A favourite book of all time for me is The Pilgrim’s Progress. It is easy to read as not too long and the characters are obvious: Help, Faithful and so on. The English countryside, weather and walking are used as metaphor between the material and spiritual.
If Bunyan had been given access to the internet he would have certainly used it- yet he was writing for himself: “I did not think to show the world my pen and ink in such a mode; I only thought to make I knew not what; not did I undertake thereby to please my neighbour: no, not I; I did it my own self to gratify.”
The following is a list of expressions taken from this book:
dark clouds; dark and cloudy words;
Truth’s golden beams
Carrying a heavy burden
I walked through the wilderness
Walking in the sight of God
Slough of Despond
sound ground
forbidden paths
knocking at the gate; an open door
the straight and narrow way
The Hill Difficulty
The Way of Danger, Way of Destruction
Valley of Humiliation/Humility
Leaves of the Tree of Life
Valley of the Shadow of Death
Clouds of Confusion
Pits, pit-holes, deep holes
The heavenly country
These expressions draw on the countryside, weather, walking, and the heavy burden to carry. Less is surely more for a pilgrim as far as carrying material possession is concerned. How was this managed? Carrying very little, I imagine, unless you were rich enough to get others to carry your burden for you. The tragedy for Bunyan was this work of art was written in prison; his burden was not a material one and he he must have yearned for country views
