was this exemplified in the cruelties perpetrated on the dissenters in the valleys of Piedmont, and on the English dissenters in the reign of Mary, of Elizabeth, and of the Stuarts.—Ed.
[44] "The hunting tribes of air and earth, Respect the brethren of their birth; The eagle pounces on the lamb; The wolf devours the fleecy dam; Even tiger fell, and sullen bear, Their likeness and their lineage spare. Man only mars this household plan, And turns the fierce pursuit on man; Since Nimrod, Cush's mighty son, At first the bloody game begun." Scott's Rokeby
[45]Great allowances might be made for Bunyan's severe language with respect to state interference in matters of faith and worship, because he so cruelly suffered by it in his own person. But had he escaped persecution, the same awful reflections are just and true. If a Christian monarchy robs, imprisons, and murders dissenters, surely a Mohammedan state may do the same to all those who refuse to curse Christ and bless Mahomet. Bunyan appears to consider that the great wickedness of man which caused the flood arose from the state interfering with faith and worship. This is certainly a fruitful source of those dreadful crimes, hypocrisy and persecution, but whether it was the cause of that awful event, the flood, or of that splendid absurdity, the tower of Babel, the reader must judge for himself.—Ed.