Summary
Christian and Hopeful reach the Delectable Mountains on
the outskirts of the Celestial City. They bathe and eat in the gardens
and orchards that they discover in the foothills of the mountains,
which belong to the Lord Emmanuel. They meet some kind shepherds
who welcome them and say that the lord gave them the charge of offering protection
to good pilgrims. The shepherds invite them to sleep.
The next morning the shepherds warn Christian and Hopeful
of the nearby hills called Error and Caution, which lead some travelers to
disaster. The remains of pilgrims, who have made false assumptions
about the nature of resurrection, litter the ground beneath Error.
Similarly, on the hill of Caution, blind travelers wander among
tombs and get stuck there. Both these views show Christian and Hopeful
what to avoid. They ask how the blind pilgrims came to wander among
the tombs. The shepherds inform them that they tried to take a shortcut
to the Mountains, which led instead to the Doubting Castle, where
Giant Despair imprisoned them, put out their eyes, and left them
to wander on the grounds of his estate.
The shepherds allow Christian and Hopeful to look through
a telescope at the Celestial City. Christian and Hopeful tremble
with so much excitement that they can hardly see through the glass.
The shepherds bid them farewell, give them directions to the Delectable Mountains,
and warn them not to sleep on the Enchanted Ground and to beware
of someone named Flatterer. The narrator wakes up from his dream.
The narrator resumes his dream and sees Christian and
Hopeful go on into the Delectable Mountains toward the Celestial
City. They meet Ignorance, a lively lad who accompanies them for
a while. Ignorance goes through life hoping for the best. He believes
a good life is enough to enter heaven and tells Christian and Hopeful
that their path to the Celestial City is unnecessarily long and
difficult. He knows of an easier route. Christian tells Hopeful
in a whisper that he considers Ignorance a fool. They outpace Ignorance
and leave him when they turn into a dark alley full of devils.
In the alley they see a man bound with his face turned
away. Christian recalls him as an old acquaintance named Little-Faith
and tells Hopeful his story. Little-Faith was traveling with his
birthright, a precious jewel, as well as some money. Set upon by
thieves, Little-Faith loses most of his cash and is forced to beg
for the remainder of his journey, which he complains about ceaselessly.
He still has his jewel in his possession but hardly thinks of it.
Hopeful asks why Little-Faith did not pawn his jewel for travel
money. Christian reproaches him for foolishness, explaining that
no believer can sell his faith for material comfort.
Christian and Hopeful follow Flatterer, a deceitful man
in a white robe who speaks beautifully but ensnares them in a net.
A Shining One arrives and cuts them loose. They meet Atheist, who laughs
at their intention to reach the Celestial City. Atheist claims not
to have found the Celestial City in twenty years of searching. The
pilgrims affirm they have seen it.
