Our reading picks up with Christian setting out from his stay at the House Beautiful. Discretion, Prudence, Piety, and Charity accompany him down to the foot of the hill, the beginning of the Valley of Humiliation. Here Christian discovered a different kind of difficulty. Scaling the Hill of Difficulty left Christian ascending slowly upon his hands and knees, but descending can be just as perilous as the ascent. Indeed, despite Prudence's warning and Christian's wariness, "he caught a slip or two" (59). We should take heed that it is often after a time of rest, peace, and joy that the Tempter strikes hardest, hoping to catch us unprepared. This, of course, is exactly what befell Christian, as Apollyon came to meet him.
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