That who advance his glory, not their own,
Them he himself to glory will advance.

So fpake the Son of God: and here again
Satan had not to anfwer, but stood truck
With guilt of his own fin, for he himself,
Infatiable of glory, had loft all,

Yet of another plea bethought him foon.

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Of glory, as thou wilt, faid he, fo deem; Worth or not worth the feeking, let it pais: But to a kingdom thou art born, ordain'd To fit upon thy father David's throne;

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By mother's fide thy father; though thy right

Be now in powerful hands, that will not part

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Eafily from poffeffion won with arms:

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 fway; oft have they violated

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The temple, oft the law with foul affronts,
Abominations rather, as did once

Antiochus and think'it thou to regain
Thy right by fitting ftill or thus retiring?
So did not Maccabæus: he indeed

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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,

Though priests, the crown, and David's throne ufurp'd, With Modin and her fuburbs once content.

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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 best,
Zeal of thy Father's houfe, duty to free
Thy country from her heathen fervitude;
So fhalt thou beft fulfil, best verify

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The Prophets old, who fung their endless reign;
The happier reign the fooner it begins:

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Reign then; what canft thou better do the while?
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 prophetic writ hath told

That it fhall never end, fo when begin

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The Father in his purpose hath decreed,

He in whofe hand all times and feafons roll.
What if he hath decreed that I fhall first

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

By tribulations, injuries, infults,

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Contempts, and fcorns, and fnares, and violence,

Suffering, abftaining, quietly expecting,

Without diftruft or doubt, that he may know

What I can fuffer, how obey? Who best

Can fuffer, beft can do; best reign, who first

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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 deftruction?

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 worfe, 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 repofe,
The end I would attend, 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
Reign or reign not; though to that gentle brow
Willingly I could fly, and hope thy reign,
From that placid afpect and meek regard,
Rather than aggravate my evil ftate,

Would stand between me and thy father's ire,
(Whofe ire I dread more than the fire of hell,)
A fhelter, and a kind of fhading cool
Interpofition, as a fummer's cloud.

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If I then to the worst that can be hate,

Why move thy feet fo flow to what is best,
Happiest both to thyfelt and all the world,

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That thou who worthieft art fhould't be their king?
Perhaps thou linger'it in deep thoughts detain'd
Of th' enterprise fo hazardous and high;
No wonder; for though in thee be united
What of perfection can in man be found,
Or human nature can receive, confider

Thy life hath yet been private, molt part spent
At home, fcarce view'd the Galilean towns,
And once a year Jerufalem, few days

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Short fojourn; and what thence could'st thou obferve?
The world thou haft not feen, much less her glory,
Empires, and monarchs, and their radiant courts,
Beft fchool of beft experience, quickest infight
In all things that to greatest actions lead.
The wifelt, unexperienc'd, will be ever
Timorous and loath, with novice modesty,

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(As he who feeking affes found a kingdom,)

Irrefolute, unhardy, unadventrous :

But I will bring thee where thou foon fhalt quit
Thofe rudiments, and fee before thine eyes

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The monarchies of th' earth, their pomp and ftate,
Sufficient introduction to inform

Thee, of thy felf fo apt, in regal arts,

And regal myfteries, that thou may'it know

How beft their oppofition to withstand,

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With that (fuch power was giv'n him then) he took

The Son of God up to a mountain high.

It was a mountain at whole verdant feet

A fpacious plain, out-ftretch'd in circuit wide,

Lay pleafant; from his fide two rivers flow'd,

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Th' one winding, th' other ftrait, and left between

Fair champain with lefs rivers interven'd,
Then meeting join'd their tribute to the sea :

Fertile of corn the glebe, of oil and wine;

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With herds the paitures throng'd, with flocks the hills; Buge cities and high tower'd, that well might feem The feats of mightiest monarchs; and fo large

The profpect was, that here and there was room
For barren defert, fountainless and dry.
To this high mountain top the Temper brought
Our Saviour,and new train of words began.

Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale,
Foreft, and field, and flood, temples and towers,
Cut fhorter many a league; here thou behold'ft
Affyria and her empire's ancient bounds,
Araxes and the Cafpian lake; thence on
As far as Indus eaft, Euphrates weft,
And oft beyond; to fouth the Persian bay,
And inacceffible th' Arabian drouth:
Here Nineveh, of length within her wall
Several days journey, built by Ninus old,
Of that first golden monarchy the feat,
And feat of Salmanaffar, whofe fuccefs
Ifrael in long captivity till mourns;
There Babylon, the wonder of all tongues,
As ancient, but rebuilt by him who twice
Judah and all thy father David's house
Led captive, and Jerufalem laid waste,
Till Cyrus fet them free; Perfepolis
His city there thou feeft, and Bactra there;
Ecbatana her structure vaft there fhows,
And Hecatompylos her hundred gates;
There Sufa by Choafpes, amber ftream,

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The drink of none but kings: of later fame,

Built by Emathian, or by Parthian hands,

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The great Selucia, Nifibis; and there

Artaxata, Teredon, Ctesiphon,

Turning with easy eye thou may'ıt behold.

All thele the Parthian, now fome ages paft,

By great Arfaces led, who founded first

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That empire, under his dominion holds,
From the luxurious kings of Antioch won.

And just in time thou com'ft to have a view

Of his great power; for now the Parthian king

In Ctesiphon hath gather'd all his hoft

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Against the Scythian, whofe incurfions wild
Have wafted Sogdiana; to her aid

He marches now in halte; fee, though from far,
His thoufands, in what martial equipage

They iffue forth, fteel bows and shafts their arms;
Of equal dread in flight, or in purfuit;

All horfemen, in which fight they most excel;
See how in warlike mufter they appear,

In rhombs and wedges, and half-moons, and wings.
He lock'd, and faw what numbers numberlefs
The city gates out-pour'd, light arm'd troops
In coats of mail and military pride;

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In mail their horfes clad, yet fleet and strong,

Prancing their riders bore, the flower and choice
Of many provinces from bound to bound;
From Arachofia, from Candaor east,

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And Margiana to the Hyrcanian cliffs

Of Caucafus, and dark Iberian dales;

From Atropatia, and the neighb'ring planes
Of Adiabene, Media, and the fouth
Of Sufiana, to Balfara's haven,

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He faw them in their forms of battle rang'd,

How quick they wheel'd, and flying behind them fhot

Sharp fleet of arrowy thowers against the face

Of their purfuers, and overcame by flight;

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The field all iron cast a gleaming brown :
Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor on each horn
Cuiraffiers all in fteel for standing fight,
Chariots or elephants indors'd with towers
Of archers, nor of lab'ring pioneers
A multitude, with spades and axes arm'd
To lay hills plain, fell woods, or valleys fill,
Or where plain was raife hill, or overlay
With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke;
Mules after thefe, camels and dromedaries,
And waggons fraught with utensils of war.
Such forces met not, nor fo wide a camp,
When Agrican with all his northern powers
Befieg'd Albracca, as romances tell,

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The city of Gallaphrone, from whence to win
The fairest of her fex Angelica

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His daughter, fought by many proweft knights,