Christian and Hopeful crossing the Waters of Death
Illustrated by Frank C Papé
This extraordinarily powerful illustration from Frank C Papé was the basis of one of the colour plates appearing
in the 1910 Edition of Paul Bunyan's classic, The Pilgrim's Progress.
The Pilgrim's Progress is a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan (it was first published in 1678). The tale's
central protagonist is, fittingly, named Christian, and Bunyan takes the read on Christian journey from his home,
styled the "City of Destruction" (representing earthly existence) to the "Celestial City" (representing Heaven) atop
Mt Zion.
This image is associated with the following text from The Pilgrim's Progress:
They then addressed themselves to the water; and, entering, Christian began to sink, and,
crying out to his good friend Hopeful, he said, "I sink in deep waters; the billows go over
my head, all his waves go over me. Selah!"
Then said the other, "Be of good cheer, my brother; I feel the bottom, and it is good". Then
said Christian, "Ah! my friend, the sorrows of death have compassed me about; I shall not
see the land that flows with milk and honey." And, with that, a great darkness and horror
fell upon Christian, so that he could no see before him. Also here he in a great measure lost
his senses; so that he could neither remember nor orderly talk of any of those sweet
refreshments that he had met with in the way of his pilgrimage. But all the words that he
spake still tended to discover that he had horror of mind, and heart-fears that he should die
in that river, and never obtain entrance in at the gate. Here also, as they they stood by
perceived, he was much in the troublesome thoughts of the sins that he had committed, both
since and before he began to be a pilgrim. It was also observed, that he was troubled with
apparitions of hobgoblins and evil spirits; for ever, and anon, he would intimate so much
by words.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Our Blog |
||||||
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Email Us |
||||||
.jpg)
%20(300).jpg)
