The Harvard Classics Volume 15(Bunyan, Walton) Published 1909Edited by Charles W Eliot LL D. (March 20, 1834 - August 22, 1926)Pilgrim's Progress, Donne & Herbert - Bunyan, WaltonJohn Bunyan(28 November 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English Christian writer and preacher, who is well known for his book The Pilgrim's Progress. Though he became a non-conformist and member of an Independent church, and although he has been described both as a Baptist and as a Congregationalist, he himself preferred to be described simply as a Christian. He is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on August 30, and on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (US) on August 29. Some other Churches of the Anglican Communion, such as the Anglican Church of Australia, honour him on the day of his death (August 31) together with St Aidan of Lindisfarne.The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dreamis a Christian allegory written by John Bunyan and published in February, 1678. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of religious English literature, has been translated into more than 200 languages, and has never been out of print. The allegory of this book has antecedents in a large number of Christian devotional works that speak of the soul's path to Heaven, from the Lyke-Wake Dirge forward. Bunyan's allegory stands out above his predecessors because of his simple andeffective prose style, steeped in Biblical texts and cadences.Izaak Walton(c. 1594 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies that have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.The Life of John DonneJohn Donne (between 24 January and 19 June 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, satirist, lawyer and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong, sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires and sermons.The Life of Mr. George HerbertGeorge Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was a Welsh-born English poet, orator and Anglican priest. Herbert's poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognized as "a pivotal figure: enormously popular, deeply and broadly influential, and arguably the most skillful and important British devotional lyricist." Throughout his life, he wrote religious poemscharacterized by a precision of language, a metrical versatility, and an ingenious use of imagery or conceits that was favoured by the metaphysical school of poets.[Extracts from Wiki and other sources]