Political and Ecclesiastical Writing

John Oldham [1653-1683]

pioneer of the imitation of classical satire in English. Oldham
has a notable place in the development of Augustan poetry.
The four Satyrs upon the Jesuits (1681), including “Garnet’s
Ghost,” constitute his most widely known work.
In his last year he composed a series of satirical pieces,
including imitations of Juvenal and the French poet Nicolas
Boileau. His satires have the novelty of being directed
toward general subjects rather than being personal lampoons.
 Philosophical and Scientific Writing
John Locke [1632-1704]
English philosopher whose works lie at the foundation of modern
philosophical empiricism and political liberalism. He was an
inspirer of both the European Enlightenment and the
Constitution of the United States. His philosophical thinking was
close to that of the founders of modern science, especially
Robert Boyle, Sir Isaac Newton, and other members of the Royal
Society.
His political thought was grounded in the notion of a social contract
between citizens and in the importance of toleration, especially in
matters of religion.
In his first substantial political work, Two Tracts on Government
(composed in 1660 but first published in 1967), Locke defended a
very conservative position: in the interest of political stability, a
government is justified in legislating on any matter of religion
that is not directly relevant to the beliefs of Christianity.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689), began at a meeting
with friends in his rooms, probably in February 1671. In the four books
of the Essay Locke considers the sources and nature of human
knowledge. Book I argues that we have no innate knowledge. In Book II
Locke claims that ideas are the materials of knowledge and all ideas
come from experience. The term ‘idea’, Locke tells us “…stands for
whatsoever is the Object of the Understanding, when a man thinks”
Locke holds that the mind is a tabula rasa or blank sheet until
experience in the form of sensation and reflection provide the
basic materials. Experience is of two kinds, sensation and
reflection. One of these—sensation—tells us about things and
processes in the external world. The other—reflection—tells us
about the operations of our own minds.
Book III deals with the nature of language, its connections with ideas
and its role in knowledge. Book IV, the culmination of the previous
reflections, explains the nature and limits of knowledge, probability, and
the relation of reason and faith.
John Bunyan [1628-1688]
Celebrated English minister and preacher, author of The Pilgrim’s
Progress (1678), the book that was the most characteristic expression of
the Puritan religious outlook.
Bunyan’s conversion to Puritanism was a gradual process in the years
following his marriage (1650–55). His main activity in 1655–60 was in
controversy with the early Quakers, in his first printed works, Some Gospel
Truths Opened (1656) and A Vindication of Some Gospel Truths Opened
(1657). The Quakers and the open-communion Baptists were rivals for the
religious allegiance of the small tradesmen. Bunyan soon became
recognized as a leader.
With the Restoration Bunyan was imprisoned in the county jail and
remained in prison for 12 years.
• During this imprisonment Bunyan wrote and published his spiritual
autobiography (Grace Abounding, 1666). It reveals his incarceration
to have been a spiritual opportunity as well as an ordeal, allowing “an
inlet into the Word of God.” Bunyan’s release from prison came in
March 1672 .
• Bunyan’s principal fictional works were published during the post-
imprisonment period: the two parts of The Pilgrim’s Progress in 1678
and 1684, The Life and Death of Mr. Badman 1680, and The Holy
War in 1682.
• Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, or a Brief Relation of the
Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ to his Poor Servant John Bunyan is
the complete title of Bunyan’s spiritual autobiography.
• It is divided into a preface and four sections. The preface is a pastoral
address to John Bunyan’s spiritual children—the real people who know
him and to whom he preached prior to his imprisonment.
• The first section contains the major portion of the work describing
the terrible spiritual struggles that plague the author from his early
childhood until he achieves a resolution to his anxiety at about the age
of twenty-eight.
• Section two is a short summary of Bunyan’s call to ministry, and
section three is a brief account of the author’s imprisonment. The
conclusion is a concise listing of Bunyan’s reasons why questioning the
being of God and the truth of the Gospel is the worst temptation he
ever encountered.
• It is divided into a preface and four sections. The preface is a pastoral
address to John Bunyan’s spiritual children—the real people who know
him and to whom he preached prior to his imprisonment.
• The first section contains the major portion of the work describing
the terrible spiritual struggles that plague the author from his early
childhood until he achieves a resolution to his anxiety at about the age
of twenty-eight.
• Section two is a short summary of Bunyan’s call to ministry, and
section three is a brief account of the author’s imprisonment. The
conclusion is a concise listing of Bunyan’s reasons why questioning the
being of God and the truth of the Gospel is the worst temptation he
ever encountered.
• The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come
was published by Nathaniel Ponder in 1678. It is regarded as one of the
most significant works of religious, theological fiction. It has also been
cited as the first novel written in English.
• On the surface, the story follows Christian as he leaves the City of
Destruction to a place called the Celestial City, encountering all sorts of
roadblocks and fearsome creatures along the way.
• The story of Christian’s journey is a dream that the unnamed narrator is
having. Christian is carrying a heavy burden—the weight of his sins—
and doesn’t know how to get rid of it. He’s also knows that his
hometown, the City of Destruction, will soon be destroyed by a fire.
When he tells his wife and kids this, though, they think he’s delirious,
and they mock and reject him.
• Christian soon meets a man named Evangelist who tells Christian that
he must flee by passing through the Wicket-gate. Christian runs toward
the gate, ignoring the cries of his family, who think he’s crazy.
• However Christian accidentally plunges into a muddy bog called the
Slough of Despond. Luckily, a man named Help pulls him out,
explaining that sinners’ doubts and fears accumulate here in the bog.
Next, Christian meets a gentleman named Worldly Wiseman who
advises him that instead of worrying about what the Bible says,
Christian should go to the town of Morality and get his burden removed
by a fellow named Legality.
• Christian begins to heed this advice, but his burden only grows heavier.
Evangelist finds him again and explains that Christian has been misled;
• Legality cannot free Christian from his sins and would only trap him in
heavier bondage. When Christian finally arrives at the Wicket-gate, he
knocks eagerly and identifies himself as a poor sinner. He receives a
warm welcome from a man named Good-will, who directs Christian on
the straight and narrow path to the place of Deliverance: the road that
will end at the Celestial City, or Heaven.
• Christian sets out on this highway, stopping at the Interpreter’s House,
where the Interpreter shows him a series of symbols of a Christian
believer’s journey through life. After this, Christian runs to the Cross,
where he immediately loses his burden.
• Three angels, called the Shining Ones, greet him. One of them hands
Christian a certificate, which he must hand in when he reaches the
Celestial Gate.
• Christian runs on joyfully. Despite briefly misplacing his roll and then
having to pass roaring lions, Christian soon arrives at a place called the
Palace Beautiful, where he finds rest and is sent on his way with a sword.
• Christian now enters the Valley of Humiliation, where he is confronted
by a hideous fiend named Apollyon who tries to discourage Christian
with reminders of his past sins, but Christian declares he’s been
pardoned by Christ, which infuriates Apollyon.
• After a fierce combat, Christian wounds Apollyon with his sword. Then
he enters a pitch-dark realm called the Valley of the Shadow of Death,
which contains an entrance to Hell. He is heartened in his passage when
he hears a fellow pilgrim, Faithful, praying in the distance. He catches up
with Faithful and hears about his new friend’s pilgrimage.
• Soon, Christian and Faithful enter the ancient town of Vanity, which
boasts a huge Fair selling every imaginable type of goods—including
sinful ones. When the pilgrims resist the Fair’s attractions, the people of
Vanity persecute them, and Faithful is cruelly executed. Christian
escapes and is joined by a man named Hopeful.
• Christian and Hopeful wander astray onto the grounds of a Giant
named Despair, who imprisons them in the filthy dungeon, Doubting
Castle. After being starved, Christian grows depressed, but Hopeful
encourages him. Praying, Christian discovers a key which releases him
and Hopeful from the dungeon.
• Christian and Hopeful reach the Enchanted Ground. The air of the
Enchanted Ground lulls people into a deadly sleep, so Christian asks
Hopeful about his conversion in order to keep them both awake.
• They also try to exhort a man named Ignorance, who believes he’ll attain
Heaven on the basis of his efforts and good intentions.
• Then Christian and Hopeful enter a peaceful land called Beulah, which
borders the Celestial City. To reach the City, they must cross the River
of Death by the power of their faith. Christian finds the crossing
terrifying, and Hopeful must keep his friend’s head above water. Once
Christian begins to think of Jesus instead of his own sins, he suddenly
finds the crossing easy. The pilgrims hand in their certificates and are
joyously welcomed into the Celestial City, which gleams with gold and
rings with music.
• The second part of the book focuses on the pilgrimage of Christian’s
wife, Christiana. Though Christiana had earlier mocked and rejected her
husband’s pilgrimage, his death forces her to reconsider.
• After she receives a letter of invitation from Christ himself, she gathers
her four sons and with their neighbor Mercy, the group sets out on their
own pilgrimage. All are warmly received at the Wicket-gate. They
journey onward in the company of a defender named Great-heart. When
they reach the Cross, Christiana asks Great-heart to explain the
Christian doctrine of salvation in greater detail.
• Christiana, Mercy, and the boys stay at the Porter’s Lodge at Palace
Beautiful for a month. While there, Mercy rejects a worldly suitor who
doesn’t like her preoccupation with caring for the poor. Also, Christiana’s
son Matthew, who’d earlier eaten some stolen fruit along the journey,
grows sick and must take a purgative potion blended with tears of
• Rejoined by Great-heart as guide, the group sets off with their hosts’
blessings. They pass through the Valley of Humiliation with ease, and in
the Valley of the Shadow of Death, Great-heart kills a giant on their
behalf. Then an elderly pilgrim named Honest joins their party.
• Christiana’s group lodges for a while at an inn that belongs to a kindly
man named Gaius. After slaying another giant, the group also gains
pilgrims named Feeble-mind and Ready-to-halt. When they make their
way to Vanity, they discover that pilgrims are no longer harshly
persecuted here as Christian and Faithful were. After a long stay with a
good man named Mnason, the pilgrims progress to Doubting Castle.
• Here, the group kills the giants and destroy the Castle, rescuing pilgrims
named Dispondency and Much-afraid in the process.
• Valiant-for-Truth, escaping robbers, and Stand-fast, fleeing a witch’s
temptation, accompany the group the rest of the way.
• Christiana’s group—which has swelled in size, as the boys and Mercy are
all married now—reaches Beulah and settles on the outskirts of the
Celestial City. Before long, Christian summons Christiana to Heaven.
• Leaving each pilgrim with encouraging words, she crosses the River and
is joyfully led by angels to the Celestial Gate. One by one, each member
of her party (with the exception of her sons’ families) is summoned by
Christ and makes his or her way across the River to enter the rest and
celebration in the heavenly City. Meanwhile, Christian’s and Christiana’s
offspring remain behind, resulting in the Church’s flourishing.
• C. S. Lewis wrote The Pilgrim's Regress, in which a character named
John follows a vision to escape from The Landlord, a less friendly
version of The Owner in The Pilgrim's Regress. It is an allegory of C. S.
Lewis' own journey from a religious childhood to a pagan adulthood in
which he rediscovers his Christian God.
• "The Celestial Railroad" is short story written as an allegory by
Nathaniel Hawthorne. In it, Hawthorne parodies The Pilgrim's Progress
• The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680)
The Life and Death of Mr. Badman; Presented to the World in a Familiar
Dialogue Between Mr. Wiseman and Mr. Attentive was designed as a
companion to The Pilgrim's Progress and was published by Nathaniel
Ponder. The two characters have a dialogue about sin and redemption over
the course of a long day.
In his preface titled "The Author to the Reader," Bunyan announces that Mr
Badman is a pseudonym for a real man who is dead. Mr Badman's offspring
continue to populate Earth. In a mock eulogy, Bunyan says Mr Badman did not
earn four themes commonly part of a funeral for a great man. First, there is no
wrought image that will serve as a memorial, and Bunyan's work will have to
suffice. Second, Mr Badman died without Honour. Third, his life did not merit a
sermon. Fourth, no one will mourn and lament his death.
Bunyan’s technique in presenting the story of Mr. Badman is to have Mr.
Wiseman, the author’s spokesman, relate the story of Badman’s life shortly after
the sinner’s death. Mr. Wiseman’s listener, aptly named Mr. Attentive, not only
listens carefully but also draws out the details of the narrative when Mr.
Wiseman lags.
As a small child Badman begins by lying and stealing from other members of the
household, and he goes on to invest himself with almost the entire catalogue of
sinfulness. Swearing, whoring, drinking, faithlessness in marriage, hypocrisy, and
many other sins are committed by Badman during his lifetime. Each mention of
a new sin as the story of Mr. Badman’s life progresses sends Mr. Wiseman or Mr.
Attentive off into a sermon or series of examples.
Holy War 1682
The Holy War Made by King Shaddai Upon Diabolus, to Regain the
Metropolis of the World, Or, The Losing and Taking Again of the Town
of Mansoul written in the form of an allegory, tells the story of the town
"Mansoul" (Man's soul). Though this town is perfect and bears the image of
Shaddai (Almighty), it is deceived to rebel and throw off his gracious rule,
replacing it instead with the rule of Diabolus. Though Mansoul has rejected the
Kingship of Shaddai, he sends his son Emmanuel to reclaim it.

Bunyan also composed verse of religious exhortation; one of

his most interesting later volumes is the children’s book A Book
for Boys and Girls (1686), vigorous poems serving as comments
on emblematic pictures.