Introduction by Rev. Robert Maguire

“His is the highest miracle of genius,” says Lord Macaulay, “that the imaginations of one mind should become the personal recollections of another: and this miracle the tinker has wrought. There is no ascent, no declivity, no resting-place, no turnstile, with which we are not perfectly acquainted.” This is well said; and it is true. The PILGRIM'S PROGRESS is one of the best known books of human origin. It is a household book. Men love to retrace the steps of the journey, to re-visit the familiar scenes of the wondrous Pilgrimage, and to live over again the experiences of the Pilgrim.

The Dreamer rests himself in his dreary prison-house, and as he sleeps, he sees the outline of a Vision. And whether it be in his sleeping or his waking moments, ’tis true that Heaven hath somehow drawn aside the vail, and revealed these grand and glorious sights which reach so near to the things that “eye hath not seen,” permitting this far-sighted man to look “Through golden vistas into Heaven."