The Pilgrim
(from The Pilgrim's Progress. Second Part: 1678)
Who would true valour see
Let him come hither;
One here will Constant be,
Come Wind, come Weather.
There's no Discouragement,
Shall make him once Relent,
His first avow'd Intent,
To be a Pilgrim.
Who so beset him round,
With dismal Storys,
Do but themselves Confound;
His Strength the more is.
No Lyon can him fright,
He'l with a Gyant Fight,
But he will have a right,
To be a Pilgrim.
Hobgoblin, nor foul Fiend,
Can daunt his Spirit:
He knows, he at the end,
Shall Life Inherit.
Then Fancies fly away,
He'l fear not what men say,
He'l labour Night and Day,
To be a Pilgrim.
John Bunyan (1628-1688)
English writer and Baptist preacher
I've had The Pilgrim's Progress downloaded to my Kindle since August last year and still haven't even started reading it. Must, must, must get on with it!
ReplyDeleteStephanie Jane @ Literary Flits
I must admit that I had never heard of it until I came across this poem. Well, with my native language being German, I'm not "at home" in English literature... and then I found that I seldom enjoy works written before, let's say, 1850.
DeleteThanks for your comment, Stephanie!
Reading this I recalled how many novels I have read where the protagonist learned to read from The Pilgrim's Progress.
ReplyDeleteIndeed? Now that you said this, it occurs to me that I might have read the one or other such book too. However, my mind didn't consider the title worthwhile to retain, it seems.
DeleteThanks for your comment, Judy!