The Life and Death of Mr. Badman: An Analysis of a Wicked Man's Life, as a Warning for Others

By John Bunyan

Horror has taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law – Psalm 119:53

Updated, Modern English. Illustrated.

The life of Mr. Badman forms a third part to The Pilgrim’s Progress, but it is not a delightful pilgrimage to heaven. On the contrary, it is a wretched downward journey to the infernal realms. The author’s goal is to warn poor, thoughtless sinners, not with smooth words they can ignore, but with words that thunder against their consciences regarding the danger of their souls and the increasing wretchedness into which they are madly hurrying. The one who is in imminent but unseen danger will bless the warning voice if it reaches his ears, however rough and startling it sounds.

The life of Badman was written in an age when abandonment of moral principles, vice, gluttony, intemperance, habitual lewdness, and the excessive unlawful indulgence of lust marched like a ravaging army through our land, headed by the king, along with officers from his polluted peers. Are we not seeing the same thing, in every way? It is as if this book was written for us who are alive today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aneko Press
• Release date: Nov 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781622454211

John Bunyan

John Bunyan (1628–1688) was a Reformed Baptist preacher in the Church of England. He is most famous for his celebrated Pilgrim's Progress, which he penned in prison. Bunyan was author of nearly sixty other books and tracts, including The Holy War and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. 

Book preview

The_Life_and_Death_of_Mr._Badman_-_Front_Web.jpg

The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

An Analysis of a Wicked Man’s Life, as a Warning for Others

John Bunyan

Contents

Statement from the Editor

The Author to the Reader

Ch. 1: Badman’s Death and Its Awful Consequences

Ch. 2: Badman’s Wicked Behavior in Childhood

Ch. 3: Badman’s Apprenticeship to a Godly Employer

Ch. 4: He Gets a New Boss As Bad As Himself

Ch. 5: Badman in Business

Ch. 6: Hypocritical Courtship and Marriage to a Godly, Rich Young Lady

Ch. 7: He Throws Off the Mask

Ch. 8: Badman Is Bankrupt and Gets a Lot of Money

Ch. 9: Badman’s Fraudulent Dealings to Get Money

Ch. 10: Simple Christian Views of Extortion

Ch. 11: Instructions for Righteous Trading

Ch. 12: Badman’s Pride, Atheism, Infidelity, and Envy

Ch. 13: Badman Gets Drunk and Breaks His Leg

Ch. 14: Badman’s Phony Repentings and Promises of Reform

Ch. 15: Death Leaves Him for a Time, and His Return to Sin

Ch. 16: His Godly Wife Dies Brokenhearted

Ch. 17: Badman Tricked into a Second Marriage

Ch. 18: Badman Parts from His Wife and Dies in Sinful Security

Ch. 19: Future Happiness Not to Be Hoped from a Quiet, Hardened Death

Ch. 20: Without Godly Repentance, the Wicked Man’s Hope and Life Die Together

About the Author

Statement from the Editor

The life of Badman is an interesting account − a true portrait representing life of the morally corrupt classes of the trading community during the reign of King Charles II. This is naturally a subject which led the author to use expressions familiar among such people, but which are now either obsolete or considered vulgar. In fact, it is the only work proceeding from the prolific pen and fertile imagination of Bunyan in which he uses terms that, in this delicate and refined age, may give offense. It is similar to how some objectionable expressions are found in respected translations of the Holy Scriptures, which now point to the age in which it was written when they were used in the politest company.

Today, these same ideas or facts would be expressed in language using terms which would not give offense. Every reader can take great pleasure in the improvement of our language, as seen in the contrast between the two periods. We can be especially grateful that the power of recalling facts of the period can be stated with equal precision, and reflections made with equal force, in terms which will not offend the most delicate mind.

Those who read the writings of Bunyan are continually reminded of his passionate affection for his Savior and his intense love for the souls of sinners. He was as gentle in his expressions as any writer of his age who addressed the openly vicious and wicked − calling things by their most powerful and popular names. For example, a willful untruth is, with him, a lie. To show the wickedness and extreme foolishness of swearing, he gives the swearwords and curses commonly in use then, but which, happily for us, we never hear, except among the most degraded classes of society. Swearing was formerly considered a habit of refinement and good breeding. Now it betrays the dishonorable or contemptible, even when disguised in genteel attire. Those dangerous diseases which prompt filth and uncleanness, he calls not by their Latin names, but instead uses their plain English names. In some cases, the editor has attempted to make the slightest alteration in these names, but leaves the author’s plain and powerful meaning.

The life of Badman forms a third part to The Pilgrim’s Progress, but it is not a delightful pilgrimage to heaven. On the contrary, it is a wretched downward journey to the infernal realms. The author’s goal is to warn poor thoughtless sinners, not with smooth words they can ignore, but with words that thunder against their consciences regarding the danger of their souls and the increasing wretchedness into which they are madly hurrying. The one who is in imminent but unseen danger will bless the warning voice if it reaches his ears, however rough and startling it sounds.

The life of Badman was written in an age when abandonment of moral principles, vice, gluttony, intemperance, habitual lewdness, and the excessive unlawful indulgence of lust marched like a ravaging army through our land, headed by the king, along with officers from his polluted peers – men known to flatter him. They marched on with all the pomp and splendor that royalty could display. The king and his ministers knew that the most formidable enemies to tyranny, oppression, and misgovernment were the godliness and strict morality of the Puritans, Protestant Christians, and small groups of moral and upright citizens of other denominations. Therefore, every effort was made with allurements of pleasure and intimidation to lead them astray and to destroy or lessen the effect of moral principles on their minds.

Bunyan clearly says that wickedness like a flood is like to drown our English world. It has almost swallowed up all our youth, our middle age, old age, and all are almost carried away of this flood. It reels to and fro like a drunkard, it is like to fall and rise no more. It is the very haunts and walks of the infernal spirits. England shakes and makes me totter for its transgressions.

The stages of the life of a wicked man in that evil age are graphically set before the reader, depicting life from cradle to grave. It’s all drawn from reality and not from endeavors of imagination. Every example is a portrayal of some real occurrence, either within the view of the author, or from narratives of credible witnesses. All the things that here I discourse of . . . have been acted upon the stage of this world, even many times before mine eyes.

Badman is represented as having the great advantage of godly parents and a godly employer, but he runs wild in wickedness from his childhood onward. Lying and pilfering stained his early days and his later life was filled with swearing, cheating, drunkenness, hypocrisy, infidelity, and atheism. His conscience became hardened to that awful extent where he had no restraint. That in hypocrisy shall speak lies; having their conscience seared as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2). The business of wickedness is often pictured in a way that encourages and cherishes immorality and profanity − to excite those whose minds remain in opposition to God to be a partaker of the sins of others (1 Timothy 5:22) with as little delay as possible.¹

That isn’t the case in the life of Badman. The picture painted here displays, in biting words, the ugly, wretched, miserable consequences that undoubtedly follow such a brutish lifestyle. It alarms the conscience, and horrifically warns the sinner of his destiny, unless he happily finds that repentance which needs not be regretted. No habitually lewd person given to a life of self-indulgence ever read The Life and Death of Mr. Badman to gratify or increase his thirst for sin.

The tricks which generally accompanied trading in those days are liberally exposed: becoming bankrupt to make money (a kind of robbery which ought to be punished as a felony), differing weights and varying measures (too heavy for buying and too light to sell by), overcharging those who take credit, and taking advantage of the needs of others. The abuse of evil excess in pleasures and excessive unlawful indulgence of lust and its ensuing miseries are all faithfully displayed.

In the course of the narrative, a variety of fearful examples of divine vengeance are introduced. Some are from Samuel Clarke’s A Mirrour or Looking-Glass both for Saints and Sinners, with others from Thomas Beard’s The Theatre of God’s Judgments, and many that happened according to the author’s direct knowledge. The faithfulness of the passages he extracts from books has been fully verified. I personally had an opportunity of verifying (with the help of my kind friend Thomas Bateman, Esq., of Yolgrave) the awful death of Dorothy Mately, of Ashover, in Derbyshire. He sent me the following extract from the Ashover Register for 1660:

Dorothy Mately, supposed wife to John Flint of this parish, forswore herself; whereupon the ground opened, and she sunk over head, March 23, and being found dead, she was buried, March 25.

This fully confirms the facts as stated by Bunyan. The solemn foreseeing care and guidance of God, intended in the unfathomable wisdom of God for wise purposes, must not always be called divine judgment. A ship is lost. The good sink together with the bad. A missionary is murdered, a godly person from the Malay Peninsula is martyred. No one can presume these are instances of divine vengeance. But when the atrocious Bishop Bonner, in his old age, miserably died in prison, it reminds us of our Lord’s saying, with the measure with which ye measure, ye shall be measured again (Matthew 7:2).

Bunyan admirably paints a continued series of pictures from the life of Badman. He excellently draws the extraordinary depths of hypocrisy used in gaining the love of a godly, wealthy, young woman, and entrapping her into a marriage, as well as its counterpart when Badman, in his widowerhood, permits a shameful prostitute to entice him into a miserable marriage, as he so richly deserved. The deathbed scene of the godly, brokenhearted Mrs. Badman is a masterpiece. In fact, the entire story is a series of pictures drawn by a most admirable artist and calculated to warn the sinner from his downward course.

In comparison with the times of Bunyan, England has [at the time this was written, though it has backslidden again] become wonderfully reformed from those grosser effects of sin which disgraced her name. People of mature age, whose memories go back to the times of the slave trade, slavery, and war, will call to mind scenes of depravity, brutality, openly excessive unlawful indulgence of lust, and abandonment of all moral principles, which in these peaceful and prosperous times would instantly be repressed and properly punished. If we hope to see peace preserved, then domestic, social, and national purity and happiness must increase. Civilization and Christianity will triumph over the exercise of absolute power – especially in a cruel and oppressive way, in corruption, and in false religions, and the time is quickly approaching in which the divine art of making each other happy will occupy the attention of all mankind. Much still needs to be done for the conversion of the numerous relatives of Mr. Badman, but the leaven of Christianity must, in spite of all opposition, eventually spread over the whole group.

Simple proverbs abound in this narrative, all of which are worthy of being treasured in our memories. For nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest (Luke 8:17). And we are told that Hedges have eyes and pitchers have ears.² Those who encourage evil tendencies are nurses to the devil’s brats. It is said about the one who hurries forward in a life of foolishness and sin that The devil rides him off his legs. And, As the devil corrects vice, refers to those who pretend to correct bad habits by methods intended to promote them. The devil is a cunning schoolmaster. Satan taking the wicked into his foul embraces is like to like, as the devil said to the coal miner.

In two ways, the times have certainly improved. Bunyan describes all pawnbrokers as vile wretches, and when it comes to extortion, he says that the women were worse than the men. Happily, today we can find good and even godly pawnbrokers, who are honorable exceptions to Mr. Bunyan’s sweeping rule, nor do women today appear to be greater extortioners than our men in any respect. The instructions, encouragements, and scriptural guidelines and examples to carry out honest dealings are interspersed as reflections throughout this narrative and are invaluable and will, I trust, prove beneficial to every reader.

I have taken the liberty of dividing this long-continued dialogue into chapters, to make it easier to reference for the reader and make it convenient to mark his progress through this deeply interesting narrative.

– George Offor (1787-1864)

---

1 From the preface of The Triumphs of God’s Revenge against Murder. London, 1679, by Frederick Reynolds with recommendatory preface by Philip Batteson.

2 Parallels to these important proverbs are found in all languages. Derived from the Hebrew. Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing hidden from thee (Jeremiah 32:17), and There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hid that shall not be known (Matthew 10:26). In French, Leo murailles ont des oreilles – The walls have ears. Shakespeare, alluding to a servant bringing in a pitcher, as a pretense to enable her to overhear a conversation, uses this proverb: pitchers have ears and I have many servants. May that solemn truth be impressed upon every heart, that however screened from human observation, You, God, see me.

The Author to the Reader

Courteous Reader,

As I considered what I had written concerning the progress of the Pilgrim from this world to glory and how many in this nation found it acceptable, a new idea came to me. Just as I wrote about the Pilgrim going to heaven, so now, I write about the life and death of the ungodly, and about their travel from this world to hell. I’ve titled this work as you see, under the name and title of The Life and Death of Mr. Badman, a very proper title for such a subject.

I have also written this work in the form of a dialogue, to make it easier for myself to write, and to make it more enjoyable for the reader. And while I’ve written it using this method, I have gone out of my way as little as possible to add my own observation of things. And I think I can truly say that, to the best of my knowledge, all the things I talk about here I propose as fact – as having taken place on the stage of this world, many times even before my eyes.

Therefore, considerate reader, I present to you here the life and death of Mr. Badman. I trace his life from his childhood to his death so you can see with your own eyes, like in a mirror, the steps that start to have an effect proceeding from hell. While you are reading about Mr. Badman’s death, you will also discern whether you yourself are walking in his path too. And let me implore you to refrain from the artful evasion of the truth and mocking, because I say Mr. Badman is dead. Rather seriously go to the Word and ask yourself whether you are of his lineage or not, because Mr. Badman has left many of his relatives behind.

Those near and dear to him cover the surface of the earth. Some of his people, like him, have gone to their eternal home, but thousands upon thousands are left behind, as brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, and innumerable friends and associates. I can speak nothing but the truth and say there are very few fellowships, communities, or fraternities in the world that don’t at least have some of Mr. Badman’s friends and relatives included. We can rarely find a family or household in a town where he hasn’t left behind either a brother, nephew, or friend.

At this time, my aim is to reach a mark set up to shoot at a wide spectrum of people. Therefore, it will be almost impossible for this book not to hit its mark in many homes − about as impossible as the king’s messenger rushing into a house full of traitors and finding only honest men there. I can only believe that this shot will find its mark with many, since our fields are so full of this game. But how many will it kill on the way to Mr. Badman’s course, and how many will it make alive to the Pilgrim’s progress? That is not for me to determine. This is something only the Lord our God knows. He alone knows whom He will bless to receive such favor with God in the end. However, I have put fire to the pan,³ and doubt nothing but the sound of the shot will quickly be heard.

I told you before that Mr. Badman left many of his friends and relatives behind, but if I outlive them, which is in question for me, I can also write about their lives. However, whether my life is longer or shorter, my current prayer is that God will stir up witnesses against them – people who can either convert or confound them, because wherever they live and spread their wickedness, they are the pest and plague of that country. England shakes and totters already, because of the burden that Mr. Badman and his friends have wickedly laid upon it. Yes, our earth reels and staggers to and fro like a drunkard, because wrongdoing is heavy upon it. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard and shall be removed like a cottage; and its transgression shall be heavy upon it (Isaiah 24:20).

Courteous reader, I will handle this matter in writing to entertain you now, but only cross this threshold with this understanding − that Mr. Badman lies dead within. If your spare time allows, please enter in and see the state in which he is laid, between his deathbed and the grave. He isn’t buried, nor does he stink yet, as he is designed to do, before he lies down in oblivion. Like others before him have had their funerals performed with ritual ceremonies and respect, according to their greatness and grandeur in the world, so too, Mr. Badman doesn’t deserve to go down to his grave with silence. He too has a funeral according to his rewards.

Four things are usual at great men’s funerals, which we won’t represent in the funeral of Mr. Badman − I hope without offense.

First, sometimes the dead are presented to their friends by a completely contrived persona. Their lives are represented by cunning men who portray the memorial of the deceased and their deeds with artifice so their survivors can be encouraged in their grief. I’ve endeavored to address this in my discourse of Mr. Badman. This is why I’ve drawn him into the open to reveal his characteristics and actions from his childhood until he is old and gray. I’ve written about his life, in pieces, including his childhood, as he blossomed into adulthood, and when he got old. Within these sections, I also discuss what he did during those times, as well as what he was capable of doing, taking into consideration his existing circumstances of time, place, strength, and the opportunities before him.

Second, usually at great men’s funerals, there are those symbols of their honor including a shield or emblem bearing the family coat of arms. These are items received from their ancestors, or which have been thought worthy to include because they represent the deeds and exploits accomplished in their life. Here in this book, Mr. Badman has his, but while they vary from men of worth, they do agree with the value of his actions. They’ve all dropped in rank, leaving him only as an offensive, repulsive branch. His rewards are payment for sin, and therefore, all he has left are the symbols of honor on the coat of arms, a stark reminder that he died without honor − at his end shall be a fool (Jeremiah 17:11). Thou shalt not be numbered with them in burial . . . the seed of evildoers shall not be forever (Isaiah 14:20).

The funeral pageantry of Mr. Badman, therefore, is to display the symbols of a dishonorable and wicked life on his hearse, since his bones are full of the sins of his youth, as Job says, which shall be buried with him in the dust (Job 20:11). Nor is it fitting that any accompany his funeral procession now at his death. People connected with him conspired against their own souls in life – people whose sins have made them dishonorable to all who will know what they have done.

I have also given some attention in this little discourse regarding those who were his co-conspirators in life and who were tied to him at his death with a hint of either some great crime or other wrongdoing committed by them, or those whose judgments caught up with them and fell upon them from the just and avenging hand of God. All these are things either fully known by me, as an eyewitness and earwitness, or that I have received from reputable sources whom I’m bound to believe. I have marginally noted them, so the reader can tell them apart from other things and passages contained in the narrative.

Third, funerals of people of character have been honored with a suitable sermon at the time and place of their burial, but I haven’t gotten to that yet. I haven’t gotten any further than Mr. Badman’s death. But since he must be buried, after he stinks out his time before those who come to view his body, I don’t doubt that some such person will be appointed to be at the burial of Gog, to do this work in my place. Such will leave him neither skin nor bone above ground, but will set a sign by it until the buriers bury it in the valley of Hamongog.⁴

Fourth, at funerals, there used to be mourning and weeping, but here also Mr. Badman differs from others. His family and friends can’t mourn his departure, because they don’t have a sense that he is worthy of eternal punishment. Instead, they circle around him in the sleep of death and sing him to hell as he goes to that place. Good men count his death as no loss to the world, because it will be a better place without him. His loss is only his own, and it is too late for him to recover that damage or loss even with a sea of bloody tears, if he could shed them. God has said He will laugh at his destruction. Then who will mourn for him, saying, Ah! My brother. He was nothing but a stinking weed in life and no better in death. Such a person can be thrown over the wall without sorrow, once God has plucked him up by the roots in His wrath.

Dear reader, if you are of the race, lineage, stock, or character of Mr. Badman, I tell you before you read this book, that you will not be in favor of the author or the book, because I’ve written about Mr. Badman. I condemn the wicked who die, and so pass sentence on the wicked who are alive. Therefore, I don’t expect credit or kindness from you, because this story is about your relative’s life, and your deep-rooted love for your friend, his ways, his doings, etc., will stir up animosity in your heart against me. For this reason, I’m inclined to think you will tear, burn, or throw it away in contempt, and that you will wish me harm for writing such notorious a truth. I also expect to be burdened with disdain, scorn, and contempt because of you. You will vilify me with offensive language, saying that I lie and make false and injurious charges about honest men’s lives and deaths.

When Mr. Badman was alive, he couldn’t tolerate being thought of as a false or deceitful fellow, even though his actions said just that to everyone near him. So, do you think his associates and family who survive him and walk in his very steps will approve of the sentence pronounced against him by this book? Won’t they, by preference, imitate Korah, Dathan, and Abiram’s friends, even speak evil against me

Reviews for The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

[Joseph Albet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is so amazing ?
It's tract of tracts ?