Page:The Pilgrim's Progress, the Holy War, Grace Abounding Chunk1.djvu/32

28 fall on thy head. Now if she with her children are in bondage, how canst thou expect by them to be made free? This Legality, therefore, is not able to set thee free from thy burden. No man was as yet ever rid of his burden by him: no, nor ever is like to be. Ye cannot be justified by the works of the law; for by the deeds of the law no man living can be rid of his burden: therefore Mr. Worldly Wiseman is an alien, and Mr. Legality is a cheat; and for his son Civility, notwithstanding his simpering looks, he is but a hypocrite, and cannot help thee. Believe me, there is nothing in all this noise that thou hast heard of these sottish men, but a design to beguile thee of thy salvation, by turning thee from the way in which I had set thee. After this, Evangelist called aloud to the heavens for confirmation of what he had said; and with that there came words and fire out of the mountain under which poor Christian stood, that made the hair of his ﬂesh stand up. The words were thus pronounced: "As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse;" for it is written, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." (Gal. iii. 10.)

Now Christian looked for nothing but death, and began to cry out lamentably; even cursing the time in which he met with Mr. Worldly Wiseman; still calling himself a thousand fools for hearkening to counsel. He also was greatly ashamed to think that this gentleman's arguments, ﬂowing only from the ﬂesh, should have the prevalency with him so far as to cause him to forsake the right way. This done, he applied himself again to Evangelist in words and sense as follows:—

Chr. Sir, what think you? .Is there any hope? May I now go back, and, go up to the Wicket-gate? Shall I not be abandoned for this, and, sent back from thence ashamed? I am sorry have hearkened to this man's counsel: but may my sin be forgiven?