How we cite our quotes: Paragraph (P#) or Line (Line #)
Quote #1
"Look before thee; dost thou see this narrow way? THAT is the way thou must go; it was cast up by the Patriarchs, Prophets, Christ, and his Apostles; and it is as straight as a rule can make it: This is the way thou must go." (P133)
Good-will is speaking to Christian here after he has passed through the Wicket Gate. Pay attention to how commanding the tone is here. There are no options, no twists, no widening of the way. What do you make of this emphasis on the straight and narrow? How does it jibe with the teaching throughout the story to follow the words of the Gospels literally and above all else?
Quote #2
The Interpreter answered, This parlour is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet Grace of the Gospel: the dust is his Original Sin and inward Corruptions, that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first, is the Law; but she that brought water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel. (P147)
The "Law" that the Interpreter references here is an allusion to Biblical (and more particularly Old Testament) law. Simply following commandments will get you only so far. Bunyan's image of the water of the Gospel symbolizes the love and spirit of the law of Christ's teachings, which temper the Old Testament logic and cleanse the souls of Christians.
Quote #3
The path-way was here also exceeding narrow, and therefore good Christian was the more put to it; for when he sought in the dark to shun the ditch on the one hand, he was ready to tip over into the mire on the other; also when he sought to escape the mire, without great carefulness he would be ready to fall into the ditch. Thus he went on, and I heard him here sigh bitterly; for, besides the dangers mentioned above, the path-way was here so dark, that ofttimes, when he lift up his foot to set forward, he knew not where, or upon what he should set it next. (P330)
This experience of the "exceeding narrow" road of religion comes from Christian's passage through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The difficulty of walking it in the darkness of the valley almost starts to play with his mind. How can one walk a path (particularly one like this) when one can't even see where one is walking?
Quote #4
"So soon as the man overtook me, he was but a word and a blow, for down he knocked me, and laid me for dead. But when I was a little come to myself again, I asked him wherefore he served me so? He said, Because of my secret inclining to Adam the First: and with that he struck me another deadly blow on the breast, and beat me down backward, so I lay at his foot as dead as before. So when I came to myself again I cried him mercy; but he said, I know not how to shew mercy; and with that knocked me down again. He had doubtless made an end of me, but that one came by, and bid him forbear." (P381)
As Christian himself deciphers, Faithful is here retelling his encounter with Moses. This is a significant place where Bunyan distinguishes the "new" law of the spirit in Christ's teachings from the "old" letter of the law of the Hebrew Bible. As Moses was the original law-bearer, bringing the ten commandments down from Mt. Sinai in Exodus, he's a perfect figure for Bunyan to use. His statement "I know not to show mercy" reflects the stern emphasis on justice from the Hebrew Bible.
Quote #5
"[...] why he Shame objected against Religion itself; he said it was a pitiful low sneaking business for a man to mind Religion; he said that a tender conscience was an unmanly thing; and that for a man to watch over his words and ways, so as to tie up himself from that hectoring liberty that the brave spirits of the times accustom themselves unto, would make him the ridicule of the times." (P395)
Here, Faithful is recounting to Christian his run-in with Shame. Similar to Mr. Worldly-Wiseman's complaints against Christian living, Shame emphasizes that religion is "unmanly." His interest in his appearance to those "of the times" also shows how Bunyan is (once again) putting real religious living in contrast with a life lived for worldly interests.
Quote #6
"You did well to talk so plainly with him as you did; there is but little faithful dealing with men nowadays, and that makes religion stink in the nostrils of many, as it doth: for they are these talkative fools , whose religion is only in word, and are debauched and vain in their conversation, that being so much admitted into the fellowship of the godly do stumble the world, blemish Christianity, and grieve the sincere." (P428)
This is one of the clearest articulations of Bunyan's beef with the everyday practice of Christianity in his time. Rather than living it—that is, actually acting on the teachings of Christ and the Gospels—the majority of people, like Talkative, merely talk the talk and get pretty vague when asked to walk the walk.
Quote #7
But as in other fairs, some other commodity is as the chief in all the fair, so the ware of Rome and her merchandise is greatly promoted in this Fair: only your English nation, with some others, have taken a dislike therat. (P470)
One of the direct and forceful swings that Bunyan takes at the Catholic Church, this one hits where it hurts… for a couple of reasons. First, it points out that the Catholic Church is richer than many countries. How could this be justified by so-called followers of Christ who preached the virtue of poverty? For Bunyan, this makes it clear that Catholicism was actually in opposition to Christian teachings. Secondly, Bunyan is referencing one of the greatest hits that Rome ever took—when Henry VIII formed the Church of England. While this was, admittedly, for his own personal interest rather than because of spiritual differences, Puritans like Bunyan were enabled to follow their personal feelings about scripture largely because of this break. The "some others" refers to a few other Holy Roman (Germanic) and Dutch nations that were becoming predominantly Protestant.
Quote #8
"There was an Act made in the days of Pharaoh the Great, Servant to our Prince, that lest those of a contrary Religion should multiply and grow too strong for him, their Males should be thrown into the river. There was also an Act made in the days of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, another of his Servants, that whoever would not fall down and worship his Golden Image, should be thrown into a Fiery Furnace. There was also an Act made in the days of Darius, that whoso, for some time, called upon any God but him, should be cast into the Lion's Den. Now the substance of these Laws this Rebel has broken, not only in thought (which is not to be borne) but also in word and deed; which must therefore needs be intolerable." (P519)
This quote comes from the great pronouncement of Lord Hategood against Faithful at Vanity Fair. He calls Faithful a "rebel" because he stays true to his faith and won't give in to the ways of the city. Here, Bunyan is alluding the problem of religious intolerance—the very thing that landed him in prison.
Quote #9
"Gentlemen, ye be utter strangers to me, I know you not, be content to follow the religion of your your country and I will follow the religion of mine. I hope all will be well." (P646)
In these simple-sounding words of Ignorance, Bunyan is alluding to one of the consequences of the continually multiplying sects in Christianity. If there are almost as many religions as there are people, then the idea of adhering to one religion, learning from and growing in it, is no longer particularly important. Today, this kind of logic is what we call "relativism,'' the idea that almost everything is subjective, that everyone has a right to their own point of view. This perspective would be terrifying to Bunyan, who is convinced that only his way is right.