Spiritual Advice to Pilgrim Planters 1620, Illuminated Guidance, Foundational Wisdom, Essential, Interconnected.
Now as they were going along and talking, they espied a Boy feeding his Father’s Sheep. The Boy was in very mean Cloaths, but of a very fresh and well-favoured Countenance, and as he sate by himself he sung. Hark, said Mr Greatheart, to what the Shepherd’s boy saith. So they hearkened, and he said—
He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his guide.I am content with what I have,
Little be it or much:
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because thou savest such.Fulness to such a burthen is,
That go on pilgrimage;
HERE little, and HEREAFTER bliss,
Is best from age to age.~ John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, “The Shepherd Boy’s Song," in Part II, Ch. VI: The Valley of Humiliation; comparable to: "I am not now in fortune's power: He that is down can fall no lower," Samuel Butler, Hudibras (1663), Part I, Canto III, Line 877 (1678)
Addendum: Here is a free PDF of John Bunyan's ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ in Its entirety. Given its influential role in English literature and overall relevance for this period, I felt it best to include it as a supplement.
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1.11 Spiritual Advice to Pilgrim Planters