Both Paynim, and the peers of Charlemaine.
Such and fo numerous was their chivalry;
At fight whereof the Fiend yet more prefum'd,
And to our Saviour thus his words renew'd:
That thou may't know I feek not to engage
Thy virtue, and not every way fecure
On no flight ground thy fafety; hear, and mark
To what end I have brought thee hither, and shown
All this fair sight: thy kingdom, though foretold
4 By prophet or by angel, unless thou
Endeavour, as thy father David did,
Thou never fhalt obtain; prediction still
In all things, and all men, fuppofes means;
Without means us'd, what it predicts revokes.
But fay thou wert poffefs'd of David's throne
By free confent of all, none oppofite,
Samaritan or Jew; how could't thou hope
Long to enjoy it quiet and fecure,
Between two fuch enclosing enemies
Roman and Parthian; therefore one of these
Thou must make sure thy own, the Parthian first,
By my advice, as nearer, and of late
Found able by invasion to annoy
Thy country, and captive lead away her kings
Antigonus, and old Hyrcanus bound,
Maugre the Roman; it fhould be my task
To render thee the Parthian at dispose:
Choose which thou wilt, by conqueft or by league.
By him thou shalt regain, without him not,
That which alone can truly reinstall thee
In David's royal feat, his true fucceffor,
Deliverance of thy brethren, those ten tribes
Whofe offspring in his territory yet ferve,
In Habor, and among the Medes difpers'd;
Ten fons of Jacob, two of Joseph lost
Thus long from Ifrael, ferving, as of old
Their fathers in the land of Egypt ferv'd,
This offer fets before thee to deliver.
Thefe if from fervitude thou shalt restore
To their inheritance, then, nor till then,
Thou on the throne of David in full glory,
From Egypt to Euphrates and beyond,
Shalt reign, and Rome or Cæfar not need fear.
To whom our Saviour anfwer'd thus unmov'd:
Much oftentation vain of fleshly arm,
And fragil arms, much inftrument of war
Long in preparing, foon to nothing brought,
Before mine eyes thou' haft fet: and in my ear
Vented much policy, and projects deep
Of enemies, of aids, battles and leagues,
Plausible to the world, to me worth nought.
Means I must use, thou fay'ft, prediction elle
Will unpredict, and fail me of the throne:
My time I told thee (and that time for thee
Were better fartheft off) is not yet come :
When that comes, think not thou to find me flack
On my part ought endeav'ring, or to need
Thy politic maxims, or that cumbersome
Luggage of war there shown me, argument
Of human weaknels rather than of ftrength.
My brethren, as thou call'st them, those ten tribes,
I muft deliver, if I mean to reign
David's true heir, and his full fceptre fway
To juft extent over all Ifrael's fons.
But whence to thee this zeal, were was it then
For Ifrael, or for David, or his throne,
When thou ftood'ft up his tempter to the pride
Of numb'ring Ifrael, which coft the lives
Of threefcore and ten thousand Ifraelites
By three days peftilence? fuch was thy zeal
To Ifrael then, the fame that now to me.
Befides their other worfe than heath'nish crimes;
Nor in the land of their captivity
Humbled themselves, or penitent befought
The God of their forefathers; but fo dy'd
Impenitent, and left a race behind
Like to themlelves, diftinguishable scarce
From Gentiles, but by circumcision vain,
And God with idols in their worship join'd.
Should I of thefe the liberty regard,
Who freed us to their ancient patrimony,
Unhumbled, unrepentant, unieform'd,
Headlong would follow'; and to their gods perhaps
Of Bethel and of Dan? no, let them serve
Their enemies, who ferve idols with God.
Yet he at length, time to himself best known,
Rememb'ring Abraham, by fome wondrous call
May bring them back repentant and fincere,
And at their paffing cleave th' Affyrian flood,
While to their native land with joy they hafte,
As the Red Sea and Jordan once he cleft,
When to the Promis'd Land their fathers pafs'd;
To his due time and providence I leave them.
So fpake Ifrael's true king, and to the Fiend
Made anfwer meet, that made void all his wiles.
So fares it when with truth falfehood contends.
THE END OF THE THIRD BOOK.
ERPLEX'D and troubled at his bad fuccefs
The Tempter ftood, nor had what to reply,
Discover'd in his fraud, thrown from his hope
So oft, and the perfuafive rhetoric
That fleek'd his tongue, and won so much on Eve, 5
So little here, nay loft; but Eve was Eve;
This far his over match, who, felf-deceiv'd
And rash, before-hand had no better weigh'd
The ftrength he was to cope with, or his own:
But as a man who had been matchlefs held
In cunning, over-reach'd where least he thought,
To falve his credit, and for very spite,
K
Still will be tempting him who foils him ftill,
And never ceafe, though to his fhame the more;
Or as a fwarm of flies in vintage time,
About the wine-prefs where fweet must is pour'd,
Beat off, returns as oft with humming found;
Or furging waves against a folid rock,
Though all to fhivers dafh'd, th' aflault renew,
Vain batt'ry, and in froth or bubbles end;
So Satan, whom repulfe upon repulse
Met ever, and to fhameful filence brought,
Yet gives not o'er, though defp'rate of fuccefs,
And his vain importunity purfues.
He brought our Saviour to the western fide
Of that high mountain, whence he might behold
Another plain, long, but in breath not wide,
Wash'd by the fouthern fea, and on the north
To equal length back'd with a ridge of hills,
That fcreen'd the fruits of th' earth and feats of men
From cold Septentrion blafts, thence in the midit
Divided by a river, of whofe banks
On each fide an imperial city food,
With tow'rs and temples proudly elevate
On feven small hills, with palaces adorn'd,
Porches and theatres, baths, aquedu&ts,
Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs,
Gardens and groves prefented to his eyes,
Above the height of mountains interpos'd;
By what ftrange parallax, or optic skill
Of vifion multiply'd through air, or glafs
Of telescope, were curious to inquire:
And now the Temper thus his fiience broke:
The city which thou feeft no other deem
Than great and glorious Rome, queen of the earth,
So far renown'd, and with the fpoils enrich'd
Of nations; there the capitol thou feeft
Above the reft lifting his ftately head
On the Tarpeian rock, her citadel
Impregnable; and there Mount Palatine,
Th' imperial palace, compafs huge and high
The ftructure, fkill of nobleft architects,
With gilded battlements, confpicuous far,
Turrets and terraces, and glitt'ring ipires.
Many a fair editice befides, more like
Houfes of God, (fo well I have difpos'd
My airy microscope,) thou may'it behold
Outfide and infide both, pillars and roots,
Carv'd work, the hand of fam'd artificers
In cedar, marble, ivory or gold.
Thence to the gates caft round thine eye, and fee
What conflux ifiuing forth, or entering in;
Prætors, proconfuls to their provinces
Hafting, or on return, in robes of state:
Lictors and rods, the enfigns of their power,
Legions and cohorts, turms of horse and wings:
Or embaffies from regions far remote
In various habits on the Appian road,
Or on th' Emilian; fome from farthest fouth,
Syene', and where the thadow both way falls,
Meroe Nilotic ifle, and more to weft,
The realm of Bocchus to the Black-moor fea;
From th' Asian kings and Parthian among thefe,
From India and the golden Cherfonese,
And utmost Indian ifle Taprobane,
Dusk faces with white filken turbants wreath'd;
From Gallia, Gades, and the British weft;
Germans and Scythians, and Sarmatians north,
Beyond Danubius to the Tauric pool.
All nations now to Rome obedience pay,
To Rome's great Emperor, whose wide domain,
In ample territory, wealth and power,
Civility of manners, arts and arm,
And long renown, thou justly may'st prefer
Before the Parthian; thefe two thrones except,
The reft are barb'rous, and scarce worth the fight,
Shar'd among petty kings too far remov'd :
Thefe having fhown thee, I have shown thee all
The kingdoms of the world, and all their glory.
This emp'ror hath no fon, and now is old,
Old and lafcivious, and from Rome retir'd
To Capra, an ifland fmall, but itrong,
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