'Keswick, 16 April, 1829.
Sir,—Mr. Major has favoured me with your account of the Dutch work in your possession, which in many parts bears a remarkable resemblance to the 'Pilgrim's Progress.' It would require the strongest possible evidence to convince me, against my will, that Bunyan is not an original writer. The book we know he could not have read in the original; and if there had been a translation of it, it is hardly likely that it should have remained undiscovered till this time; it being almost impossible that it should come into the hands of any one who had not read the Pilgrim's Progress. This is possible, that Bunyan may have heard an account of the book from some Dutch baptist in England, or some English one who had seen it in Holland. I do not think that his obligations to it can have been more than this; but of this I can better judge when I have perused the book, which my knowledge of the language enables me to do, if you favor me with it.
Great men have sometimes been plagiarists; a grave charge of this kind has recently been proved upon Lord Bacon,—no less than that of having taken the fundamental principle of his philosophy from his name-sake, Roger, and claimed it as his own. Bunyan, I am fully persuaded, was too honest and too righteous a man to be guilty of any such baseness. He was in a beaten path of Allegory,—a name, a hint he may have taken, but I think nothing more. You will judge from this, sir, how very far from my intentions or inclination, it would be, in the slightest respect, to depreciate John Bunyan, whose book I have loved from my childhood. And whatever his obligations to the Dutchman may have been, if any there should prove to be, it is surely better that they should be stated by one who loves and honours his memory, than brought forward hereafter by some person in a different spirit; for nothing of this kind can long escape discovery now. My present persuasion is, that he owes nothing to it directly. Something perhaps, indirectly, but not much. And I promise you that I will do him no wrong.
Should you favor me by entrusting me with the book, I shall of course make due mention of the obligation you have conferred.
I remain, sir, yours with respect,
Robert Southey.
To George Offer, Esq.'
The book was immediately sent, and shortly returned with the following note and letter.
'Keswick, 25 April, 1829.
Sir,—Your book has been four and twenty hours in my possession, and I return it with many thanks, having perused it carefully, made notes from it, and satisfied myself most completely, that there is not the slightest reason for supposing Bunyan had ever heard of it, nor that he could ever have taken even a hint from it, if he had read it.