So spake the Son of God; and Satan stood Awhile, as mute, confounded what to say, What to reply, confuted, and convinced Of his weak arguing and fallacious drift: At length, collecting all his serpent wiles, With soothing words renew'd him thus accosts:- I see thou know'st what is of use to know, What best to say canst say, to do canst do; Thy actions to thy words accord; thy words To thy large heart give utterance due; thy heart Contains of good, wise, just, the perfect shape. Should kings and nations from thy mouth consult, Thy counsel would be as the oracle
Urim and Thummim, those oraculous gems On Aaron's breast; or tongue of seers old Infallible: or wert thou sought to deeds
That might require the array of war, thy skill Of conduct would be such, that all the world Could not sustain thy prowess, or subsist In battel, though against thy few in arms. These godlike virtues wherefore dost thou hide, Affecting private life, or more obscure In savage wilderness? Wherefore deprive All earth her wonder at thy acts, thyself The fame and glory; glory, the reward That sole excites to high attempts, the flame Of most erected spirits, most temper'd pure Ethereal, who all pleasures else despise, All treasures and all gain esteem as dross, And dignities and powers all but the highest? Thy years are ripe and over-ripe: the son Of Macedonian Philip had ere these Won Asia, and the throne of Cyrus held
At his dispose; young Scipio had brought down The Carthaginian pride; young Pompey quell'd The Pontick king, and in triumph had rode. Yet years, and to ripe years judgment mature, Quench not the thirst of glory, but augment. Great Julius, whom now all the world admires, The more he grew in years, the more inflamed With glory, wept that he had lived so long Inglorious: but thou yet art not too late.
6. HIM THUS ACCOSTS. I consider the opening of this book, with the arguments in favour of worldly glory, and especially our Saviour's answer, to be the finest of the whole poem, notwithstanding that it comes under the classes of character, and sentiment, and language, rather than of story. Its sublime distinctions, its exalted feelings, its magnificent plainness of style, fill one with a sort of glowing approbation, which seems to spiritualize and uplift our nature.-BRIDGES.
25. Glory. Our Saviour having withstood the allurements of riches, Satan attacks him in the next place with the charms of glory.
31. Thy years, &c. Our Saviour was now "about thirty years of age." Luke iii. 23. Alexander was but twenty years old when he began to reign, and died at thirty-two. Scipio Africanus was but twenty-four when sent Proconsul into Spain.
41. Wept, at the tomb of Alexander.
To whom our Saviour calmly thus replied:- Thou neither dost persuade me to seek wealth For empire's sake, nor empire to affect For glory's sake, by all thy argument. For what is glory but the blaze of fame,
The people's praise, if always praise unmix'd? And what the people but a herd confused,
A miscellaneous rabble, who extol
Things vulgar, and, well weigh'd, scarce worth the praise? They praise, and they admire, they know not what, And know not whom, but as one leads the other;
And what delight to be by such extoll'd,
Of whom to be dispraised were no small praise?
To live upon their tongues, and be their talk,
His lot who dares be singularly good.
Are few, and glory scarce of few is raised.
The intelligent among them and the wise
This is true glory and renown; when God, Looking on the earth, with approbation marks The just man, and divulges him through heaven To all his angels, who with true applause Recount his praises: thus he did to Job,
When, to extend his fame through heaven and earth, As thou to thy reproach mayst well remember, He ask'd thee,-Hast thou seen my servant Job? Famous he was in heaven, on earth less known; Where glory is false glory, attributed
To things not glorious, men not worthy of fame. They err, who count it glorious to subdue By conquest far and wide, to overrun
Large countries, and in field great battles win, Great cities by assault: what do these worthies, But rob, and spoil, burn, slaughter, and enslave Peaceable nations, neighbouring or remote, Made captive, yet deserving freedom more Than those their conquerours, who leave behind Nothing but ruin wheresoe'er they rove, And all the flourishing works of peace destroy; Then swell with pride, and must be titled gods, Great benefactors of mankind, deliverers, Worshipp'd with temple, priest, and sacrifice? One is the son of Jove, of Mars the other; Till conquerour Death discover them scarce men, Rolling in brutish vices, and deform'd, Violent or shameful death their due reward.
44. Thou neither, &c. How admirably | cero, is the praise of good men, the echo does Milton in this speech expose the emptiness and uncertainty of a popular character, and found true glory upon its only sure basis, the approbation of the God of truth!-THYER.
62. Divulges, publishes, makes known. 69. Fulse glory. True glory, says Ci
of virtue: but that ape of glory, the ran dom, injudicious applause of the multitude, is often bestowed upon the worst of actors.
84. Son of Jove, of Mars. Alexander is intended by the former, and Romulus by the latter.
But if there be in glory aught of good, It may by means far different be attain'd, Without ambition, war, or violence;
By deeds of peace, by wisdom eminent, By patience, temperance: I mention still
Him, whom thy wrongs, with saintly patience borne, Made famous in a land and times obscure:
Who names not now with honour patient Job? Poor Socrates, (who next more memorable?) By what he taught, and suffer'd for so doing, For truth's sake suffering death unjust, lives now Equal in fame to proudest conquerours. Yet if for fame and glory aught be done, Aught suffer'd; if young African for fame His wasted country freed from Punick rage; The deed becomes unpraised, the man at least, And loses, though but verbal, his reward. Shall I seek glory then, as vain men seek, Oft not deserved? I seek not mine, but his Who sent me; and thereby witness whence I am.
To whom the tempter murmuring thus replied:- Think not so slight of glory; therein least Resembling thy great Father: he seeks glory, And for his glory all things made, all things Orders and governs; not content in heaven, By all his angels glorified, requires Glory from men, from all men, good or bad, Wise or unwise, no difference, no exemption; Above all sacrifice or hallow'd gift, Glory he requires, and glory he receives. Promiscuous from all nations, Jew or Greek, Or barbarous, nor exception hath declared: From us, his foes pronounced, glory he exacts. To whom our Saviour fervently replied: And reason: since his Word all things produced, Though chiefly not for glory as prime end, But to show forth his goodness, and impart His good communicable to every soul Freely; of whom what could he less expect Than glory and benediction, that is, thanks, The slightest, easiest, readiest recompense From them who could return him nothing else; And, not returning that, would likeliest render
101. The younger Scipio Africanus, who transferred the seat of the second Punic war, from Italy to Africa, and conquered Hannibal at Zama, 202, B. C.
109. Think not so slight of glory. There is nothing throughout the whole poem more expressive of the true character of the Tempter than this reply. There is in it all the real falsehood of the Father of lies, and the glossing subtlety of an in
sidious deceiver. The poet, by introducing this, has furnished himself with an opportunity of explaining the great question in divinity, why God created the world, and what is meant by that glory which he expects from his creatures. What great art, too, has the author shown, in weaving into the body of so short a work so many grand points of the Christian theology and morality.-THYER.
But why should man seek glory, who of his own Hath nothing, and to whom nothing belongs, But condemnation, ignominy, and shame? Who, for so many benefits received, Turn'd recreant to God, ingrate and false, And so of all true good himself despoil'd: Yet, sacrilegious, to himself would take That which to God alone of right belongs: Yet so much bounty is in God, such grace; 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 struck With guilt of his own sin; for he himself, Insatiable of glory, had lost all: Yet of another plea bethought him soon.
Of glory, as thou wilt, said he, so deem; Worth or not worth the seeking, let it pass. But to a kingdom thou art born, ordain'd To sit upon thy father David's throne,
By mother's side thy father; though thy right Be now in powerful hands, that will not part Easily from possession won with arms: Judea now and all the Promised Land, Reduced a province under Roman yoke, Obeys Tiberius; nor is always ruled With temperate sway: 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 sitting still, or thus retiring? So did not Maccabeus: he indeed
Retired into the desert, but with arms;
And o'er a mighty king so oft prevail'd,
That by strong hand his family obtain'd,
Though priests, the crown, and David's throne usurp'd,
With Modin and her suburbs once content.
If kingdom move thee not, let move thee zeal
And duty; zeal and duty are not slow,
But on occasion's forelock watchful wait:
They themselves rather are occasion best: Zeal of thy father's house, duty to free Thy country from her heathen servitude. So shalt thou best fulfil, best verify
The prophets old, who sung thy endless reign; The happier reign, the sooner it begins: Reign then; what canst thou better do the while?
170. Modin, the country of the Maccabees.
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 said. If of my reign Prophetick Writ hath told, That it shall never end; so when begin The Father in his purpose hath decreed; He, in whose hand all times and seasons roll. What if he hath decreed that I shall first Be tried in humble state, and things adverse, By tribulations, injuries, insults,
Contempts, and scorns, and snares, and violence, Suffering, abstaining, quietly expecting, Without distrust or doubt, that he may know What I can suffer, how obey? Who best Can suffer, best can do; best reign, who first Well hath obey'd; just 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 inquisition? Know'st thou not that my rising is thy fall, And my promotion will be thy destruction?
To whom the tempter, inly rack'd, replied Let that come when it comes; all hope is lost 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 worst: worst is my port, My harbour, and my ultimate repose: The end I would attain, my final good. My errour was my errour, 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 aspéct 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 shelter, and a kind of shading cool
Interposition, as a summer's cloud.
If I then to the worst that can be haste,
Why move thy feet so slow to what is best,
Happiest, both to thyself and all the world,
That thou, who worthiest art, shouldst be their king?
Perhaps thou linger'st, in deep thoughts detain'd
Of the enterprise so hazardous and high!
No wonder; for, though in thee be united What of perfection can in man be found, Or human nature can receive, consider,
Thy life hath yet been private, most part spent
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