Characters

First Part

Christian, who was born named Graceless, the protagonist in the First Part, whose journey to the Celestial City is the plot of the story.

Evangelist, the religious man who puts Christian on the path to the Celestial City. He also shows Christian a book, which readers assume to be the Bible.

Obstinate, one of the two residents of the City of Destruction, who run after Christian when he first sets out, in order to bring him back. Like his name, he is stubborn and is disgusted with Christian and with Pliable for making a journey that he thinks is nonsense.

Pliable, the other of the two, who goes with Christian until both of them fall into the Slough of Despond, (a boggy mire composed of the decadence and filthiness of sin and a swamp that makes the fears and doubts of a present and past sinner real). Pliable escapes from the slough and returns home. Like his name, he is insecure and goes along with some things for a little while but quickly gives up on them.

Help, Christian's rescuer from the Slough of Despond.

Second Part

Mr. Sagacity, a guest narrator who meets Bunyan himself in his new dream and recounts the events of the Second Part up to the arrival at the Wicket Gate.

Christiana, wife of Christian, who leads her four sons and neighbour Mercy on pilgrimage.

Matthew, Christian and Christiana's eldest son, who marries Mercy.

Samuel, second son, who marries Grace, Mr. Mnason's daughter.

Joseph, third son, who marries Martha, Mr. Mnason's daughter.

James, fourth and youngest son, who marries Phoebe, Gaius's daughter.

Mercy, Christiana's neighbour, who goes with her on pilgrimage and marries Matthew.

Mrs. Timorous, relative of the Timorous of the First Part, who comes with Mercy to see Christiana before she sets out on pilgrimage.

Mrs. Bat's-Eyes, a resident of The City of Destruction and friend of Mrs. Timorous. Since she has a bat's eyes, she would be blind or nearly blind, so her characterization of Christiana as blind in her desire to go on pilgrimage is hypocritical.

Mrs. Inconsiderate, a resident of The City of Destruction and friend of Mrs. Timorous. She characterizes Christiana's departure“a good riddance”as an inconsiderate person would.

 

The Pilgrim's Progress

 

Then I saw in my dream, that when they were got out of the wilderness, they presently saw a town before them, and the name of that town is Vanity, and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fairy it is kept all the year long; it bearth the name of Vanity Fair because the town where it is kept is lighter than vanity, and also because all that is there sold, or that cometh thither, is vanity.As is the saying of the wise,“All that cometh is vanity.”

This fair is no new-erected business, but a thing of ancient standing, I will show you the original of it.

Almost five thousand years ago, there were pilgrims walking to the Celestial City, as these two honest persons are, and Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, with their companions, perceiving by the path that the pilgrims made, that their way to the city lay through this town of Vanity, they contrived to set up a fair, a fair wherein should be sold all sorts of vanity, and that it should last all the year long. Therefore at this fair are all such merchandise sold, as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments, titles, countries, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all sorts, as whores, bawds, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and what not.

And, moreover, at this fair there is at all times to be seen jugglings, cheats, games, plays，fools, apes, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind. Here are to be seen, too, and that for nothing, thefts, murders, adulteries, false swearers, and that of a blood-red colour.

And as in other fairs of less moment, there are the several rows and streets, under their proper names, where such and such wares are vended, so here likewise you have the proper places, rows, streets (viz. countries and kingdoms), where the wares of this fair are soonest to be found. Here is the Britain Row, the French Row, the Italian Row, the Spanish Row, the German Row, where several sorts of vanities are to be sold. But, as in other fairs, some one commodity is as the chief of all the fair, so the ware of Rome and her merchandise is greatly promoted in this fair, only our English nation, with some others, have taken a dislike thereat.

Now, as I said, the way to the Celestial City lies just through this town where this lusty fair is kept; and he that will go to the city, and yet not go through this town, must needs go out of the world. The Prince of princes himself, when here, went through this town to his own country, and that upon a fair-day, too, yea, and as I think, it was Beelzebup, the chief lord of this fair, that invited him to buy of his vanities, yea, would have made him lord of the fair, would he but have done him reverence as he went through the town. Yea, because he was such a man of honour, Beelzebub had him from street to street, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a little time, that he might, if possible, allure the Blessed One to cheapen and buy some of his vanities; but he had no mind to the merchandise, and therefore left the town, without laying so much as one farthing upon these vanities. This fair, therefore, is an ancient thing, of long standing, and a very great fair.

Now these pilgrims, as I said, must needs go through the fair. Well, so they did, but behold, even as they entered into the fair, all the people in the fair were moved, and the town itself as it were in a hubbub about them, and that for several reasons: for First, The pilgrims were clothed with such kind of raiment as was diverse from the raiment of any that traded in the fair. The people, therefore, of the fair, made a great gazing upon them: some said they were fools, some they were bedlams, and some they were outlandish men.

Secondly, And as they wondered at their apparel, so they did likewise at their speech, for few could understand what they saids they naturally spoke the language of Canaan, but they that kept the fair were the men of this world, so that, from one end of the fair to the other, they seemed barbarians each to the other.

Thirdly, But that which did not a little amuse the merchandisers was that these pilgrims set very light by all their wares, they cared not so much as to look upon them, and if they called upon them to buy, they would put their fingers in their ears, and cry,“Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, ”and look upwards, signifying that their trade and traffic was in heaven.

One chanced mockingly, beholding the carriages of the men, to say unto them, What will we buy? But they, looking gravely upon him, said,“We buy the truth.”At that there was an occasion taken to despise the men the more, some mocking, some taunting, some speaking reproachfully, and some calling upon others to smite them. At last things came to a hubbub and great stir in the fair, insomuch that all order was confounded. Now was word presently brought to the great one of the fair, who quickly came down, and deputed some of his most trusty friends to take these men into examination, about whom the fair was almost overturned. So the men were brought to examination, and they that sat upon them asked whence they came, whither they went, and what they did there, in such an unusual garb? The men told them that they were pilgrims and strangers in the world, and that they were going to their own country, which was the Heavenly Jerusalem, and that they had given no occasion to the men of the town, nor yet to the merchandisers, thus to abuse them, and to let them in their journey, except it was for that, when one asked them what they would buy, they said they would buy the truth. But they that were appointed to examine them did not believe them to be any other than bedlams and mad, or else such as came to put all things into a confusion in the fair. Therefore they took them and beat them, and besmeared them with dirt, and then put them into the cage, that they might be made a spectacle to all the men of the fair.

Questions

1．In this book, what kind of metaphor did the author use?

2．What does“vanity fair”mean?

3．What is the significance of this writing technique?

中文譯文

天路歷程

接著，我在夢境中看到他們走出荒原。不久，他們就看到了前面的一個小鎮，小鎮的名字叫浮華鎮。在這個小鎮，有個常年不散的集市，名為“浮華集市”。起此名字，是由于這個小鎮比浮華還要輕浮，同時，也是由于集市上所買賣的東西都是奢侈浮華的東西。正如智者所言：“索要來的都是虛空的。”

這個集市并不是剛剛建立的，而是由來已久了；接下來，我就給你講一講它的由來。

大約五千年前，有一批朝圣者，就像這兩個忠實的人一樣，要到天國去朝拜。惡魔亞玻倫、魔鬼比埃茲巴伯以及眾嘍啰，對朝見者去天國的路進行了研究后發現，他們在朝見的途中，必然要取道浮華鎮，于是他們謀劃在這里建立一個集市，在這個集市上出賣各種浮華的東西，并常年開放。因此，在這個集市上所經營的商品就包括房子、土地、職業、地盤、榮耀、特權、名位、國家、王國、欲望、幸福以及各種快樂；比如，妓院、老鴇、老婆、丈夫、孩子、主人、奴仆、生命、血液、肉體、靈魂、銀子、金子、珍珠、寶石等。

而且，在這個集市上，你不時地會看到變戲法的人、騙子、賭博者、游戲者、傻子、模仿者及各色人等。在這兒，不用花一個子兒，你就會看到，偷盜、謀殺、通奸、虛假的宣誓，每一樣都令人觸目驚心。

另有一些不是很重要的集市也有大大小小的各種街道，通過名字就知道他們所經營的東西，這個集市和其他集市一樣，也有自己固有的地方、道路和街市(比如，國家街市或王國街市)，在這兒，這些東西更容易被找到。這個集市里有英國街、法國街、意大利街、西班牙街，還有德國街，這些街上賣好多種浮華的東西。但是，正如在其他街上看到的一樣，這條街上也有某種商品特別暢銷，比如，羅馬的貨物及其商品在這里就備受推崇，僅有英國人和少數幾個國家的人不太喜歡他們。

正如剛才我所提到的，通往天國的道路恰恰要穿過這個擁有浮華集市的小鎮。那些想要到天國朝見卻又不經過這個小鎮的人是必須“離開這個世界的”。當初，耶穌本人也是取道此鎮而回到自己的國家。耶穌到的那一天，正是趕集的日子。是的，我想，是這個集市的主要創辦人，魔鬼比埃茲巴伯，邀請耶穌去購買他的浮華商品；他還許諾，只要耶穌在路過集市的時候，向他表示敬意，他就會讓耶穌成為集市的主人。當時，魔鬼帶他走遍了集市所有的街道，不一會兒的工夫，就向他展示了世界各國的領土。是的，耶穌是一個如此榮耀的人，倘若可能的話，魔鬼就會引誘他同自己討價還價，并買走他的某些浮華商品，但是耶穌并沒有把這些放在心上，一分錢沒花便離開了那個小鎮。由此可見，這個古老的集市，可謂是由來已久，規模龐大。

正如剛才我說的，現在，這兩個朝見者必須要穿過這個集市。而且，他們也這樣做了。但是，當他們走進集市的時候，集市上所有人都騷動起來，整個小鎮也好像因他們的到來而開始了一片喧嘩！這是為什么呢？第一，兩位朝圣者身上穿的衣物和集市上所賣的任何一件都不同。因而，集市上的人便盯著他們看，有人說他們是傻子，有人說他們是瘋子，也有人說他們簡直就是外地來的怪人。

第二，當他們在大街上閑逛的時候，不僅服飾奇異，而且他們的語言也與集市上的人不同；幾乎沒人能聽懂他們的話。他們很自然地操著應許之地的迦南語，但是，集市上的經營者們，卻是生活在這個凡俗的世界上，根本聽不懂這兩個人的話。因而，當這兩個人從這個集市走向另一個集市時，他們在這些經營者眼里，仿佛都是蠻荒之人。

第三，但是，令那些商人所不高興的是，這兩位朝見者對他們所賣的物品并不感興趣。這倆人在看那些商人的時候，也是不屑一顧的樣子。假若商人要招呼他們買東西，他們便用手指堵住自己的耳朵，喊道：“我們不看虛假的東西?！比缓螅闾ь^看天，好像他們的生意是在天上。

一個商人看著朝見者手里的煙卷，想碰碰運氣，便操著愚弄的口氣對他們說：“你們想要買什么？”他們卻表情嚴肅地看著他說：“我們要買真理。”這好像又給了商人們嘲笑他們的機會，有人譏諷他們，有人奚落他們，有人責備他們，甚至有人招呼別人來揍他們一頓。終于，集市上一片喧嘩，因為他們想要的東西實在是令人迷惑不解。很快這些話就傳到了集市首領的耳朵里，他立刻趕了過來，并委托他最信任的幾個朋友對這兩人進行了審問。因為正是他們使整個集市幾乎鬧翻了天。于是，這兩人就被帶去接受審問。審理他們的人問他們從哪里來，要到哪里去，穿著這種奇怪的服飾在那里做什么。他們回答，他們是朝見者，是寄居在這凡俗世上的，他們要回自己的國家去，他們的國家是天上的耶路撒冷；他們還說，鎮上的人和集市上的人沒有理由這么羞辱他們，還妨礙他們的旅程。在有人問他們想買什么的時候，他們說要買真理。但是，審訊他們的人根本就不相信這些，認為他們不是瘋子就是傻子，抑或，他們根本就是存心來搗亂的。于是，他們逮捕了這兩個朝見者，還毆打了他們，給他們身上涂滿臟兮兮的泥土，還把他們關進籠子里，讓集市上所有人都來羞辱他們。