Part 14
The Holy War · John Bunyan
No. Not guilty, my lord.
Then the witnesses were called, and Mr. Know-All did first give in his evidence against him.
Know. My lord, this man was at the pulling down of the image of Shaddai; yea, this is he that did it with his own hands. I myself stood by and saw him do it, and he did it at the commandment of Diabolus. Yea, this Mr. No-Truth did more than this, he did also set up the horned image of the beast Diabolus in the same place. This also is he that, at the bidding of Diabolus, did rend and tear, and cause to be consumed, all that he could of the remainders of the law of the King, even whatever he could lay his hands on in Mansoul.
Clerk. Who saw him do this besides yourself?
Hate. I did, my lord, and so did many more besides; for this was not done by stealth, or in a corner, but in the open view of all; yea, he chose himself to do it publicly, for he delighted in the doing of it.
Clerk. Mr. No-Truth, how could you have the face to plead not guilty, when you were so manifestly the doer of all this wickedness?
No. Sir, I thought I must say something, and as my name is, so I speak. I have been advantaged thereby before now, and did not know but by speaking no truth, I might have reaped the same benefit now.
Clerk. Set him by, gaoler, and set Mr. Pitiless to the bar. Mr. Pitiless, thou art here indicted by the name of Pitiless, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou didst most traitorously and wickedly shut up all bowels of compassion, and wouldest not suffer poor Mansoul to condole her own misery when she had apostatised from her rightful King, but didst evade, and at all times turn her mind awry from those thoughts that had in them a tendency to lead her to repentance. What sayest thou to this indictment? Guilty or not guilty?
‘Not guilty of pitilessness: all I did was to cheer up, according to my name, for my name is not Pitiless, but Cheer-up; and I could not abide to see Mansoul inclined to melancholy.’
Clerk. How! do you deny your name, and say it is not Pitiless, but Cheer-up? Call for the witnesses. What say you, the witnesses, to this plea?
Know. My lord, his name is Pitiless; so he hath written himself in all papers of concern wherein he has had to do. But these Diabolonians love to counterfeit their names: Mr. Covetousness covers himself with the name of Good-Husbandry, or the like; Mr. Pride can, when need is, call himself Mr. Neat, Mr. Handsome, or the like; and so of all the rest of them.
Clerk. Mr. Tell-True, what say you?
Tell. His name is Pitiless, my lord. I have known him from a child, and he hath done all that wickedness whereof he stands charged in the indictment; but there is a company of them that are not acquainted with the danger of damning, therefore they call all those melancholy that have serious thoughts how that state should be shunned by them.
Clerk. Set Mr. Haughty to the bar, gaoler. Mr. Haughty, thou art here indicted by the name of Haughty, (an intruder upon the town of Mansoul,) for that thou didst most traitorously and devilishly teach the town of Mansoul to carry it loftily and stoutly against the summons that was given them by the captains of the King Shaddai. Thou didst also teach the town of Mansoul to speak contemptuously and vilifyingly of their great King Shaddai; and didst moreover encourage, both by words and examples, Mansoul, to take up arms both against the King and his son Emmanuel. How sayest thou, art thou guilty of this indictment, or not?
Haughty. Gentlemen, I have always been a man of courage and valour, and have not used, when under the greatest clouds, to sneak or hang down the head like a bulrush; nor did it at all at any time please me to see men veil their bonnets to those that have opposed them; yea, though their adversaries seemed to have ten times the advantage of them. I did not use to consider who was my foe, nor what the cause was in which I was engaged. It was enough to me if I carried it bravely, fought like a man, and came off a victor.
Court. Mr. Haughty, you are not here indicted for that you have been a valiant man, nor for your courage and stoutness in times of distress, but for that you have made use of this your pretended valour to draw the town of Mansoul into acts of rebellion both against the great King, and Emmanuel his Son. This is the crime and the thing wherewith thou art charged in and by the indictment.
But he made no answer to that.
Now when the Court had thus far proceeded against the prisoners at the bar, then they put them over to the verdict of their jury, to whom they did apply themselves after this manner:
‘Gentlemen of the jury, you have been here, and have seen these men; you have heard their indictments, their pleas, and what the witnesses have testified against them: now what remains, is, that you do forthwith withdraw yourselves to some place, where without confusion you may consider of what verdict, in a way of truth and righteousness, you ought to bring in for the King against them, and so bring it in accordingly.’
Then the jury, to wit, Mr. Belief, Mr. True-Heart, Mr. Upright, Mr. Hate-bad, Mr. Love-God, Mr. See-Truth, Mr. Heavenly-Mind, Mr. Moderate, Mr. Thankful, Mr. Humble, Mr. Good-Work, and Mr. Zeal-for-God, withdrew themselves in order to their work. Now when they were shut up by themselves, they fell to discourse among themselves in order to the drawing up of their verdict.
And thus Mr. Belief (for he was the foreman) began: ‘Gentlemen,’ quoth he, ‘for the men, the prisoners at the bar, for my part I believe that they all deserve death.’ ‘Very right,’ said Mr. True-Heart; ‘I am wholly of your opinion.’ ‘Oh what a mercy is it,’ said Mr. Hate-Bad, ‘that such villains as these are apprehended!’ ‘Ay! ay!’ said Mr. Love-God, ‘this is one of the joyfullest days that ever I saw in my life.’ Then said Mr. See-Truth, ‘I know that if we judge them to death, our verdict shall stand before Shaddai himself’ ‘Nor do I at all question it,’ said Mr. Heavenly-Mind; he said, moreover, ‘When all such beasts as these are cast out of Mansoul, what a goodly town will it be then!’ ‘Then,’ said Mr. Moderate, ‘it is not my manner to pass my judgment with rashness; but for these their crimes are so notorious, and the witness so palpable, that that man must be wilfully blind who saith the prisoners ought not to die.’ ‘Blessed be God,’ said Mr. Thankful, ‘that the traitors are in safe custody.’ ‘And I join with you in this upon my bare knees,’ said Mr. Humble. ‘I am glad also,’ said Mr. Good-Work. Then said the warm man, and true-hearted Mr. Zeal-for-God, ‘Cut them off; they have been the plague, and have sought the destruction of Mansoul.’
Thus, therefore, being all agreed in their verdict, they come instantly into the Court.
Clerk. Gentlemen of the jury, answer all to your names: Mr. Belief, one; Mr. True-Heart, two; Mr. Upright, three; Mr. Hate-Bad, four; Mr. Love-God, five; Mr. See-Truth, six; Mr. Heavenly-mind, seven; Mr. Moderate, eight; Mr. Thankful, nine; Mr. Humble, ten; Mr. Good-Work, eleven; and Mr. Zeal-for-God, twelve. Good men and true, stand together in your verdict: are you all agreed?
Jury. Yes, my lord.
Clerk. Who shall speak for you?
Jury. Our foreman.
Clerk. You, the gentlemen of the jury, being empannelled for our Lord the King, to serve here in a matter of life and death, have heard the trials of each of these men, the prisoners at the bar: what say you? are they guilty of that, and those crimes for which they stand here indicted, or are they not guilty?
Foreman. Guilty, my lord.
Clerk. Look to your prisoners, gaoler.
This was done in the morning, and in the afternoon they received the sentence of death according to the law.
The gaoler, therefore, having received such a charge, put them all in the inward prison, to preserve them there till the day of execution, which was to be the next day in the morning.
But now to see how it happened, one of the prisoners, Incredulity by name, in the interim betwixt the sentence and the time of execution, brake prison and made his escape, and gets him away quite out of the town of Mansoul, and lay lurking in such places and holes as he might, until he should again have opportunity to do the town of Mansoul a mischief for their thus handling of him as they did.
Now when Mr. Trueman, the gaoler, perceived that he had lost his prisoner, he was in a heavy taking, because that prisoner was, to speak on, the very worst of all the gang: wherefore first he goes and acquaints my Lord Mayor, Mr. Recorder, and my Lord Willbewill, with the matter, and to get of them an order to make search for him throughout the town of Mansoul. So an order he got, and search was made, but no such man could now be found in all the town of Mansoul.
All that could be gathered was, that he had lurked a while about the outside of the town, and that here and there one or other had a glimpse of him as he did make his escape out of Mansoul; one or two also did affirm that they saw him without the town, going apace quite over the plain. Now when he was quite gone, it was affirmed by one Mr. Did-see, that he ranged all over dry places, till he met with Diabolus, his friend, and where should they meet one another but just upon Hell-gate hill.
But oh! what a lamentable story did the old gentleman tell to Diabolus concerning what sad alteration Emmanuel had made in Mansoul!
As, first, how Mansoul had, after some delays, received a general pardon at the hands of Emmanuel, and that they had invited him into the town, and that they had given him the castle for his possession. He said, moreover, that they had called his soldiers into the town, coveted who should quarter the most of them; they also entertained him with the timbrel, song, and dance. ‘But that,’ said Incredulity, ‘which is the sorest vexation to me is, that he hath pulled down, O father, thy image, and set up his own; pulled down thy officers and set up his own. Yea, and Willbewill, that rebel, who, one would have thought, should never have turned from us, he is now in as great favour with Emmanuel as ever he was with thee. But, besides all this, this Willbewill has received a special commission from his master to search for, to apprehend, and to put to death all, and all manner of Diabolonians that he shall find in Mansoul: yea, and this Willbewill has taken and committed to prison already eight of my Lord’s most trusty friends in Mansoul. Nay, further, my Lord, with grief I speak it, they have been all arraigned, condemned, and, I doubt, before this executed in Mansoul. I told my Lord of eight, and myself was the ninth, who should assuredly have drunk of the same cup, but that through craft, I, as thou seest, have made mine escape from them.’
When Diabolus had heard this lamentable story, he yelled and snuffed up the wind like a dragon, and made the sky to look dark with his roaring; he also sware that he would try to be revenged on Mansoul for this. So they, both he and his old friend Incredulity, concluded to enter into great consultation, how they might get the town of Mansoul again.
Now, before this time, the day was come in which the prisoners in Mansoul were to be executed. So they were brought to the cross, and that by Mansoul, in most solemn manner; for the Prince said that this should be done by the hand of the town of Mansoul, ‘that I may see,’ said he, ‘the forwardness of my now redeemed Mansoul to keep my word, and to do my commandments; and that I may bless Mansoul in doing this deed. Proof of sincerity pleases me well; let Mansoul therefore first lay their hands upon these Diabolonians to destroy them.’
So the town of Mansoul slew them, according to the word of their Prince; but when the prisoners were brought to the cross to die, you can hardly believe what troublesome work Mansoul had of it to put the Diabolonians to death; for the men, knowing that they must die, and every of them having implacable enmity in their hearts to Mansoul, what did they but took courage at the cross, and there resisted the men of the town of Mansoul? Wherefore the men of Mansoul were forced to cry out for help to the captains and men of war. Now the great Shaddai had a secretary in the town, and he was a great lover of the men of Mansoul, and he was at the place of execution also; so he, hearing the men of Mansoul cry out against the strugglings and unruliness of the prisoners, rose up from his place, and came and put his hands upon the hands of the men of Mansoul. So they crucified the Diabolonians that had been a plague, a grief, and an offence to the town of Mansoul.
Now, when this good work was done, the Prince came down to see, to visit, and to speak comfortably to the men of Mansoul, and to strengthen their hands in such work. And he said to them that, by this act of theirs he had proved them, and found them to be lovers of his person, observers of his laws, and such as had also respect to his honour. He said, moreover, (to show them that they by this should not be losers, nor their town weakened by the loss of them,) that he would make them another captain, and that of one of themselves. And that this captain should be the ruler of a thousand, for the good and benefit of the now flourishing town of Mansoul.