HKB
and settled in his places, offices, advancements, and preferments, oh! you cannot think, unless you had seen it, the strange work that this workman made in the town of Mansoul.
First, he maligned Mr. Recorder to death; he would neither endure to see him, nor hear the words of his mouth; he would shut his eyes when he saw him, and stop his ears when he heard him speak. Also he could not endure that so much as a fragment of the law of Shaddai should be anywhere seen in the town. For example, his clerk, Mr. Mind, had some old, rent, and torn parchments of the law of Shaddai in his house, but when Willbewill saw them, he cast them behind his back. True, Mr. Recorder had some of the laws in his study; but my lord could by no means come at them. He also thought and said, that the windows of my old Lord Mayor’s house were always too light for the profit of the town of Mansoul. The light of a candle he could not endure. Now nothing at all pleased Willbewill but what pleased Diabolus his lord.
There was none like him to trumpet about the streets the brave nature, the wise conduct, and great glory of the king Diabolus. He would range and rove throughout all the streets of Mansoul to cry up his illustrious lord, and would make himself even as an abject, among the base and rascal crew, to cry up his valiant prince. And I say, when and wheresoever he found these vassals, he would even make himself as one of them. In all ill courses he would act without bidding, and do mischief without commandment.
The Lord Willbewill also had a deputy under him, and his name was Mr. Affection, one that was also greatly debauched in his principles, and answerable thereto in his life: he was wholly given to the flesh, and therefore they called him Vile-Affection. Now there was he and one Carnal-Lust, the daughter of Mr. Mind, (like to like,) that fell in love, and made a match, and were married; and, as I take it, they had several children, as Impudent, Blackmouth, and Hate-Reproof. These three were black boys. And besides these they had three daughters, as Scorn-Truth and Slight-God, and the name of the youngest was Revenge. These were all married in the town, and also begot and yielded many bad brats, too many to be here inserted. But to pass by this.
When the giant had thus engarrisoned himself in the town of Mansoul, and had put down and set up whom he thought good, he betakes himself to defacing. Now there was in the market-place in Mansoul, and also upon the gates of the castle, an image of the blessed King Shaddai. This image was so exactly engraven, (and it was engraven in gold,) that it did the most resemble Shaddai himself of anything that then was extant in the world. This he basely commanded to be defaced, and it was as basely done by the hand of Mr. No-Truth. Now you must know that, as Diabolus had commanded, and that by the hand of Mr. No-Truth, the image of Shaddai was defaced, he likewise gave order that the same Mr. No-Truth should set up in its stead the horrid and formidable image of Diabolus, to the great contempt of the former King, and debasing of his town of Mansoul.
Moreover, Diabolus made havoc of all remains of the laws and statutes of Shaddai that could be found in the town of Mansoul; to wit, such as contained either the doctrines of morals, with all civil and natural documents. Also relative severities he sought to extinguish. To be short, there was nothing of the remains of good in Mansoul which he and Willbewill sought not to destroy; for their design was to turn Mansoul into a brute, and to make it like to the sensual sow, by the hand of Mr. No-Truth.