Holy War

The Holy War by Bunyan is supposed to hold the same relation to his Pilgrim's progress, that the Odyssey of Homer does to his Iliad, or the Paradise Regained of Milton to his Paradise Lost, The inferior works of the great Grecian and English bards, are inferior only to their own more finished and perfect productions; and so it may be said of the admirable allegory, here presented to the reader, that it would have immortalized its author, had he not already attained the highest meed of fame by his inimitable Pilgrim. The subject of war, even when a holy one and altogether of an allegorical character, is not so generally pleasing as that of a pilgrimage, and this perhaps may, in a measure, detract from the interest which is felt in this really remarkable book. It merits a more popular reception. As an allegory it is well sustained. The Christian warfare is illustrated by one profoundly conversant with all it vicissitudes; and in the conception and portraiture of characters and incidents, Bunyan has displayed the same fertility of invention which imparts such a charm to his master-work. Includes Illustrated footnotes. 454 pages.