Summary of the work
"The Pilgrim's Progress" is divided into parts one and two, each consisting of two dreams of the narrator "I". In the first dream, "I" dreamed that "Christian" was in a trance while reading the Bible, his soul had an epiphany, and he felt the heavy burden. He felt that the city he lived in was about to be destroyed, so he begged his wife and children to abandon the destroyed city and join him on the road to heaven. His wife and children refused, and the neighbors thought he was crazy when they heard about it. So, he followed the preacher's instructions and decided to go on the road alone. Neighbors Stubborn and Roushun caught up and tried to dissuade him, but he refused to listen and persuaded Roushun to go with him. On the way, the two of them accidentally fell into the swamp of despair. After climbing out smoothly, they fled back to the city of destruction. Christians, burdened with heavy burdens, can only climb out of the swamp of despair with the help of help. He continues on the road to heaven. I meet all kinds of people on the road: sophisticated, stupid, lazy, arrogant, formalist, hypocritical, timid, doubtful, virtuous, pious, loving, loyal, etc. Later, he went through many difficulties and dangers, encountered lions and devils, experienced the Valley of Humiliation and the Valley of the Shadow of Death, suffered painful torture and torture of body and soul, and finally passed various tests and reached the Kingdom of Heaven. In the second dream, "I" dreamed that Mr. Wise said that a Christian wife repented after her husband left home for the Kingdom of Heaven, so she ignored the dissuasion of the timid wife and the gossip of many female neighbors and took her son Matthew with her. , Samuel, Joseph, Jacob and their neighbor Mercy also embarked on the road to the Kingdom of Heaven. What happened after they passed through the swamp of despair was what "I" saw in my own dreams. Before the Christian woman arrived in heaven to meet her husband, Mercy married Matthew, and the other sons also each had wives.
Selected Works
At this time, I saw them walking out of the wilderness in my dream. Not long after they left, they saw a town in front of them. It was called Fuhua, and there was a market in the town. It's called the Flashy Market. That market goes on all year round. It was called the Flashy Market because the town was more frivolous than flashy, and because nothing bought and sold there was flashy. As the wise man said, "Everything that comes is vanity."
This market is not newly established, but has existed for a long time; let me tell you its origin.
Almost five thousand years ago, there were travelers like these two faithful people who went to the kingdom of heaven; the devil, the devil and all the minions can be seen from the route taken by the travelers. The Fairy Market was the only place they would pass by on their way to the Kingdom of Heaven, so they tried to build a market there—all kinds of flashy things were sold in the market, and they stayed there all year round. Therefore, the market is full of such things as: houses, lands, professions, positions, honors, promotions, titles, countries, kingdoms, desires, pleasures, and all kinds of enjoyment, such as prostitutes, madams, husbands, children, masters, and slaves. , life, blood, body, soul, gold and silver, pearls, gems, etc. And you can see jugglers, swindlers, fighting artists, gamblers, clowns, imitators, scoundrels, scoundrels and everything in the market at any time.
Here you can also see people who steal, murder, commit adultery, and swear falsely without spending any money, which is shocking.
Just as in other less important bazaars, where there are small and large streets with unique street names indicating the goods they sell, here too there are unique places, Streets and roads (that is, countries and kingdoms) where the goods of this market can be quickly found. There are English Street, French Street, Italian Street, Spanish Street, and German Street, selling all kinds of flashy items. But as in other fairs, there was one kind of goods which predominated in that fair, and in this fair Roman goods and merchandise were especially recommended; only the finished goods of England and some other countries were not favored there.
As I said, the way to the Kingdom of Heaven must pass through this town with a bustling market; anyone who does not go to the Kingdom of Heaven through this town must leave this world. When Christ himself was alive, he also passed through this town on his way to his own kingdom, and it was the day when the market opened. Not only that, I think it was the big boss of the market, the devil, who invited him to buy flashy things; and as long as When he showed respect to the devil as he passed through the town, he would make him the master of the market; yes, because he was such a decent man, the devil took him to all the streets, and in a short time he took all the people in the world. All the kingdoms were shown to him, and he hoped, if possible, to induce Christ to debase himself in order to buy his flashy goods. But he didn't like those things, so he left the town without spending a penny. So this is a very old market with a long history and a large scale.
As I said, these travelers have to pass through this market. Well, so they did; but, alas, when they entered the market-place, all the people there, and it seemed the whole town, stirred up about them, for the following reason:
< p> First, the clothes worn by the tourists are different from anything sold in the market. So the people there looked at them: some said they were two fools; some said they were madmen; some said they were foreigners.Secondly, as they were surprised by their clothes, they were equally surprised by what they said; for few of them could understand what they said.
The travelers, of course, spoke in heavenly language; but the people in the marketplace were all worldly people; so from one end of the marketplace to the other, they looked upon each other as if they were savages.
Thirdly, what amused the merchants was that these travelers looked down upon the goods. They do not even look at it; if a merchant comes to them, they plug their ears with their fingers and cry, "Tell me to turn my eyes away from what is false; and turn my eyes towards heaven, to show that their buying and selling is in heaven." "
A man saw their appearance and said to them mockingly, "What do you want to buy?" But they looked at him seriously and said, we "buy the truth." This gave people more reasons to look down on them. Some mocked them, some insulted them, some scolded them, and some asked others to beat them. Finally, there was a great uproar and commotion in the market place, and there was even complete disorder. The news immediately reached the owner of the bazaar, who rushed there and sent some of his most reliable friends to interrogate the two men on his behalf, for their bazaar had almost been turned upside down. So the two men were brought in for questioning; and their interrogators asked them where they came from, where they were going, and what they were doing there wearing such strange clothes. The two men said that they were travelers, sojourners on earth, going to their own home, that is, to the heavenly Jerusalem; and that they saw no reason why the townspeople and merchants should insult them and hinder their journey, except when When someone asked them what they wanted to buy, they said they wanted to buy the truth as a reason. However, the people who were sent to interrogate them thought that they were madmen or lunatics, or they were deliberately coming to disrupt the market. So they took the two men, beat them up, smeared them all over with mud, and then put them in a cage for everyone in the market to laugh at. So they stayed there for some time, and became the objects of everyone's teasing, abuse, or revenge; the owner of the market still smiled at everything that happened to them. But the two men were very patient. They "did not repay curses with curses, but on the contrary responded with blessings." They responded to harsh words with gentle words and insults with kindness. Some people in the market were more cautious and cautious than others. The unbiased people spoke up, and they stopped and blamed the base people for incessantly abusing the two men. But those people cursed angrily, thinking that they were as bad as the people in the cage, saying that they seemed to be accomplices and should suffer equally. The other party replied that from what they saw, the two men were gentle and steady, and had no ill will towards anyone; they also said that there were many people doing business in the market who deserved to be put in cages more than the people they were scolding. Go inside, maybe even put yourself in the pillory. The two sides insulted each other in this way (during this period, the two men's attitude was always very sensible and calm), and then they started beating each other, and both sides were injured. The two men were then brought before the judge, and were found responsible for the latest commotion in the market-place. So pitifully, they were beaten again, put on shackles, handcuffs, and led around the market with iron chains, in order to punish the police so that no one would stand up to speak for them or talk to them again. They join forces. But the attitude of the Christians and the Faithful was more appropriate, and they bore the insults and humiliations inflicted on them with such meekness and patience that a few people in the market-place sympathized with them (although their number was small compared with the rest). Still very few). This made the other party even more angry and even thought that those two people must be executed. They threatened that they would no longer use cages and shackles to deal with them, and that they deserved death for contradicting and deceiving the people in the market place.
So they were escorted back to the cage to wait for future orders. They were imprisoned and their feet were put in stocks.
Therefore, at this time they remembered the words of their faithful friend the Evangelist, and because he had told them in advance what they would encounter later, their attitude became more firm in the suffering. They now reassured each other that whoever was doomed to suffer would fare best; so both secretly hoped for promotion. Nevertheless, they entrusted themselves to the all-sovereign God, and they accepted their situation calmly and resignedly.
Then, in order to convict the two men, they set an appropriate time to bring the two men for trial. When that time came, they were brought before their enemies and interrogated. The name of the judge is Hateful. Their complaint was essentially the same, though slightly different in form, and was as follows:
"The two persons opposed and disturbed their trade; they caused commotion and dissension in the town, and held them in contempt The prince's law actually made a group of people agree with their seriously harmful opinions." At this time, Faithful replied that he only opposed those who opposed the most high God. As for disturbing the peace, I don't do it because I am a peace-loving person; those who sympathize with us sympathize with us because they see our honesty and innocence, and they have changed from bad to good. As for the king you call, because he is the devil and the enemy of God, I disown him and all his servants.
Then the court declared that the prisoners in the court who would testify against their master, the king, should come forward and give evidence. So three witnesses walked in, namely, jealousy, superstition and sycophancy.
They were asked in court whether they recognized the prisoner who was on trial, and whether they had anything to say against him for the sake of their master, the King.
So Jealous stood up and said something like this: Your Excellency, I have known this man for a long time, and I am willing to swear in this dignified court to prove that he is——
Judge Say: Stop and let him take the oath.
They swore an oath to him. Then he said, Your Majesty, although this man has a nice name, he is the worst person in our hometown; he has no regard for the king and the people, and has no respect for the law and customs. He tries every means to use his disloyal ideas to influence all men, which he generally called the principles of faith and holiness. In particular, I once heard him say that Christianity and the customs of the city are incompatible and cannot be compromised. His words, your honor, not only condemned all our praiseworthy conduct, but also condemned us for doing that.
So the judge said to him, do you have anything else to say?
Jealousy said: Your Honor, I can say a lot, but I don’t want to be too chatty in court. However, if after the testimony of the other two gentlemen, there is still lack of evidence and therefore he cannot be sentenced to death, I am willing to add to it. So the judge asked him to stand aside.
Then they called Superstition and told him to look at the prisoner who was being tried; they also asked him if he had anything to say against the prisoner for his master. So they swore him an oath; and he began to say:
Your honor, I do not know this man well, and I have no desire to know him better. But I knew that he was a very dangerous man. This impression came from talking to him that day in the city; for in the conversation I heard him say that our faith is worthless, because one can never It pleases God. Your Honor, you know very well what the inevitable conclusion of his words is, that is, our worship is still in vain, we are still guilty, and we will eventually perish; this is what I want to say.
Then they swore an oath to the flatterer, asking him to speak against the prisoner on behalf of their master, the king.
The flatterer said: Your Honor, gentlemen, I have known this man for a long time, and I heard him say some things that I shouldn’t have said; because he had scolded our dignified King, the Demon King, and talked about the Demon King with disdain. Noble friends, that is, Sir Devil, Sir ***, Sir Luxurious, Sir Vanity, Sir Lustful Old Sir, Sir Greedy and all our nobles. He also said that if everyone thought like him (if that were possible), none of these nobles could stay in the city. And he is not afraid of offending you, my lord, who is now appointed as his judge. He calls you a wicked scoundrel, and slanders most of the best people in the city with similar names.
After the flatterer finished speaking, the judge said to the prisoner, you traitor, heretic, and traitor, have you heard the testimony of these honest people?
Zhongxin said: Can I say a few words to defend myself?
The judge said: Hey, hey, you don’t deserve to live anymore and should be executed immediately; but in order to let everyone see that we are kind to you, we will listen to you, you *** traitor. Something to say.
Loyalty said: First, my answer to what Mr. Jealousy said is this: I only said that any rules, laws, customs or people that violate the way of God are in no way compatible with Christianity. Allow. If what I said is wrong, point out my mistake and I will retract it in front of you.
As for the second point, regarding Mr. Superstition and his accusation against me, I only said this: Worshiping God requires an extraordinary faith, but without the wonderful revelation of God’s will, it will be impossible. There will be no extraordinary confidence. Therefore, if there is anything in worship that is inconsistent with divine revelation, it is entirely from mortal faith that does not profit eternal life.
Thirdly, as to what Mr. Flatterer said, I say (I will avoid using any names here, lest you say I am swearing, etc.), the prince of this city and his rabble, or like this As the gentleman said, his followers are only worthy of going to hell and not worthy of staying in this town or its surroundings; therefore, please God, have mercy on me!
At this time the judge said to the jurors (who had been listening and paying attention), gentlemen of the jury, you have seen the people who caused a great commotion in this city; you have also heard these The testimony of the worthy gentlemen was given to him; you also heard his answers and confession; now you have the power to decide his life or death; but I think it necessary to explain our laws to you.
In the days of our prince's servant, Pharaoh the Great, there was a decree that, in order that the number and power of those of different faiths should not increase and become disadvantageous to him, their men should be thrown into the river. Another of his servants, King Nebuchadnezzar, also made a decree in his dynasty that anyone who did not bow down and worship his golden image would be thrown into the fiery furnace. In the days of King Darius, there was also a prohibition that anyone who asked anything from any god other than the king must be thrown into the lions' den. This traitor has essentially violated these laws, not only in thought (which is unbearable enough); but also in words and actions. This is absolutely intolerable.
As for Pharaoh's decree, it was made to prevent harm, but there was no obvious crime; but here there is an obvious crime. Concerning the second and third, you see that he was opposed to our faith; and since he had confessed this crime of treason, he deserved the death penalty.
The jury members Mr. Blind, Mr. Useless, Mr. Malicious, Mr. Indulgent, Mr. Insolent, Mr. Willful, Mr. Arrogant, Mr. Hostile, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruel, Mr. Hate the Light and Mr. Stubborn are all gone. go out. They all found him guilty, and then unanimously decided to find him guilty before a judge. When they were discussing at first, Mr. Blind, the foreman of the jury, said, I can see clearly that this man is a cultist. Then Mr. Useless said, there is no need for such people in the world! Mr. Malice said, yes, I hate him when I see him. Then Mr. Lust said, I will never tolerate him. Mr. Slutty said, I can't either, because he will always blame me for my style in the future. Mr. Wayward said, hang him, hang him! Mr. Arrogant said, a poor commonplace useless thing. Mr. Hostile said, I hate him from the bottom of my heart. Mr. Liar said he was a scoundrel. Mr. Cruel said that hanging was an advantage for him. Mr. Hate Guangming said, let’s execute him as soon as possible. Then Mr. Stubborn said, even if you give me the whole world, I can't compromise with him. Let's sentence him to death immediately. This they did; and accordingly he was soon condemned, and ordered to be taken from the court to his place of origin, and there to suffer the most cruel death imaginable.
So they brought him out and dealt with him according to their law; first they whipped him, then they struck him, then they stabbed him with swords; then they stoned him, and then stabbed him with swords; Finally they burned him at the stake. This is how Zhongxin died.
Now I saw a carriage and two horses waiting for Zhongxin behind the crowd. As soon as his enemies killed him, he got into the carriage and was immediately taken to the clouds. There is the sound of trumpets. This is the shortest way to Tianmen. As for Christian, he was given a suspended sentence and taken to prison, where he remained for another period. But God, who is sovereign over all and holds all power, enabled the Christian to escape that time and continue his journey. As he walked, he sang: ——
O faithful one, you faithfully show your Lord,
You will have the good fortune to be with Him,
p>
And the unfaithful, despite their vain joy,
now weep in the misery of hell.
Sing, faithful, lift up your voice, and let your name never fade,
For though they kill you, you still live.
(Xihai translation)
Appreciation
The excerpt mainly describes the relationship between Christians and Faithful at Vanity Fair (also translated as Vanity Fair) "Vanity Fair"). Among them, Zhongxin’s story of generously dying for his belief in the truth is particularly vivid and touching. In this part, the author expresses his unique understanding of the nature of law and the current situation of the British legal system in this part. At the same time, he also deeply reflected on the true face of life in this world, believing that being true to one's ideals and religious beliefs is the fundamental way to save life.
The Glorious Market can be said to be a microcosm of the moral situation in Britain and even Europe at that time. There, everything is for sale at a price, and “the market is full of things like: houses, lands, careers, positions, honours, promotions, titles, countries, kingdoms, desires, pleasures, and all kinds of enjoyments, such as Whores, madams, husbands, children, masters, slaves, life, blood, body, soul, gold, silver, pearls, precious stones, etc.”
After the Restoration of Charles II, British court life resumed its luxurious habits. At the same time, with the further development of capitalist industry and commerce, the relationships between people are increasingly infected with commercial habits. This greatly disappointed a person like Bunyan, who was impoverished, came from a lower class background, and had experienced the vigorous bourgeois revolution. Not only have their social status not been substantially improved, but even the freedom of religious belief they once enjoyed during the revolution has been partially or completely deprived of it. People who were once passionate about life and full of hope for the future were forced to live in a completely conservative and corrupt society. One can imagine the depression in the hearts of these lower-class people.
So, what strength supports them to continue living in difficult times? In Bunyan's view, it is loyalty and faith, that is, unswerving faith in truth and God. Bunyan's purpose in writing "The Pilgrim's Progress" was to send moral nourishment to the souls of those who had experienced the excitement of the Revolutionary Period and the disappointment of the Restoration Period. He believes that only by being firmly loyal to one's faith without wavering can one maintain his direction in a filthy and corrupt social environment and avoid becoming a lost lamb. Only then can he walk step by step on the road to the Kingdom of Heaven in a down-to-earth manner. This idea is more vividly reflected in the allegorical character Zhongxin described in the selected article. Faithful and Christian comfort one another by saying, “Whoever is destined to suffer will have the best outcome.
"What a great spiritual comfort these simple and short words could bring to the suffering people at that time!
The faithful and Christians entrust "their souls to kindness" God, just like entrusting it to a reliable creator." He is not afraid of all difficulties and dangers, and persistently goes to the kingdom of heaven, but he must pass through the flashy town on the way. The author uses Zhongxin's experience in the flashy town to satirize it more comprehensively , refuted the absurdity of the legal system at that time, and praised the fearless spirit of loyalty and death for the truth. In Bunyan's view, the British law during the Restoration was based on undemocratic power and was for the big bourgeoisie. and serve the nobility. However, this kind of law, which is almost democratic, is imposed on the people by the rulers as something sacred. The legal system and those who live by the law interfere with people's freedom of belief for no reason. In Young's opinion, it is the main cause of social corruption and the decline of social morality.
The scene of the trial of loyalty in the glitzy market in the selected article can be said to be a wonderful satire of this unjust legal system. < /p>
First of all, the ruler of this market turned out to be the Devil, and the so-called noble friends of the Devil turned out to be Sir Devil, Sir ***, Sir Luxurious, Sir Vanity, Sir Lustful Old Sir, and Sir Greedy. . This list of names is really amazing. From these made-up names, we can see how deeply the author hated the corrupt and degenerate British upper class at that time. What is quite strange is that the so-called legal representative of the glitzy market. It is the will of these "noble people" and their master, the Demon King, so can this law be so-called justice?
The author actually named the judge of the Flashy Market "Hassan". , his name also vividly depicts the essence of the so-called law at that time. Let's look at the composition of the grand jury: Mr. Blind, Mr. Useless, Mr. Malice, Mr. Indulgence, Mr. Wanton, Mr. Willful, Mr. Arrogant, Mr. Hostile, Mr. Liar, Mr. Cruelty, Mr. Hate Light, and Mr. Stubbornness. The twelve members of the grand jury actually constitute the epitome of evil and immorality. If this group of people with no moral character represent the will of the law, then the so-called law. Justice is not difficult to imagine, and the so-called trial of the faithful and Christians can only be like a farce. The words of Mr. Jealousy, the lying witness, are also very wonderful. He said: "Your honor, I can. I have a lot to say, but I don't want to dwell on it in court. However, if after the testimony of the other two gentlemen, there is still lack of evidence to sentence him to death, I am willing to add. ” This really means that there is no need to punish his crimes!
The law, which appears as a mask of fairness and justice, actually wants to punish the faithful who pass through the glitzy market and rush to the kingdom of heaven in pursuit of the truth. Put him to death and then die quickly. Zhongxin was brutally killed on an unfounded charge. This was an inevitable fate that he could not escape under the unfair legal system. But on the other hand, he was loyal to the truth and died for the truth. The best shortcut to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Being loyal to the truth and quickly ascending to the kingdom of heaven should be said to give Christians more confidence and moral strength, which enables them to strengthen their belief in God. Walking more decisively and solidly on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Of course, the reason why Christians can move forward unswervingly to the Kingdom of Heaven is also closely related to the concepts they hold on this world. From the perspective of Christians, this world has never been corrupt for five thousand years. It was not easy. Therefore, the first chapter of "The Pilgrim's Progress" once wrote about his thoughts of abandoning the world. At that time, he was concentrating on reading the Bible. "While he was reading, he kept weeping and trembling all over." Really unable to control it, I let out a sad cry: "What should I do?" '" The Christian may have received the revelation that the end of the world was coming, so he tried hard to persuade his wife, children and neighbors to escape from the city that was about to be destroyed by heavenly fire. However, the persuasion was ineffective, so he set off alone on the road, and had a series of adventures later. Meeting Zhongxin and becoming close friends with each other should be said to be a great opportunity for Christians to quickly improve their moral strength. The book takes more than 70 pages from meeting to Zhongxin's ascension to heaven, which shows the deep love between the two. How important the mutual infection of friendship and quality is to Christians. It is no wonder that when Faithful died and ascended to heaven, Christians would sing: "Sing, Faithful, sing loudly, let your name never fade, because even though they kill you." , you are still alive. ”
If at the beginning of the work, it seems naive for Christians to want to abandon the world and quickly rush to the kingdom of heaven, then the difficulties and dangers encountered on the journey to the kingdom of heaven have undoubtedly given them full experience. Therefore, he and Zhongxin's brave and fearless performance in the flashy market seemed so calm, because at this time they had realized that flashy. The market represents many aspects of life and is an inevitable part of life. It is the "must pass by people on their way to heaven." As part of the journey of life, the flashy market is not only a severe place to test all living beings, "even Jesus also "You have to pass the test of the flashy market", which shows that the flashy market is a hurdle that cannot be bypassed in life. It is precisely because of this understanding that he and Zhongxin behaved so righteously when faced with unfounded accusations. In this sense, we say that Christian's character has developed, although he, like other characters in the book, has a certain tendency to be stereotyped.
The valuable thing about "The Pilgrim's Progress" is that the author did not make the work less creative because of his use of dreamy allegorical techniques. The character creation, character dialogue and overall style in the book are all full of dramatic artistic characteristics. This is not difficult to see from the selected text. It is drama that makes the work full of human psychological authenticity and ethical realism. This provides an extremely favorable form for the work to focus on exploring how the human soul can be redeemed. It is also the reason why the work can impress people in different countries and eras. A fundamental reason for readers.
Of course, in terms of artistic form, there is still a certain distance between "The Pilgrim's Progress" and modern novels. Although the noble characters of Christians and faithful who have gone through hardships, relentlessly explored the truth and pursued the salvation of souls described in the works have great touching power, the symbolic technique of dreamy allegory is after all a typical feature of medieval literature. As Bunyan pointed out, In our current era, this approach is somewhat outdated. Compared with French novels of the same period, British novels including "The Pilgrim's Progress" are somewhat inferior.
(Wang Hongzhang)