For Ifrael, or for David, or his throne,
When thou food'st up his tempter to the pride
Of numb'ring Ifrael, which coft the lives
Of threescore and ten thousand Ifraelites
By three days peftilence; fuch was thy zeal
To Ifrael then, the fame that now to me.
As for thofe captive tribes, themselves were they
Who wrought their own captivity, fell off
From God to worship calves, the deities
Of Egypt, Baal next and Ashtaroth;
And all th' idolatries of heathen round,
Besides their other worse than heath'nish crimes;
Nor in the land of their captivity
Humbled themselves, or penitent befought
The God of their forefathers; but fo dy'd
Impenitent, and left a race behind
Like to themselves, diftinguishable scarce
From Gentiles, but by circumcifion vain,
And God with idols in their worship join'd.
Should I of thefe the liberty regard,
Who free'd, as to their ancient patrimony,
Unhumbl'd, unrepentant, unreform'd,
Headlong wou'd foliow; and to their gods perhaps Of Bethel and of Dan? no, let them ferve Their enemies, who ferve idols with God. Yet he at length, time to himself best known, 1/ Remembring Abraham, by fome wond'rous call May bring them back repentant and fincere, And at their paffing cleave th' Affyrian flood While to their native land with joy they hafte; As the Red-fea and Jordan once he cleft, When to the promis'd land their fathers pass'd; To his due time and providence I leave them.
So fpake Ifrael's true king, and to the fiend Made anfwer meet, that made void all his wiles. So fares it when with truth falfhood contends.
The End of the Third Book,
PERPLEX'D and troubled at his bad success
The tempter stood, nor had what to reply,
Difcover'd in his fraud, thrown from his bope
So oft, and the persuasive rhetoric
That fleek'd his tongue, and won fo much on Eve
So little here, nay loft; but Eve was Eve,
This far his over-match, who felf-deceiv'd
And rafh, before-hand had no better weigh'd
The ftrength he was to cope with or his own:
But as a man who had been matchlefs held
In cunning, over-reach'd where least he thought,
To fave his credit, and for very fpight
Still will be tempting him who foyls him ftill,
And never cease,, though to his fhame the more;
Or as a fwarm of flies in vintage-time,
About the wine-prefs where fweet moft is pour'd,
Beat off, returns as oft with humming found;
Or furging waves against a folid rock,
Though all to fhivers daflr'd, th' affault renew,
Vain batt'ry, and in froth or bubbles end;
So Satan, whom repulfe upon repulfe
Met ever, and to fhameful filence brought,.
Yet gives not o'er though defp'rate of fuccefs,
And his vain importunity purfues.
He brought our Saviour to the western fide
Of that high mountain, whence he might behold
Another plain, long, but in breadth not weid
Wash'd by the fouthern fea, and on the north
To equal length back'd with a ridge of hills,
That fcreen'd the fruits of th' earth and feats of men From cold Septentrion blafts, thence in the midft 31 Divided by a river, of whose banks
On each fide an imperial city ftood,
With tow'rs and temples proudly elevate
On fev'n small hills, with palaces adorn'd,
Porches and theatres, baths, aqueducts,
Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs,
Gardens and groves prefented to his eyes,
Above the height of mountains interpos'd.
By what strange parallax or optic fkill
Of vifion multiply'd through air, or glafs
Of telescope, were curious to enquire:
And now the tempter thus his filence broke.
The city which thou feeft no other deem
Than great
and glorious Rome, queen of the earth 45
// 'So far renown'd, and with the spoils enricht
Of nations: there the capitol thou feeft
Above the reft lifting his stately head
On the Tarpeian rock, her citadel
Impregnable; and there mount Palatine
// Th' imperial palace, compafs huge and high
// The structure, fkill of nobleft architects,
// With gilded battlements, confpicuous far,
Turrets and terrafes, and glit'ring fpires..
Many a fair edifice befides, more like
Houfes of gods (fo well I have difpos'd
My airy microfcope) thou may'ft behold
Outfide and infide both, pillars and roofs
Carv'd work, the hand of fam'd artificers
In cedar, marble, ivory or gold.
Thence to the gates caft round thine eye, and fee
What conflux iffuing forth, or entring in,
Pretors, proconfuls to their provinces
Hafting or on return, in robes of state;
Lictors and rods the enfigns of their pow'r,
!! Legions and cohorts, turmes of horfe and wings:
Or embaffies from regions far remote
// In various habits on the Appian road,
// Or on th' Emilian, fome from farthest south,
//Syene, and where the shadow both way falls,
Meroe Nilotic ifle, and more to west,
The realm of Bocchus to the Black-moor fea;
1/From th' Afian kings and Parthian among thefe,
From India and the golden Cherfonefs,
And utmost Indian ifle Taprobane,
//Dulk faces with white filken turbants wreath'd;
From Gallia, Gades, and the British weft,
// Germans and Scythians, and Sarmatians north
// Beyond Danubius to the Tauric pool.
All nations now to Rome obedience pay,
! To Rome's great emperor, whose wide domain //In ample territory, wealth and pow'r,
// Civility of manners, arts and arms,
// And long renown thou justly may'st prefer
// Before the Parthian; thefe two thrones except,
// The rest are barb'rous, and scarce worth the fight,
// Shar'd among petty kings too far remov'd;
// Thefe having fhewn thee, I have fhewn thee all
// The kingdoms of the world, and all their glory.
// This emp'ror hath no fon, and now is old,
// Old and lafcivious, and from Rome retir'd
// To Capreae an ifland fmall but strong
// On the Campanian fhore, with purpose there
// His horrid lufts in private to enjoy,
Committing to a wicked favourite
All public cares, and yet of him fufpicious, /Hated of all, and hating; with what ease // Indu'd with regal virtues as thou art,
Appearing and beginning noble deeds,
Mightst thou expel this monfter from his throne
Now made a ftye, and in his place afcending
A victor people free from fervile yoke?
And with my help thou may'ft; to me the pow'r
Is giv'n, and by that right I give it thee.
Aim therefore at no less than all the world,
Aim at the highest, without the highest attain'd
Will be for thee no fitting or not long
On David's throne, be prophefy'd what will.››
To whom the Son of God unmov'd reply'd.}}
Nor doth this grandeur and majestic show
Of luxury, though call'd magnificence,
More than of arms before, allure mine eye,
Much less my mind; though thou shouldst add to tell
Their fumptuous gluttonies, and gorgeous feafts
On Cittron tables or Atlantic stone,
(For I have also heard, perhaps have read) Their wines of Setia, Cales, and Falerne, Chios and Creet, and how they quaff in gold, Crystal and myrrhine cups imbofs'd with gems And ftuds of pearl, to me shou'dft tell who thirst 120 And hunger ftill: then embaffies thou fhew'ft From nations far and nigh; what honour that, But tedious waste of time to fit and hear So many hollow compliments and lies, Outlandish flatteries? then proceed'st to talk Of th' emperor, how eafily fubdu'd, How gloriously; I fhall, thou fay'st, expel A brutish monfter: what if I withal Expel a devil who first made him fuch? //Let his tormenter conscience find him out, For him I was not fent, nor yet to free That people victor once, now vile and base, Defervedly made vaffal, who once juft, Frugal, and mild, and temp'rate, conquer'd well, But govern ill the nations under yoke, Peeling their provinces, cxhaufted all By luft and rapiue; firft ambitious grown Of triumph, that infulting vanity; Then cruel, by their sports to blood enur'd Of fighting beafts, and men to beasts expos'd, Luxurious by their wealth, and greedier ftill,
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