What do you think?
Rate this book
Harvard Classics, Vol. 15: Pilgrim's Progress, Donne and Herbert
The most well-known allegory ever written, The Pilgrim's Progress, is the journey of Christian, simultaneously filled with vivid and full human portraits of its characters. With over 100,000 copies sold in Bunyan’s lifetime, this “most perfect and complex of fairy tales” succeeded in attracting audiences from every Christian sect.
Through short biographies of John Donne and George Herbert by their fellow divine and fishing companion, Izaak Walton seeks to evoke not so much the facts of lives as their personality and virtuous character.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1909
6 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
About the author
Charles William Eliot
435 books84 followersCharles William Eliot was an American academic who was selected as Harvard's president in 1869. He transformed the provincial college into the preeminent American research university. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university's history.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 30, 2024
I can not give this book less than five stars.
The book consists of three different stories, not directly connected to each other. The first one is the Pilgrims Progress, which in itself consists of two parts, each with their respective preface. The second and third are two biographies written by Izaak Walton.
Even though the book includes the 62nd Edition of the Pilgrim's Progress, it is obvious by the sentence structure that the original book was written in 1678. This, however, does not diminish the worth of the writing. Personally, I think that it makes this part of the book even more worth the read. The pilgrim's progress is a book of such incredible richness that I would recommend everyone to read it, when one is committed to read it as a whole. There is no point in starting such a demanding read and not finishing it.
The two biographies are in so far connected to the pilgrims progress, as that they reveal how a virtuous life can unfold in reality. What I found most appealing about the two biographies was the way Izzak Walton expressed himself. He tried to honor the life of the person by writing their biography using all of his eloquent capabilities. This can be seen in a sentence such as
"This Lady Cook has preserved many of Mr. Herbert's private writings, which she intended to make public; but they and Highnam House were burnt together by the late rebels, and so lost to prosperity".
__________________
In general, I definitely recommend this book to those who find philosophy interesting and want to read something that nourishes the creative spirit within. For my part, I will probably read some abstracts of the pilgrim's progress again in the following years, to further understand the underlying message.
The book consists of three different stories, not directly connected to each other. The first one is the Pilgrims Progress, which in itself consists of two parts, each with their respective preface. The second and third are two biographies written by Izaak Walton.
Even though the book includes the 62nd Edition of the Pilgrim's Progress, it is obvious by the sentence structure that the original book was written in 1678. This, however, does not diminish the worth of the writing. Personally, I think that it makes this part of the book even more worth the read. The pilgrim's progress is a book of such incredible richness that I would recommend everyone to read it, when one is committed to read it as a whole. There is no point in starting such a demanding read and not finishing it.
The two biographies are in so far connected to the pilgrims progress, as that they reveal how a virtuous life can unfold in reality. What I found most appealing about the two biographies was the way Izzak Walton expressed himself. He tried to honor the life of the person by writing their biography using all of his eloquent capabilities. This can be seen in a sentence such as
"This Lady Cook has preserved many of Mr. Herbert's private writings, which she intended to make public; but they and Highnam House were burnt together by the late rebels, and so lost to prosperity".
__________________
In general, I definitely recommend this book to those who find philosophy interesting and want to read something that nourishes the creative spirit within. For my part, I will probably read some abstracts of the pilgrim's progress again in the following years, to further understand the underlying message.
July 5, 2020
Compiled and Edited by Charles W. Eliot LL D in 1909, the Harvard Classics is a 51-volume Anthology of classic literature from throughout the history of western civilization. The set is sometimes called "Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf."
Volume 15 contains 3 works from author's John Bunyan and Izaak Walton:
The Pilgrim's Progress
The Life of Dr. Donne
The Life of George Herbert
October 22, 2025
While I knew about Christian's pilgrim's progress, I did not realize that Bunyan had also written a second part, about Christian's wife and four sons making the pilgrim's progress after him. This book includes the second part with Christiana and sons following in Christian's footsteps. The two mini-biogrpahies of John Donne and George Herbert are also interesting and stress their strong Christian faiths.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews