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Satan had not to anfwer, but stood ftruck
With guilt of his own fin, for he himself
Infatiable of glory had lost all,
Yet of another plea bethought him foon.

Of glory, as thou wilt, faid he, fo deem,
Worth or not worth the feeking, let it pass:
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;

150

155

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 sway; oft have they violated

to the form of a Roman province,
in the reign of Auguftus, by Qui-
rinius or Cyrenius then governor
of Syria; and Coponius a Roman
of the equeftrian order was ap-
pointed to govern it under the title
of Procurator of Judæa: our Sa-
viour being then (as Dean Pri-
deaux fays) in the 12th year of his
age, but according to the vulgar
æra, which begins four years later
than the true time, it was A. D. 8.
Nor is always rul'd with temp'rate
fway
and indeed the Roman go-

160 The

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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

165

Retir'd unto the defert, but with arms;
And o'er a mighty king fo oft prevail'd,

That by ftrong hand his family obtain'd

[ufurp'd,

Though priests, the crown, and David's throne

With Modin and her fuburbs once content.

170

If kingdom move thee not, let move thee zeal
And duty; zeal and duty are not flow;
But on occafion's forelock watchful wait.
They themselves rather are occafion beft,
Zeal of thy father's house, duty to free
Thy country from her Heathen fervitude;

ter, except the high-prieft alone once in a year, on the great day of expiation. And this profanation of the temple might well remind the author of a former one by Antiochus Epiphanes. See 2 Maccab. V.

165. So did not Maccabeus:] The Tempter had compared the profanation of the temple by the Romans to that by Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria; and now

175

So

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So fhalt thou beft fulfil, best verify
The prophets old, who fung thy endless reign;
The happier reign the fooner it begins;

179

Reign then what canft thou better do the while?

To whom our Saviour anfwer thus return'd. All things are beft 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,

185

He in whofe hand all times and seasons roll.

What if he hath decreed that I fhall first

Be try'd in humble state, and things adverse,

By tribulations, injuries, infults,

190

Contempts, and fcorns, and fnares, and violence, Suffering, abftaining, quietly expecting,

vanced to the high priesthood, and in his brother Simon to the principality, and fo they continued for several descents fovran pontiffs and fovran princes of the Jewish nation till the time of Herod the great: tho' their father Mattathias (the fon of John, the fon of Simon, the son of Afmonæus, from whom the family had the name of Afmoneans) was no more than a priest of the course of Joarib, and dwelt

Without

at Modin, which is famous for no thing fo much as being the country of the Maccabees. See 1 Maccab. Jofephus, Prideaux &c.

183. And time there is for all

things, Truth bath faid :] Ecclef. III. 1. To every thing there is a feafon, and a time to every purpose under the Heaven.

187. He in whofe band all times

and feafons roll.] Alluding to A&ts I. 7. It is not for you to know I 4

the

Without diftruft or doubt, that he may know

What I can suffer, how obey? who beft

209

Can fuffer, beft can do; beft reign, who firft 195
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 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.

the times or the feafons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

195: beft reign, who first Well hath obey'd;] Here probably

the author remember'd Cicero. De

Legib. III. 2. Qui bene imperat, paruerit aliquando neceffe eft; et qui modefte paret, videtur, qui aliquando imperit, dignus effe. The fame fentiment occurs in Ariftotle, Polit. III. 4. VII. 14.

205

I would

and in Plato, De Legg. VI. as Urfinus and Davies have noted.

206. For where no hope is left, is

this and the five following verfes left no fear: &c.] Milton in that fine foliloquy of Satan's in plainly alludes to thefe lines in the beginning of the 4th book of Paradife Loft. ver. 108.

So farewel hope, and with hope farewel fear,

Farewel

I would be at the worst; worst is my port,
My harbour and my ultimate repofe,
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

210

Reign or reign not; though to that gentle brow 215 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 ite

(Whose ire I dread more than the fire of Hell) 220
A shelter and a kind of fhading cool
Interpofition, as a fummer's cloud.

If I then to the worst that can be haste,
Why move thy feet fo flow to what is beft;

Happiest

Farewel remorse all good to crime my crime; whatever it be, it

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is for itself condemn'd, and will alike be punish'd &c: and I do not fee how the paffage is emended, or the fenfe improv'd by placing the femicolon after my crime whatever, as Mr. Sympfon prescribes; or by blotting out the femicolon after crime, and putting a comma at whatever, as Mr. Meadowcourt directs.

234. And

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