. The pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come, delivered under the similitude of a dream . ment, he would prefer the office of tormen-tor to the place of the tormented. What a singular contrastbetween the child and the man!—an entire change of disposition ;for at any point after his experience of grace, Bunyan, if he hadfelt compelled to make such a choice, would rather have been thetormented than the tormentor. But these youthful terrors of hell,and these demoniac imaginations, the work of the troubled sea of apowerful mind under the broodings of the storm-wings of con-sci
. The pilgrim's progress from this world to that which is to come, delivered under the similitude of a dream . ment, he would prefer the office of tormen-tor to the place of the tormented. What a singular contrastbetween the child and the man!—an entire change of disposition ;for at any point after his experience of grace, Bunyan, if he hadfelt compelled to make such a choice, would rather have been thetormented than the tormentor. But these youthful terrors of hell,and these demoniac imaginations, the work of the troubled sea of apowerful mind under the broodings of the storm-wings of con-science, were soon forgotten amidstthe activities of sin. My plea-sures, says Bunyan, did quicklycut off the remembrance of them,as if they had never been. For a picture of Bunyan in hisboyhood, let the painter go with him• into the fields, and simply trace theoutlines of his own description. Hisyouthful companion is gazing uponhim with terror, as he stands, heed-less and daring, with a live adder inhis hands, forcing open the reptilesmouth with a stick, and plucking outits sting with his fingers. What a. Vlll INTRODUCTORY MEMOIR OF THE strange and even fierce development of reckless resolution! Wasthis singular event, through which he passed unharmed, a propheticsymbol, under such a wild external form, of the conquering powerof the future man of grace over sin ? At this time he had but fewequals for cursing, lying, swearing, and blaspheming the holy nameof God. These were the growing habits of his childhood; and afearful precocious ripening there seemed to be in the elements of hischaracter for perdition. Whatever he did, he did with he gone on hi sin, he would have been one of the greatestsinners the world ever saw. Nor, though he had some few slightchecks, did anything, either ofmercy or of judg-ment, stop thisprogress for someyears. In thatdread sin of curs-ing and swearingespecially, as wehave said, his boy-hood was formid-ably energetic ,and indeed, untilthe a
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