Books: The Holy War

J >> John Bunyan >> The Holy War

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The King's captains, when they marched from the court to come up
against Mansoul to war, as they came crossing over the country,
they happened to light upon three young fellows that had a mind to
go for soldiers: proper men they were, and men of courage and
skill, to appearance. Their names were Mr. Tradition, Mr. Human-
Wisdom, and Mr. Man's-Invention. So they came up to the captains,
and proffered their service to Shaddai. The captains then told
them of their design, and bid them not to be rash in their offers;
but the young men told them they had considered the thing before,
and that hearing they were upon their march for such a design, came
hither on purpose to meet them, that they might be listed under
their excellencies. Then Captain Boanerges, for that they were men
of courage, listed them into his company, and so away they went to
the war.

Now, when the war was begun, in one of the briskest skirmishes, so
it was, that a company of the Lord Willbewill's men sallied out at
the sallyport or postern of the town, and fell in upon the rear of
Captain Boanerges' men, where these three fellows happened to be;
so they took them prisoners, and away they carried them into the
town, where they had not lain long in durance, but it began to be
noised about the streets of the town what three notable prisoners
the Lord Willbewill's men had taken, and brought in prisoners out
of the camp of Shaddai. At length tidings thereof were carried to
Diabolus to the castle, to wit what my Lord Willbewill's men had
done, and whom they had taken prisoners.

Then Diabolus called for Willbewill, to know the certainty of this
matter. So he asked him, and he told him. Then did the giant send
for the prisoners, and, when they were come, demanded of them who
they were, whence they came, and what they did in the camp of
Shaddai; and they told him. Then he sent them to ward again. Not
many days after, he sent for them to him again, and then asked them
if they would be willing to serve him against their former
captains. They then told him that they did not so much live by
religion as by the fates of fortune; and that since his lordship
was willing to entertain them, they should be willing to serve him.
Now while things were thus in hand, there was one Captain Anything,
a great doer, in the town of Mansoul; and to this Captain Anything
did Diabolus send these men, and a note under his hand, to receive
them into his company, the contents of which letter were thus:

'Anything, my darling,--The three men that are the bearers of this
letter have a desire to serve me in the war; nor know I better to
whose conduct to commit them than to thine. Receive them,
therefore, in my name, and, as need shall require, make use of them
against Shaddai and his men. Farewell.'

So they came, and he received them; and he made of two of them
sergeants; but he made Mr. Man's-Invention his ancient-bearer. But
thus much for this, and now to return to the camp.

They of the camp did also some execution upon the town; for they
did beat down the roof of the Lord Mayor's house, and so laid him
more open than he was before. They had almost, with a sling, slain
my Lord Willbewill outright; but he made a shift to recover again.
But they made a notable slaughter among the aldermen, for with one
only shot they cut off six of them; to wit, Mr. Swearing, Mr.
Whoring, Mr. Fury, Mr. Stand-to-Lies, Mr. Drunkenness, and Mr.
Cheating.

They also dismounted the two guns that stood upon the tower over
Ear-gate, and laid them flat in the dirt. I told you before that
the King's noble captains had drawn off to their winter quarters,
and had there entrenched themselves and their carriages, so as with
the best advantage to their King, and the greatest annoyance to the
enemy, they might give seasonable and warm alarms to the town of
Mansoul. And this design of them did so hit, that I may say they
did almost what they would to the molestation of the corporation.
For now could not Mansoul sleep securely as before, nor could they
now go to their debaucheries with that quietness as in times past;
for they had from the camp of Shaddai such frequent, warm, and
terrifying alarms, yea, alarms upon alarms, first at one gate and
then at another, and again at all the gates at once, that they were
broken as to former peace. Yea, they had their alarms so
frequently, and that when the nights were at longest, the weather
coldest, and so consequently the season most unseasonable, that
that winter was to the town of Mansoul a winter by itself.
Sometimes the trumpets would sound, and sometimes the slings would
whirl the stones into the town. Sometimes ten thousand of the
King's soldiers would be running round the walls of Mansoul at
midnight, shouting and lifting up the voice for the battle.
Sometimes, again, some of them in the town would be wounded, and
their cry and lamentable voice would be heard, to the great
molestation of the now languishing town of Mansoul. Yea, so
distressed with those that laid siege against them were they, that,
I dare say, Diabolus, their king, had in these days his rest much
broken.

In these days, as I was informed, new thoughts, and thoughts that
began to run counter one to another, began to possess the minds of
the men of the town of Mansoul. Some would say, 'There is no
living thus.' Others would then reply, 'This will be over
shortly.' Then would a third stand up and answer, 'Let us turn to
the King Shaddai, and so put an end to these troubles.' And a
fourth would come in with a fear, saying, 'I doubt he will not
receive us.' The old gentleman, too, the Recorder, that was so
before Diabolus took Mansoul, he also began to talk aloud, and his
words were now to the town of Mansoul as if they were great claps
of thunder. No noise now so terrible to Mansoul as was his, with
the noise of the soldiers and shoutings of the captains.

Also things began to grow scarce in Mansoul; now the things that
her soul lusted after were departing from her. Upon all her
pleasant things there was a blast, and burning instead of beauty.
Wrinkles now, and some shows of the shadow of death, were upon the
inhabitants of Mansoul. And now, O how glad would Mansoul have
been to have enjoyed quietness and satisfaction of mind, though
joined with the meanest condition in the world!

The captains also, in the deep of this winter, did send by the
mouth of Boanerges' trumpeter a summons to Mansoul to yield up
herself to the King, the great King Shaddai. They sent it once,
and twice, and thrice; not knowing but that at some times there
might be in Mansoul some willingness to surrender up themselves
unto them, might they but have the colour of an invitation to do it
under. Yea, so far as I could gather, the town had been
surrendered up to them before now, had it not been for the
opposition of old Incredulity, and the fickleness of the thoughts
of my Lord Willbewill. Diabolus also began to rave; wherefore
Mansoul, as to yielding, was not yet all of one mind; therefore
they still lay distressed under these perplexing fears.

I told you but now that they of the King's army had this winter
sent three times to Mansoul to submit herself.

The first time the trumpeter went he went with words of peace,
telling them that the captains, the noble captains of Shaddai, did
pity and bewail the misery of the now perishing town of Mansoul,
and were troubled to see them so much to stand in the way of their
own deliverance. He said, moreover, that the captains bid him tell
them, that if now poor Mansoul would humble herself and turn, her
former rebellions and most notorious treasons should by their
merciful King be forgiven them, yea, and forgotten too. And having
bid them beware that they stood not in their own way, that they
opposed not themselves, nor made themselves their own losers, he
returned again into the camp.

The second time the trumpeter went, he did treat them a little more
roughly; for, after sound of trumpet, he told them that their
continuing in their rebellion did but chafe and heat the spirit of
the captains, and that they were resolved to make a conquest of
Mansoul, or to lay their bones before the town walls.

He went again the third time, and dealt with them yet more roughly;
telling them that now, since they had been so horribly profane, he
did not know, not certainly know, whether the captains were
inclining to mercy or judgment. 'Only,' said he, 'they commanded
me to give you a summons to open the gates unto them.' So he
returned, and went into the camp.

These three summonses, and especially the last two, did so distress
the town that they presently call a consultation, the result of
which was this--That my Lord Willbewill should go up to Ear-gate,
and there, with sound of trumpet, call to the captains of the camp
for a parley. Well, the Lord Willbewill sounded upon the wall; so
the captains came up in their harness, with their ten thousands at
their feet. The townsmen then told the captains that they had
heard and considered their summons, and would come to an agreement
with them, and with their King Shaddai, upon such certain terms,
articles, and propositions as, with and by the order of their
prince, they to them were appointed to propound; to wit, they would
agree upon these grounds to be one people with them.

1. If that those of their own company, as the now Lord Mayor and
their Mr. Forget-Good, with then brave Lord Willbewill, might,
under Shaddai, be still the governors of the town, castle, and
gates of Mansoul.

2. Provided that no man that now serveth under their great giant
Diabolus be by Shaddai cast out of house, harbour, or the freedom
that he hath hitherto enjoyed in the famous town of Mansoul.

3. That it shall be granted them, that they of the town of Mansoul
shall enjoy certain of their rights and privileges; to wit, such as
have formerly been granted them, and that they have long lived in
the enjoyment of, under the reign of their king Diabolus, that now
is, and long has been, their only lord and great defender.

4. That no new law, officer, or executioner of law or office, shall
have any power over them, without their own choice and consent.

'These be our propositions, or conditions of peace; and upon these
terms,' said they, 'we will submit to your King.'

But when the captains had heard this weak and feeble offer of the
town of Mansoul, and their high and bold demands, they made to them
again, by their noble captain, the Captain Boanerges, this speech
following:

'O ye inhabitants of the town of Mansoul, when I heard your trumpet
sound for a parley with us, I can truly say I was glad; but when
you said you were willing to submit yourselves to our King and
Lord, then I was yet more glad; but when, by your silly provisos
and foolish cavils, you laid the stumbling-block of your iniquity
before your own faces, then was my gladness turned into sorrows,
and my hopeful beginnings of your return, into languishing fainting
fears.

'I count that old Ill-Pause, the ancient enemy of Mansoul, did draw
up those proposals that now you present us with as terms of an
agreement; but they deserve not to be admitted to sound in the ear
of any man that pretends to have service for Shaddai. We do
therefore jointly, and that with the highest disdain, refuse and
reject such things, as the greatest of iniquities.

'But, O Mansoul, if you will give yourselves into our hands, or
rather into the hands of our King, and will trust him to make such
terms with and for you as shall seem good in his eyes, (and I dare
say they shall be such as you shall find to be most profitable to
you,) then we will receive you, and be at peace with you; but if
you like not to trust yourselves in the arms of Shaddai our King,
then things are but where they were before, and we know also what
we have to do.'

Then cried out old Incredulity, the Lord Mayor, and said, 'And who,
being out of the hands of their enemies, as ye see we are now, will
be so foolish as to put the staff out of their own hands into the
hands of they know not who? I, for my part, will never yield to so
unlimited a proposition. Do we know the manner and temper of their
King? It is said by some that he will be angry with his subjects
if but the breadth of an hair they chance to step out of the way;
and by others, that he requireth of them much more than they can
perform. Wherefore, it seems, O Mansoul, to be thy wisdom to take
good heed what thou dost in this matter; for if you once yield, you
give up yourselves to another, and so you are no more your own.
Wherefore, to give up yourselves to an unlimited power, is the
greatest folly in the world; for now you indeed may repent, but can
never justly complain. But do you indeed know, when you are his,
which of you he will kill, and which of you he will save alive; or
whether he will not cut off every one of us, and send out of his
own country another new people, and cause them to inhabit this
town?'

This speech of the Lord Mayor undid all, and threw flat to the
ground their hopes of an accord. Wherefore the captains returned
to their trenches, to their tents, and to their men, as they were;
and the Mayor to the castle and to his King.

Now Diabolus had waited for his return, for he had heard that they
had been at their points. So, when he was come into the chamber of
state, Diabolus saluted him with--'Welcome, my lord. How went
matters betwixt you to-day?' So the Lord Incredulity, with a low
congee, told him the whole of the matter, saying, 'Thus and thus
said the captains of Shaddai, and thus and thus said I.' The which
when it was told to Diabolus, he was very glad to hear it, and
said, 'My Lord Mayor, my faithful Incredulity, I have proved thy
fidelity above ten times already, but never yet found thee false.
I do promise thee, if we rub over this brunt, to prefer thee to a
place of honour, a place far better than to be Lord Mayor of
Mansoul. I will make thee my universal deputy, and thou shalt,
next to me, have all nations under thy hand; yea, and thou shalt
lay bands upon them, that they may not resist thee; nor shall any
of our vassals walk more at liberty, but those that shall be
content to walk in thy fetters.'

Now came the Lord Mayor out from Diabolus, as if he had obtained a
favour indeed. Wherefore to his habitation he goes in great state,
and thinks to feed himself well enough with hopes, until the time
came that his greatness should be enlarged.

But now, though the Lord Mayor and Diabolus did thus well agree,
yet this repulse to the brave captains put Mansoul into a mutiny.
For while old Incredulity went into the castle to congratulate his
lord with what had passed, the old Lord Mayor, that was so before
Diabolus came to the town, to wit, my Lord Understanding, and the
old Recorder, Mr. Conscience, getting intelligence of what had
passed at Ear-gate, (for you must know that they might not be
suffered to be at that debate, lest they should then have mutinied
for the captains; but, I say, they got intelligence of what had
passed there, and were much concerned therewith,) wherefore they,
getting some of the town together, began to possess them with the
reasonableness of the noble captains' demands, and with the bad
consequences that would follow upon the speech of old Incredulity,
the Lord Mayor; to wit how little reverence he showed therein
either to the captains or to their King; also how he implicitly
charged them with unfaithfulness and treachery. 'For what less,'
quoth they, 'could be made of his words, when he said he would not
yield to their proposition; and added, moreover, a supposition that
he would destroy us, when before he had sent us word that he would
show us mercy!' The multitude, being now possessed with the
conviction of the evil that old Incredulity had done, began to run
together by companies in all places, and in every corner of the
streets of Mansoul; and first they began to mutter, then to talk
openly, and after that they run to and fro, and cried as they run,
'Oh the brave captains of Shaddai! would we were under the
government of the captains, and of Shaddai their King!' When the
Lord Mayor had intelligence that Mansoul was in an uproar, down he
comes to appease the people, and thought to have quashed their heat
with the bigness and the show of his countenance; but when they saw
him, they came running upon him, and had doubtless done him a
mischief, had he not betaken himself to house. However, they
strongly assaulted the house where he was, to have pulled it down
about his ears; but the place was too strong, so they failed of
that. So he, taking some courage, addressed himself, out at a
window, to the people in this manner:

'Gentlemen, what is the reason that there is here such an uproar
to-day?'

Then answered my Lord Understanding, 'It is even because that thou
and thy master have carried it not rightly, and as you should, to
the captains of Shaddai; for in three things you are faulty.
First, in that you would not let Mr. Conscience and myself be at
the hearing of your discourse. Secondly, in that you propounded
such terms of peace to the captains that by no means could be
granted, unless they had intended that their Shaddai should have
been only a titular prince, and that Mansoul should still have had
power by law to have lived in all lewdness and vanity before him,
and so by consequence Diabolus should still here be king in power,
and the other only king in name. Thirdly, for that thou didst
thyself, after the captains had showed us upon what conditions they
would have received us to mercy, even undo all again with thy
unsavoury, unseasonable, and ungodly speech.'

When old Incredulity had heard this speech, he cried out, 'Treason!
treason! To your arms! to your arms! O ye, the trusty friends of
Diabolus in Mansoul.'

Und.--Sir, you may put upon my words what meaning you please; but I
am sure that the captains of such an high lord as theirs is,
deserved a better treatment at your hands.

Then said old Incredulity, 'This is but little better. But, Sir,'
quoth he, 'what I spake I spake for my prince, for his government,
and the quieting of the people, whom by your unlawful actions you
have this day set to mutiny against us.'

Then replied the old Recorder, whose name was Mr. Conscience, and
said, 'Sir, you ought not thus to retort upon what my Lord
Understanding hath said. It is evident enough that he hath spoken
the truth, and that you are an enemy to Mansoul. Be convinced,
then, of the evil of your saucy and malapert language, and of the
grief that you have put the captains to; yea, and of the damages
that you have done to Mansoul thereby. Had you accepted of the
conditions, the sound of the trumpet and the alarm of war had now
ceased about the town of Mansoul; but that dreadful sound abides,
and your want of wisdom in your speech has been the cause of it.'

Then said old Incredulity, 'Sir, if I live, I will do your errand
to Diabolus, and there you shall have an answer to your words.
Meanwhile we will seek the good of the town, and not ask counsel of
you.'

Und.--Sir, your prince and you are both foreigners to Mansoul, and
not the natives thereof; and who can tell but that, when you have
brought us into greater straits, (when you also shall see that
yourselves can be safe by no other means than by flight,) you may
leave us and shift for yourselves, or set us on fire, and go away
in the smoke, or by the light of our burning, and so leave us in
our ruins?

Incred.--Sir, you forget that you are under a governor, and that
you ought to demean yourself like a subject; and know ye, when my
lord the king shall hear of this day's work, he will give you but
little thanks for your labour.

Now while these gentlemen were thus in their chiding words, down
come from the walls and gates of the town the Lord Willbewill, Mr.
Prejudice, old Ill-Pause, and several of the new-made aldermen and
burgesses, and they asked the reason of the hubbub and tumult; and
with that every man began to tell his own tale, so that nothing
could be heard distinctly. Then was a silence commanded, and the
old fox Incredulity began to speak. 'My lord,' quoth he, 'here are
a couple of peevish gentlemen, that have, as a fruit of their bad
dispositions, and, as I fear, through the advice of one Mr.
Discontent, tumultuously gathered this company against me this day,
and also attempted to run the town into acts of rebellion against
our prince.'

Then stood up all the Diabolonians that were present, and affirmed
these things to be true.

Now when they that took part with my Lord Understanding and with
Mr. Conscience perceived that they were like to come to the worst,
for that force and power was on the other side, they came in for
their help and relief; so a great company was on both sides. Then
they on Incredulity's side would have had the two old gentlemen
presently away to prison; but they on the other side said they
should not. Then they began to cry up parties again: the
Diabolonians cried up old Incredulity, Forget-Good, the new
aldermen, and their great one Diabolus; and the other party, they
as fast cried up Shaddai, the captains, his laws, their
mercifulness, and applauded their conditions and ways. Thus the
bickerment went awhile; at last they passed from words to blows,
and now there were knocks on both sides. The good old gentleman,
Mr. Conscience, was knocked down twice by one of the Diabolonians,
whose name was Mr. Benumbing; and my Lord Understanding had like to
have been slain with an arquebuse, but that he that shot did not
take his aim aright. Nor did the other side wholly escape; for
there was one Mr. Rashhead, a Diabolonian, that had his brains
beaten out by Mr. Mind, the Lord Willbewill's servant; and it made
me laugh to see how old Mr. Prejudice was kicked and tumbled about
in the dirt; for though, a while since, he was made captain of a
company of the Diabolonians, to the hurt and damage of the town,
yet now they had got him under their feet, and, I'll assure you, he
had, by some of the Lord Understanding's party, his crown cracked
to boot. Mr. Anything also, he became a brisk man in the broil;
but both sides were against him, because he was true to none. Yet
he had, for his malapertness, one of his legs broken, and he that
did it wished it had been his neck. Much more harm was done on
both sides, but this must not be forgotten; it was now a wonder to
see my Lord Willbewill so indifferent as he was: he did not seem
to take one side more than another, only it was perceived that he
smiled to see how old Prejudice was tumbled up and down in the
dirt. Also, when Captain Anything came halting up before him, he
seemed to take but little notice of him.

Now, when the uproar was over, Diabolus sends for my Lord
Understanding and Mr. Conscience, and claps them both up in prison
as the ringleaders and managers of this most heavy, riotous rout in
Mansoul. So now the town began to be quiet again, and the
prisoners were used hardly; yea, he thought to have made them away,
but that the present juncture did not serve for that purpose, for
that war was in all their gates.

But let us return again to our story. The captains, when they were
gone back from the gate, and were come into the camp again, called
a council of war, to consult what was further for them to do. Now,
some said, 'Let us go up presently, and fall upon the town;' but
the greatest part thought rather better it would be to give them
another summons to yield; and the reason why they thought this to
be best was, because that, so far as could be perceived, the town
of Mansoul now was more inclinable than heretofore. 'And if,' said
they, 'while some of them are in a way of inclination, we should by
ruggedness give them distaste, we may set them further from closing
with our summons than we would be willing they should.' Wherefore
to this advice they agreed, and called a trumpeter, put words into
his mouth, set him his time, and bid him God speed. Well, many
hours were not expired before the trumpeter addressed himself to
his journey. Wherefore, coming up to the wall of the town, he
steereth his course to Ear-gate, and there sounded, as he was
commanded. They then that were within came out to see what was the
matter, and the trumpeter made them this speech following:

'O hard-hearted and deplorable town of Mansoul, how long wilt thou
love thy sinful, sinful simplicity, and, ye fools, delight in your
scorning? As yet despise you the offers of peace and deliverance?
As yet will ye refuse the golden offers of Shaddai, and trust to
the lies and falsehoods of Diabolus? Think you, when Shaddai shall
have conquered you, that the remembrance of these your carriages
towards him will yield you peace and comfort, or that by ruffling
language you can make him afraid as a grasshopper? Doth he entreat
you for fear of you? Do you think that you are stronger than he?
Look to the heavens, and behold and consider the stars, how high
are they? Can you stop the sun from running his course, and hinder
the moon from giving her light? Can you count the number of the
stars, or stay the bottles of heaven? Can you call for the waters
of the sea, and cause them to cover the face of the ground? Can
you behold every one that is proud, and abase him, and bind their
faces in secret? Yet these are some of the works of our King, in
whose name this day we come up unto you, that you may be brought
under his authority. In his name, therefore, I summon you again to
yield up yourselves to his captains.'

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