Born in 1628, died 1688; in the army from 1644 to 1646; became a Traveling Preacher in 1657; arrested in 1660 and, except for a brief interval, confined until 1672 in jail, where he wrote "The Pilgrim's Progress"; licensed to preach in 1672, and Pastor at Bedford until his death.
It is an easy matter for a man to run hard for a spurt, for a furlong, for a mile or two: Oh, but to hold out for a hundred, for a thousand, for ten thousand miles!—that man that doth this, he must look to meet with cross, pain, and wearisomeness to the flesh, especially if, as he goeth, he meeteth with briers and quagmires, and other encumbrances that make his journey so much the more painful.
Nay, do you not see with your eyes daily, that perseverance is a very great part of the Cross? Why else do men so soon grow weary? I could point out a many, that after they had followed the ways of God about a twelvemonth, others it may be two, three, or four (some more, and some less) years, they have been beat out of
- ↑ Bunyan's sermon, "The Heavenly Footman," was first published in 1698. His writings were collected in 1736, Samuel Wilson being the editor. Another edition in six volumes, prepared by Alexander Hogg, was issued in 1780, another in three volumes by G. Offor in 1853. and another in four volumes by the Rev. H. Stebbins in 1858.
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