{ Christian is led astray into Legality }

Now, I saw in my dream, that by this time Pliable was got
home to his house again, so that his neighbours came to visit
him; and some of them called him wise man for coming back, and
some called him fool for hazarding himself with Christian:
others again did mock at his cowardliness; saying, "Surely,
since you began to venture, I would not have been so base to
have given out for a few difficulties." So Pliable sat sneaking
among them. But at last he got more confidence, and then they
all turned their tales, and began to deride poor Christian
behind his back. And thus much concerning Pliable.



Now, as Christian was walking solitarily by himself, he espied
one afar off, come crossing over the field to meet him; and
their hap was to meet just as they were crossing the way of each
other. The gentleman's name that met him was Mr. Worldly
Wiseman, he dwelt in the town of Carnal Policy, a very great
town, and also hard by from whence Christian came. This man,
then, meeting with Christian, and having some inkling of him —— 
for Christian's setting forth from the City of Destruction was
much noised abroad, not only in the town where he dwelt, but
also it began to be the town talk in some other places —— Mr.
Worldly Wiseman, therefore, having some guess of him, by
beholding his laborious going, by observing his sighs and
groans, and the like, began thus to enter into some talk with
Christian.


Wrld. "How now, good fellow, whither away after this burdened
manner?"

CHR. "A burdened manner, indeed, as ever, I think, poor creature
had! And whereas you ask me, Whither away? I tell you, Sir, I am
going to yonder wicket-gate before me; for there, as I am
informed, I shall be put into a way to be rid of my heavy
burden."

Wrld. "Hast thou a wife and children?"

CHR. "Yes; but I am so laden with this burden that I cannot take
that pleasure in them as formerly; methinks I am as if I had
none."

Wrld. "Wilt thou hearken unto me if I give thee counsel?"

CHR. "If it be good, I will; for I stand in need of good
counsel."

Wrld. "I would advise thee, then, that thou with all speed get
thyself rid of thy burden; for thou wilt never be settled in thy
mind till then; nor canst thou enjoy the benefits of the
blessing which God hath bestowed upon thee till then."

CHR. "That is that which I seek for, even to be rid of this
heavy burden; but get it off myself, I cannot; nor is there any
man in our country that can take it off my shoulders; therefore
am I going this way, as I told you, that I may be rid of my
burden."

Wrld. "Who bid thee go this way to be rid of thy burden?"

CHR. "A man that appeared to me to be a very great and
honourable person; his name, as I remember, is Evangelist."

Wrld. "I beshrew him for his counsel! There is not a more
dangerous and troublesome way in the world than is that unto
which he hath directed thee; and that thou shalt find, if thou
wilt be ruled by his counsel. Thou hast met with something, as I
perceive, already; for I see the dirt of the Slough of Despond
is upon thee; but that slough is the beginning of the sorrows
that do attend those that go on in that way. Hear me, I am older
than thou; thou art like to meet with, in the way which thou
goest, wearisomeness, painfulness, hunger, perils, nakedness,
sword, lions, dragons, darkness, and, in a word, death, and what
not! These things are certainly true, having been confirmed by
many testimonies. And why should a man so carelessly cast away
himself, by giving heed to a stranger?"

CHR. "Why, Sir, this burden upon my back is more terrible to me
than all these things which you have mentioned; nay, methinks I
care not what I meet with in the way, if so be I can also meet
with deliverance from my burden."

Wrld. "How camest thou by the burden at first?"

CHR. "By reading this book in my hand."

Wrld. "I thought so; and it is happened unto thee as to other
weak men, who, meddling with things too high for them, do
suddenly fall into thy distractions; which distractions do not
only unman men, as thine, I perceive, have done thee, but they
run them upon desperate ventures to obtain they know not what."

CHR. "I know what I would obtain; it is ease for my heavy
burden."

Wrld. "But why wilt thou seek for ease this way, seeing so many
dangers attend it? especially since, hadst thou but patience to
hear me, I could direct thee to the obtaining of what thou
desirest, without the dangers that thou in this way wilt run
thyself into: yea, and the remedy is at hand. Besides, I will
add, that instead of those dangers, thou shalt meet with much
safety, friendship, and content."

CHR. "Pray, Sir, open this secret to me."

Wrld. "Why, in yonder village —— the village is named Morality
—— there dwells a gentleman whose name is Legality, a very
judicious man, and a man of very good name, that has skill to
help men off with such burdens as thine are from their
shoulders: yea, to my knowledge, he hath done a great deal of
good this way; ay, and besides, he hath skill to cure those that
are somewhat crazed in their wits with their burdens. To him, as
I said, thou mayest go, and be helped presently. His house is
not quite a mile from this place, and if he should not be at
home himself, he hath a pretty young man to his son, whose name
is Civility, that can do it (to speak on) as well as the old
gentleman himself; there, I say, thou mayest be eased of thy
burden; and if thou art not minded to go back to thy former
habitation, as, indeed, I would not wish thee, thou mayest send
for thy wife and children to thee to this village, where there
are houses now stand empty, one of which thou mayest have at
reasonable rates; provision is there also cheap and good; and
that which will make thy life the more happy is, to be sure,
there thou shalt live by honest neighbours, in credit and good
fashion."

Now was Christian somewhat at a stand; but presently he
concluded, if this be true, which this gentleman hath said, my
wisest course is to take his advice; and with that he thus
further spoke.

CHR. "Sir, which is my way to this honest man's house?"

Wrld. "Do you see yonder hill?"

CHR. "Yes, very well."

Wrld. "By that hill you must go, and the first house you come
at is his."


So Christian turned out of his way to go to Mr. Legality's house
for help; but, behold, when he was got now hard by the hill, it
seemed so high, and also that side of it that was next the
wayside did hang so much over, that Christian was afraid to
venture further, lest the hill should fall on his head;
wherefore there he stood still and wotted not what to do. Also
his burden now seemed heavier to him than while he was in his
way. There came also flashes of fire out of the hill, that made
Christian afraid that he should be burned. Here, therefore, he
sweat and did quake for fear.



      When Christians unto carnal men give ear,
      Out of their way they go, and pay for't dear;
      For Master Worldly Wiseman can but shew
      A saint the way to bondage and to woe.

{ Evangelist directs Christian back towards the Gate }

And now he began to be sorry that he had taken Mr. Worldly
Wiseman's counsel. And with that he saw Evangelist coming to
meet him; at the sight also of whom he began to blush for shame.
So Evangelist drew nearer and nearer; and coming up to him, he
looked upon him with a severe and dreadful countenance, and thus
began to reason with Christian.

EVAN. "What dost thou here, Christian?" said he: at which words
Christian knew not what to answer; wherefore at present he stood
speechless before him. Then said Evangelist further, "Art not
thou the man that I found crying without the walls of the City
of Destruction?"

CHR. "Yes, dear Sir, I am the man."

EVAN. "Did not I direct thee the way to the little wicket-gate?"

CHR. "Yes, dear Sir, said Christian."

EVAN. "How is it, then, that thou art so quickly turned aside?
for thou art now out of the way."

CHR. "I met with a gentleman so soon as I had got over the
Slough of Despond, who persuaded me that I might, in the village
before me, find a man that would take off my burden."

EVAN. "What was he?"

CHR. "He looked like a gentleman, and talked much to me, and got
me at last to yield; so I came hither; but when I beheld this
hill, and how it hangs over the way, I suddenly made a stand
lest it should fall on my head."

EVAN. "What said that gentleman to you?"

CHR. "Why, he asked me whither I was going, and I told him."

EVAN. "And what said he then?"

CHR. "He asked me if I had a family? And I told him. But, said
I, I am so loaden with the burden that is on my back, that I
cannot take pleasure in them as formerly."

EVAN. "And what said he then?"

CHR. "He bid me with speed get rid of my burden; and I told him
that it was ease that I sought. And said I, 'I am therefore
going to yonder gate, to receive further direction how I may get
to the place of deliverance.' So he said that he would shew me a
better way, and short, not so attended with difficulties as the
way, Sir, that you set me in; 'which way,' said he, 'will direct
you to a gentleman's house that hath skill to take off these
burdens,' so I believed him, and turned out of that way into
this, if haply I might be soon eased of my burden. But when I
came to this place, and beheld things as they are, I stopped for
fear (as I said) of danger: but I now know not what to do."

EVAN. Then said Evangelist, "Stand still a little, that I may
shew thee the words of God." So he stood trembling. Then said
Evangelist, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if
they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more
shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from
heaven." He said, moreover, "Now the just shall live by faith:
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him." He also did thus apply them: "Thou art the man that art
running into this misery; thou hast begun to reject the counsel
of the Most High, and to draw back thy foot from the way of
peace, even almost to the hazarding of thy perdition."

Then Christian fell down at his feet as dead, crying, "Woe is me,
for I am undone!" At the sight of which Evangelist caught him by
the right hand, saying, "All manner of sin and blasphemies shall
be forgiven unto men. Be not faithless, but believing." Then did
Christian again a little revive, and stood up trembling, as at
first, before Evangelist.

Then Evangelist proceeded, saying, "Give more earnest heed to the
things that I shall tell thee of. I will now shew thee who it
was that deluded thee, and who it was also to whom he sent thee:
The man that met thee is one Worldly Wiseman, and rightly is
he so called; partly, because he savoureth only the doctrine of
this world (therefore he always goes to the town of Morality to
church): and partly because he loveth that doctrine best, for it
saveth him best from the cross. And because he is of this carnal
temper, therefore he seeketh to pervert my ways though right.
Now there are three things in this man's counsel, that thou must
utterly abhor.

1. His turning thee out of the way.
2. His labouring to render the cross odious to thee. And, 
3. His setting thy feet in that way that leadeth unto the
   administration of death.

First, Thou must abhor his turning thee out of the way; and
thine own consenting thereunto: because this is to reject the
counsel of God for the sake of the counsel of a Worldly Wiseman.
The Lord says, 'Strive to enter in at the strait gate, the gate
to which I sent thee; for strait is the gate that leadeth unto
life, and few there be that find it.' From this little
wicket-gate, and from the way thereto, hath this wicked man
turned thee, to the bringing of thee almost to destruction;
hate, therefore, his turning thee out of the way, and abhor
thyself for hearkening to him.

Secondly, Thou must abhor his labouring to render the cross
odious unto thee; for thou art to prefer it before the treasures
of Egypt. Besides the King of glory hath told thee, 'that he that
will save his life shall lose it; and he that cometh after me,
and hateth not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple.' I say, therefore, for man to labour to persuade
thee, that that shall be thy death, without which, THE TRUTH
hath said, thou canst not have eternal life; this doctrine thou
must abhor.

Thirdly, Thou must hate his setting of thy feet in the way that
leadeth to the ministration of death. And for this thou must
consider to whom he sent thee, and also how unable that person
was to deliver thee from thy burden.

He to whom thou wast sent for ease, being by name Legality, is
the son of the bond-woman which now is, and is in bondage with
her children; and is, in a mystery, this Mount Sinai, which thou
hast feared will fall on thy head. Now, if she, with her
children, are in bondage, how canst thou expect by them to be
made free? This Legality, therefore, is not able to set thee
free from thy burden. No man was as yet ever rid of his burden
by him; no, nor ever is like to be: ye cannot be justified by
the works of the law; for by the deeds of the law no man living
can be rid of his burden: therefore, Mr. Worldly Wiseman is an
alien, and Mr. Legality is a cheat; and for his son Civility,
notwithstanding his simpering looks, he is but a hypocrite and
cannot help thee. Believe me, there is nothing in all this
noise, that thou hast heard of sottish men, but a design to
beguile thee of thy salvation, by turning thee from the way in
which I had set thee. After this, Evangelist called aloud to the
heavens for confirmation of what he had said: and with that
there came words and fire out of the mountain under which poor
Christian stood, that made the hair of his flesh stand up. The
words were thus pronounced: As many as are of the works of the
law are under the curse; for it is written, Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them.

Now Christian looked for nothing but death, and began to cry out
lamentably; even cursing the time in which he met with Mr.
Worldly Wiseman; still calling himself a thousand fools for
hearkening to his counsel; he also was greatly ashamed to think
that this gentleman's arguments, flowing only from the flesh,
should have the prevalency with him as to cause him to forsake
the right way. This done, he applied himself again to Evangelist
in words and sense as follow:

CHR. "Sir, what think you? Is there hope? May I now go back and
go up to the wicket-gate? Shall I not be abandoned for this, and
sent back from thence ashamed? I am sorry I have hearkened to
this man's counsel. But may my sin be forgiven?"

EVAN. Then said Evangelist to him, "Thy sin is very great, for
by it thou hast committed two evils: thou hast forsaken the way
that is good, to tread in forbidden paths; yet will the man at
the gate receive thee, for he has goodwill for men; only, said
he, take heed that thou turn not aside again, lest thou perish
from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little."

Then did Christian address himself to go back; and Evangelist,
after he had kissed him, gave him one smile, and bid him God-
speed. So he went on with haste, neither spake he to any man by
the way; nor, if any asked him, would he vouchsafe them an
answer. He went like one that was all the while treading on
forbidden ground, and could by no means think himself safe,
till again he was got into the way which he left, to follow Mr.
Worldly Wiseman's counsel.

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