Starvard.Starvard.
Hello, my name is Finn, and I'm going to help you understand this book.
Here it is, explained like you are 10:
A man named Christian flees his doomed city carrying a heavy bundle on his back, heading for a shining city far away. On the road he falls into the Slough of Despond, meets friends and frauds, and passes through Vanity Fair. It is an adventure story where every place and person is really about the journey of a soul, and for centuries it was the most read book in English after the Bible.
A man named Christian reads a book, learns his city will be destroyed, and sets out for the Celestial City with a heavy burden strapped to his back. He sinks in the Slough of Despond, climbs a hill where the burden finally falls off at a cross, gets locked in a giant's castle, and walks through Vanity Fair, a town that sells everything except a clear conscience.
Every place and person is a picture of something inside a human life: despair, pride, false comfort, friendship, fear of death. Bunyan's idea is that the road to a good life is narrow, mostly uphill, and impossible without help. Faithful friends matter. So does refusing the easy stalls at the fair, where his companion is killed for exactly that refusal.
For centuries this was the second most read book in the English world, after the Bible, and its place names slipped into everyday speech. Watch how fresh the conversations feel: Bunyan wrote how real people actually talk.
Christian flees the City of Destruction with a burden on his back and a book in his hand, bound for the Celestial City through the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and the Delectable Mountains. John Bunyan wrote his allegory in prison, and for three centuries it was the most read book in the English world after the Bible.
The first chapter
The following are the principal works from which the Notes to this edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress have been selected:—
The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part the First. 12mo, 1776. The preface states, that “an edition, containing some brief notes to illustrate the more difficult passages, has been long desired. An attempt of this kind is now submitted to the public.” This appears to be the first edition with notes. There is no indication of who the notes are by; but there can be little doubt but that they are from the pen of the Rev. J. Newton, the friend of Cowper. The Editor has four editions of this interesting volume—1776, 1782, 1789, and 1797.
The Pilgrim’s Progress; both Parts, with Notes. By W. Mason. 8vo, 1778. In the preface, Mr. Mason says, “I have often wished to see some explanatory notes upon certain passages in it. Having been solicited to undertake this, at a time when no one had attempted it, I have endeavoured, according to the ability which God has given me, to execute it.” This book was published in numbers, and the notes proved very acceptable. The subscribers requested that more frequent and longer notes should be given. Mr. Mason promises to comply with this request. The advertisement is dated “Rotherhithe, March 8, 1776.”
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Notes. By A Bachelor of Arts of Oxford—J. B. 8vo. 1792.
The Pilgrim’s Progress in blank verse. By J. S. Dodd, M.D. Dublin, 1793.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with a Key to the Allegory. Published by Heptinstall, 1796.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, divided into Chapters. By the Rev. G. Burder, of Coventry. 12mo, 1797.
A Key to the Pilgrim’s Progress. By Andronicus. 12mo, second edition, 1797.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Notes. By the Rev. T. Scott. 8vo.
The Pilgrim’s Progress Versified, with short Notes. By G. Burder, 1804.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Life. By M’Nicoll and Dr. A. Clarke. 8vo, 1809.
Warr’s Course of Lectures, Illustrative of the Pilgrim’s Progress. 8vo, 1825.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Historical and Practical Notes. By the Rev. T. Ivimey. 8vo. Oxford, 1824; London, 1829.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, an Epic Poem. By C. C. V. G. 8vo. Parsonstown, 1844.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, an Epic Poem, Two Parts. Published by Bagster, 1845.
Dr. Cheever’s [exceedingly interesting] Lectures. 1846.
The extracts from Bunyan’s other works, which so admirably illustrate his Pilgrim’s Progress, have a reference to this new edition.
The following are the principal works from which the Notes to this edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress have been selected:—
The Pilgrim’s Progress, Part the First. 12mo, 1776. The preface states, that “an edition, containing some brief notes to illustrate the more difficult passages, has been long desired. An attempt of this kind is now submitted to the public.” This appears to be the first edition with notes. There is no indication of who the notes are by; but there can be little doubt but that they are from the pen of the Rev. J. Newton, the friend of Cowper. The Editor has four editions of this interesting volume—1776, 1782, 1789, and 1797.
The Pilgrim’s Progress; both Parts, with Notes. By W. Mason. 8vo, 1778. In the preface, Mr. Mason says, “I have often wished to see some explanatory notes upon certain passages in it. Having been solicited to undertake this, at a time when no one had attempted it, I have endeavoured, according to the ability which God has given me, to execute it.” This book was published in numbers, and the notes proved very acceptable. The subscribers requested that more frequent and longer notes should be given. Mr. Mason promises to comply with this request. The advertisement is dated “Rotherhithe, March 8, 1776.”
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Notes. By A Bachelor of Arts of Oxford—J. B. 8vo. 1792.
The Pilgrim’s Progress in blank verse. By J. S. Dodd, M.D. Dublin, 1793.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with a Key to the Allegory. Published by Heptinstall, 1796.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, divided into Chapters. By the Rev. G. Burder, of Coventry. 12mo, 1797.
A Key to the Pilgrim’s Progress. By Andronicus. 12mo, second edition, 1797.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Notes. By the Rev. T. Scott. 8vo.
The Pilgrim’s Progress Versified, with short Notes. By G. Burder, 1804.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Life. By M’Nicoll and Dr. A. Clarke. 8vo, 1809.
Warr’s Course of Lectures, Illustrative of the Pilgrim’s Progress. 8vo, 1825.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, with Historical and Practical Notes. By the Rev. T. Ivimey. 8vo. Oxford, 1824; London, 1829.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, an Epic Poem. By C. C. V. G. 8vo. Parsonstown, 1844.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, an Epic Poem, Two Parts. Published by Bagster, 1845.
Dr. Cheever’s [exceedingly interesting] Lectures. 1846.
The extracts from Bunyan’s other works, which so admirably illustrate his Pilgrim’s Progress, have a reference to this new edition.
Source: Standard Ebooks. Published 1678. Author died 1688. Public domain worldwide. Share this book: WhatsApp