That who advance his glory, not their own,
Them he himself to glory will advance.
So spake the Son of God; and here again
Satan had not to answer, but stood ftruck
With guilt of his own fin, for he himself
Infatiable of glory had loft all,
Yet of another plea bethought him foon.
Of glory, as thou wilt, faid he, so deem,
Worth or not worth the feeking, let it pafs:
But to a kingdom thou art born, ordain'd
To fit upon thy father David's throne;
By mother's fide thy father; though thy right
Be now in pow'rful hands, that will not part
Eafily from poffeffion won with arms :
Judæa now and all the promis'd land,
Reduc'd a province under Roman yoke,
Obeys Tiberius; nor is always rul'd
With temp'rate fway; oft have they violated
The temple, oft the law with foul affronts,
Abominations rather, as did once
Antiochus and think'st thou to regain
Thy right by fitting still or thus retiring?
So did not Maccabeus: he indeed
Retir'd unto the defert, but with arms;
And o'er a mighty king fo oft prevail'd,
That by strong hand his family obtain❜d,
Though priests, the crown, and David's throne ufurp'd, With Modin and her fuburbs once content.
If kingdom move thee not, let move thee zeal
And duty; zeal and duty are not slow;
But on occafion's forelock watchful wait.
They themselves rather are occafion beft,
Zeal of thy father's houfe, duty to free
Thy country from her Heathen fervitude;
So fhalt thou best fulfil, best verify
The prophets old, who fung thy endless reign;
The happier reign the fooner it begins;
Reign then; what canft thou better do the while? 180
To whom our Saviour answer thus return'd.
All things are best fulfill'd in their due time,
And time there is for all things, Truth hath faid:
If of my reign prophetic Writ hath told,
That it shall never end, fo when begin
The Father in his purpose hath decreed,
He in whofe hand all times and feafons roll.
What if he hath decreed that I fhall first
Be try'd in humble state, and things adverse,
By tribulations, injuries, infults,
Contempts, and fcorns, and fnares, and violence,
Suffering, abstaining, quietly expecting,
Without diftruft or doubt, that he may know
What I can suffer, how obey? who best
Can fuffer, beft can do; best reign, who first
Well hath obey'd; juft trial ere I merit
My exaltation without change or end.
But what concerns it thee when I begin
My everlasting kingdom, why art thou
Solicitous, what moves thy inquifition?
Know'st thou not that my rifing is thy fall,
And my promotion will be thy destruction?
To whom the Tempter inly rack'd reply'd.
Let that come when it comes; all hope is loft
Of
my reception into grace; what worse?
For where no hope is left, is left no fear:
If there be worse, the expectation more
Of worse torments me than the feeling can.
I would be at the worft; worft is my port,
My harbour, and my ultimate repose,
The end I would attain, my final good.
My error was my error, and my crime
My crime; whatever for itself condemn'd,
And will alike be punish'd, whether thou
Reign or reign not; though to that gentle brow
Willingly I could fly, and hope thy reign,
From that placid afpéct and meek regard,
Rather than aggravate my evil state,
Would stand between me and thy Father's ire
(Whose ire I dread more than the fire of Hell)
A fhelter and a kind of fhading cool
Interpofition, as a fummer's cloud.
If I then to the worft that can be hafte,
Why move thy feet fo flow to what is best,
Happiest both to thyself and all the world,
That thou who worthieft art should'st be their king?
Perhaps thou linger'ft in deep thoughts detain'd
Of th' enterprise fo hazardous and high;
No wonder, for though in thee be united
What of perfection can in man be found,
Or human nature can receive, confider
Thy life hath yet been private, moft part spent
At home, fcarce view'd the Galilean towns,
And once a year Jerufalem, few days
Short fojourn; and what thence couldft thou obferve?
The world thou haft not seen, much lefs her glory,
Empires, and monarchs, and their radiant courts,
Best school of best experience, quickest infight
In all things that to greatest actions lead.
The wifeft, unexperienc'd, will be ever
Timorous and loath, with novice modefty,
(As he who seeking asses found a kingdom)
Irrefolute, unhardy, unadventrous :
But I will bring thee where thou foon fhalt quit
Those rudiments, and fee before thine eyes
The monarchies of th' earth, their pomp and state,
Sufficient introduction to inform
And regal mysteries, that thou may'st know
Thee, of thyself so apt, in regal arts,
How beft their oppofition to withstand.
With that (fuch pow'r was giv'n him then) he took The Son of God up to a mountain high.
It was a mountain at whofe verdant feet
A fpacious plain out-ftretch'd in circuit wide
Lay pleafant; from his fide two rivers flow'd,
Th' one winding, th' other ftrait, and left between
Fair champain with lefs rivers intervein'd,
Then meeting join'd their tribute to the fea :
Fertil of corn the glebe, of oil and wine;
With herds the pastures throng'd, with flocks the hills; Huge cities and high towr'd, that well might feem The feats of mightiest monarchs, and fo large
The prospect was, that here and there was room
For barren defert fountainless and dry.
To this high mountain top the Tempter brought 265
Our Saviour, and new train of words began.
Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale,
Foreft and field and flood, temples and towers,
Cut shorter many a league; here thou behold'st
Affyria and her empire's ancient bounds,
Araxes and the Cafpian lake, thence on
As far as Indus eaft, Euphrates west,
And oft beyond; to fouth the Persian bay,
And inacceffible th' Arabian drouth:
Here Nineveh, of length within her wall
Séveral days journey, built by Ninus old,
Of that first golden monarchy the feat,
And feat of Salmanaffar, whofe fuccefs
Ifrael in long captivity still mourns;
There Babylon, the wonder of all tongues,
As ancient, but rebuilt by him who twice
Judah and all thy father David's house
Led captive, and Jerufalem laid waste,
Till Cyrus fet them free; Perfepolis
His city there thou feeft, and Bactra there;
Ecbatana her ftructure vaft there shows,
And Hecatompylos her hundred gates;
There Sufa by Choafpes, amber stream,
The drink of none but kings; of later fame
Built by Emathian, or by Parthian hands,
The great Seleucia, Nifibis, and there
Artaxata, Teredon, Ctefiphon,
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