The Pilgrim's Progress Justice and Judgment Quotes

This is a great quote for thinking about how, for Bunyan, different systems of law are incompatible, just as one can't serve two masters. Christian is speaking to Formalist and Hypocrisy here and explaining the essential rift between living by one's own laws and living by God's laws. You might also think about this conflict in relation to the case of Ignorance much later in the story.

Speaking to Formalist and Hypocrisy here, Christian is asserting the presence of a higher judgment, a higher law, over the rules of institutional religions. This higher law is represented by the Wicket Gate, the humble place God demands all pilgrims begin their journeys.

This inserted verse reflects on Formalist and Hypocrisy falling into Danger and Destruction (having taken the easier paths around the Hill of Difficulty). Because they were not willing to be humble and begin from the Wicket Gate, Bunyan shows the pair receiving their just deserts. A higher justice—serving the "head-strong" with the "headlong" fall—triumphs over their attempt to cut corners with their own mortal laws and customs.

"Hectoring spirits of the world"—wow. Great phrase, Bunyan. Quotes like this are a great example of how Bunyan puts worldly justice in contrast to the "higher" justice of God. There is also a tone of longing and relief with which he speaks of final judgment here. Why would he think of this as something to look forward to?

Discussing By-ends and his cronies with Hopeful here, Christian is specifically referring to how they will fare on Judgment Day. In this part of the story, the questioning that Christian inflicts on these men acts as a kind of proto-judgment in itself, testing how their self-defenses stand against gospel-teaching. Evidently, not so well. The upshot of this is that, if you can't even stand the testing of fellow-mortals, how are you going to face God? This is particularly poignant for By-ends who, we know, lives for the way he's seen by fellow men. Christian's critique undercuts this motive pretty keenly.

This incident with By-Pass Meadow is a great example of how easy it is for judgment to go wrong. As Christian says, the meadow seems to be directly parallel with the road. So, what's the harm in simply walking on that side of the fence? Not only is this a moment when Christian's judgment is skewed, but Hopeful's as well. Christian's tone is very authoritative here (almost pompous?), which leads Hopeful to be easily swayed by him.

Hopeful's response to Christian's desire for suicide is really, really smart. This is no simple "Buck up! You're great!" pep-talk. Nope. Hopeful's argument for life is based on the laws that both he and Christian live by. Since murder is forbidden by God's law, killing oneself means a sort of double-death: not only do you lose your life, you lose your soul. Savvy. Seriously, though, a passage like this really represents how powerful the laws of Divine Justice are for Bunyan. Just the thought of them is enough to reclaim a person from suicide. Puritan hotline?

The entrance of the Shining One is one of the rare instances in The Pilgrim's Progress where Christian and his friend receive deliberate punishment for their error. They were warned not to speak to Flatterer, but just couldn't resist stopping to chat. And so they are punished with a whipping. Here, though, the Shining One makes it clear that this punishment is a part of his love for the pilgrims. This enforcement of justice is educational, a taste of what it's like to be heedless in more serious ways. In this way, the whipping is an invitation to repentance, rather than hard and fast condemnation.

This exchange occurs between Christian and Ignorance. While Ignorance is arguing that his own opinions and judgments of himself (and of everything else) are sufficient and trustworthy on their own, Christian is explaining that judgments are only just when they're in line with scripture. This really lays down the Bible as a constant and indisputable source of judgment of human beings. We can either align our judgments with it or be led astray into thinking our own personal thoughts are law. Not a lot of grey area.