How we cite our quotes: Paragraph (P#) or Line (Line #)
Quote #10
Hopeful: I do believe, as you say, that fear tends much to men's good, and to make them right, at their beginning to go on pilgrimage.
Christian: Without all doubt it doth, if it be right; for so says the Word, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
Hopeful: How will you describe right fear?
Christian: True or right fear is discovered by three things:
- By its rise; it is caused by saving convictions for sin.
- It driveth the soul to lay fast hold of Christ for salvation.
- It begetteth and continueth in the soul a great reverence of God, his Word, and ways, keeping it tender, and making it afraid to turn from them, to the right hand or to the left, to anything that may dishonour God, break its peace, grieve the Spirit, or cause the enemy to speak reproachfully. (P846-852)
This exchange occurs between Christian and Hopeful as the latter describes his experience of conversion. This bit of text allows Bunyan to put in big bold letters some of the ideas he's illustrated more figuratively in allegory. This point about humility is one of them. The "fear of God" that the two are discussing here is complex. There is the quaking, shivering, frightened sense of fear, especially in this Puritan context. Thinking very literally (as this book encourages one to do) about the horror of damnation is a huge incentive for following the rule. But "fear" here also means respect, particularly in the way that Christian associates it with wisdom. The characters who come across as the most foolish in this story are the ones who are over-confident, who credit their own ideas and preferences over those of the Gospels. The quality of humility described here is also a source of affection for God, keeping the soul "tender" and sensitive to his will. You might think of the affection of a dog for its owner, the way he is more watchful and alive to the wishes of a person who it also feels subservient too. This passage communicates that feeling small before God is essential to loving Him.