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On My First Son by Ben Jonson |
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Farewell, thou child of my right hand1, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy; Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just2 day. |
1 literal translation of
the Hebrew name Benjamin, the name of Jonson's son; Jonson's son was
born in 1596 and died in 1603. 2 exact |
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Oh! could I lose all father3, now! for why, Will man lament the state he should envy? To have so soon ’scaped world’s, and flesh’s rage, And, if no other misery, yet age! Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say here doth lie |
3 shed an identity as a father |
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Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry; For whose sake, henceforth, all his vows be such, As what he loves may never like4 too much. |
4possibly meant in the old sense of "please" |
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Song: to Celia by Ben Jonson |
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Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup, And I’ll not look for wine. |
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The thirst that from the soul doth rise Doth ask a drink divine: But might I of Jove’s1 nectar sup, I would not change for thine. I sent thee late2 a rosy wreath, |
1 Jupiter's; In Roman mythology, Jupiter is the ruler of the gods. The gods drank nectar to maintain their immortality. 2 recently |
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Not so much honouring thee, As giving it a hope that there It could not withered be. But thou thereon didst only breathe, And sent’st it back to me: |
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| (15) |
Since when it grows, and smells, I swear, Not of itself, but thee. |
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The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan |
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| From this World to That Which Is to Come: Delivered Under the Similitude1 of a Dream | 1 allegory | |
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[Christian Sets out for the Celestial City]As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a Den , and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. [Isa. 64:6; Luke 14:33; Ps. 38:4; Hab. 2:2; Acts 16:30,31] I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and, as he read, he wept, and trembled; and, not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, "What shall I do?" [Acts 2:37] |
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In this plight, therefore, he went home and refrained himself as long as
he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress;
but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased.
Wherefore at length he brake his mind to his wife and children; and thus
he began to talk to them: O my dear wife, said he, and you the children
of my bowels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone by reason of a
burden that lieth hard upon me;
moreover, I am for certain informed that this our city will be burned with fire
from heaven; in which fearful overthrow, both myself, with thee my wife, and you
my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I see not)
some way of escape can be found, whereby we may be delivered. At this his
relations were sore amazed; not for that they believed that what he had said to
them was true, but because they thought that some frenzy distemper2 had got into
his head; therefore, it drawing towards night, and they hoping that sleep might
settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed. |
2 An illness causing madness. | |
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But the night was as
troublesome to him as the day; wherefore, instead of sleeping, he spent it in
sighs and tears. So, when the morning was come, they would know how he did. He
told them, Worse and worse: he also set to talking to them again; but they began
to be hardened. They also thought to drive away his distemper by harsh and surly
carriages3 to him; sometimes they would deride, sometimes they would chide, and
sometimes they would quite neglect him. Wherefore he began to retire himself to
his chamber, to pray for and pity them, and also to condole his own misery; he
would also walk solitarily in the fields, sometimes reading, and sometimes
praying: and thus for some days he spent his time. |
3 behavior |
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Now, I saw, upon a time, when he was walking in the fields, that he was,
as he was wont,4 reading in his book, and greatly distressed in his mind;
and, as he read, he burst out, as he had done before, crying, "What
shall I do to be saved?" I saw also that he looked this way and that
way, as if he would run; yet he stood still, because, as I perceived, he
could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and saw a man named
Evangelist5 coming to him and asked, Wherefore dost thou cry? [Job 33:23]
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4 accustomed 5 one who preaches the good news of the Christian Gospel |
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He answered, Sir, I perceive by the book in my hand, that I am condemned
to die, and after that to come to judgement [Heb. 9:27]; and I find that I am
not willing to do the first [Job 16:21], nor able to do the second. [Ezek.
22:14] |
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Then said Evangelist, Why not willing to die, since this life is attended
with so many evils? The man answered, Because I fear that this burden is upon my
back will sink me lower than the grave, and I shall fall into Tophet6.
[Isa. 30:33] And, Sir, if I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit, I am sure,
to go to judgement, and from thence to execution; and the thoughts of these
things make me cry. |
6 A name for Hell; The place near Jerusalem where bodies and filth were burned. |
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Then said Evangelist, If this be thy condition, why standest thou still?
He answered, Because I know not whither to go. Then he gave him a parchment
roll, and there was written within, Flee from the wrath to come. [Matt. 3.7] |
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The man therefore read it, and looking upon Evangelist very carefully,7
said, Whither must I fly? Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger
over a very wide field, Do you see yonder wicket-gate?8 [Matt. 7:13,14]
The man said, No. Then said the other, Do you see yonder shining light?
[Ps. 119:105; 2 Pet. 1:19] He said, I think I do. Then said Evangelist,
Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto: so shalt thou see the gate; at which, when thou
knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do. |
7sorrowfully 8 A small gate in or beside a larger gate. |
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So I saw in my dream that the man began to run. Now, he had not run far from his own door, but his wife and children,
perceiving it, began to cry after him to return; but the man put his fingers in
his ears, and ran on, crying, Life! life! eternal life! [Luke 14:26] So he
looked not behind him, but fled towards the middle of the plain. [Gen. 19:17]
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The neighbours also came out to see him run [Jer. 20:10]; and, as he
ran, some mocked, others threatened, and some cried after him to return; and,
among those that did so, there were two that resolved to fetch him back by
force. The name of the one was Obstinate and the name of the other Pliable. Now,
by this time, the man was got a good distance from them; but, however, they were
resolved to pursue him, which they did, and in a little time they overtook him.
Then said the man, Neighbours, wherefore are ye come? They said, To persuade you
to go back with us. But he said, That can by no means be; you dwell, said he, in
the City of Destruction, the place also where I was born: I see it to be so;
and, dying there, sooner or later, you will sink lower than the grave, into a
place that burns with fire and brimstone:9 be content, good neighbours, and go
along with me. |
9 sulfur | |
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OBST. What! said Obstinate, and leave our friends and our comforts behind us? CHR. Yes, said Christian, for that was his name, because that ALL which you
shall forsake is not worthy to be compared with a little of that which I am
seeking to enjoy [2 Cor. 4:18]; and, if you will go along with me, and hold it,
you shall fare as I myself; for there, where I go, is enough and to spare. [Luke
15:17] Come away, and prove my words. |
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OBST. What are the things you seek, since you leave all the world to find them? CHR. I seek an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away [1 Pet. 1:4], and it is laid up in heaven, and safe there [Heb. 11:16], to be bestowed, at the time appointed, on them that diligently seek it. Read it so, if you will, in my book. OBST. Tush! said Obstinate, away with your book; will you go back with us or no? CHR. No, not I, said the other, because I have laid my hand to the plough.
[Luke 9:62] |
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OBST. Come, then, neighbour Pliable, let us turn again, and go home without him; there is a company of these crazy-headed coxcombs, that, when they take a fancy10 by the end, are wiser in their own eyes than seven men that can render a reason. [Prov. 26:16] PLI. Then said Pliable, Don't revile; if what the good Christian says is true, the things he looks after are better than ours: my heart inclines to go with my neighbour. OBST. What! more fools still! Be ruled by me, and go back; who knows whither
such a brain-sick fellow will lead you? Go back, go back, and be wise. |
10 fools that become deluded |
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CHR. Nay, but do thou come with thy neighbour, Pliable; there are such things to be had which I spoke of, and many more glorious besides. If you believe not me, read here in this book; and for the truth of what is expressed therein, behold, all is confirmed by the blood of Him that made it. [Heb. 9:17-22; 13:20] PLI. Well, neighbour Obstinate, said Pliable, I begin to come to a point;11 I
intend to go along with this good man, and to cast in my lot with him: but, my
good companion, do you know the way to this desired place? |
11 decision |
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CHR. I am directed by a man, whose name is Evangelist, to speed me to a little gate that is before us, where we shall receive instructions about the way. PLI. Come, then, good neighbour, let us be going. Then they went both
together. |
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[Vanity Fair]12Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of
the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of
that town is Vanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity
Fair: it is kept all the year long. It beareth the name of Vanity Fair because the town where it is kept is
lighter than vanity; and, also because all that is there sold, or that cometh
thither, is vanity. As is the saying of the wise, "all that cometh is vanity."
[Eccl. 1; 2:11,17; 11:8; Isa. 11:17] |
12 Fairs were an annual event in England. Vanity means "emptiness." Vanity Fair is an allegory of corruption of religious life through worldly attractions. | |
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This fair is no new-erected business, but a thing of ancient standing; I will show you the original of it. Almost five thousand years agone, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are: and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion,13 with their companions, perceiving by the path that the pilgrims made, that their way to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived here to set up a fair; a fair wherein, should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it should last all the year long: therefore at this fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, honours, preferments,14 titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not. And, moreover, at this fair there is at all times to be seen juggling cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind. Here are to be seen, too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries,
false swearers, and that of a blood-red colour. |
14 appointments to political or ecclesiastical positions |
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And as in other fairs of less moment, there are the several rows and
streets, under their proper names, where such and such wares are vended;
so here likewise you have the proper places, rows, streets, (viz.
countries and kingdoms), where the wares of this fair are soonest to be
found. Here is the Britain Row, the French Row, the Italian Row, the
Spanish Row, the German Row, where several sorts of vanities are to be
sold. But, as in other fairs, some one commodity is as the chief of all
the fair, so the ware of Rome and her merchandise15 is greatly promoted in
this fair; only our English nation, with some others, have taken a
dislike thereat. |
15 refers to the temporal power of the Roman Catholic Church |
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Now, as I said, the way to the Celestial City lies just through this
town where this lusty fair is kept; and he that will go to the city, and
yet not go through this town, must needs go out of the world. [1 Cor. 5:10] The Prince
of princes himself, when here, went through this town to his own country, and
that upon a fair day too;16 yea, and as I think, it was Beelzebub, the chief lord
of this fair, that invited him to buy of his vanities; yea, would have made him
lord of the fair, would he but have done him reverence as he went through the
town. [Matt. 4:8, Luke 4:5-7] Yea, because he was such a person of honour,
Beelzebub had him from street to street, and showed him all the kingdoms of the
world in a little time, that he might, if possible, allure the Blessed One to
cheapen17 and buy some of his vanities; but he had no mind to the merchandise, and
therefore left the town, without laying out so much as one farthing upon these
vanities. This fair, therefore, is an ancient thing, of long standing, and a
very great fair. |
17 ask the price |
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Now these pilgrims, as I said, must needs go through this fair. Well, so
they did: but, behold, even as they entered into the fair, all the
people in the fair were moved, and the town itself as it were in a
hubbub about them; and that for several reasons: for -- |
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First, The pilgrims were clothed with such kind of raiment as was
diverse from the raiment of any that traded in that fair. The people,
therefore, of the fair, made a great gazing upon them: some said they
were fools, some they were bedlams, and some they are outlandish18 men. [1 Cor. 2:7-8]
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18 Bedlams are lunatics from an insane asylum in London and outlandish men were foreigners. | |
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Secondly, And as they wondered at their apparel, so they did likewise at
their speech; for few could understand what they said; they naturally
spoke the language of Canaan,19 but they that kept the fair were the men
of this world; so that, from one end of the fair to the other, they
seemed barbarians each to the other. |
19 the Promised Land |
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Thirdly, But that which did not a little amuse the merchandisers was,
that these pilgrims set very light by all their wares; they cared not so
much as to look upon them; and if they called upon them to buy, they
would put their fingers in their ears, and cry, Turn away mine eyes from
beholding vanity, and look upwards, signifying that their trade and
traffic was in heaven. [Ps. 119:37, Phil. 3:19-20] |
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| One chanced mockingly, beholding the carriage of the men, to say unto them, What will ye buy? But they, looking gravely upon him, answered, "We buy the truth." [Prov. 23:23] At that there was an occasion taken to despise the men the more; some mocking, some taunting, some speaking reproachfully, and some calling upon others to smite20 them. At last things came to a hubbub and great stir in the fair, insomuch that all order was confounded. Now was word presently brought to the great one of the fair, who quickly came down, and deputed some of his most trusty friends to take these men into examination, about whom the fair was almost overturned. So the men were brought to examination; and they that sat upon them,21 asked them whence they came, whither they went, and what they did there, in such an unusual garb? The men told them that they were pilgrims and strangers in the world, and that they were going to their own country, which was the heavenly Jerusalem, [Heb. 11:13-16] and that they had given no occasion to the men of the town, nor yet to the merchandisers, thus to abuse them, and to let22 them in their journey, except it was for that, when one asked them what they would buy, they said they would buy the truth. But they that were appointed to examine them did not believe them to be any other than bedlams and mad, or else such as came to put all things into a confusion in the fair. Therefore they took them and beat them, and besmeared them with dirt, and then put them into the cage, that they might be made a spectacle to all the men of the fair. |
21questioned and tried them 22 hinder |