With all inflictions, but his patience won?
The other service was thy chofen task,
To be a liar in four hundred mouths;
For lying is thy fuftenance, thy food.
Yet thou pretend'ft to truth; all Oracles
By thee are giv❜n, and what confest more true
Among the Nations? that hath been thy craft,
By mixing somewhat true to vent more lies.
But what have been thy answers, what but dark
Ambiguous and with double sense deluding,
Which they who ask'd have seldom understood,
And not well understood as good not known?
Who ever by consulting at thy shrine
Return'd the wifer, or the more inftruct
To flie or follow what concern'd him most,
And run not fooner to his fatal fnare?
For God hath justly giv'n the Nations up
To thy Delusions; juftly, fince they fell
Idolatrous, but when his purpofe is
Among them to declare his Providence
To thee not known, whence haft thou then thy truth,
But from him or his Angels Prefident
In ev'ry Province, who themfelves difdaining
T'approach thy Temples, give thee in command
What to the smalleft tittle thou fhalt say
To thy Adorers; thou with trembling fear,
Or like a fawning Parasite obey'st;
Then to thy self afcrib'ft the truth foretold.
But this thy glory fhall be foon retrench'd;
No more fhalt thou by oracling abufe
The Gentiles; henceforth Oracles are ceas'd,
And thou no more with Pomp and Sacrifice
Shalt be enquir'd at Delphos or elfe-where,
At least in vain, for they fhall find thee mute.
God hath now sent his loving Oracle
Into the World to teach his final will,
And fends his Spirit of Truth henceforth to dwell In pious Hearts, and inward Oracle
To all truth requifite for men to know.
So fpake our Saviour; but the fubtle Fiend, Though inly ftung with anger and disdain, Diffembled, and this Answer smooth return'd.
Sharply thou haft insisted on rebuke,
And urg'd me hard with doings, which not will
But misery hath wrefted from me; where
Eafily canft thou find one miferable,
And not inforc'd oft-times to part from truth;
If it may stand him more in stead to lie,
Say and unfay, feign, flatter, or abjure?
But thou art plac'd above me, thou art Lord;
From thee I can and muft fubmifs endure
Check or reproof, and glad t' escape so quit.
Hard are the ways of truth, and rough to walk,
Smooth on the tongue discours'd, pleasing to th'ear,
And tuneable as Silvan Pipe or Song;
What wonder then if I delight to hear
Her dictates from thy mouth? most men admire
Virtue, who follow not her lore: permit me
To hear thee when I come (fince no man comes)
And talk at least, though I defpair t' attain.
Thy Father, who is holy, wife and
Suffers the Hypocrite or Atheous Priest
To tread his Sacred Courts, and minister
About his Altar, handling holy things,
Praying or vowing, and vouchfaf'd his voice
To Balaam Reprobate, a Prophet yet
Inspir'd; disdain not fuch access to me.
To whom our Saviour with unalter'd brow
Thy coming hither, though I know thy scope,
I bid not or forbid, do as thou find'st
Permiffion from above; thou canst not more.
He added not; and Satan bowing low
His gray diffimulation, disappear'd
Into thin Air diffus'd: for now began
Night with her fullen wings to double-shade
The Defart, Fowls in their clay nefts were couch'd;
And now wild Beafts came forth the woods to roam.
The End of the First Book.
Ean while the new-baptiz'd, who yet remain❜d
At Jordan with the Baptift, and had seen Him whom they heard so late exprefly call'd Jefus Meffiah Son of God declar'd,
And on that high Authority had believ❜d,
And with him talkt, and with him lodg'd, I mean
Andrew and Simon, famous after known,
With others though in Holy Writ not nam❜d,
Now miffing him their Joy fo lately found,
So lately found, and so abruptly gone,
Began to doubt, and doubted many days,
And as the days increas'd, increas'd their doubt:
Sometimes
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