Bunyan concludes Part One of his Pilgrim’s Progress with the following rhyme:
Now, Reader, I have told my dream to thee;
See if thou canst interpret it to me,
Or to thyself, or neighbour; but take heed
Of misinterpreting; for that, instead
Of doing good, will but thyself abuse:
By misinterpreting, evil ensues.Take heed, also, that thou be not extreme,
In playing with the outside of my dream:
Nor let my figure or similitude
Put thee into a laughter or a feud.
Leave this for boys and fools; but as for thee,
Do thou the substance of my matter see.Put by the curtains, look within my vail,
Turn up my metaphors, and do not fail,
There, if thou seekest them, such things thou’lt find
As will be helpful to an honest mind.What of my dross thou findest there, be bold
To throw away, but yet preserve the gold.
What if my gold be wrapped up in ore?
None throws away the apple for the core.
But if thou shalt cast all away as vain,
I know not but ’twill make me dream again.
Through the canon of Scripture, we see Bunyan’s muddy mixture. Take up, discern, and read, that “bibline,” Bunyan does not bleed. This “sort-of-review,” with completion now in view, has WordPress”tags” with this look: John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, and Bunyan’s Book-Book. By “Book-Book,” I meant Progress Part One, AND Part Two. So, for now, adieu.
Agrammatos 