{ The Valley of Humiliation }

But now, in this Valley of Humiliation, poor Christian was hard
put to it; for he had gone but a little way, before he espied a
foul fiend coming over the field to meet him; his name is
Apollyon. Then did Christian begin to be afraid, and to cast in
his mind whether to go back or to stand his ground. But he
considered again that he had no armour for his back; and
therefore thought that to turn the back to him might give him
the greater advantage with ease to pierce him with his darts.
Therefore he resolved to venture and stand his ground; for,
thought he, had I no more in mine eye than the saving of my
life, it would be the best way to stand.

So he went on, and Apollyon met him. Now the monster was
hideous to behold; he was clothed with scales, like a fish,
(and they are his pride,) he had wings like a dragon, feet like
a bear, and out of his belly came fire and smoke, and his mouth
was as the mouth of a lion. When he was come up to Christian,
he beheld him with a disdainful countenance, and thus began to
question with him.

Apol. Whence come you? and whither are you bound?

CHR. I am come from the City of Destruction, which is the place
of all evil, and am going to the City of Zion.

Apol. By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects, for all
that country is mine, and I am the prince and god of it. How is
it, then, that thou hast run away from thy king? Were it not
that I hope thou mayest do me more service, I would strike thee
now, at one blow, to the ground.

CHR. I was born, indeed, in your dominions, but your service was
hard, and your wages such as a man could not live on, for the 
wages of sin is death¹; therefore, when I was come to years, I
did, as other considerate persons do, look out, if, perhaps, I
might mend myself. [¹Romans 6:23]

Apol. There is no prince that will thus lightly lose his
subjects, neither will I as yet lose thee; but since thou
complainest of thy service and wages, be content to go back:
what our country will afford, I do here promise to give thee.

CHR. But I have let myself to another, even to the King of
princes; and how can I, with fairness, go back with thee?

Apol. Thou hast done in this, according to the proverb, 'Changed
a bad for a worse;' but it is ordinary for those that have
professed themselves his servants, after a while to give him the
slip, and return again to me. Do thou so too, and all shall be
well.

CHR. I have given him my faith, and sworn my allegiance to him;
how, then, can I go back from this, and not be hanged as a
traitor?

Apol. Thou didst the same to me, and yet I am willing to pass by
all, if now thou wilt yet turn again and go back.

CHR. What I promised thee was in my nonage; and, besides, I
count the Prince under whose banner now I stand is able to
absolve me; yea, and to pardon also what I did as to my
compliance with thee; and besides, O thou destroying Apollyon!
to speak truth, I like his service, his wages, his servants, his
government, his company, and country, better than thine; and,
therefore, leave off to persuade me further; I am his servant,
and I will follow him.

Apol. Consider, again, when thou art in cool blood, what thou
art like to meet with in the way that thou goest. Thou knowest
that, for the most part, his servants come to an ill end,
because they are transgressors against me and my ways. How many
of them have been put to shameful deaths! And, besides, thou
countest his service better than mine, whereas he never came yet
from the place where he is to deliver any that served him out of
their hands; but as for me, how many times, as all the world
very well knows, have I delivered, either by power, or fraud,
those that have faithfully served me, from him and his, though
taken by them; and so I will deliver thee.

CHR. His forbearing at present to deliver them is on purpose to
try their love, whether they will cleave to him to the end; and
as for the ill end thou sayest they come to, that is most
glorious in their account; for, for present deliverance, they do
not much expect it, for they stay for their glory, and then they
shall have it when their Prince comes in his and the glory of
the angels.

Apol. Thou hast already been unfaithful in thy service to him;
and how dost thou think to receive wages of him?

CHR. Wherein, O Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to him?

Apol. Thou didst faint at first setting out, when thou wast
almost choked in the Gulf of Despond; thou didst attempt wrong
ways to be rid of thy burden, whereas thou shouldst have stayed
till thy Prince had taken it off; thou didst sinfully sleep and
lose thy choice thing; thou wast, also, almost persuaded to go
back at the sight of the lions; and when thou talkest of thy
journey, and of what thou hast heard and seen, thou art inwardly
desirous of vain-glory in all that thou sayest or doest.

CHR. All this is true, and much more which thou hast left out;
but the Prince whom I serve and honour is merciful, and ready to
forgive; but, besides, these infirmities possessed me in thy
country, for there I sucked them in; and I have groaned under
them, been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon of my
Prince.

Apol. Then Apollyon broke out into a grievous rage, saying,
I am an enemy to this Prince; I hate his person, his laws,
and people; I am come out on purpose to withstand thee.

CHR. Apollyon, beware what you do; for I am in the King's
highway, the way of holiness; therefore take heed to yourself.

Apol. Then Apollyon straddled quite over the whole breadth of
the way, and said, I am void of fear in this matter: prepare
thyself to die; for I swear by my infernal den, that thou shalt 
go no further; here will I spill thy soul. And with that he
threw a flaming dart at his breast; but Christian had a shield¹
in his hand, with which he caught it, and so prevented the
danger of that. [¹Ephesians 6:16]

Then did Christian draw, for he saw it was time to bestir him;
and Apollyon as fast made at him, throwing darts as thick as
hail; by the which, notwithstanding all that Christian could do
to avoid it, Apollyon wounded him in his head, his hand, and
foot. This made Christian give a little back; Apollyon,
therefore, followed his work amain, and Christian again took
courage, and resisted as manfully as he could. This sore combat
lasted for above half a day, even till Christian was almost
quite spent; for you must know that Christian, by reason of his
wounds, must needs grow weaker and weaker.

Then Apollyon, espying his opportunity, began to gather up close
to Christian, and wrestling with him, gave him a dreadful fall;
and with that Christian's sword flew out of his hand. Then said
Apollyon, I am sure of thee now. And with that he had almost
pressed him to death, so that Christian began to despair of
life; but as God would have it, while Apollyon was fetching of
his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good man,
Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword¹, and
caught it, saying, Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I
fall I shall arise; and with that gave him a deadly thrust,
which made him give back, as one that had received his mortal
wound. Christian perceiving that, made at him again, saying,
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him
that loved us². And with that Apollyon spread forth his dragon's
wings, and sped him away, that Christian for a season saw him no
more³. [¹Ephesians 6:17; ²Romans 8:37; ³James 4:7]

In this combat no man can imagine, unless he had seen and heard
as I did, what yelling and hideous roaring Apollyon made all the
time of the fight —— he spake like a dragon; and, on the other
side, what sighs and groans burst from Christian's heart. I
never saw him all the while give so much as one pleasant look,
till he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged
sword¹; then, indeed, he did smile, and look upward; but it was
the dreadfullest sight that ever I saw. [¹Hebrews 4:12] 



      A more unequal match can hardly be, -- 
      Christian must fight an Angel; but you see,
      The valiant man by handling Sword and Shield,
      Doth make him, though a Dragon, quit the field.



So when the battle was over, Christian said, "I will here give
thanks to him that delivered me out of the mouth of the lion, to
him that did help me against Apollyon." And so he did, saying:

      Great Beelzebub, the captain of this fiend,
      Design'd my ruin; therefore to this end
      He sent him harness'd out: and he with rage
      That hellish was, did fiercely me engage.

      But blessed Michael helped me, and I,
      By dint of sword, did quickly make him fly.
      Therefore to him let me give lasting praise,
      And thank and bless his holy name always.


Then there came to him a hand, with some of the leaves of the
tree of life, the which Christian took, and applied to the
wounds that he had received in the battle, and was healed
immediately. He also sat down in that place to eat bread, and
to drink of the bottle that was given him a little before; so,
being refreshed, he addressed himself to his journey, with his
sword drawn in his hand; for he said, "I know not but some other
enemy may be at hand." But he met with no other affront from
Apollyon quite through this valley.

---

{ The Valley of the Shadow of Death }

Now, at the end of this valley was another, called the Valley
of the Shadow of Death, and Christian must needs go through
it, because the way to the Celestial City lay through the midst
of it. Now, this valley is a very solitary place. The prophet
Jeremiah thus describes it: 'A wilderness, a land of deserts
and of pits, a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, a
land that no man' (but a Christian) 'passed through, and where
no man dwelt¹.' [¹Jeremiah 2:6]

Now here Christian was worse put to it than in his fight with
Apollyon, as by the sequel you shall see. I saw then in my
dream, that when Christian was got to the borders of the shadow
of Death, there met him two men, children of them that brought
up an evil report of the good land, making haste to go back; to
whom Christian spake as follows:

CHR. Whither are you going?

Men. They said, Back! back! and we would have you to do so too,
if either life or peace is prized by you.

CHR. Why, what's the matter? said Christian.

Men. Matter! said they; we were going that way as you are going,
and went as, far as we durst; and indeed we were almost past
coming back; for had we gone a little further, we had not been
here to bring the news to thee.

CHR. But what have you met with? said Christian.

Men. Why, we were almost in the Valley of the Shadow of Death;
but that, by good hap, we looked before us, and saw the danger
before we came to it.

CHR. But what have you seen? said Christian.

Men. Seen! Why, the Valley itself, which is as dark as pitch;
we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the
pit; we heard also in that Valley a continual howling and
yelling, as of a people under unutterable misery, who there sat
bound in affliction and irons; and over that Valley hangs the
discouraging clouds of confusion. Death also doth always spread
his wings over it. In a word, it is every whit dreadful, being
utterly without order.

CHR. Then, said Christian, I perceive not yet, by what you have
said, but that this is my way to the desired haven.

Men. Be it thy way; we will not choose it for ours.

So, they parted, and Christian went on his way, but still with
his sword drawn in his hand, for fear lest he should be
assaulted.

I saw then in my dream, so far as this valley reached, there was
on the right hand a very deep ditch; that ditch is it into which
the blind have led the blind in all ages, and have both there
miserably perished. Again, behold, on the left hand, there was a
very dangerous quag, into which, if even a good man falls, he
can find no bottom for his foot to stand on. Into that quag King
David once did fall, and had no doubt therein been smothered,
had not HE that is able plucked him out.

The pathway was here also exceeding narrow, and therefore good
Christian was the more put to it; for when he sought, in the
dark, to shun the ditch on the one hand, he was ready to tip
over into the mire on the other; also when he sought to escape
the mire, without great carefulness he would be ready to fall
into the ditch. Thus he went on, and I heard him here sigh
bitterly; for, besides the dangers mentioned above, the pathway
was here so dark, and ofttimes, when he lift up his foot to set
forward, he knew not where or upon what he should set it next.



      Poor man! where art thou now? thy day is night.
      Good man, be not cast down, thou yet art right,
      Thy way to heaven lies by the gates of hell;
      Cheer up, hold out, with thee it shall go well.



About the midst of this valley, I perceived the mouth of hell
to be, and it stood also hard by the wayside. Now, thought
Christian, what shall I do? And ever and anon the flame and
smoke would come out in such abundance, with sparks and hideous
noises (things that cared not for Christian's sword, as did
Apollyon before), that he was forced to put up his sword, and
betake himself to another weapon called all-prayer¹. So he
cried, in my hearing, O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my soul².
Thus he went on a great while, yet still the flames would be
reaching towards him. Also he heard doleful voices, and 
rushings to and fro, so that sometimes he thought he should be
torn in pieces, or trodden down like mire in the streets. This
frightful sight was seen, and these dreadful noises were heard
by him for several miles together; and, coming to a place where
he thought he heard a company of fiends coming forward to meet
him, he stopped, and began to muse what he had best to do.
Sometimes he had half a thought to go back; then again he
thought he might be half way through the valley; he remembered
also how he had already vanquished many a danger, and that the
danger of going back might be much more than for to go forward;
so he resolved to go on. Yet the fiends seemed to come nearer
and nearer; but when they were come even almost at him, he cried
out with a most vehement voice, I will walk in the strength of
the Lord God! So they gave back, and came no further.
[¹Ephesians 6:18; ²Psalm 116:4]

One thing I would not let slip. I took notice that now, poor
Christian was so confounded, that he did not know his own voice;
and thus I perceived it. Just when he was come over against the
mouth of the burning pit, one of the wicked ones got behind him,
and stept up softly to him, and whisperingly suggested many
grievous blasphemies to him, which he verily thought had
proceeded from his own mind¹. This put Christian more to it than
anything that he met with before, even to think that he should
now blaspheme Him that he loved so much before; yet, if he could
have helped it, he would not have done it; but he had not the
discretion either to stop his ears, or to know from whence these
blasphemies came. [¹We shall study this further at some time!]

When Christian had travelled in this disconsolate condition some
considerable time, he thought he heard the voice of a man, as
going before him, saying, Though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me¹.
[¹Psalm 23:4]

Then he was glad, and that for these reasons:

First, Because he gathered from thence, that some who feared God
were in this valley as well as himself.

Secondly, For that he perceived God was with them, though in
that dark and dismal state; and why not, thought he, with me?
though, by reason of the impediment that attends this place, I
cannot perceive it.

Thirdly, For that he hoped, could he overtake them, to have
company by and by. So he went on, and called to him that was
before; but he knew not what to answer; for that he also thought
himself to be alone. And by and by the day broke; then said
Christian, He hath turned the shadow of death into the morning¹.
[¹Amos 5:8]

Now morning being come, he looked back, not out of desire to
return, but to see, by the light of the day, what hazards he had
gone through in the dark. So he saw more perfectly the ditch
that was on the one hand, and the quag that was on the other;
also how narrow the way was which led betwixt them both; also
now he saw the hobgoblins, and satyrs, and dragons of the pit,
but all afar off, (for after break of day, they came not nigh;)
yet they were discovered to him, according to that which is
written, He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and
bringeth out to light the shadow of death¹. [¹Job 12:22]

Now was Christian much affected with his deliverance from all
the dangers of his solitary way; which dangers, though he feared
them more before, yet he saw them more clearly now, because the
light of the day made them conspicuous to him. And about this
time the sun was rising, and this was another mercy to
Christian; for you must note, that though the first part of the
Valley of the Shadow of Death was dangerous, yet this second
part which he was yet to go, was, if possible, far more
dangerous; for from the place where he now stood, even to the
end of the valley, the way was all along set so full of snares,
traps, gins, and nets here, and so full of pits, pitfalls, deep
holes, and shelvings down there, that, had it now been dark, as
it was when he came the first part of the way, had he had a
thousand souls, they had in reason been cast away; but, as I
said just now, the sun was rising. Then said he, His candle
shineth upon my head, and by his light I walk through darkness¹.
[¹Job 29:3]

In this light, therefore, he came to the end of the valley. Now
I saw in my dream, that at the end of this valley lay blood,
bones, ashes, and mangled bodies of men, even of pilgrims that
had gone this way formerly; and while I was musing what should 
be the reason, I espied a little before me a cave, where two
giants, Pope¹ and Pagan², dwelt in old time; by whose power and
tyranny the men whose bones, blood, and ashes, &c., lay there,
were cruelly put to death. But by this place Christian went
without much danger, whereat I somewhat wondered; but I have
learnt since, that Pagan has been dead many a day² and as for
the other, though he be yet alive, he is, by reason of age, and
also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger
days, grown so crazy and stiff in his joints, that he can now do
little more than sit in his cave's mouth, grinning at pilgrims
as they go by, and biting his nails because he cannot come at
them¹. [¹Although not directly involved in executions for some
time, in many predominantly Roman Catholic countries of Central
and South America, Believers have been assaulted or even killed
for their faith without any apparent concern from priests or the
Pope!
²I believe that this only appeared to be true in Bunyan's
England. Even today, so long after the "dawn" of science and
reason, "pilgrims" are still plagued by attacks from Pagan in
the form of "eastern religions," Communism, pseudo-scientific
occult groups, or even atheistic humanism in countries of the
"western world." Although Christians are not being killed in
large numbers as they were during the early church under Rome,
"Pagan" is far from dead today.]

So I saw that Christian went on his way; yet, at the sight of
the Old Man¹ that sat in the mouth of the cave, he could not tell
what to think, especially because he spake to him, though he
could not go after him, saying, "You will never mend till more of
you be burned." But he held his peace, and set a good face on it,
and so went by and catched no hurt. [¹The giant, "Pope".]

Then sang Christian:

      O world of wonders! (I can say no less,)
      That I should be preserved in that distress
      That I have met with here! O blessed be
      That hand that from it hath deliver'd me!
      Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin
      Did compass me, while I this vale was in:
      Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets, did lie
      My path about, that worthless, silly I
      Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;
      But since I live, let JESUS wear the crown.

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