The Pharisee and the Publican

Bunyan has been picturesquely described as the Prince of Dreamers. He merits a much higher eulogy. His imperishable work, which is here presented in a new and beautiful garb, exhibits the chastened imagination of the poet; the discriminating knowledge of the casuist; the acuteness of the theologian; and the sweet and gentle spirit of the Christian instructor. He enchains his readers by a species of fascination which it is difficult to analyze, and which could result only from a rare combination of talent. The deeply interested attention of the child and the philosopher, of the experienced Christian and the admirer of fiction, is alike absorbed in his skilfully drawn narrative of the Pilgrim's progress from the city of Destruction to his celestial home. The reader is at once charmed and instructed; his imagination is gratified and his heart impressed, by there perusal of this extraordinary production. Founded as it is in an intimate acquaintance with the workings of the human heart under the impulse of natural principles and the superadded influence of gracious affections, it found its place in the hearts of men at its first appearance, and its popularity has steadily increased in the lapse of time. No uninspired volume has perhaps ever been demanded with greater eagerness by all classes of readers. It includes the biography of Bunyan by Joseph Conder And marginal explanations and Scriptural references with extensive footnotes by Thomas Scott.