Satan had not to anfwer, but stood ftruck Of glory, as thou wilt, faid he, fo deem, 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, 160 The The temple, oft the law with foul affronts, 165 Retir'd unto the defert, but with arms; 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 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 So fhalt thou beft fulfil, best verify 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 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, 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 If I then to the worst that can be haste, Happiest Farewel remorse all good to crime my crime; whatever it be, it 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 |