And just now, while Diabolus was speaking these words to Mansoul, Tisiphone shot at Captain Resistance, where he stood, on the Captain Resistance slain. gate, and mortally wounded him in the head so that he, to the amazement of the townsmen, and the encouragement of Diabolus, fell down dead quite over the wall 18. Now when Captain Resistance was dead (and he was the only man of war in the town), poor Mansoul was wholly left naked of courage, nor had she now any heart to resist: but this was as the devil would have it. Then stood forth that He, Mr. Ill-pause, that Diabolus brought with him, who was his orator, and he addressed himself to speak to the town of Mansoul: the tenor of whose speech here follows: Mr.Ill-pause, Mansoul. ILL-PAUSE. "Gentlemen," quoth he, "it is my master's happiness, that he has this day his speech to a quiet and teachable auditory; and it the town of is hoped by us, that we shall prevail with you not to cast off good advice: my master has a very great love for you; and although he very well knows that he runs the hazard of the anger of king Shaddai, yet love to you will make him do more than that. Nor doth there need that a word more should be spoken to confirm for truth what he hath said; there is not thod so successful, still persists in it. God says-Sinner, thou shalt die; Satan says-Thou shalt not die; which of these ought we to believe? 18 Resistance to the suggestions of Satan failed in our first mother. She parleyed with the temptation which she ought to have resisted and rejected with abhorrence. She paused; and it was an ill-pause. There was no occasion to pause or ponder on what the Devil had said, for he had given the lie to the God of truth. Whatever contradicts the word of God should be instantly resisted as diabolical. tation. a word but carries with itself evidence in its bowels; the very name of the tree may put an end to all controversy in this matter. I therefore at this time shall only add this advice to you, under and by the leave of my lord (and with that he made Diabolus a very low congee): consider his words; look on the tree, and the promising Strong temp- fruit thereof; remember also, that yet you know but little, and this is the way to know more: and if your reason be not conquered to accept of such good counsel, you are not the men I took you to be." But when the towns-folk saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eye, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, they did as old Illpause advised, they took and did eat thereof. Now this I should have told you before, that even then, when this Ill-pause was making this speech to the townsmen, my Lord Innocency My Lord Inno (whether by a shot from the camp of the giant, or from some qualm that suddenly took him, or whether by the stinking breath of that treacherous villain old Ill-pause, for so I am most apt to think) sunk down in the place where he stood, nor could he be brought to life again1. Thus these two brave men died; brave cency's death. 19 The very breath of temptation, received and entertained for a single moment, destroyed primitive innocence. When the lies of Satan were admitted, unbelief entered, and innocence died. "Thou shalt surely die," said Jehovah. In a spiritual sense, man did indeed die immediately. He died spiritually; he died to God. "Lust conceived, and brought forth sin, and sin when finished, brought forth death," Jam.i. 5. By this one fatal act of disobedience, the whole world was ruined. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners." By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation." Rom. v. 18, 19. sin." с men I call them, for they were the beauty and glory of Mansoul, so long as they lived therein: nor did there now remain any more a noble spirit in Mansoul; they all fell down and yielded obedience to Diabolus, and became his slaves and vassals, as you shall hear. The town taken by Diabolus and his bands. Now these being dead, what do the rest of the townsfolk, but as men that had found a fool's paradise, they presently, as afore was hinted, fell to prove the truth of the giant's words: and first, they did as Ill-pause had taught them, they looked, they considered, they were taken with the forbidden fruit," they took thereof, and did eat";" and, having eaten, they became immediately drunken therewith; so they opened the gates, both Ear-gate and Eye-gate, and let in Diabolus with all his bands, quite forgetting their good Shaddai, his law, and the judgment that he had annexed with solemn threatening to the breach thereof. 20 Milton finely represents the fatal act: "Forth reaching to the fruit, she pluck'd, she eat: Book IX. 1. 780. CHAP. II. Diabolus takes possession of the Castle....Mr. Understanding, the Lord Mayor, is deposed, and a Wall built before his House to darken it....Mr. Conscience the Recorder is displaced....My Lord Will-be-will is appointed Governor....The Image of Shaddai defaced....A new Corporation chosen, and Forts erected. Dat the gates IABOLUS, having now obtained entrance in of the town, marches up to the middle thereof, to make his conquest as sure as he could; and finding, by this time, the affections of the people warmly inclining to him, he, thinking it was best striking while the iron is hot, made this further deceivable speech unto them, saying, "Alas, my poor Mansoul! I have done thee indeed this service, as to promote thee to honour, and to greaten thy liberty; but alas! alas! poor Mansoul, thou wantest now one to defend thee; for assure thyself, when Shaddai shall hear what is done, he will come; for sorry will he be that thou hast broken his bonds, and cast his cords away from thee. What wilt thou do? Wilt thou, after enlargement, suffer thy privileges to be invaded and taken away? or what wilt thou resolve with thyself?" Then they all with one consent said to this bramble, "Do thou reign over us." Diabolus is en- So he accepted the motion, and betertained for came the king of the town of Mansoul. This being done, the next thing was, to give him possession of the castle, and so of the whole strength of the town. Where their king. fore into the castle he goes (it was that which Shaddai built in Mansoul, for his own delight and pleasure): this was now become a den and hold for He is possessed the giant Diabolus. Now having of the castle, and got possession of this stately palace or castle, what doth he, but make it a garrison for himself, and strengthens and fortifies it with all sorts of provisions against the king Shaddai, or those that should endeavour the regaining of it to him and his obedience again'. fortifieth it for himself. Diabolus new. models the town. This done, but not thinking himself yet secure enough, in the next place he bethinks himself of new-modelling the town: and so he does, setting up one, and putting down another at pleasure. Wherefore my Lord Mayor, whose name was my Lord Understanding, and Mr. Recorder, whose name was Mr. Conscience, these he put out of place and power. Asfor my Lord Mayor, though he was an understanding man, and one too that had The lord mayor complied with the rest of the town put out of place. of Mansoul in admitting the giant into the town, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5, yet Diabolus thought not fit to let him abide in his former lustre and glory, because he was a seeing man, Eph. iv. 18, 19, wherefore he had darkened him not only by taking from him his office and power, but by 1 The Heart of fallen man, signified by the castle, is in the possession of Satan; "the strong man armed" keepeth this palace, which was erected for the habitation of God. The powers of the soul are perverted, and made "strong holds" against God, 2 Cor. x. 4. Satan is become "the prince of this world," and powerfully works in the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. Yea, he is called "the god of this world," and is not only obeyed by sinners universally, but, under various forms, is worshipped by many of the heathen. |