Notes and Commentary
by Ken Puls
on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress
82. Conversation with By-ends
Notes and Commentary
by Ken Puls
on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress
82. Conversation with By-ends
So I saw that quickly after they were got out of the fair, they overtook one that was going before them, whose name was By-ends: so they said to him, What countryman, Sir? and how far go you this way? He told them that he came from the town of Fair-speech, and he was going to the Celestial City (but told them not his name).
From Fair-speech! said Christian. Is there any good that lives there?
By-ends: Yes, said By-ends, I hope.
Christian: Pray, Sir, what may I call you? said Christian.
By-ends: I am a stranger to you, and you to me: if you be going this way, I shall be glad of your company; if not, I must be content.
Christian: This town of Fair-speech, said Christian, I have heard of; and, as I remember, they say it is a wealthy place.
By-ends: Yes, I will assure you that it is; and I have very many rich kindred there.
Christian: Pray, who are your kindred there? if a man may be so bold.
By-ends: Almost the whole town; and in particular, my Lord Turn-about, my Lord Time-server, my Lord Fair-speech, (from whose ancestors that town first took its name), also Mr. Smooth-man, Mr. Facing-both-ways, Mr. Any-thing; and the parson of our parish, Mr. Two-tongues, was my mother's own brother by father's side; and to tell you the truth, I am become a gentleman of good quality, yet my great-grandfather was but a waterman, looking one way and rowing another, and I got most of my estate by the same occupation.
Christian: Are you a married man?
By-ends: Yes, and my wife is a very virtuous woman, the daughter of a virtuous woman; she was my Lady Feigning's daughter, therefore she came of a very honorable family, and is arrived to such a pitch of breeding, that she knows how to carry it to all, even to prince and peasant. It is true we somewhat differ in religion from those of the stricter sort, yet but in two small points: first, we never strive against wind and tide; secondly, we are always most zealous when religion goes in his silver slippers; we love much to walk with him in the street, if the sun shines, and the people applaud him.
Then Christian stepped a little aside to his fellow, Hopeful, saying, It runs in my mind that this is one By-ends of Fair-speech; and if it be he, we have as very a knave in our company as dwells in all these parts. Then said Hopeful, Ask him; methinks he should not be ashamed of his name. So Christian came up with him again, and said, Sir, you talk as if you knew something more than all the world doth; and if I take not my mark amiss, I deem I have half a guess of you: Is not your name Mr. By-ends, of Fair-speech?
By-ends: This is not my name, but indeed it is a nick-name that is given me by some that cannot abide me: and I must be content to bear it as a reproach, as other good men have borne theirs before me.
Christian: But did you never give an occasion to men to call you by this name?
By-ends: Never, never! The worst that ever I did to give them an occasion to give me this name was, that I had always the luck to jump in my judgment with the present way of the times, whatever it was, and my chance was to get thereby; but if things are thus cast upon me, let me count them, a blessing; but let not the malicious load me therefore with reproach.
Christian: I thought, indeed, that you were the man that I heard of; and to tell you what I think, I fear this name belongs to you more properly than you are willing we should think it does.
By-ends: Well, if you will thus imagine, I cannot help it; you shall find me a fair company-keeper, if you will still admit me your associate.
Christian: If you will go with us, you must go against wind and tide; the which, I perceive, is against your opinion; you must also own religion in his rags, as well as when in his silver slippers; and stand by him, too, when bound in irons, as well as when he walks the streets with applause.
By-ends: You must not impose, nor lord it over my faith; leave me to my liberty, and let me go with you.
Christian: Not a step further, unless you will do in what I propound as we.
Then said By-ends, I shall never desert my old principles, since they are harmless and profitable. If I may not go with you, I must do as I did before you overtook me, even go by myself, until some overtake me that will be glad of my company.
Notes and Commentary
Now joined by Hopeful, Christian has set out from Vanity Fair. But not long into their journey, they overtake another traveler. This stranger is at first reluctant to give his name, but reveals that he is from the town of Fair-Speech and is also on his way to the Celestial City.
The town of Fair Speech represents those who live in duplicity and hypocrisy in their conversations and dealings with others. Christian has heard of Fair-Speech and is at once skeptical. The town has a reputation for its elegance and wealth, but it is also known for being pragmatic and self-seeking. On the surface, it is awash in civility and pleasant conversation, but underneath it is submerged in hidden agendas and ulterior motives. The stranger affirms that he is from an affluent family and is related to many in the town:
The stranger also points out that he is an oarsman just like his great-grandfather, who "would look one way and row another," and that he is married to Lady Feigning's daughter (one who pretends or gives a false impression of herself).
Though the stranger will not give the pilgrims his name, Christian recognizes that he is By-ends of Fair-speech. Christian also identifies him as a knave, a false professor.
A by-end is "a subordinate end" most often rooted in "private interest, secret purpose or selfish advantage." By-ends represents the duplicity of openly following Christ and honoring God, while truly living for self and seeking selfish gain. He believes that he has a good understanding of the times in which he lives and can adapt or adjust circumstances to his own advantage. By-ends is not ashamed of his religion or opposed to being identified with Christ, but he is rather selective as to when and how he wields his religion.
He wants life, including his religion, to be easy and simple. He is in favor of religion only when it is to his advantage. He is more motivated by a desire to be satisfied and in control of his life than to be sanctified and in submission to God's Word. His religion is relaxed and flexible, not strict and rigid, as he perceives Christian and Hopeful to be. He shapes his religion at will to obtain what he believes will be the most favorable outcome:
The Danger of Following Christ for Worldly Gain
By-ends is a hypocrite who presents himself as something he never intends to be. He holds religion in high esteem. He claims to follow Christ. His words sound good; he is, after all, from Fair-Speech. But he has embraced religion for personal gain, not personal holiness. His aim is not to love and glorify God. He uses religion as a means to another end. For him Christ is but a useful ally in the pursuit of self-advancement, self-fulfillment, and self-gratification.
The Bible warns about being deceptive and sinful with our words:
He who hates, disguises it with his lips,
And lays up deceit within himself;
When he speaks kindly, do not believe him,
For there are seven abominations in his heart;
Though his hatred is covered by deceit,
His wickedness will be revealed before the assembly.
(Proverbs 26: 24–26)They speak idly everyone with his neighbor;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
And the tongue that speaks proud things,
(Psalm 12:2–3)But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so (James 3:8–10).
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money (1 Timothy 3:8).
And the Bible reproves and calls us to repentance when we are double-minded in our motives:
I hate the double-minded,
But I love Your law.
(Psalm 119:113)He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8).
By-ends wanted to join Christian and Hopeful in their pilgrimage, but he was only willing to walk in fair weather and favorable paths. Christian gives him the truth about following Christ:
Jesus taught in the Gospel of Luke:
And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' (Luke 14:27–30).
Christian is insistent that By-ends counts the cost. True discipleship involves sacrifice and suffering (bearing the cross); concepts that By-ends would find foreign and distasteful. By-ends responds the way many false professors respond when confronted with the truth of Scripture. He is offended and sees Christian and Hopeful as a threat to his liberty. He will not have anyone impose on him, or lord it over his faith. And so, for now, he parts company.
Continue reading 83. The Companions of By-ends
Return to 81. Joined by Hopeful
The text for The Pilgrim's Progress
and images used are public domain
Notes and Commentary ©2017 Ken Puls
"A Guide to John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress"
was originally published from January 1993 to December 1997
in "The Voice of Heritage," a monthly newsletter
of Heritage Baptist Church in Mansfield, Texas
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