--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing…" description: "\"John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing genius, would not condescend to cull his language from the garden of flowers; but he went into the hayfield and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png" --- # John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing genius, would not… ![“John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing genius, would not condescend to cull his language from the garden of flowers; but he went into the hayfield and the meadow, and plucked up his language by the roots, and spoke out in the words that the people used in their cottages.” quote by Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png) > “John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing genius, would not condescend to cull his language from the garden of flowers; but he went into the hayfield and the meadow, and plucked up his language by the roots, and spoke out in the words that the people used in their cottages.” [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. John Bunyan chose everyday language over refined prose, making his messages accessible to common people **In simple terms:** Using plain language reaches more people effectively Key Takeaway Speak plainly to connect with broader audiences Themes communication accessibility literature Mood practical educational Type didactic clear When to use this quote - marketing - education - political discourse Key Concepts sociolinguistics public speaking Questions to Reflect On - When is plain language insufficient? - How do you balance clarity with depth? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex ideas ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bunyan-25564/) [Bunyan Surpassing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bunyan-surpassing-1784264/) [Cottages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cottages/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/john-bunyan/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Meadow Plucked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meadow-plucked-1784266/) [Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meadows/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Roots Spoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots-spoke-1784265/) [Spokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes/) [Surpassing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surpassing/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [“Earth’s nobility are soon forgotten. John Bunyan, the Bedford tinker, has outlived the whole crowd of those who were the nobility in his day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/earth-s-nobility-are-soon-forgotten-john-bunyan-the-bedford-tinker/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“Who would have such a man around him as John Bunyan in his time? He, a Bedford tinker, couldn’t get inside one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/who-would-have-such-a-man-around-him-as-john-bunyan-in-his-time-he-a/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [If you cut him, (John Bunyan) he'd bleed Scripture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-cut-him-john-bunyan-he-d-bleed-scripture/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Next to the Bible, the book I value most is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. I believe I have read it through at least a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/next-to-the-bible-the-book-i-value-most-is-john-bunyan-s-pilgrim-s/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Bunyan says that it is hard to get down into the valley of humiliation, the descent into it is steep and rugged; but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/bunyan-says-that-it-is-hard-to-get-down-into-the-valley-of/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“Unbelief is one of those things that you cannot destroy. Bunyan says, “It has as many lives as a cat.” You may kill it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon-spurgeon/unbelief-is-one-of-those-things-that-you-cannot-destroy-bunyan-says/) [Charles Haddon Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon-spurgeon/) > [“Another part or piece,' said Diabolus, 'of mine excellent armour, is a dumb and prayerless spirit, a spirit that scorns to cry for mercy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/another-part-or-piece-said-diabolus-of-mine-excellent-armour-is-a/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [“Is right that ugly plastic statue of Paul Bunyan in front of City Center? Oh, if I had a truckful of napalm and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/is-right-that-ugly-plastic-statue-of-paul-bunyan-in-front-of-city/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“O my Mansoul, I have lived, I have died, I live, and I will die no more for thee. I live that thou mayest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/o-my-mansoul-i-have-lived-i-have-died-i-live-and-i-will-die-no-more/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [John Bunyan, author of the classic book the Pilgrim’s Progress, said “You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/john-bunyan-author-of-the-classic-book-the-pilgrim-s-progress-said/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [“It is true, as John Bunyan said, that God infinitely prefers a heart without words to words without a heart when we pray.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/it-is-true-as-john-bunyan-said-that-god-infinitely-prefers-a-heart/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [At religious instruction classes, I encountered The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan, and the sincerity of the traveller in that book was overwhelming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-blue/at-religious-instruction-classes-i-encountered-the-pilgrims-progress/) [Lionel Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-blue/) > [“The name itself is trouble. “Slough” means, literally, muddy field. A snake sloughs, or sheds, its dead skin. John Bunyan wrote of the “slough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-name-itself-is-trouble-slough-means-literally-muddy-field-a-snake/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [“Godly fear,” wrote John Bunyan, flows from a sense of the love and kindness of God to the soul. Where there is no sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/godly-fear-wrote-john-bunyan-flows-from-a-sense-of-the-love-and/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [From a child I was fond of reading, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/from-a-child-i-was-fond-of-reading-and-all-the-little-money-that-came-2/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Charles Spurgeon > [The more holy, the more humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-more-holy-the-more-humble/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Lord, send Your life throughout the entire church. Visit Your church; restore sound doctrine and holy, earnest living. Take away from professing Christians their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/lord-send-your-life-throughout-the-entire-church-visit-your-church/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Christ came to bring healing to those who are spiritually sick-you say that you are perfectly well, so you must go your own way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/christ-came-to-bring-healing-to-those-who-are-spiritually-sick-you/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Who among you today is doing the most for your Master's kingdom? I will tell you. Lend me a spiritual thermometer by which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/who-among-you-today-is-doing-the-most-for-your-master-s-kingdom-i/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [I do not know when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-do-not-know-when-i-am-more-perfectly-happy-than-when-i-am-weeping/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/light-physical-is-said-by-solomon-to-be-sweet-but-gospel-light-is/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [If you are to go to Christ, do not put on your good doings and feelings, or you will get nothing. Go in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-are-to-go-to-christ-do-not-put-on-your-good-doings-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Don't you know that day dawns after night, showers displace drought, and spring and summer follow winter? Then, have hope! Hope forever, for God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/don-t-you-know-that-day-dawns-after-night-showers-displace-drought/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“A mother can translate baby-talk: she comprehends incomprehensible noises. Even so doth our Father in heaven know all about our poor baby talk, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/a-mother-can-translate-baby-talk-she-comprehends-incomprehensible/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/god-is-our-portion-christ-our-companion-the-spirit-our-comforter/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Jesus poured out his soul in life before he poured it out unto death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/jesus-poured-out-his-soul-in-life-before-he-poured-it-out-unto-death/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-we-want-revivals-we-must-revive-our-reverence-for-the-word-of-god/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Believe only half of the praise and half of the criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/believe-only-half-of-the-praise-and-half-of-the-criticism/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Explore all 1,523 Charles Spurgeon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More Bunyan quotes > [“Earth’s nobility are soon forgotten. John Bunyan, the Bedford tinker, has outlived the whole crowd of those who were the nobility in his day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/earth-s-nobility-are-soon-forgotten-john-bunyan-the-bedford-tinker/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“Bunyan says that it is hard to get down into the valley of humiliation, the descent into it is steep and rugged; but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/bunyan-says-that-it-is-hard-to-get-down-into-the-valley-of/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“O my Mansoul, I have lived, I have died, I live, and I will die no more for thee. I live that thou mayest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/o-my-mansoul-i-have-lived-i-have-died-i-live-and-i-will-die-no-more/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [“Is right that ugly plastic statue of Paul Bunyan in front of City Center? Oh, if I had a truckful of napalm and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/is-right-that-ugly-plastic-statue-of-paul-bunyan-in-front-of-city/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Who would have such a man around him as John Bunyan in his time? He, a Bedford tinker, couldn’t get inside one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-moody/who-would-have-such-a-man-around-him-as-john-bunyan-in-his-time-he-a/) [D.L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“Another part or piece,' said Diabolus, 'of mine excellent armour, is a dumb and prayerless spirit, a spirit that scorns to cry for mercy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/another-part-or-piece-said-diabolus-of-mine-excellent-armour-is-a/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [“Unbelief is one of those things that you cannot destroy. Bunyan says, “It has as many lives as a cat.” You may kill it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon-spurgeon/unbelief-is-one-of-those-things-that-you-cannot-destroy-bunyan-says/) [Charles Haddon Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon-spurgeon/) > [If you cut him, (John Bunyan) he'd bleed Scripture!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-cut-him-john-bunyan-he-d-bleed-scripture/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 9 Bunyan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bunyan-25564/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing genius, would not condescend to cull his language from the garden of flowers; but he went into the hayfield and the meadow, and plucked up his language by the roots, and spoke out in the words that the people used in their cottages.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Spurgeon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-genius-would-not-condescend-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bunyan" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-genius-would-not-condescend-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02e/charles-spurgeon-82_bunyan_john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-ge_2581735.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“John Bunyan, while he had a surpassing genius, would not condescend to cull his language from the garden of…” — Charles Spurgeon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Spurgeon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "John Bunyan, while he had a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-genius-would-not-condescend-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/john-bunyan-while-he-had-a-surpassing-genius-would-not-condescend-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```