To win thy destin'd seat, but wilt prolong
All to the push of fate, pursue thy way
Of gaining David's throne no man knows when,
For both the when and how is no where told?
Thou shalt be what thou art ordain'd, no doubt;
For angels have proclaim'd it, but concealing
The time and means; each act is rightliest done,
Not when it must, but when it may be best.
If thou observe not this, be sure to find,
What I foretold thee, many a hard assay
Of dangers, and adversities, and pains,
Ere thou of Israel's sceptre get fast hold;
Whereof this ominous night that clos'd thee round,
So many terrors, voices, prodigies,
May warn thee, as a sure fore-going sign.
So talk'd he, while the Son of God went on
And staid not, but in brief him answer'd thus.
Me worse than wet thou find'st not; other harm Those terrors, which thou speak'st of, did me none; I never fear'd they could, though noising loud And threat'ning nigh; what they can do as signs Betok'ning, or ill-boding, I contemn
As false portents, not sent from God, but thee;
Who, knowing I shall reign past thy preventing,
Obtrud'st thy offer'd aid, that I accepting
At least might seem to hold all power of thee,
Ambitious spirit, and would'st be thought my God,
And storm'st refus'd, thinking to terrify
Me to thy will. Desist, thou art discern'd
And toil'st in vain, nor me in vain molest.
To whom the fiend now swoll'n with rage replied. Then hear, O Son of David, virgin-born;
For Son of God to me is yet in doubt:
Of the Messiah I had heard, foretold
By all the prophets; of thy birth at length
Announc'd by Gabriel with the first I knew,
And of the angelic song in Bethlehem field,
On thy birthnight, that sung thee Saviour born.
From that time seldom have I ceas'd to eye
Thy infancy, thy childhood, and thy youth,
Thy manhood last, though yet in private bred;
Till at the ford of Jordan, whither all
Flock'd to the baptist, I among the rest,
Though not to be baptiz'd, by voice from heaven
Heard thee pronounc'd the Son of God belov❜d.
Thenceforth I thought thee worth my nearer view
And narrower scrutiny, that I might learn
In what degree or meaning thou art call'd
The Son of God, which bears no single sense;
The Son of God I also am, or was,
And if I was I am; relation stands;
All men are sons of God; yet thee I thought
In some respect far higher so declared.
Therefore I watch'd thy footsteps from that hour, And follow'd thee still on to this waste wild; Where by all best conjectures I collect
Thou art to be my fatal enemy.
Good reason then, if I beforehand seek
502 I had heard] All the editions read 'have heard.' 'Had' seems absolutely requisite. Dunster.
To understand my adversary, who,
And what he is, his wisdom, power, intent;
By parl, or composition, truce, or league,
To win him, or win from him what I can.
And opportunity I here have had
To try thee, sift thee, and confess have found thee Proof against all temptation, as a rock
Of adamant, and as a centre firm,
To the utmost of mere man both wise and good, 535 Not more; for honours, riches, kingdoms, glory, Have been before contemn'd, and may again: Therefore to know what more thou art than man, Worth naming Son of God by voice from heav'n, Another method I must now begin.
So saying he caught him up, and without wing Of hippogrif bore through the air sublime Over the wilderness and o'er the plain; Till underneath them fair Jerusalem, The holy city, lifted high her towers, And higher yet the glorious temple rear'd Her pile, far off appearing like a mount Of alabaster, topp'd with golden spires: There on the highest pinnacle he set The Son of God, and added thus in scorn.
There stand, if thou wilt stand; to stand upright Will ask thee skill; I to thy father's house Have brought thee, and highest plac'd, highest is Now show thy progeny; if not to stand, [best,
548 alabaster] From Clemens, and P. Mela, see Heber's Life of Bishop Taylor, ii. 272. Of Ægyptian Thebes with its houses of alabaster.”
Cast thyself down; safely, if Son of God;
For it is written, He will give command
Concerning thee to his angels, in their hands
They shall uplift thee, lest at any time
Thou chance to dash thy foot against a stone.
To whom thus Jesus. Also it is written,
Tempt not the Lord thy God: he said and stood:
But Satan smitten with amazement fell.
As when earth's son Antæus, to compare
Small things with greatest, in Irassa strove
With Jove's Alcides, and oft foil'd still rose,
Receiving from his mother earth new strength,
Fresh from his fall, and fiercer grapple join'd,
Throttled at length in th' air, expir'd and fell;
So after many a foil the tempter proud,
Renewing fresh assaults, amidst his pride
Fell whence he stood to see his victor fall.
And as that Theban monster that propos'd
Her riddle, and him who solv'd it not, devour'd,
That once found out and solv'd, for grief and spite
Cast herself headlong from th' Ismenian steep;
So struck with dread and anguish fell the fiend,
And to his crew that sat consulting, brought
Joyless triumphals of his hop'd success,
Ruin, and desperation, and dismay,
Who durst so proudly tempt the Son of God.
563 As when] P. Fletcher's Purple Island, p. 163, ed. 1633.
If greatest things with lesse we may compare.'
So Satan fell; and straight a fiery globe.
Of angels on full sail of wing flew nigh,
Who on their plumy vans receiv'd him soft
From his uneasy station, and upbore
As on a floating couch through the blithe air; 585
Then in a flow'ry valley set him down
On a green bank, and set before him spread
A table of celestial food, divine
Ambrosial fruits, fetch'd from the tree of life,
And from the fount of life ambrosial drink,
That soon refresh'd him wearied, and repair'd
What hunger, if aught hunger had impair'd,
Or thirst; and, as he fed, angelic quires
Sung heav'nly anthems of his victory
Over temptation and the tempter proud.
True Image of the father, whether thron'd
In the bosom of bliss, and light of light
Conceiving, or remote from heaven, enshrin'd
581 globe] G. Fletcher's Christ's Triumph, st. xiii. 'out there flies
A globe of winged angels swift as thought.' Todd. 583 him] This inaccuracy has been remarked: and that him must refer to Satan; therefore I would suppose that him is used emphatically—so Satan fell; but angels received him, and upbore.
587 spread] G. Fletcher's Christ's Triumph, &c. st. 61.
'But to their Lord, now musing in his thought,
A heavenly volley of light angels flew,
And from his father him a banquet brought
Through the fine element: for well they knew
After his lenten fast he hungry grew;
And, as he fed, the holy quires combine
To sing a hymn of the celestial trine.'
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